Dreamcast Web Browser Performance Shoot-out!

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Please check the other forums in the Dreamcast section before posting here to see if your topic would fit better in those categories. Example: A new game/homebrew release would go in the New Releases/Homebrew/Emulation section: http://dreamcast-talk.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=5 or if you're having an issue with getting your Dreamcast to work or a game to boot it would go in the Support section: http://dreamcast-talk.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=42
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Nz17
St.Jimmy
Posts: 386
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Dreamcast Web Browser Performance Shoot-out!

Post#1 » Thu Mar 22, 2018 1:57 am

Instructions:
  1. Go to http://nz17.com/s/dc01 with your Dreamcast using the Web browser(s) of your choice. This will automatically redirect to http://www.nz17.com/interactive/dreamca ... ls/01.html so you don't have to type such a long URL.
  2. The JavaScript will automatically run and the page might appear to be "frozen" for a few seconds while the page counts from 1 to 10,000.
  3. Report back here with the trial's time from that Web page and the name & version of the Dreamcast Web browser which you used. If you only get a blank page by going there, then report that too.
The idea is to compile a set of data about the JavaScript performance of the various Dreamcast Web browsers. This way, any potential DC Web developers will know which browsers are the strongest and the weakest in this arena!

Data Set (Browser | user agent | time in milliseconds to count from 1 to 10,000)
  1. DreamKey 3 | Mozilla/3.0 (DreamKey/2.0) | 21000
  2. Planetweb Web Browser 2.0 (NTSC-U) | Mozilla/3.0 (Planetweb/2.100; Dreamcast US) | 52000
  3. Planetweb Internet Browser v3.0 | Mozilla/3.0 (Planetweb/3.0d; Dreamcast US) | 56000
  4. XDP Dreams Limited Edition r4 (original) | Mozilla/3.0 (DreamPassport/3.15) | 21280
Last edited by Nz17 on Fri Mar 23, 2018 9:42 pm, edited 5 times in total.

BloodBrother
core
Posts: 121

Re: Dreamcast Web Browser Performance Shoot-out!

Post#2 » Thu Mar 22, 2018 2:48 am

dude i promise to help you with this as soon as i get my dc online... ill have the funds for dreampi soon, and would really really love to buy one t-t-t-today jr, but unfortunately life comes before my hobbies ;'(
THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT IS A LIE.

If you want it, come and take it from me. If you think you can, you still dont know me.

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Nz17
St.Jimmy
Posts: 386
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Re: Dreamcast Web Browser Performance Shoot-out!

Post#3 » Thu Mar 22, 2018 5:44 am

Don't worry, keep ahold of your dream, and I'm sure you'll be online some day soon!

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dreamcast-news
Prince of Persia
Posts: 344

Re: Dreamcast Web Browser Performance Shoot-out!

Post#4 » Thu Mar 22, 2018 3:57 pm

Hi,
Tested with :
- XDP Dreams Limited Edition r4 : can't push "Start Trial" button, the page doesn't freeze
- Dreamkey3 : can't push "Start Trial" button, the page doesn't freeze
- Plant Web Internet Browser v3.0 : can't push "Start Trial" button, the page doesn't freeze
Image
- Dev - Hacks - Homebrews - Games - Demos -

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thecodygriffin
undertow
Posts: 31

Re: Dreamcast Web Browser Performance Shoot-out!

Post#5 » Thu Mar 22, 2018 7:32 pm

Using Web Browser 2.0 (NTSC-U), I cannot start the trial as the “Start Trial” button is rendered as a unselectable “Start Trial” text.

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itsthinkingstill
Vagabond
Posts: 787

Re: Dreamcast Web Browser Performance Shoot-out!

Post#6 » Thu Mar 22, 2018 11:31 pm

Wish i could test ver 1.0 but i dont want to break the Seal :D will give some of the browsers in the dc magazines demo disks a try

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HuntrRose
Vagabond
Posts: 727

Re: Dreamcast Web Browser Performance Shoot-out!

Post#7 » Thu Mar 22, 2018 11:45 pm

lol whats it worth sealed.. 2.50?

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Nz17
St.Jimmy
Posts: 386
Contact:

Re: Dreamcast Web Browser Performance Shoot-out!

Post#8 » Fri Mar 23, 2018 3:25 am

Hi again! This is the developer writing.

I've upgraded the page and now it should (hopefully) work with the DC Web browsers. Even though I was trying to use old enough syntax in my code, I was still using too new standards of JavaScript and HTML code for the DC browsers to handle. It's now 1998-era JavaScript 1.1 and HTML 3.2, so hopefully all will work now.

Some changes: The URL is shorter, there is no longer any requirement to click the "Start Trial" button, and the counter only goes from one to ten thousand instead of ten billion. The old browsers, PC ones included, just don't have fast enough JavaScript engines to handle such a high numeric count in a timely manner!

By the way, you can also use the Web browsers included with most of the Japanese games, including the European and North American releases of some of them, such as ChuChu Rocket!. Here is a partial list of games which include them, and here are some shortcuts for using them.

So please go to http://nz17.com/s/dc01 with your Dreamcast browsers and report the results!

Thank you! :-)

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dreamcast-news
Prince of Persia
Posts: 344

Re: Dreamcast Web Browser Performance Shoot-out!

Post#9 » Fri Mar 23, 2018 1:49 pm

Hi,
Tested with :

- XDP Dreams Limited Edition r4 : (original)
Image


- Dreamkey3 :
Image


- Plant Web Internet Browser v3.0 :
Image
Image
- Dev - Hacks - Homebrews - Games - Demos -

User avatar
Nz17
St.Jimmy
Posts: 386
Contact:

Re: Dreamcast Web Browser Performance Shoot-out!

Post#10 » Fri Mar 23, 2018 6:01 pm

Thanks, dreamcast-news. Now we've got our first data points. Thank you for having the patience to wait on those trials. Each trial took a lot of time by modern standards. And this confirms what I've suspected for years: Planetweb is much slower than Dreamkey! And with those trials' times, It's no wonder people used Macromedia Flash more than JavaScript for Dreamcast games back then!

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