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Blackberry PIM why is contact creation so slow?


The following code, which i took from the blackberry forum, takes almost 26 minutes to create 2000 random contacts using the BB PIM API on an 8500 series set. Does anyone have any idea why it takes so long or how to improve the performance of contact creation in the address book?

public static void testContactCreation() {
    ContactList contacts = null;
    try {
      contacts = (ContactList) PIM.getInstance().openPIMList(PIM.CONTACT_LIST, PIM.READ_WRITE);
    } catch (PIMException e) {
      // An error occurred
      return;
    }

    String arrSzCities[] = {"Birmingham", "Walsall", "Wolverhampton", "Banbury", "Bromsgrove", "Lichfield", "Balsall Heath",
        "West Bromich", "Smethwick", "Scott Arms", "Perry Barr", "Small Heath", "Acocks Green", "Great Barr",
        "Harborne", "Selly Oak", "Newtown", "Hockley", "Nuneaton", "Stafford", "Stoke", "Sandwell", "Brierly Hill",
        "Longbridge", "Sutton Coldfield", "Tamworth", "Coventry", "Rugby", "Hall Green", "Olton", "Dorridge",
        "Lapworth", "Shirley", "Wythall", "Warwick", "Dudley", "Barnt Green", "Tile Hill", "Berkswell", "Canley",
        "Yardley", "Yardley Wood", "Bordesley Green", "Cosely", "Four Oaks", "Erdington", "Aston", "Duddington"};

    String arrSzCountries[] = {"England", "Wales", "Scotland", "Northern Ireland", "Eire", "Spain", "France", "Italy",
        "Monaco", "Switzerland", "Austria", "Germany", "Lapland", "Estonia", "Hungary", "Slovakia", "Slovenia",
        "Czech Republic", "Latvia", "Holland", "Belgium", "Luxembourg", "Iceland", "Finland", "Denmark", "Norway"};

    String arrSzFamilyNames[] = {"SMITH", "JOHNSON", "WILLIAMS", "BROWN", "JONES", "MILLER", "DAVIS", "GARCIA", "RODRIGUEZ",
        "WILSON", "MARTINEZ", "ANDERSON", "TAYLOR", "THOMAS", "HERNANDEZ", "MOORE", "MARTIN", "JACKSON", "THOMPSON",
        "WHITE", "LOPEZ", "LEE", "GONZALEZ", "HARRIS", "CLARK", "LEWIS", "ROBINSON", "WALKER", "PEREZ", "HALL", "YOUNG",
        "ALLEN", "SANCHEZ", "WRIGHT", "KING", "SCOTT", "GREEN", "BAKER", "ADAMS", "NELSON", "HILL", "RAMIREZ", "CAMPBELL",
        "MITCHELL", "ROBERTS", "CARTER", "PHILLIPS", "EVANS", "TURNER", "TORRES", "PARKER", "COLLINS", "EDWARDS", "STEWART",
        "FLORES", "MORRIS", "NGUYEN", "MURPHY", "RIVERA", "COOK", "ROGERS", "MORGAN", "PETERSON", "COOPER", "REED",
        "BAILEY", "BELL", "GOMEZ", "KELLY", "HOWARD", "WARD", "COX", "DIAZ", "RICHARDSON", "WOOD", "WATSON", "BROOKS",
        "BENNETT", "GRAY", "JAMES", "REYES", "CRUZ", "HUGHES", "PRICE", "MYERS", "LONG", "FOSTER", "SANDERS", "ROSS",
        "MORALES", "POWELL", "SULLIVAN", "RUSSELL", "ORTIZ", "JENKINS", "GUTIERREZ", "PERRY", "BUTLER", "BARNES", "FISHER",
        "HENDERSON", "COLEMAN", "SIMMONS", "PATTERSON", "JORDAN", "REYNOLDS", "HAMILTON", "GRAHAM", "KIM", "GONZALES",
        "ALEXANDER", "RAMOS", "WALLACE", "GRIFFIN", "WEST",
        "COLE", "HAYES", "CHAVEZ", "GIBSON", "BRYANT", "ELLIS", "STEVENS", "MURRAY", "FORD", "MARSHALL", "OWENS",
        "MCDONALD", "HARRISON", "RUIZ", "KENNEDY", "WELLS", "ALVAREZ", "WOODS", "MENDOZA", "CASTILLO", "OLSON",
        "WEBB", "WASHINGTON", "TUCKER", "FREEMAN", "BURNS", "HENRY", "VASQUEZ", "SNYDER", "SIMPSON", "CRAWFORD", "JIMENEZ",
        "PORTER", "MASON", "SHAW", "GORDON", "WAGNER", "HUNTER", "ROMERO", "HICKS", "DIXON", "HUNT", "PALMER", "ROBERTSON",
        "BLACK", "HOLMES", "STONE", "MEYER", "BOYD", "MILLS", "WARREN", "FOX", "ROSE", "RICE", "MORENO", "SCHMIDT", "PATEL",
        "FERGUSON", "NICHOLS", "HERRERA", "MEDINA", "RYAN", "FERNANDEZ", "WEAVER", "DANIELS", "STEPHENS", "GARDNER", "PAYNE",
        "KELLEY", "DUNN", "PIERCE", "ARNOLD", "TRAN", "SPENCER", "PETERS", "HAWKINS", "GRANT", "HANSEN", "CASTRO", "HOFFMAN",
        "HART", "ELLIOTT", "CUNNINGHAM", "KNIGHT"};

