Tried the patch (thanks, Tim!) - but I guess the things I'm running aren't too sensitive to dict speed <grin>. I see a slight speed-up, around 1-2%... Nice, elegant patch that should go places! Maybe the bio-informatics people on c.l.py (Andrew Dalke?) would be interested in trying it out?

-- Mark Favas - m.favas@per.dem.csiro.au CSIRO, Private Bag No 5, Wembley, Western Australia 6913, AUSTRALIA