I would consider this a success.C++ code : 6 seconds
Alaska code first example without optimalization byte to byte read from file : 3minutes and 13 seconds
Alaska code optimalized full file read to variable string and so write variable to file once: 18 seconds
Alaska code that is only 3 times slower than C code is remarkable.
This is one of the things I like about Xbase++.
There is a lot of processing going on when building and processing a large eXpress++ GetList.
Performance is a key factor to a successful SGL architecture and is why eXpress++ can do the job.