Re: [boost] [convert] Performance

Subject: Re: [boost] [convert] Performance
From: Vladimir Batov (vb.mail.247_at_[hidden])
Date: 2014-06-10 02:58:50

Matus Chochlik wrote
>> str-to-int spirit: raw/cnv=1.44/1.41 seconds.
>> str-to-int spirit: raw/cnv=1.44/1.41 seconds.
>>
>> That is, gcc-4.8 applies some magic so that that same code wrapped in a
>> converter is 2% faster(!) than "raw" code. Is anyone curious and capable
>> to
>> solve the puzzle? I am admittedly the former but not the latter. :-(
>>
>> https://github.com/yet-another-user/boost.convert/
>> blob/master/test/performance.cpp
>>
> 
> IMHO this could have something to do with paging or the caching of the
> strings.
> You should test the two cases by two separate programs and try to run them
> both in the raw then cnv and cnv then raw orders.
> Or you could at least try to run
> 
>     for (int k = 0; k < 3; ++k)
>         printf("str-to-int spirit: raw1/raw2=%.2f/%.2f seconds.\n",
>                performance_string_to_int_spirit(strings),
>                performance_string_to_int_spirit(strings));
> 
> to try it out.

Matus,

Geez, I would never figure that out by myself. Thanks. So, the first call
would pull the strings into the fast cache so that the second call would not
have to, right? Now I changed the test as 

    int const num_tries = 20;
    double     raw_time = 0;
    double     cnv_time = 0;

    for (int k = 0; k < num_tries; ++k)
        raw_time += performance_string_to_int_spirit(strings);

    for (int k = 0; k < num_tries; ++k)
        cnv_time += performance::str_to_int(strings, boost::cnv::spirit());

    printf("str-to-int spirit: raw/cnv=%.2f/%.2f seconds.\n",
           raw_time / num_tries,
           cnv_time / num_tries);

Does it look fair to you? It surely gives more realistic results with
bosst::convert() adding 0.7% overhead:

32:~/dev/boost.convert.>> ~/dev/bin/test-convert 
str-to-int spirit: raw/cnv=1.41/1.42 seconds.

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