storing large amounts of data in a list/dictionary

[flamesrock]

Hi,

Basically, what I'm trying to do is store large amounts of data in a
list or dictionary and then convert that to a custom formatted xml
file.

My list looks roughly like this:
(d[],r[c[d[p[],p[R,C,I]]]])

My question is, would it be faster to use a dictionary if the elements
of the lists have to be put in alphebetical order, or just use lists as
above(since hashes are faster supposedly)?

{d;d[],r;name[{d;d[{p;p[]}],c;name[{d;d[{p;p[]}]}]}]}

Please consider the amount of code necessary to create/decode this

(and sorry if this doesn't make any sense..)

-thanks