What are some best practices for benchmarking in Haskell?

What are some best practices for benchmarking in Haskell?

When benchmarking in Haskell, it's important to use the Criterion library for accurate measurements. Make sure to isolate the code you want to benchmark and avoid any side effects that could skew results.

How do I set up Criterion for my project?

To set up Criterion, add it to your project's dependencies in the cabal file or stack.yaml. Then, import Criterion in your Haskell file and use the 'bench' function to define your benchmarks.

Can you give me an example of a simple benchmark?

Sure! Here's a simple example:

import Criterion.Main

main :: IO ()
main = defaultMain [
    bgroup "my benchmarks" [
        bench "fib 20" $ whnf fib 20,
        bench "fib 30" $ whnf fib 30
    ]
]

fib :: Integer -> Integer
fib 0 = 0
fib 1 = 1
fib n = fib (n - 1) + fib (n - 2)

What should I be aware of when interpreting the results?

When interpreting results, consider factors like garbage collection, CPU load, and the warm-up phase of your benchmarks. Always run benchmarks multiple times to get a reliable average.