Performance matters! Whenever we do a user survey, performance gets the most votes as the single most important point to improve db4o.
As a first step for our 2008 performance initiative ( probably going to be dubbed "TenX" ) we have integrated continous performance testing into our build. We use the PolePosition benchmark to compare the latest TRUNK build against previous versions, to be able to see immediately where we get faster and where we don't.
The performance build runs continously and automatically puts the results online upon completion. Access is provided for you through the link to PpVersions.pdf, under "Results" on our PolePosition Wiki page. For your convenience here is a direct link to the current results.
We are continously extending PolePosition with own "circuits" - tasks that we consider important to benchmark. Last week Patrick and I recorded a Paircast (24MB) ( more news around "Paircasts" coming soon ) when we extended PolePosition with a run to measure the fix we did for #COR-1126 "Optimize constraint graph to remove ANDs between constraints if not needed".
This is a very nice example to show how our new integrated performance tests make changes visible to everyone. If you go to page 30 in PpVersions.pdf the "queryTwoFieldAnd" lap in the "Indianapolis" circuit, you will see that our recent tuning session improved this specific usecase by 1000x.
Making speed measurable and visible will be key for further performance improvements. Stay tuned, there is a lot about to come around performance this year.