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Scout · Guest

After reading posts about native Win32 vs .Net code performance, I
feel compelled to rant...

Recently, a very large Delphi application that I have written was
given a test to confirm that it would perform adequately under the
expected load and provide accepatble response times.

My app was also compared with the app it replaces.

I took no part in the test. I didn't even know that it had been
conducted until the inevitable comparison of statistics started.

My app was built with BDS2006 using the Delphi personality.

The conclusions reached were somewhat interesting:

#1: My app's performance was acceptable with the hardware in use and
the expected load.

#2: My app used more processor resource than the app that it was
designed to replace, but responded more quickly.

#3: My app used less memory than the app it was designed to replace.

#4: My app generated less network traffic than the app it was
designed to replace.

Eventually I was asked to explain why my app was so processor hungry.

Given that the various resources in use are scarce, I came up with
this:

The network is a slow shared resource so my app makes as little use of
it as possible.

Disk memory is very slow compared with RAM, so I use RAM instead of
disk wherever posssible.

By eliminating (or minimizing) the bottlenecks that can make the
processor wait on I/O, my app uses the maximum amount of processor power
available for a very small period of time, so it makes sense that it is
processor hungry.

By assembling a job in such a way that it becomes processor-bound for
a brief instant, the job is handled more efficiently, and ultimately
uses less processor resource than the alternatives.

Since I'm using the native Delphi Win32 compiler, there's a good
chance that the processor can just churn through i86 instructions and
produce a result within the brief period that I am hogging it.

My app does no tricks with thread priority. There are no strange
optimizations. All it does is take a user request and turn that into
something that can be submitted to a server in such a way that the
server can just get on with its job.

Imagine how short the lines would be at the DMV if everyone turned up
with the correct documentation. That's all my app tries to do.
Currently my app wins over its alternatives by NOT having to deal with
Patti and Selma Bouvier.

Scout

Scout · Guest

In article <vyys47iz287y$.dlg (AT) dlg (DOT) marcrohloff.com>, "Marc Rohloff
[TeamB]" <"on request"> says...

Scout · Guest

In article <449f2073$1 (AT) newsgroups (DOT) borland.com>, bwatters (AT) geometrix (DOT) bc.ca
says...