    String arrSzFirstNames[] = {"MARY", "PATRICIA", "LINDA", "BARBARA", "ELIZABETH", "JENNIFER", "MARIA", "SUSAN", "MARGARET",
        "DOROTHY", "LISA", "NANCY", "KAREN", "BETTY", "HELEN", "SANDRA", "DONNA", "CAROL", "RUTH", "SHARON", "MICHELLE",
        "LAURA", "SARAH", "KIMBERLY", "DEBORAH", "JESSICA", "SHIRLEY", "CYNTHIA", "ANGELA", "MELISSA", "BRENDA", "AMY",
        "ANNA", "REBECCA", "VIRGINIA", "KATHLEEN", "PAMELA", "MARTHA", "DEBRA", "AMANDA", "STEPHANIE", "CAROLYN", "CHRISTINE",
        "MARIE", "JANET", "CATHERINE", "FRANCES", "ANN", "JOYCE", "DIANE", "ALICE", "JULIE", "HEATHER", "TERESA", "DORIS",
        "GLORIA", "EVELYN", "JEAN", "CHERYL", "MILDRED", "GERALD", "KEITH", "SAMUEL",
        "JAMES", "JOHN", "ROBERT", "MICHAEL", "WILLIAM", "DAVID", "RICHARD", "CHARLES", "JOSEPH", "THOMAS", "CHRISTOPHER",
        "DANIEL", "PAUL", "MARK", "DONALD", "GEORGE", "KENNETH", "STEVEN", "EDWARD", "BRIAN", "RONALD", "ANTHONY",
        "KEVIN", "JASON", "MATTHEW", "GARY", "TIMOTHY", "JOSE", "LARRY", "JEFFREY", "FRANK", "SCOTT", "ERIC", "STEPHEN",
        "ANDREW", "RAYMOND", "GREGORY", "JOSHUA", "JERRY", "DENNIS", "WALTER", "PATRICK", "PETER", "HAROLD", "DOUGLAS",
        "HENRY", "CARL", "ARTHUR", "RYAN", "ROGER", "JOE", "JUAN", "JACK", "ALBERT", "JONATHAN", "JUSTIN", "TERRY"};

    String arrSzEmailProviders[] = {"google", "yahoo", "wanadoo", "freemail", "aol", "yellowmellow", "redmail", "bt", "tiscali",
        "naims", "bulldog", "demon", "virgin", "sky", "orange", "vodaphone", "o2", "three", "britishgas", "npower",
        "britishtelecom", "royalmail", "parcelforce", "dhl", "usps", "ford", "rover", "fiat", "seat", "volvo", "bmw",
        "landrover", "jaguar", "warburtons", "kingsmill", "hovis", "walkers", "cadburys", "ironbru", "redbull", "jura"};

