Release 1.0.0 - Initial Launch of zBench

[hendriknielaender]

Description:

This issue tracks the development and release of zBench version 1.0.0, a comprehensive benchmarking tool designed for the Zig programming language. zBench aims to provide an efficient, user-friendly, and feature-rich platform for performance measurement. The first release will focus on core functionalities essential for effective benchmarking.

Features for the First Release:

• Benchmark Initialization and Control

  • Creation of benchmark instances with custom names and allocation.
  • Start/stop/reset functionalities to manage benchmark timing and state.
  • Accurate time measurement using nanosecond precision.

• Performance Data Collection

  • Collection of individual run durations for each benchmark iteration.
  • Tracking of minimum, maximum, and total durations for comprehensive analysis.
  • Capacity to handle a significant number of iterations with dynamic memory allocation for duration tracking.

• Statistical Analysis and Reporting

  • Calculation of percentiles (75th, 95th, 99th) for detailed performance insights.
  • Average duration calculation for a balanced view of performance.
  • Structured reporting of key metrics like total operations, min/max/average durations, and percentiles.

• Customizable Iteration Management

  • Ability to set and adjust the number of iterations (N) for each benchmark, catering to both short and long-running tasks.
  • Dynamic adjustment of iterations based on predefined minimum duration criteria to ensure meaningful benchmark results.

• Progress Monitoring

  • Real-time progress reporting during benchmark execution to provide feedback on longer-running benchmarks.
  • Adjustable thresholds for progress updates to suit different benchmarking scenarios.

• Result Presentation and Visualization

  • Color-coded output for quick interpretation of performance.
  • Pretty-print function for clear, formatted display of benchmark results in the console.
  • Functionality to output benchmark results in a human-readable format, enhancing the usability of the tool.

Additional Considerations:

• Documentation and Examples: Include comprehensive documentation and usage examples to assist users in quickly integrating zBench into their projects.
• Testing and Validation: Thorough testing of all features to ensure accuracy and reliability of the benchmarking results.
• Performance Optimization: Ensure that zBench itself has minimal performance overhead, to avoid skewing benchmark results.

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This issue will be updated regularly to reflect progress and any changes in the scope or features of zBench.