🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <557@rover.UUCP> mph@rover.UUCP (Mark Huth) writes:
> It seems to me that if one programs in C, then the C compiler is part
> of the environment.  The fact that the compiler distorts the raw
> machine power to some extent is true, but unless you are an assembly
> guru [...] you cannot generate code to fully utilize a giver
> archetecture'r power.  Therefore, the high-level language benchmarks
> are very useful.
> 
> We are able to improve the Dhrystone ratings of our systems by as much
> as 33% by improving the compiler.  This is real good news, as all
> programs get some considerable performance gain by recompilation as
> better compilers become available.

Well, this is exactly what I meant. The problem with a MIPS rating is
that you know little about what sort of instructions are involved. At
least a Dhrystone rating gives you an objective number, but it is
still not a completely good indication of pure machine power because
the compiler distorts the figure (although it does at least give a
lower bound). Just look at the figures for different C compilers on
different makes of 8 MHz 68000: they run from 330 to 1370! The fact
that you could tune your compiler to give 33% better performance only
goes to show that the Dhrystone figure is only loosely related to the
machine performance.

Steven Pemberton, CWI, Amsterdam; steven@cwi.nl