I know this is stepping a little bit aside from the original question, but I was wondering about the practicality of starting with Perl and gradually replacing Perl code with C code once the design is complete. It seems like the best of both worlds: rapid development of the script-based GUI, followed by efficient usage of compiled programs.

The only problem is that once I start with the script-based project, the design never seems to look "complete". There's always one more little adjustment, or one less buton.

Well, that's not the only problem. The other is that I've never tried a C interface to my Perl code. I hear a lot of horror stories, and I get scared easily.

I wandered a bit there, but the question was: how practical is it to prototype in Perl, then interface or replace with C code as the project progresses? Would that address the memory concerns that primus had?

I just realized that I was using the same sig for nearly three years.