Although it is common to create applications using SQL SELECT statements with the CONTAINS clause, this is not always the most efficient way of working. An alternative method is to use the XML-based Result Set Interface. The advantage of doing this is that it is easy to obtain summary information (such as the total number of hits) without having to fetch all the results of the query.
To use the Result Set Interface, you specify a Result Set Descriptor, or RSD. This declares the information which is to be returned. The information to be returned can consist of:
The total result count of the query
A hitlist
Summary information over SDATA fields.
In turn, the hitlist consists of repeating elements, each of which may contain:
The rowid of the hit
SDATA fields from the hit