If you are reading large chunks of data at once - and you should - then the same process happens, but it is hidden inside the memory manager. I, for one, used

If you are reading large chunks of data at once - and you should - then the same process happens, but it is hidden inside the memory manager. I, for one, used memory mapping in the past to significantly speed up code that operates on gigantic data sets. I guess that your mileage does vary.