Abstract text

A technique for finding the nearest match in a computer storage system is provided. A query statement includes a new operator that indicates that a user desires to access a set of rows that contain a value nearest to a target value. An index is accessed that is based at least in part on a column reference included in the statement. The index comprises a plurality of leaf nodes, where each leaf node comprises one or more entries, where each entry contains a key value, corresponding to the column reference, and a reference to a row in a table. Because leaf nodes in an index are ordered and linked to one another, a portion of the index need only be scanned once. The set of rows from the table are returned that are referenced by one or more entries whose column values are nearest to the target value.