>Geo,
>
>>LOCATE is a sequential search of the table. SEEK utilizes indexes which are binary trees ordering the table.
>
>I'm not debating that SEEK is faster -- but how can LOCATE always be a sequential search of the TABLE, even when Rushmore kicks in?

When I use a LOCATE command the speed of the command is unaffected by the presence(or lack thereof) of indexes. Thus, I suspect LOCATE does not use RUSHMORE.
I believe LOCATE performs a sequential search because when I LOCATE for a record that is the 50th record in a table of one million records the search time is very short ( less than 1/10 of a second). However, when I perform a LOCATE so that it finds record 999,999 the search takes over one minute.
SEEK search times are always the same regardless of where the correct record is inside the table.

Hope this helps