[Info-vax] READ and WRITE vs. SEARCH/OUTPUT

[Phillip Helbig---undress to reply]

Imagine a file x.x like

A
A
A
B
A
A
B
A
A
A
A
B

Would SEARCH x.x B /OUT=X.LIS be better than

$  OPEN/READ IN X.X
$  OPEN/WRITE OUT X.LIS
$LOOP:
$  READ/END=DONE IN REC
$  IF REC .EQS. "B" THEN WRITE OUT REC
$ GOTO LOOP
$DONE:
$  CLOSE IN
$  CLOSE OUT
$  EXIT

Some tests indicate that SEARCH is much faster.  Can one depend on this 
always being the case?