I have seen Perl slurp and parse a 200MB text file in seconds. (It is really a remarkable language for practical extraction and reports after all.) I have also used it for its search capabilities. If PHP did not have preg functions (Perl Compatible Regex), I would not be using PHP. Perl is known for its speed. My only concerns with Perl stem from my inability to develop applications quickly with the language, but that is due more to my inexperience with it. However, after using it for years, you would think I would know everything there is to know about it.
