Data/File Structure and Algorithm for Retrieving Sorted Data Chunk Efficiently

[Paul Rubin]

janeaustine50 at hotmail.com (Jane Austine) writes:
> Another problem is, the list update action could take a long time and
> big memory. The list could shrink and expand. Do I have to sort them
> all in memory and then update the textfile _everytime_ it's changed?

I don't understand this thread.  If you're trying to implement a real
system, why don't you use MySQL?  You're at nowhere near the traffic
level where that approach runs out of gas.