Re: creating database

[Jacob Sparre Andersen <sparre@nbi.dk>]

caellumx@yahoo.com writes:

> I was thinking of creating the ADT as a record with various fields,
> and then an array with each element containing a record. However, I
> don't know how many records there'll be so it seems inefficient to
> declare an array of a particular size.

Sensible thinking.

> Any advice one how to implement the database would be very much
> appreciated. As an ada novice, I'm struggling.

As you have already been told, this is not really an Ada specific
question.

Instead of allocating a fixed size array - which on unix systems isn't
quite as bad an idea as it sounds - you can allocate and reallocate
chunks of varying or fixed size (down to a single record element) with
pointers pointing to various other chunks.  Exactly how you do it
depends on your problem; the frequency of insertions, the frequency of
deletions, the frequency of searches and knowledge about the searches
which you can use to prearrange the elements for faster searching.

If you tell us what your problem is (and preferably also that it isn't
a homework problem), it is easier to give you specific advice.  And
even if it is a homework problem, there's probably somebody who can
point you to a good textbook or ask some leading questions.

Greetings,

Jacob
-- 
"War does not determine who is right - only who is left."
                                         -- Bertrand Russell