Robert A. Wlodarczyk's Blog (MSFT) : .NET - Web Services

Developers 37 times!!!

RWlodarczyk — Sat, 13 Sep 2003 07:23:00 GMT

Don Box points to this very funny PDC spoof video. Go check it out.

WS's and Longhorn

RWlodarczyk — Mon, 08 Sep 2003 05:41:00 GMT

Charles Cooper of CNET has an interesting take on Longhorn and Web Services.

Ok, so he says that big companies aren't abandoning ship on J2EE just because Ballmer says .NET is better... But in fact, if you look at the toolset provided by VS.net, developing Web Services with .NET is far easier than anything in the Java world. I suppose that Java developers don't realize that. Also, Charles says that everything that Java has Microsoft's gradually reinvented... I personally wouldn't say that that is accurate. Ok, from the naive look you can say that .NET and Java “are the same”, but fundamentally they aren't. Performance wise .NET is better. GC is handled differently in .NET than in Java. Creating Windows (or windowed) applications is different (ie: they actually look like real MFC Windows Applications, unlike Swing). .NET has this ubiquoty about it, where even if you look at mobile devices, you can create applications on a Toshiba Pocket PC and not have to worry whether it will run on an iPaq. This is simply not the case with J2ME. I won't even get started about development for .NET on the SmartPhone compared to development of applications for Java cell phones.

In terms of Web Services, show me another platform (eh em, Java) where you have fantstic things like the Web Services Enhancement SDK (that is for .NET!) (v2 TP, v1). This SDK implements not-yet-standards or some proof-of-concept things. Show me something like this for Java developers. Ok, ok, IBM has something supporting some of the things in WSE, but not as innovative or “risk-ey“ as WSE. As Don Box pointed out a while ago, WSE is for the Web Service enthusiasts out there. There is simply nothing like this for Java.

So simply put, yes .NET is better. Looking into the future, the future looks very bright for .NET support. Look for more insanely awesome stuff to come. If you're going to the PDC, you'll love it. For those who aren't going, I'm sure plenty of bloggers will be blogging about the insanely awesome stuff.

.NET 18K Checkup

RWlodarczyk — Mon, 18 Aug 2003 04:23:00 GMT

Software Development Times has a check-up article about .NET.

(re)Look at TMC Performance Data

RWlodarczyk — Thu, 31 Jul 2003 05:54:00 GMT

Christophe points out that TMC re-released its famed report on J2EE vs .NET performance. So, after months and months of re-engineering and getting the “blessing” of the Java community (after a review of what they were doing, massive reconfigurations on their part, etc), .NET still ends up beating or (at worst) matching the performance of Java solutions. There's a few interesting points here:

Test 1: Web Application Throughput with Oracle 9i:

.NET (peak throughput of web pages/sec) : 1586.54
J2EE-EJB-CMP (peak throughput of web pages/sec) : 1585.74 (for app server X)
J2EE-SERVLET-JSP (peak throughput of web pages/sec) : 1094.00 (for app server X)
(I don't even [re]mention app server Y since the results are, well, pitiful.)

Test 2: Web Application Throughput with SQL Server 2000:

.NET (peak throughput of web pages/sec) : 1773.14
J2EE-EJB-CMP (peak throughput of web pages/sec) : 1578.20 (for app server X)
J2EE-SERVLET-JSP (peak throughput of web pages/sec) : 1003.81 (for app server X)
(I don't even [re]mention app server Y since the results are, well, pitiful.)

Test 3: Web Services Throughput:

.NET & Oracle (peak throughput of web service requests/sec) : 832
.NET & SQL Server 2000 (peak throughput of web service requests/sec) : 1245
J2EE-EJB-CMP (peak throughput of web service requests/sec) : 312 (for app server X)
J2EE-SERVLET-JSP (peak throughput of web service requests/sec) : 359 (for app server X)
(I don't even [re]mention app server Y since the results are, well, pitiful.)

So, from these results, we can learn a few things:

After 9 months+ since the previous TMC Performance Benchmark, the Java folks have had time to bitch and complain, tune, re-tune, re-re-tune, and they reach performance similar to that of .NET (only in the Web Application market). So, lesson here: if you want speed of deployment and great performance, .NET is the wiser choice. Less time to market. Period.
Still after 9 months+ time, neither app server X or Y are able to compete with .NET. .NET wins hands down. They aren't even close. Period. Even when .NET is used with Oracle for Web Services, it still beats Java solutions. So, I think the myth of Java-based Web Services is shown clearly here... it's still a myth.

I know this will probably start a something close to a war, but seriously, the Java Community had their chance this time around to tweak, complain, or what-have-you, and still .NET comes out on tops when it comes to Web Services... and in the Web Application market, .NET is still a faster means to market.

My article in Hardcore Web Services Magazine

RWlodarczyk — Thu, 24 Jul 2003 22:43:00 GMT

My article on my Photo Album XML Web Service has been published in August's issue of Hardcore Web Services Magazine. If you're a subscriber, here it is.

Thank you to all!

RWlodarczyk — Sun, 20 Jul 2003 05:43:00 GMT

I just wanted to thank everyone for their comments on my previous entry. I just got back from a few days away from computers, email, the Internet, and all of the fun stuff. I spent a few days in Cannon Beach, OR... It's an amazing beach, esp. for those of us who are used to beaches on Fire Island, NY. Seems to me as if this is the beach that was used in the movie "The Goonies" from 1985 (one of my favorite childhood movies). It's a highly recommended visit in the summer if you like the whole beach thing. Great beach for taking long walks on or riding a bicycle on, but be prepared to bring a wind breaker with you.