    String arrSzAlphas[] = {"A", "B", "C", "D", "E", "F", "G", "H", "I", "J", "K", "L", "M", "N", "O", "P", "Q", "R", "S", "T",
        "U", "V", "W", "X", "Y", "Z"};

    String arrSzStreetSuffixes[] = {"Road", "Street", "Crescent", "Close", "Way", "Mews", "Common", "Alley", "Common", "Grove",
        "Place", "Mill", "Manor", "Lane", "March", "Hill", "Park", "Passage", "Path", "Row", "Square", "Terrace", "View"};

    String arrSzStreetNames[] = {"High", "Station", "Main", "Park", "Church", "London", "Victoria", "Albert", "Green", "Manor",
        "Church", "Park", "Queens", "New", "Grange Road", "Kings Road", "North", "West", "South", "East", "Windsor",
        "Highfield", "Mill", "Alexander", "York", "St. John's", "Broad", "Springfield", "George", "Manchester", "Richmond",
        "School", "Stanley", "Chester", "Aghaloo", "Picadilly", "**bleep**", "Wooburn", "Crazies", "Valentia", "Luton", "Croydon",
        "Rookery", "Coronation", "Dawlish", "Tiverton", "Dartmouth", "Hubert", "Bristol", "Arley", "Grange", "Dale",
        "Serpentine", "Bournebrook", "University", "Holly", "Kitchener", "Millner", "Westminster", "Cherrington", "Gristhorpe",
        "Kensington", "Cartland", "Horatio", "Ethelbert", "Hornblower", "Hanky Panky", "Bewdley", "Acorn", "Berry", "Moor",
        "Brent", "Mungo Jerry", "Highbury", "Howell", "Tenbury", "Peacock", "Hartswell"};

    Random generator = new Random(1628434416);
    for (int i = 0; i < 2000; i++) {
      Contact contact = contacts.createContact();
      String[] addr = new String[contacts.stringArraySize(Contact.ADDR)];
      String[] szName = new String[contacts.stringArraySize(Contact.NAME)];

      // Family Name
      if (contacts.isSupportedArrayElement(Contact.NAME, Contact.NAME_FAMILY))
        szName[Contact.NAME_FAMILY] = arrSzFamilyNames[generator.nextInt(arrSzFamilyNames.length)];
      // First Name
      if (contacts.isSupportedArrayElement(Contact.NAME, Contact.NAME_GIVEN))
        szName[Contact.NAME_GIVEN] = arrSzFirstNames[generator.nextInt(arrSzFirstNames.length)];
      // Add name to contact
      contact.addStringArray(Contact.NAME, PIMItem.ATTR_NONE, szName);

      // Postcode (UK format)
      if (contacts.isSupportedArrayElement(Contact.ADDR, Contact.ADDR_POSTALCODE))
        addr[Contact.ADDR_POSTALCODE] =
            arrSzAlphas[generator.nextInt(arrSzAlphas.length)] + arrSzAlphas[generator.nextInt(arrSzAlphas.length)]
                + Integer.toString(generator.nextInt(99)) + Integer.toString(generator.nextInt(9)) + " "
                + arrSzAlphas[generator.nextInt(arrSzAlphas.length)] + arrSzAlphas[generator.nextInt(arrSzAlphas.length)];

      // Street and number
      if (contacts.isSupportedArrayElement(Contact.ADDR, Contact.ADDR_STREET))
        addr[Contact.ADDR_STREET] = Integer.toString(generator.nextInt(999)) + " "
            + arrSzStreetNames[generator.nextInt(arrSzStreetNames.length)]
            + " " + arrSzStreetSuffixes[generator.nextInt(arrSzStreetSuffixes.length)];

