and you are not allowed to put it in a batch or shell script, because that is part of another language

What? Well, OK, since it's pretty tough to automate compilation and execution without some sort of "script", the following example takes my corrected typing speed into account, too!

Still less than four seconds, and most of that was thanks to my clumsy typing. Fair enough, no?

Anyway, compile time is irrelevant for a bunch of reasons, but mainly: compile time will be negligible for any CPU-bound problem of significant size. Such problems are more or less the point of this node.

Finally, to really look at the compilation step fairly, how many real-world programs (including real-world Perl programs) really need to be recompiled every time they are run? For many applications, an "interpreted" compilation step is just another nail in the comparative performance coffin.

You don't have throw the baby out with the bath water in order to benefit from good performance:

#! perl -slw
use strict;
use Inline C => Config => BUILD_NOISY => 1;
use Inline C => <<'END_C',  NAME => '_729090', CLEAN_AFTER_BUILD => 0;

#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdio.h>

SV* thing() {
    int i, j;

    for (i = 20; ; i += 20) {
        for (j = 1; j < 20; j++) {
            if (i % j)
                break;
        }
        if (j == 20) {
            return newSViv( i );
            break;
        }
    }
}

END_C

print time;
print thing();
print time;

__END__
C:\test>729090-IC.pl
1228813945
232792560
1228813946
[download]

---

Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.

"Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".

In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.

"Too many [] have been sedated by an oppressive environment of political correctness and risk aversion."

Semi-un-related question: How do you pass values to/from the inline C code?

for(split(" ","tsuJ rehtonA lreP rekcaH")){print reverse . " "}print "\b.\n";

This is indeed a fair comparison.

Of course, if you want high execution speed, Perl is not a wise choice. you should choose Assembler or pure machine code then. In almost all other cases though, Perl is "fast enough" and much more convenient to use.

CountZero

A program should be light and agile, its subroutines connected like a string of pearls. The spirit and intent of the program should be retained throughout. There should be neither too little or too much, neither needless loops nor useless variables, neither lack of structure nor overwhelming rigidity." - The Tao of Programming, 4.1 - Geoffrey James