Program optimization given 1,000 datasets
A recent paper reminded me of a consequence of widespread availability of multi-processor systems I had failed to mention in a previous post on compiler writing in the next decade. The wide spread...
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Compiler benchmarking for the 21st century
I would like to propose a new way of measuring the quality of a compiler’s code generator: The highest quality compiler is one that generates identical code for all programs that produce the same...
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Changes in optimization performance of gcc over time
The SPEC benchmarks came out a year after the first release of gcc (in fact gcc was and still is one of the programs included in the benchmark). Compiling the SPEC programs using the gcc option -O2...
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Peak memory transfer rate is best SPECint performance predictor
The idea that cpu clock rate is the main driver of system performance on the SPEC cpu benchmark is probably well entrenched in developers’ psyche. Common knowledge, or folklore, is slow to change. The...
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Cost/performance analysis of 1944-1967 computers: Knight’s data
Changes In Computer Performance and Evolving Computer Performance 1963-1967, by Kenneth Knight, are the references to cite when discussing the performance of early computers. I suspect that very few...
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Building a regression model is easy and informative
Running an experiment is very time-consuming. I am always surprised that people put so much effort into gathering the data and then spend so little effort analyzing it. The Computer Language Benchmarks...
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Modeling visual studio C++ compile times
Last week I spotted an interesting article on the compile-time performance of C++ compilers running under Microsoft Windows. The author had obviously put a lot of work into gathering the data, and had...
View ArticleProgram optimization given 1,000 datasets
A recent paper reminded me of a consequence of widespread availability of multi-processor systems I had failed to mention in a previous post on compiler writing in the next decade. The wide spread...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Compiler benchmarking for the 21st century
I would like to propose a new way of measuring the quality of a compiler’s code generator: The highest quality compiler is one that generates identical code for all programs that produce the same...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Changes in optimization performance of gcc over time
The SPEC benchmarks came out a year after the first release of gcc (in fact gcc was and still is one of the programs included in the benchmark). Compiling the SPEC programs using the gcc option -O2...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Peak memory transfer rate is best SPECint performance predictor
The idea that cpu clock rate is the main driver of system performance on the SPEC cpu benchmark is probably well entrenched in developers’ psyche. Common knowledge, or folklore, is slow to change. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cost/performance analysis of 1944-1967 computers: Knight’s data
Changes In Computer Performance and Evolving Computer Performance 1963-1967, by Kenneth Knight, are the references to cite when discussing the performance of early computers. I suspect that very few...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Building a regression model is easy and informative
Running an experiment is very time-consuming. I am always surprised that people put so much effort into gathering the data and then spend so little effort analyzing it. The Computer Language Benchmarks...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Modeling visual studio C++ compile times
Last week I spotted an interesting article on the compile-time performance of C++ compilers running under Microsoft Windows. The author had obviously put a lot of work into gathering the data, and had...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Benchmarking desktop PCs circa 1990
Before buying a computer customers want to be confident of choosing the best they can get for the money, and performance has often been a major consideration. Computer benchmark performance results...
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Fitting discontinuous data from disparate sources
Sorting and searching are probably the most widely performed operations in computing; they are extensively covered in volume 3 of The Art of Computer Programming. Algorithm performance is influence by...
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A comparison of C++ and Rust compiler performance
Large code bases take a long time to compile and build. How much impact does the choice of programming language have on compiler/build times? The small number of industrial strength compilers available...
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WebAssembly vs JavaScript performance: 2023 edition
WebAssembly is an assembly-like language intended to be executed by web browsers on an internal stack machine. The intent is that compilers for high-level languages (i.e., C, Cobol, and C#) treat...
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Benchmarking fuzzers
Fuzzing has become a popular area of research in the reliability & testing community, with a stream of papers claiming to have created a better tool/algorithm. The claims of ‘betterness’, made by...
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Design of the Whetstone benchmark
The Whetstone benchmark was once a widely cited measure of computer performance. This benchmark consisted of a single program, originally designed for Algol 60 based applications, and later translated...
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