openFile and threads

[Peter Thiemann]

Hi Simon,
>
> If the openFile isn't on the critical path, then it can help to do it in
> another thread, but only if the openFile is blocking (not usually the
> case if you're opening a normal file).

Actually, we tried that using mergeIO, but there was no real improvement.
>
> You might consider bypassing the Handle interface and going to the bare
> metal using the Posix library, which will cut down on the overhead in
> openFile.

That's what I was fearing. Is the conversion from Haskell Strings to
C strings a performance problem?
>
> The best solution is to avoid the open altogether if possible (eg. with
> caching), but I don't know about your particular application so this
> might not be a possibility.

No, that's not possible. The program reads every file at most once and then
terminates. Although one might contemplate writing a separate server that
keeps all the information in memory and refreshes it regularly.

Thanks
-Peter