{"id":"sstable-sparse-index-every-nth","text":"`SSTableReader` loads a sparse index into memory that records every `block_size`-th key and byte offset; point lookups binary-search the index then linearly scan within the block.","truth_value":"IN","source":"entries/2026/05/28/sstable-and-compaction-sstable.md","source_url":"","source_hash":"","justifications":[],"dependents":[],"metadata":{"example":"for i, (key, value) in enumerate(entries):\n    offset = f.tell()\n    if i % sparse_index_interval == 0:\n        offsets.append((key, offset))  # index every 16th key"},"explanation":{"steps":[{"node":"sstable-sparse-index-every-nth","truth_value":"IN","reason":"premise"}]}}