sub two_greps { my %hash; @hash{@a} = (1) x @a; my @union = (@a, grep { !$hash{$_} } @b); my @intersection = ( grep { $hash{$_} } @b); } __DATA__ Range (1,3) vs (3,9) Rate one_cfor one_for two_greps one_cfor 55648/s -- -18% -23% one_for 68027/s 22% -- -5% two_greps 71891/s 29% 6% -- Range (1,5) vs (3,8) Rate one_cfor one_for two_greps one_cfor 50378/s -- -13% -15% one_for 58140/s 15% -- -2% two_greps 59277/s 18% 2% --