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From: cdshaw@alberta.UUCP (Chris Shaw)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.m68k,comp.lang.forth
Subject: Re: Forth Inc 68020/80386 benchmark.
Message-ID: <601@pembina.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 19-Nov-87 17:17:33 EST
Article-I.D.: pembina.601
Posted: Thu Nov 19 17:17:33 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 23-Nov-87 07:22:34 EST
References: <970@sugar.UUCP> <1289@nrcvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: cdshaw@pembina.UUCP (Chris Shaw)
Organization: U. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Lines: 38
Xref: mnetor comp.sys.m68k:657 comp.lang.forth:238

In article <1289@nrcvax.UUCP> ihm@minnie.UUCP (Ian Merritt) writes:
>
>I've said it before and I'll say it again: the only way to obtain a
>true comparison between the machines themselves, the only way to
>estimate either's potential power is to have experts on each machine
>carfully choose a suite of benchmark tests that overall favors neither
>machine, hand-code in assembly language the best possible coding for
>each benchmark, and run them on full-speed machines (or calculate the
>timing manually).  The issue of the availability of efficient
>compilers or systems that fully utilize the potential of each machine
>is relavent but entirely separate from the machine performance
>comparison.
>
>						--i

The only problem with this is that it is a gross handwave. The variables
are no longer the compilers but the Assembler coding people. In fact, the
variable hasn't really changed at all, since code generation is still the 
point of contention.

Besides, who would use such a benchmark?  I suspect that only people evaluating
CPU's in order to select one to put in a new product would use such a metric.
Given this scenario, there are so many other cost-oriented considerations
that mere CPU speed no longer remains a dominant factor.

For anyone else, such a benchmark is useless, because the system one uses 
includes the compilers used to generate code, the memory system, the disks, 
and so on. I highly doubt that anyone would code a significant application in 
assembler, simply because the software development and maintenance costs would 
be astronomical.

The only point of an expert-generated assembler benchmark is to win beer in
bar bets.

-- 
Chris Shaw    cdshaw@alberta
University of Alberta
CatchPhrase: Bogus as HELL !