Question 1

Flatbush vs RBush: which should I choose?

Accepted Answer

Choose Flatbush for static datasets where speed and memory efficiency are critical, as it outperforms RBush in indexing and queries. However, if you need to dynamically add or remove items, RBush is better suited due to its mutable index.

Question 2

How to transfer a Flatbush index to a web worker?

Accepted Answer

After calling index.finish(), use postMessage(index.data, [index.data]) to transfer the array buffer to a web worker. In the worker, reconstruct the index with Flatbush.from(e.data) for zero-copy access, as shown in the README examples.

Question 3

Can Flatbush handle geographic coordinates like latitude and longitude?

Accepted Answer

Flatbush itself uses 2D Cartesian coordinates, but for geographic data, use the geoflatbush extension which adapts it for spherical distances. This makes it suitable for mapping applications without modifying core logic.

Question 4

What's the best nodeSize to set for my data?

Accepted Answer

The default nodeSize is 16, but optimal values depend on your data and query patterns. Increase nodeSize for faster indexing, decrease it for faster queries—experiment with values like 8, 16, or 32 based on benchmarks from the README.

Question 5

How to save and load a Flatbush index from a file?

Accepted Answer

Save the index.data property as a binary file (e.g., using Blob in browsers or fs.writeFile in Node.js). To load, read the file into an ArrayBuffer and use Flatbush.from(data) to recreate the index without re-indexing, preserving performance.

Question 6

Does Flatbush support filtering during nearest neighbor searches?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the neighbors method accepts an optional filter function that screens items based on their indices before distance sorting. However, unlike search, it shouldn't be used for handling results directly, as noted in the API documentation.

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