Hello Alan,

First, I'd like to tell you that yes it can probably done.  A long
time ago I optimized my finite state model startup code from 119
seconds down to 0.4 seconds.  I remember the final figure was 230x
faster than the original.  And no primitives!

Friday, March 19, 2004, 11:36:57 PM, you wrote:

AG> 1. making revisions that would seem to combine the jobs of a 4 second
AG> method with a 5 second method removing one of the loops and the creation
AG> of a large array in the process produced a 15 second method... =\

The first thing that comes to mind is if you are creating a ton of
small objects.  I made my function plotters up to 72% faster by
reusing points while scaling (I implemented x:y: in Point to avoid
creating new instances - Behavior>>new *takes time*!!!).

AG> 2. The run-times are _EXTREMELY_ variable. said 15 second method 
AG> sometimes takes as long as 5 _MINUTES_.

Hmmmmmmmmmm garbage collect?

Andres.