how do hashes deal with files up to several GB in size
You will note this is the first time you mentioned gigs of data. What you had asked for was
a convenient way to store, retrieve and query tabular data without having to rely on any external database engine or package.
Hashes satisfy all four requirements quite nicely.

Had you included this new requirement, I would have gone with one of the CPAN modules, even though that violates your fourth requirement.

In reply to Re^3: perl database question by apl
in thread perl database question by baxy77bax

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