Relying on a database which gets updated nightly is problematic for some usage though in at least 2 ways: I don't leave my computer on if I'm not using it so there's a good chance the db will simply never update (I guess?) plus it's only usable for locating files with confidence if you know they're system files or else they were on the system yesterday. Or, you run updatedb manually all the time and weep because that's not something instant, at all.
All in all, the idea is good, but I'm almost sure there are better implementations (even Windows has tools like 'Everything' which use a database but which gets continuously updated).
Even running updatedb (except the initial run) and then running locate might be faster than running a recursive grep from the root directory. Definitely if you run that grep more than once.
All in all, the idea is good, but I'm almost sure there are better implementations (even Windows has tools like 'Everything' which use a database but which gets continuously updated).