CharBuffer vs. char[]

No, there's really no reason to prefer a CharBuffer in this case.

In general, though, CharBuffer (and ByteBuffer) can really simplify APIs and encourage correct processing. If you were designing a public API, it's definitely worth considering a buffer-oriented API.

I wanted to mini-benchmark this comparison.

Below is the class I have written.

The thing is I can't believe that the CharBuffer performed so badly. What have I got wrong?

EDIT: Since the 11th comment below I have edited the code and the output time, better performance all round but still a significant difference in times. I also tried out2.append((CharBuffer)buff.flip()) option mentioned in the comments but it was much slower than the write option used in the code below.

Results: (time in ms)
char[] : 3411
CharBuffer: 5653

public class CharBufferScratchBox
{
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception
    {
        // Some Setup Stuff
        String smallString =
                "1111111111222222222233333333334444444444555555555566666666667777777777888888888899999999990000000000";

        StringBuilder stringBuilder = new StringBuilder();
        for (int i = 0; i < 1000; i++)
        {
            stringBuilder.append(smallString);
        }
        String string = stringBuilder.toString();
        int DEFAULT_BUFFER_SIZE = 1000;
        int ITTERATIONS = 10000;

        // char[]
        StringReader in1 = null;
        StringWriter out1 = null;
        Date start = new Date();
        for (int i = 0; i < ITTERATIONS; i++)
        {
            in1 = new StringReader(string);
            out1 = new StringWriter(string.length());

            char[] buf = new char[DEFAULT_BUFFER_SIZE];
            int n;
            while ((n = in1.read(buf)) >= 0)
            {
                out1.write(
                        buf,
                        0,
                        n);
            }
        }
        Date done = new Date();
        System.out.println("char[]    : " + (done.getTime() - start.getTime()));

        // CharBuffer
        StringReader in2 = null;
        StringWriter out2 = null;
        start = new Date();
        CharBuffer buff = CharBuffer.allocate(DEFAULT_BUFFER_SIZE);
        for (int i = 0; i < ITTERATIONS; i++)
        {
            in2 = new StringReader(string);
            out2 = new StringWriter(string.length());
            int n;
            while ((n = in2.read(buff)) >= 0)
            {
                out2.write(
                        buff.array(),
                        0,
                        n);
                buff.clear();
            }
        }
        done = new Date();
        System.out.println("CharBuffer: " + (done.getTime() - start.getTime()));
    }
}

If this is the only thing you're doing with the buffer, then the array is probably the better choice in this instance.

CharBuffer has lots of extra chrome on it, but none of it is relevant in this case - and will only slow things down a fraction.

You can always refactor later if you need to make things more complicated.