How does Haskell's Criterion compare to other benchmarking libraries?

How does Haskell's Criterion compare to other benchmarking libraries?

Haskell's Criterion is known for its accuracy and ease of use in benchmarking. It provides detailed statistical analysis and is designed to minimize noise in measurements. Compared to other libraries, it often yields more reliable results, especially for performance-critical applications.

What are some alternatives to Criterion?

Some alternatives to Criterion include 'Haskell's QuickCheck' for property-based testing, 'GHC's built-in profiling tools', and 'Haskell's Benchmarking library'. Each has its strengths, but Criterion is often preferred for its comprehensive statistical features.

Can you explain how to use Criterion in a simple example?

Sure! To use Criterion, you first need to install it via Cabal or Stack. Then, you can create a benchmark by importing Criterion and defining a main function that uses 'defaultMain' to run your benchmarks. Here's a simple example:

import Criterion.Main

main :: IO ()
main = defaultMain [
    bgroup "example"
        [ bench "fib 10" $ whnf fib 10,
          bench "fib 20" $ whnf fib 20
        ]
]

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

What kind of results can I expect from using Criterion?

When using Criterion, you can expect detailed reports on the performance of your functions, including mean execution time, standard deviation, and confidence intervals. This helps you understand the performance characteristics of your code and make informed optimizations.