So?
In the kinds of problem spaces that scripting languages are usually used for, wasting memory like that is just fine. When you get to a problem where the simple wasteful approach doesn't work, then you start to worry about it.
Though I admit that the better scripting languages have been moving for a while towards making it possible to replace basic data structures with real iterators. (With varying levels of ease.)
Cheers,
Ben
"good ideas and bad code build communities, the other three combinations do not"
- [link|http://archives.real-time.com/pipermail/cocoon-devel/2000-October/003023.html|Stefano Mazzocchi]