If speed is a significant factor, then Perl probably isn't your best language.

In fact, if any of the modules get a speed up, it's probably because they're using compiled parts. They would actually have more overhead, because they need to be made more generic so that they can be applied to generic uses, and to deal with problem input that might not be a factor in your situation.

It may be possible to get a speed up by streamlining the logic of your program, or by trading off memory or disk for speed.

From what you'r describing, in dealing with legacy code that's difficult to maintain, I'd suggest the Perl Medic book, even if the front page to the site is rather horrible.

In reply to Re^5: DBD::CSV and really bad legacy flat file by jhourcle
in thread DBD::CSV and really bad legacy flat file by harleypig

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.