Minimum speed for mysql

[fugue]

Hello-

We are trying to use mysql in some very high speed
applications. To get an Idea of how fast it could run, we did a test
query on a table with one row only (and also a zero row table if that
matters). The query was a simple "select * from table". The number
that came back was 300-400 microseconds. A similar test directly to
memory came back in the nanosecond range (we did not do any locking,
etc, it was just a simple insert or get of an element in a one row
array).

If this number is true, it is too slow for us. I am confused
though about why MySQL is so slow. We have also tested using an
embedded version of mysql, and the time did not improve. We also made
the table a heap table, and put it in memory, but the time still was
the same. It seems like this is a lower limit to the time.

If mysql is not sufficient for these speeds, could someone
suggest another database or library that would work? We will have to
read and write from different processes, so it must have locking.
Shared memory is not a great solution because we are worried that if
we write our locking by hand, the code will be buggy and freeze up.

Thank you
-Fugue Privy