Here's something else to consider - 90% of all applications will run "fast enough" when written in Perl/Python/Ruby/PHP/VB/etc. Most people can't distinguish time intervals less than 1/20th of a second. If you're already there, you don't need to go faster.
Plus, there's the problem that people expect certain tasks to take a certain amount of time. If the application goes too fast, the user may not believe the task was actually accomplished. I've actually seen applications with a slow-down built in, just to appease user expectations.
- In general, if you think something isn't in Perl, try it out, because it usually is. :-)
- "What is the sound of Perl? Is it not the sound of a wall that people have stopped banging their heads against?"