An Alternate Index permits access to a Data Table using a different key, organization and/or search method than those originally defined in the table definition (see Figure 68). This allows for many different ways of indexing the data without generating multiple copies of the data. Alternate Indexes are generated by alternate table definitions (ALT-DEFINITION). Since there is a single copy of the Data Table, all Alternate Indexes reflect any changes made to the Data Table.
tableBASE supports many-to-many (M2M) relationships between Alternate Indexes and Data Tables. One Alternate Index may be associated with different Data Tables of identical structure. Similarly, many Alternate Indexes may be defined for a single Data Table.
