Andrew Peterson (5/22/2009)

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Great article. And nice example use of bitmask for searching.

If you approach the bitmask column for the purpose of high frequency searching, really for "reporting" then it does not violate any normalization rules. Report tables are almost always denormalized. I've seen some real world examples where this approach could really add value for end user searches.

And a great twist on tier to tier data transmittal. Consolidating data at the front end tier into a bitmask for rapid transmittal, and then decomposition at the middle or data tier for storage. This has some potential in selected situations.

The twist is that the time to convert to bitmask (both directions) is faster than transmitting a large volume of data - which in today's environment would be an XML file for best efficency. I cannot immediately think of a use, but it is a new tool, that may come in handy when I least expect it.

As with everything in system design and the New Yankee Workshop, more tools are better. Just use the right tool for the right job!

Thanks again!