[NTLUG:Discuss] OT Perl vs C question

[Fred James]

All
I have a multi part data to report processing project
(1) get some data (flat files produced by SQL queries)
(2) process the data (dump it all into array(s), consolidating and 
totaling on the fly)
(3) produce reports (back through the array(s), a few final 
calculations, formatting, and output formated report(s))

I am considering Perl because it seems to have the nice feature of 
unlimited arrays without declaring them and allocating space (is that true?)

So, my question:  In a moderate volume data processing project, say 
reading 7 flat files of 3 to 7 fields each, and > 500,000 records each, 
and doing something like steps 2 and 3 (above), how does Perl compare to 
C in terms of speed?

Thank you in advance for any help you may be able to offer
Regards
Fred James

-- 
Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us.  "Om Mani Padme Hum"