There are many issues, but I think that if a few extra lines or a new method will actually in some way promote server efficiency (processing time), then they should be added without question.

Efficient coding doesn't always mean less code. Consider the case where a fundamental method is for some reason missing from the object.

I added a new method to Lady /TM specifically for updating a page counter. To make everything simpler, if the counter wasn't found during a pass through the index, it was added automatically. The previous method of updating a counter in a hash of counters was too slow, requiring an extra recursion through the index. Once to read it. Another to read it again and write the change.

The new method specially developed for this task reads the counter table and holds the entire table, closes the file. Then quickly reopens it for a write access and prints the updated file.

The method is much more efficient than would be an MS-Access ODBC implementation that would require that the large MS-Access driver is loaded. I "reinvented" Lady /TM because I had uses in mind that seemed simple. It seemed obvious that ODBC and MS-Access was over-kill for my immediate application which needed speed.

When I sit next to my server and listen to the MS-Access driver load every now and then I am truly gratified for having "re-invented" Lady /TM.

-Steeeeeve