ISAM algorithm

[Cal Horner]

Richard Gaskin  wrote:
Data storage and display is such a broad topic - can you share some
Specifics of what you have thus far?
 
And if the data is being stored in a stack file, why ISAM over something
Like delimited chunks in custom props?
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I slapped( and this is the correct term) this together for myself 4-5 years
ago to take up a hobby I cultivated when I was a teenager, many moons ago.
In effect it is a Writers Workbench. 

Like any good change agent I could immediately see changes that would make
it better.

One of the main features is a graphic plot/story line screen that
fake-scrolled all cards that had been developed by the writer in a certain
sequence. That sequence was numeric and became the index. The index also
held the card name which used LC's lightening fast access to pulled the card
up as another window, so that it might be worked on.

This index is also used in another part of the system to once again, pull up
any card to be edited by the writer.

 I originally used a custom property to hold this index and loaded it into
the engine each time I started up the application. 

Now I want to hold this index as an ISAM stack in the stack-file. Much like
an index table developed from a many-many relationship.

What triggered this whole rewrite was two-fold:
1. Each stack was a standalone stack that, if needed a change, meant I had
to patch the working stack and transfer all data in each of the cards to the
amended new(?) stack.

2. Now this is the esoteric reason. I was looking at FM Pro, Access, And MS
DBMS and felt I could see similarities between these tables and and a stack
file. So I'm looking into (hopefully) expanding the capabilities of this
concept into something useful for myself, if no one else. 

I hope this doesn't muddy the waters Richard. Thanks for your interest.

Cal