Iterparse and ElementTree confusion

[Steve M]

"when i attempted [to load 150MB xml file] my PC goes to lala land,
theres much HDD grinding followed by "windows runnign low on virtual
memory" popup after 10-15mins. Then just more grinding...for an hour
before i gave up"

I have had great success using SAX to parse large XML files. If you use
care your memory use will peak at a low number no matter how much XML
you chew through.