      // Locality
      if (contacts.isSupportedArrayElement(Contact.ADDR, Contact.ADDR_LOCALITY))
        addr[Contact.ADDR_LOCALITY] = arrSzCities[generator.nextInt(arrSzCities.length)];
      // Country
      if (contacts.isSupportedArrayElement(Contact.ADDR, Contact.ADDR_COUNTRY))
        addr[Contact.ADDR_COUNTRY] = arrSzCountries[generator.nextInt(arrSzCountries.length)];
      if (contacts.isSupportedField(Contact.ADDR))
        contact.addStringArray(Contact.ADDR, Contact.ATTR_HOME, addr);

      // Email address
      if (contacts.isSupportedField(Contact.EMAIL)) {
        contact.addString(Contact.EMAIL, Contact.ATTR_HOME | Contact.ATTR_PREFERRED, szName[Contact.NAME_GIVEN] + "." + szName[Contact.NAME_FAMILY] + "@" + arrSzEmailProviders[generator.nextInt(arrSzEmailProviders.length)] + ".com");
      }

      // Telephone numbers (work and home)
      String szTelHome = "";
      String szTelWork = "";
      for (int j = 0; j < 7; j++) {
        String szDigit = Integer.toString(generator.nextInt(9));
        szTelHome = szTelHome + szDigit;
        szTelWork = szDigit + szTelWork;
      }
      if (contacts.isSupportedField(Contact.TEL)) {
        contact.addString(Contact.TEL, Contact.ATTR_HOME, szTelHome);
      }
      if (contacts.isSupportedField(Contact.TEL)) {
        contact.addString(Contact.TEL, Contact.ATTR_WORK, szTelHome);
      }

      try {
        contact.commit();
      } catch (PIMException e) {
        // An error occured

      }
    }

    try {
      contacts.close();
    } catch (PIMException e) {
    }
  }

Solution

  • Hm.. 26 mins for 2000 contacts means 780 ms per one contact.

    1). Could you check the contact.commit(); is not the most time consuming call here? You could do this comparatively accurate with smth like this:

    long timeSpentOnCommits; // defined somewhere at a top level
    ...
    long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
    contact.commit();
    long taken = System.currentTimeMillis() - start;
    timeSpentOnCommits += taken;
    ...
    // then after the all contacts have been added you can get 
    // an average commit time:
    long timePerOneCommit = timeSpentOnCommits / 2000;
    // view the got value in a `Dialog` or some logging
    

    If it takes most of the time, then I don't think you can improve it.

    2). Another idea - in the 'for' loop you're creating too many String objects, so this forces the OS to call garbage collection too frequently (which is a time consuming thing).

    Use StringBuffer instead. So instead of the

    addr[Contact.ADDR_POSTALCODE] =
        arrSzAlphas[generator.nextInt(arrSzAlphas.length)]
        + arrSzAlphas[generator.nextInt(arrSzAlphas.length)]
        + Integer.toString(generator.nextInt(99)) 
        + Integer.toString(generator.nextInt(9)) 
        + " "
        + arrSzAlphas[generator.nextInt(arrSzAlphas.length)]
        + arrSzAlphas[generator.nextInt(arrSzAlphas.length)];
    

    use this:

    addr[Contact.ADDR_POSTALCODE] = new StringBuffer()
        .append(arrSzAlphas[generator.nextInt(arrSzAlphas.length)])
        .append(arrSzAlphas[generator.nextInt(arrSzAlphas.length)])
        .append(generator.nextInt(99))
        .append(generator.nextInt(9))
        .append(' ')
        .append(arrSzAlphas[generator.nextInt(arrSzAlphas.length)])
        .append(arrSzAlphas[generator.nextInt(arrSzAlphas.length)])
        .toString();
    

    Note that StringBuffer.append() is overloaded for any primitive type, so it can accept ints and chars directly without the need to be converted to String objects.

    The same approach should be used for telephone numbers generation.

    3). Minor speed improvements could be got via extracting all repeating calls from the 'for' loop. For instance, just count how much times you call for arrSzAlphas.length (2000 iterations * 4 calls per iteration = 8000 times!), while you could just call it ONCE before the loop and store it in a final local variable visible from the loop. The same is for a set of contacts.isSupportedXXXX calls - you should not call it over and over in all iterations, just call it once before the loop starts.