In any case, this isn't new news, but since I was away, it's fairly new to me. I've posted in the past about my excitment for WSE 2.0... the technology preview is out!! YAY!

WSE 2.0 Rocks!

RWlodarczyk — Fri, 11 Jul 2003 03:27:00 GMT

In the midst of Keith Ballinger's talk on WSE 2.0. Good stuff!! Can't wait for it to come out. Two new namespaces (maybe more):

- Microsoft.Web.Services.Addressing
- Microsoft.Web.Services.Messaging

Changing CPUs != Getting Laid

RWlodarczyk — Thu, 10 Jul 2003 23:29:00 GMT

Great talk! Don Box mentions in his talk that "people who get laid don't change CPUs in their PCs"...

But besides this witty comment, Don's talk was great. He overviewed lessons learned from past and current technologies. He compares how objects revolutioned programming to how integrated circuits revolutionized electronics. Further he goes onto say how service-based architecture will/is changing the world of coding today to how today most people prefer to go buy a new device instead of upgrading existing devices (when was the last time you installed a PCI card in your computer?). He makes an excellent point.

Day 1 of 2 @ Applied XML Developer's Conference

RWlodarczyk — Thu, 10 Jul 2003 18:26:00 GMT

After a long flight because of delays out of New York, I got to Portland, OR really late last night. Today's the first day of the Applied XML Developer's Conference. I'll be giving the lunch demo today on my Photo Album XML Web Service which was my winning entry from the US Imagine Cup Finals.

Looking forward to all the tlaks today and tomorrow. I'm interested in seeing what Don Box's "Secret Topic" is. I'm also looking forward to meeting some of you that may be attending the conference over the next two days.

photoAlbum RSS Module 1.0

RWlodarczyk — Wed, 18 Jun 2003 01:22:00 GMT

I just finished writing and implementing the specification and namespace definition for my photoAlbum RSS Module. This now adds RSS support for my Photo Album Web Service, so if the service is on a live website, you can actually subscribe to the Photo Album and get all the latest changes from there. Suggestions on this specificiation are greatly appreciated so that by the time I release the next version I'll be able to make those modifications.

The long awaited Imagine Cup Press Release!

RWlodarczyk — Wed, 11 Jun 2003 03:04:00 GMT

As Julia points out, I had a difficult time telling people that I had won the Imagine Cup since there was little to no references of it. Finally there is a Press Release announced today!

UPDATE #1: Here's another link to the same press release at the Microsoft website.

UPDATE #2: Here's yet another link to the same press release at NeoWin.

Some more information about Imagine Cup

RWlodarczyk — Tue, 10 Jun 2003 07:51:00 GMT

There is finally an official website up for the Image Cup Competition: http://www.imaginecup.com/default.htm If you click on "The Line Up", and then click the star that's next to New York, you'll hit a profile of me...

More on RSS.NET

RWlodarczyk — Sat, 31 May 2003 23:13:00 GMT

I'd like to thank George Tsiokos for adding me to the SourceForge project for the RSS.NET implementation. I'll be adding some new features to RSS.NET in the upcoming days, so I'll be writing about those soon too.

Personally, I hope that this implementation becomes one of the definitive implementations for reading and writing RSS within .NET apps.

Applied XML Conference

RWlodarczyk — Mon, 19 May 2003 22:43:00 GMT

Coming soon to a theather near [only a flight away from] you... the Applied XML Conference, July 10-11, 2003.

"Not only were there 4x the number of sessions submitted that could be accepted, but the quality bar was so high that it was almost impossible to narrow them down. The good news for attendees is that the ones we picked are going to rock.
The seating for Applied XML is limited and all previous DevCons have sold out, so you may want to grab your seat now. And once you’ve done that, please spread the word! The more XML and web services zealots in one place, the better!" Chris Sells, Friday, May 16, 2003

Indeed! This conference will rock! I'm really looking forward to these two days in Portland.

As Julia has pointed out, I will be speaking and giving a demo during the lunch about my PhotoScribe application and XML Web Service. Right now I'm in the midst of preparing it for the International Imagine Cup Competition in Barcelona in about a month from now. I'm adding some nice new features to it (which I'm keeping quiet about until the days of the competition). It'll definitely be cool to show this off at the Applied XML conference and more importantly to get feedback from all who attend.

More info on the International Imagine Cup...

RWlodarczyk — Mon, 05 May 2003 07:07:00 GMT

So today I found out that for the International Competition we are allowed to make updates as per the judges remarks that they made after the judging was over. I think this is really great. Many of the things that the judges suggested to me I was planning on adding. As it stands right now, I'll probably spend some of my time starting this coming weekend on this. Unfortunately, though, I have the Ph.D. Qualifier exams coming up right after Memorial Day weekend (May 28, 30, June 2; all 3 days required). This is sort of a "do-or-die" type exam which determines whether I can continue as a Ph.D. candidate (well, we get 2 chances at this exam). In any case, having them right AFTER Memorial Day doesn't really help much. I'll be writing more about some of the updates to the PhotoAlbumWS soon too. Also, I've decided to sell "Version 1.0" of the application as it stands now (well, with some minimal updates). So look for the official announcment soon...