i did another benchmark for fun tonite, parsing a small (12-line) XML file using Electric XML running on CLR (compiled using J#) versus the same file using the native microsoft XML parser MSXML. surprisingly enough, Electric XML was twice as fast in all of my simple tests, whether the parsers were called from J# or C#. the contents of the file was read just once into a string, and then the string was parsed 50,000 times to generate an accurate value. Electric XML parsed the string in 0.14 milliseconds, and MSXML parsed the string in 0.28 milliseconds. not a big deal, but an interesting result. Electric XML running on a JVM parses the same string in just 0.09 milliseconds. so EXML running on a JVM is three times faster than MSXML on a CLR, at least for small files. what about MSXML running on a JVM? hah, hah, trick question! ;-)

[graham glass' Radio Weblog]

This and some of Graham's other .NET hacking get some coverage over on Sam Ruby's blog, as well. Sam wonders how IK.VM.NET would compare.

If you haven't run across it, yet, IK.VM.NET is worth a look. It is a JVM for .NET. In the FAQ, its author answers "Why this project?" with the following:

First of all, it's a fun thing to work on. Second, it just seems obvious that something like this should exist. Third, I want to migrate some of my Java code to .NET and J# and JUMP just aren't good enough.

He is dead on wrt. the second reason, and kudos to him for taking on the work.

IK.VM.NET and Graham's notes are great sources of .NET insight for those coming from a Java perspective.
comment []  trackback []  10:30:29 PM    

QuickTime is poised to make headway as an audio and video delivery platform for mobile phones in Japan--with an endorsement by Japan's leading wireless carrier NTT DoCoMo. [CNET News.com]

This could be quite a coup for Apple and its QuickTime technology. It is rumored that in MacOS X 10.3, iChat will add voice- and video-conferencing functions. (See Mac OS Rumors - Sunday, December 8. [MOSR needs links to individual articles.]) The combination could be quite powerful.
comment []  trackback []  10:01:24 PM