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  • $\begingroup$ @Szabolcs I did benchmark that before posting - Import was 3 times faster. As I said, you are mixing two questions: essential question on loading data fast and cross-platform, with a question of using Import - Export, which in this case is IMO more like syntactic sugar (because your format does not have any complex structure). I was mostly answering the Import/Export part, and did not intend to fully answer the loading / saving part (for reasons I outlined). Will look into automatic file extension resolution. Feel free to edit and add benchmarks and whatever else you'd like. $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 3, 2012 at 13:44
  • $\begingroup$ Yes, you are right, the question was not well formulated. Now it feels like I should not have asked, epsecially since the tutorials in the documentation are good enough. $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 3, 2012 at 13:49
  • $\begingroup$ @Szabolcs I think the part regarding the fast cross-platform load/save is a good and valid question - I just think that we'd be better off addressing the more general one by extending the framework I posted. As to the Import/Export, some simple but composite format like some custom tabular data would probably be better, but then there is an example like that in the docs, as you said. $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 3, 2012 at 14:05
  • $\begingroup$ @Szabolcs I actually think this was a useful experiment, and now I think that the answer to that question of Mr.Wizard is: ask a question in two cases - either when you do know the answer really well, but think that the question and answers would benefit the community, or when you don't, and need it for yourself. Both cases are fine because the asker has put in a lot of thought in either case. Mixing them is not since then this may not be the case. I will post a version of this on meta as another answer, to add to yours. $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 3, 2012 at 14:10
  • $\begingroup$ I'll clean up the mess later, perhaps European-tonight ... got to finish some work today $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 3, 2012 at 14:35