ml>> i have experianced almost the same type of thing... i
 ml>> wrote a program years ago to find what i call
 ml>> Pythagorean Triples... they are the A, B, and C in
 ml>> A^2+B^2=C^2... 3 4 5 being the first set... back then,
 ml>> it took many hours for those up to 100 to be found...
 ml>> on today's machines, that run is over in seconds...
 ml>> i've adjusted the program over the years and run it
 ml>> every once in a while just for fun and it still takes
 ml>> only seconds for it to find the triples up to the
 ml>> highest it can count in that language...

 JB> did you use the type "comp"  :)  (IIRC a 64 bit integer type)

hehe, that one didn't exist way back when i first wrote the program... i
might use it in a new(er) revision, though ;)

 JB> did you search or use a function that emits triples.

nothing other than three loops and the A^2+B^2=C^2 formula... that and
skipping the one already found... ie: 3,4,5 and 4,3,5 are the same...

)\/(ark