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From: conte@crest.crhc.uiuc.edu (Tom Conte)
Newsgroups: comp.benchmarks
Subject: Re: performance vector approaches
Message-ID: <1991May6.205347.14155@roundup.crhc.uiuc.edu>
Date: 6 May 91 20:53:47 GMT
References: <1991Apr25.174542.100@skyler.mavd.honeywell.com> <APM.91Apr28021454@vipunen.hut.fi> <1991Apr29.125222.103@skyler.mavd.honeywell.com>
Sender: news@roundup.crhc.uiuc.edu
Reply-To: conte@crest.crhc.uiuc.edu (Tom Conte)
Organization: Center for Reliable and High-Performance Computing, University of Illinois
Lines: 65

In article <1991Apr29.125222.103@skyler.mavd.honeywell.com>, djbailey@skyler.mavd.honeywell.com writes:
> In article <APM.91Apr28021454@vipunen.hut.fi>, apm@vipunen.hut.fi (Antti Miettinen) writes:
> >>Suppose we describe a computer's performance as an n-dimensional 
> >>vector.
> > 
> > I think this is a great idea. The problem is that everybody would like
> > to get only one number to characterize the performance of a computer.
> 
> Ideally, computer performance should be measured relative to the intended 
> use. If we could really map computer performance and application 
> needs into the same vector space, then we could measure the distance 
> between the application vector and various computer vectors.
> 
> I'm certainly not an expert at computer performance evaluation. I'm 
> looking forward to the comments on this chain.
> 

Well, indeed this isn't a new idea:

@techreport{Saav88,
author="R. H Saavedra-Barrera",
title="Machine Characterization and Benchmark Performance Prediction",
month=jun,
year=1988,
institution="Computer Science Division, University of California",
address="Berkeley, CA",
number="UCB/CSD 88/437"}

@techreport{Pond90,
author="C. G. Ponder",
title="An Analytical Look at Linear Performance Models",
institution="Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory",
address="Livermore, CA",
month=sep,
year=1990,
number="UCRL-JC-106105"
}


@article{SaSM89,
author="R. H Saavedra-Barrera and A. J. Smith and E. Miya",
title="Machine characterization based on an abstract high-level
		 language machine",
month=dec,
year=1989,
journal=ieeetc,
number=12,
volume=38,
pages="1659-1679"}


This topic is related to my Ph.D. work.  You might also like to read:

@article{CoHw91,
author="T. M. Conte and W. W. Hwu",
title="Benchmark characterization",
journal="IEEE Computer",
month=jan,
pages="48-56",
year=1991}

------
Tom Conte	  Center for Reliable and High-Performance Computing
 conte@uiuc.edu   University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
  Fast cars, fast women, fast computers