updated changelog date

Author: jdereg

changelog.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ### Revision History
 
-#### 4.99.0 (Unreleased)
+#### 4.99.0 - 2026-03-28
 * **FEATURE**: New `StringUtilities.getChars(String s)` — public API that returns a ThreadLocal `char[]` buffer populated via `String.getChars()` (SIMD-optimized bulk copy). Callers can replace `str.charAt(i)` loops with direct `buf[i]` array access, avoiding per-character method call and JDK 9+ coder check overhead. Use `s.length()` for the valid range. Buffer is shared per-thread — valid until the next `getChars()` call on the same thread.
 * **PERFORMANCE**: `StringUtilities.hashCodeIgnoreCase(String)` — uses `StringUtilities.getChars()` (SIMD-optimized bulk copy) into a ThreadLocal `char[]` buffer, then hashes from the array directly. Avoids `charAt()`'s per-character method call and JDK 9+ compact-string coder check overhead. No reflection, no VarHandle, no `--add-opens` — works on all JDK versions (8-25+). Benchmark shows CaseInsensitiveMap GET improved **70-75%** (230 → 58-69 ns/op), PUT improved **48-52%** (135 → 65-71 ns/op), and MIXED-CASE GET improved **68%** (302 → 93-97 ns/op) on 100K entries.
 * **PERFORMANCE**: New `FastReader.readLine(char[] dest, int off, int maxLen)` — dedicated line-reading method optimized for TOON's line-oriented parsing. Combines scanning, copying, and line-ending consumption (`\n`, `\r`, `\r\n`) into a single call. Uses a `c <= '\r'` range guard so printable characters (the vast majority) require only one comparison per character instead of two. Eliminates the per-line overhead of separate `readUntil()` + `read()` + pushback round-trip. JFR shows TOON line-reading samples dropped from 173 to 125 (28% reduction), and `FastReader.read()` calls halved (53 → 25 samples).