Index

An index is an indirect shortcut derived from and pointing into a greater volume of values, data, information or knowledge. Index may refer to:

Business

Publishing

Database index

A database index is a data structure that improves the speed of data retrieval operations on a database table at the cost of additional writes and storage space to maintain the index data structure. Indexes are used to quickly locate data without having to search every row in a database table every time a database table is accessed. Indexes can be created using one or more columns of a database table, providing the basis for both rapid random lookups and efficient access of ordered records.

An index is a copy of select columns of data from a table that can be searched very efficiently that also includes a low-level disk block address or direct link to the complete row of data it was copied from. Some databases extend the power of indexing by letting developers create indices on functions or expressions. For example, an index could be created on upper(last_name), which would only store the upper case versions of the last_name field in the index. Another option sometimes supported is the use of partial indices, where index entries are created only for those records that satisfy some conditional expression. A further aspect of flexibility is to permit indexing on user-defined functions, as well as expressions formed from an assortment of built-in functions.

Index (typography)

The symbol ☞ is a punctuation mark, called an index, manicule (from the Latin root manus for "hand" and manicula for "little hand") or fist. Other names for the symbol include printer's fist, bishop's fist, digit, mutton-fist, hand, hand director, pointer, and pointing hand.

History

The symbol originates in scribal tradition of the medieval and Renaissance period, appearing in the margin of manuscripts to mark corrections or notes.

Manicules are first known to appear in the 12th century in handwritten manuscripts in Spain, and became common in the 14th and 15th centuries in Italy with some very elaborate with shading and artful cuffs. Some were playful and elaborate, but others were as simple as "two squiggly strokes suggesting the barest sketch of a pointing hand" and thus quick to draw.

After the popularization of the printing press starting in the 1450s, the handwritten version continued in handwritten form as a means to annotate printed documents. Early printers using a type representing the manicule included Mathias Huss and Johannes Schabeler in Lyons in their 1484 edition of Paulus Florentinus' Breviarum totius juris canonici.

Boxcar

A boxcar is a North American railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry general freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is probably the most versatile, since it can carry most loads. Boxcars have side doors of varying size and operation, and some include end doors and adjustable bulkheads to load very large items.

Similar covered freight cars outside North America are covered goods wagons and, depending on the region, are called goods van (UK), louvre van (Australia), covered wagon (UIC and UK) or simply van (UIC and UK).

Use

Boxcars can carry most kinds of freight. Originally they were hand-loaded, but in more recent years mechanical assistance such as forklifts have been used to load and empty them faster. Their generalized design is still slower to load and unload than specialized designs of car, and this partially explains the decline in boxcar numbers since World War II. The other cause for this decline is the dramatic shift of waterborne cargo transport to container shipping. Effectively a boxcar without the wheels and chassis, a container is designed to be amenable to Intermodal freight transport, whether by container ships, trucks or trains, and can be delivered door-to-door.

Boxcar (band)

Boxcar is an Australian Sydney-based synthpop and techno band. Formed in the mid-1980s in Brisbane by main songwriter guitarist and vocalist David Smith, he was soon joined by keyboardists Brett Mitchell and Carol Rohde and somewhat later by drummer-percussionist Crispin Trist. They initially released several cassette-only releases including the album P.C.M.. Boxcar's early material sounded similar to contemporaries such as Cabaret Voltaire and Severed Heads. Boxcar were also notable for playing many live shows in the Brisbane area and around the country, including shows where they performed wearing gas masks. Performing electronic music live was a difficult feat given the preference in Australian live venues for guitar-driven pub rock and they would sometimes be jeered by members of the crowd.

They rose to prominence after releasing the single "Freemason (You Broke The Promise)" in 1988 after signing with Volition Records, and hit number 8 in the United States Billboard dance music chart. Initially criticised in the local press for being derivative of New Order they nevertheless built a local following, despite a lack of commercial radio airplay for electronic music. "Freemason" was soon followed by the singles "Insect" (remixed by noted producer Arthur Baker) and "Gas Stop (Who Do You Think You Are?)" (remixed by Francois Kevorkian) (both of which also charted in the US but had little local impact - "Gas Stop" peaked at No. 82 on the ARIA singles chart) and by their formal debut album Vertigo on Volition in 1990.

Boxcar (disambiguation)

A boxcar is an enclosed railroad car for carrying general freight.

Boxcar(s) may also refer to:

See also