>How long should we expect to wait when retrieving a record from the middle of the file?
milliseconds without any details on what the difference is between 'interrogating' and 'retrieving', and assuming by 'middle' you really do mean the middle.

Thanks a lot Narue, I was in doubt, but your answer really helped a lot. Thanks again for the help. Really appreciate it.

regards,

BiGPrO

In USA that would be a question most 8th graders could answer. You will be pretty lost in programming if you do not have at least that level of mathametical skills. You should probably take a remedial math course to bone up on algrbra and trigonometry. and there are many specialties of programming that require much higher level math skills.

Well, Ancient Dragon, you see, we are not in the USA, and Goerge Bush, as David Letterman said, is infecting everybody! :-) I am trying to get into programming, not a programmer, there are things done differently in math sometimes.


Thanks for your feedback thoguh, very fruitful, you didn't have to take the efforts, next time I guess no need to ask, better live in ignorance!

regards.....

Don't do that! I agree with you that if you've never come across a problem before you don't always know if there are hidden considerations. Many problems that look simple are really complex, especially if you're new to a field.

Thanks WaltP for your positive thinking and that is why, taking the word from experienced people is better. It is their field of study, programming, there are always hidden consideration or different opinions, while one solution could work better, other solutions might work best.

Thanks again for the feedback and advice.

regards....

It doesn't matter where you live -- you will need equivalent math background wherever you live. programming is programming and does not discriminate based on the earth you live on. So if you don't have it, then you need to get it before you can be a successful programmer.

Math will not do you good if you don't understand the question. Understanding the question is half of the answer. That is the problem, sometimes ambiguity with the questions. As Narue said "assuming by 'middle' you really do mean the middle". I cannot do the answer other than doing the math, but programmers might have different ways for reaching the result.

Also, those who are really into programming, they have been closely working at different math problems to reach the best result at the most optimal time.

regards......

All very true dragonbreath, BUT I thought you were somewhat condescending to the newbie.

If you really are so keen on math I would hope you are disappointed to realise you missed the fact that there ISN'T a middle record in a 50,000 record sequential file. You would have to pick either 25,000th or 25,001st. Advice: check your math.

Also, I was wondering if you help me with a programming math problem I am working on; I'm wanting to implement a fast-fourier-transform (using complex exponentials of course, NOT trigonometric functions:-) and I was hoping you could explain why it is important to note that the discrete fourier transform considers an aperiodic function (hence the need for a fourier transform) as a periodic function when implementing on a computer. I only ask becasue I know you are keen on programming AND math!