StringBuilder vs XmlTextWriter

Question

I am trying to squeeze as much performance as i can from a custom HttpHandler that serves Xml content.

I\' m wondering which is better for performance. Using the Xm

Answer 1

Honestly until you really, really, really, really, really need to care about performance... don't.

Go with the more maintainable solution first, and only compromise when performance becomes a measurable issue. XmlTextWriter offers you the benefit of "Knowing" about how Xml is supposed to work. StringBuilder does not, and is therefore error prone. You don't want to spend a day tracking down a malformed node somewhere in your gnarly stringbuilder code.

Let the framework work for you.