Indexelt

Indexelt is a theoretical data indexing technique designed to improve query performance on large datasets by maintaining a layered index structure that maps keys or terms to storage blocks. The core idea is to separate fast, exact lookups from more expensive range or multi-term queries by using an Element Index that tracks individual keys and a set of auxiliary indices that guide query execution.

Structure and mechanism: The Element Index stores entries for single-key lookups, including a pointer to the data segment or document. A Secondary Index aggregates multiple keys into buckets or partitions, enabling range scans and multi-key lookups. A Metadata Layer collects statistics such as cardinality, distribution, and access frequency to drive query planning. Together they form a hierarchical or federated index where queries start from the most selective component.

Operations: When data is inserted or updated, the index parts are updated incrementally, with batch rebuilds scheduled to maintain performance. For reads, the engine estimates selectivity via statistics and follows a traversal plan that reduces I/O by skipping non-matching partitions. Indexelt supports incremental maintenance, deletions, and transactional consistency depending on the underlying data store.

Applications: It is proposed for use in search engines, analytics platforms, and knowledge graphs where both exact and range queries are common. It aims to reduce latency for point lookups while sustaining efficient scans for aggregations.

History and status: Indexelt originated in theoretical discussions and pedagogical materials in the 2020s, intended as a comparative concept rather than a widely deployed standard. It is described in academic summaries and concept papers, rather than official product documentation.

See also: database indexing, inverted index, B-tree, hash index, range partitioning, information retrieval.