Autocomplete with static files [1/4] - Introduction

Why would anybody even want to use static files? When they have access to a perfectly fine queryable database, it seems totally crazy.

Or does it?

Below are some pros and cons of using static files for autocomplete searches:

Pros

• No server-side logic == much much faster!
• Reliability, fewer points of failure, no database issues
• Cheaper and more options for hosting

Cons

• More space used on the server, one file for each letter sequence that results. For example: A -> { Andrew, Adam, Anthony }, AN -> { Andrew } etc…
• Data is not real time. Generating the static files must be done upfront during build time.
• Generating the static files can be a burden
• Basic autocomplete only, no match for ElasticSearch or SOLR

In this series I will walk through the following topics, step by step:

1. Learning from a visualization of the trie data structure
2. Typing our own words into the visualization
3. Downloading sample CSV’s
4. Building an autocomplete static file generator
5. Understanding a trie data structure for storing words in relation
6. Covering recursive trie traversal algorithms
7. Using the generator with a CSV
8. Building a basic autocomplete implementation utilizing static files
9. Using the demo