Index Reader and Writer – Reusing Indexed Data

<p>This workflow demonstrates how to <strong>store and reload</strong> an Exorbyte MatchMaker index in KNIME using the <strong>Index Writer</strong> and <strong>Index Reader</strong> nodes.<br>It shows how indexes created by the <strong>Single-Field Indexer</strong> can be <strong>saved once</strong> and <strong>reused</strong> later for matching, filtering, or search tasks — without rebuilding them every time.</p><p>By combining these nodes, users can efficiently manage their indexing lifecycle:</p><ol><li><p><strong>Build</strong> an index from raw data (e.g., customer names, product codes, or IDs).</p></li><li><p><strong>Persist</strong> the index as a binary file (.bin) using the Index Writer node.</p></li><li><p><strong>Reload</strong> the index later in another workflow using the Index Reader node.</p></li><li><p><strong>Reuse</strong> the loaded index for fuzzy matching or filtering via nodes such as <strong>Approximate Index Matcher</strong> or <strong>MatchBox Filter</strong>.</p></li></ol><p>This workflow not only accelerates processing for large datasets but also promotes <strong>workflow modularity</strong>, <strong>reproducibility</strong>, and <strong>collaboration</strong> between teams — ensuring consistent fuzzy-matching results across multiple projects.</p><p>⚙️ <strong>Key Highlights</strong></p><ul><li><p>Demonstrates the complete <strong>index lifecycle</strong>: <em>write → read → match</em>.</p></li><li><p>Uses <strong>flow variables</strong> to dynamically link the index path between writer and reader nodes.</p></li><li><p>Ensures <strong>portability</strong> by writing indexes relative to the workflow data area.</p></li><li><p>Ideal for <strong>large-scale</strong> or <strong>repetitive</strong> fuzzy-matching workflows where rebuilding indexes is costly.</p></li></ul>