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From: sbanner1@uvicctr.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.arch,comp.sys.misc
Subject: Re: 01/31/87 Dhrystone Results and Source
Message-ID: <230@uvicctr.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 16-Feb-87 03:28:36 EST
Article-I.D.: uvicctr.230
Posted: Mon Feb 16 03:28:36 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 17-Feb-87 18:42:21 EST
References: <2348@homxb.UUCP> <15203@onfcanim.UUCP> <293@ames.UUCP> <319@ames.UUCP> <589@ico.UUCP>
Reply-To: sbanner1@uvicctr.UUCP (S. John Banner)
Organization: University of Victoria, Victoria B.C. Canada
Lines: 52
Xref: watmath comp.arch:346 comp.sys.misc:356

In article <589@ico.UUCP> rcd@ico.UUCP (Dick Dunn) writes:
>(into the nest of replies we go...)
>In article <319@ames.UUCP>, eugene@pioneer.arpa (Eugene Miya N.) writes:
>> Walter Bright says
>> >(John Mashey) writes:
>> >>4) How about some suggestions for ways to improve Dhrystone?

>                             one would simply have to stop attempting to
>reduce the performance of an entire computer system to a single number and,
>instead, think about evaluating the system.  But, as I said, I digress...]

I have been reading this series of articles with great intrest, as one
of my pet projects is to write a program that will run a whole series
of benchmarks on the given machine, and then compare the results with
similar runs on whatever machines you have data for, then give some sort
of "estimate" of the "power" of the machine relative to the others (or
some sort of absolute measure, though I don't see how that is really
possible), in various areas (a Cray1 is 1000000 times better than an
IBM PC for numerical work, etc... :-).  So, does anyone have any suggestions?
Do you have benchmarks that you use (I have Dhrystone, Whetstone, and
the Sieve (though I understand that there is some sort of standard for
the Sieve, and mine is just what I whipped up; so if there is a standard
for that I would verry much hearing about it, though by mail would be
best I am sure)), that you would be willing to share?  What do you think
are the major requirements for benchmark (requirements in general, or
with respect to your given field)?

  I would like to hear everyones comments on this, but I don't know just
how interested everyone else is, so if you have comment that you don't
want to post to the net (because you don't think people will be interested,
or whatever), feel free to mail direct to me.  Depending on the type
of response I get, I will summarise what people have to say.

                  Thanks,

                      S. John Banner

PS. When I say I am interested in benchmarks of all types, I do mean exactly
that.  My interest started as an interest in comparing various IBM PC
clones, and hardware, and I would be interested in stuff which would
demonstrate differences between the BIOS in one machine vs. another,
or things that are specific to other machines, even though I might not
be able to use them directly.    Thanks,   sjb.

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