SQLite parse_number() Extension: C vs Rust Performance Comparison
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On November 9, 2026, Simon Willison published a hands-on report on the SQLite extension function parse_number(). The function was implemented in both C and Rust with the help of Claude (Opus 5.5), and it parses strings with signs, currency symbols, or percentage marks, such as '-$1,234.56' and '12.5%', into numeric values that can be sorted and summed in SQLite. The report compares the performance of the two language implementations. This is currently the only report on the event, and no further details on the benchmark results have been disclosed.
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- Simon Willisonparse_number() as a SQLite extension: C vs Rust
Simon Willison, using Claude (Opus 5.5), implemented the SQLite extension function parse_number() in both C and Rust, converting strings like -$1,234.56 and '12.5%' into sortable, summable numeric values.
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