Although Perl interpretation is divided into several passes (parser/lexer, optimizer, tree/bytecode runner), all these passes are grouped together in one binary. Under some memory-constrained conditions, it could be better if each pass ran as its own program, passing the transformed data onto the next pass similarly to the way compilers usually work. This would be an advantage in embedded systems where there might be a great deal of ROM (perfect for storing pass programs) but not as much RAM (so you can't load the whole interpreter into RAM at once). This should be an option at perl creation time, as most non-embedded systems would not benefit from splitting the interpreter into separate programs. Thoughts, anyone? ==================================================== Mark Leighton Fisher Thomson Consumer Electronics [EMAIL PROTECTED] Indianapolis, IN, USA "Display some adaptability." -- Doug Shaftoe, _Cryptonomicon_
