Re: indices sorting

[Daniel Say say@xxxxxxxx]

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" From: Robert Lavenda 
" Subject:   Re: indices
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" > Date:     Thu, 7 Aug 1997 16:30:02 GMT0BST
" > From:     "DR R.H.BELL" 
" > Subject:    RE: indices
" Richard Bell writes
"
" 
" > Whilst the author index
" > (X7) and subject index were generated successfully, the text index
" > (X8) failed. I received an error message `Error extracting
" > index/biblio'. Does anyone have any idea what the problem could be? I
" > have spent some time tidying up my files (ie going into expanded mode
" > and getting rid of any superfluous stuff in guillemets) and wonder if
" > I have overdone it. But on the other hand if it works for X7 and X9,
" > why not for X8?
" >
" I believe that the problem is not in an untidy file, but rather in
" too many X8 entries. NB has what has become an inncreasingly severe
" limitation--a 64K buffer for sorting. If your file has lots of index
" markers, the program will choke and give that error message. The only
" recourse at that point is to follow the instructions in the Big Black
" Book on page 606 (a reference to the Sorting chapter) and especially
" on 734, the section "Sorting in Stages." This is an annoying and
" time-consuming process and you will still have to do some hand-work
" at the end.
"
" If you break the file up into smaller files, you may be able to get
" by, following the instructions for linking index fragments on
" 604-606.
"
" Note that you may be able to get NB to index the file if you set the
" sort key length low. However, this presents serious problems if you
" have long entries that vary only after the number of letters of the
" sort key length (that is, if the sort key length is set for 4,
" anthropology and anthropologists will be considered
" duplicates by the sorter).
"
" What is particularly galling--and I speak from recent bitter
" experience--is that the rest of the indexing subsystem is quite
" superb. But a 23-chapter, 1.8M textbook was simply too much for NB to
" index except by the kludge explained in the Sorting chapter. Any
" Windows wordprocessor--XyWrite or WfW--could easily do the job, but
" it was impossible to put the files into the form required for either
" program. And, of course, XyWrite's indexing system is not as
" sophisticated. I cannor wait for the Windows version of NB.
"
" Good luck with the index!
"
" Robert Lavenda
" lavenda@xxxxxxxx
"