…or you can import it into SQLite and query that.

Is the file ordered by timestamp? If it is, you can perform binary search using :file.pread

Well, perhaps I should put more emphasis Something in “Something like:”
I am sure if you will take a closer look, you will find more issues - it’s just an idea.
That being said, I don’t think what you wrote is correct. If timestamp is at the end of file, none of the processes will exit because of the condition you described.

EDIT: To clarify - in what I described, search is going forward. If timestamp you are looking for is lower than first timestamp you encounter during the search, it means this particular process can’t find it. But other can.

If timestamp you are looking for is lower than first timestamp you encounter during the search, it means this particular process can’t find it

And if the timestamp you’re looking is higher than the first timestamp of the next segment, current process can exit straight away.

So, N-1 processes will exit straight away in the algorithm you’re describing.

I think what you actually want to implement is some kind of binary (or N-ary) search. The idea is close to divide and conquer, but they’re not the same

Ahh, that’s what you mean. Cool idea actually, what we are missing here, is processes having common state or talking to each another.

Yes, in that sense it could be very interesting optimization, I agree.