Recently there was a link on simdjson, a C++ parser for JSON which aims to be record fast. It uses vector instructions of modern processes, but if you'll watch

Recently there was a link on simdjson, a C++ parser for JSON which aims to be record fast. It uses vector instructions of modern processes, but if you'll watch the video presentation, Daniel Lemire will also explain how they handle finding string boundaries - with all those escapes needed - without branching, purely logical operations. Could be a good example for how APL approaches things.