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Information about Computer Performance

Computer performance is characterised by the amount of useful work accomplished by a computer system compared to the time and resources used.

Depending on the context, good computer performance may involve one or more of the following:
  • Short response time for a given piece of work
  • High throughput (rate of processing work)
  • Low utilization of computing resource(s)
  • High availability of the computing system or application

Performance metrics

Computer performance metrics include availability, response time, capacity, latency, completion time, service time, bandwidth, throughput, relative efficiency, scalability, and speed up.

Aspect of software quality

Computer software performance, particularly software application response time, is an aspect of software quality that is important in human–computer interactions.

Technical and non-technical definitions

The performance of any computer system can be evaluated in measurable, technical terms, using one or more of the metrics listed above. This way the performance can be

- compared relative to other systems or the same system before/after changes
- defined in absolute terms, e.g. for fulfilling a contractual obligation

Whilst the above definition relates to a scientific, technical approach, the following definition given by Arnold Allen would be useful for a non-technical audience:

The word performance in computer performance means the same thing that performance means in other contexts, that is, it means "How well is the computer doing the work it is supposed to do?"[1]

See also

References

1. ^ Computer Performance Analysis with Mathematica by Arnold O. Allen, Academic Press, 1994. $1.1 Introduction, pg 1.
Response time may mean:
  • Response time (technology), the time a generic system or functional unit takes to react to a given input.
  • Round-trip delay time in telecommunications
  • Reaction time in experimental psychology

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insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter.
Please help [ improve the introduction] to meet Wikipedia's layout standards. You can discuss the issue on the talk page.
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availability has the following meanings:

1. The degree to which a system, subsystem, or equipment is operable and in a committable state at the start of a mission, when the mission is called for at an unknown, i.e., a random, time.
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Response time may mean:
  • Response time (technology), the time a generic system or functional unit takes to react to a given input.
  • Round-trip delay time in telecommunications
  • Reaction time in experimental psychology

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Capacity is the ability to hold, receive or absorb, or a measure thereof, similar to the concept of volume.

Capacity may also refer to:
  • Capacity (law), the legal ability to engage in certain acts, such as making a contract

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Latent can mean "hidden", "presently inactive" or "potentially existing but not yet realized". In specific contexts, it can mean:
  • Latent heat, the amount of energy released or absorbed by a substance during a change of phase
  • Latent geologic fault

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Bandwidth is the difference between the upper and lower cutoff frequencies of, for example, a filter, a communication channel, or a signal spectrum, and is typically measured in hertz.
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throughput is the amount of digital data per time unit that is delivered over a physical or logical link, or that is passing through a certain network node. For example, it may be the amount of data that is delivered to a certain network terminal or host computer, or between two
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In statistics, efficiency is one measure of desirability of an estimator. The efficiency of an unbiased statistic is defined as



where is the Fisher information of the sample.
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In telecommunications and software engineering, scalability is a desirable property of a system, a network, or a process, which indicates its ability to either handle growing amounts of work in a graceful manner, or to be readily enlarged.
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In parallel computing, speedup refers to how much a parallel algorithm is faster than a corresponding sequential algorithm.

It is defined by the following formula:

where:
  • p is the number of processors

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Computer software is a general term used to describe a collection of computer programs, procedures and documentation that perform some task on a computer system. [1]
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Application software is a subclass of computer software that employs the capabilities of a computer directly and thoroughly to a task that the user wishes to perform. This should be contrasted with system software which is involved in integrating a computer's various capabilities,
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Software development process
Activities and steps
Requirements | Architecture | Implementation | Testing | Deployment
Models
Agile | Cleanroom | Iterative | RAD | RUP | Spiral | Waterfall | XP
Supporting disciplines
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Arnold Oral Allen was an instuctor, public speaker, and writer who worked at IBM and Hewlett-Packard (HP), and specialized in the analysis and mathematical modelling of computer performance.
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benchmark is the act of running a computer program, a set of programs, or other operations, in order to assess the relative performance of an object, normally by running a number of standard tests and trials against it.
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computer architecture is the conceptual design and fundamental operational structure of a computer system. It is a blueprint and functional description of requirements (especially speeds and interconnections) and design implementations for the various parts of a computer —
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Network performance refers to the level of quality of service of a telecommunications product [1] as seen by the customer. It should not be seen merely as an attempt to get "more through" the network.
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In software engineering, performance analysis, more commonly profiling, is the investigation of a program's behavior using information gathered as the program runs (i.e. it is a form of dynamic program analysis, as opposed to static code analysis).
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Within Systems engineering, Performance engineering encompasses the set of roles, skills, activities, practices, tools, and deliverables applied at every phase of the Systems Development Lifecycle which ensures that a solution will be designed, implemented, and operationally
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Performance measurement is the process of assessing progress toward achieving predetermined goals. Performance management is building on that process, adding the relevant communication and action on the progress achieved against these predetermined goals.
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Performance Testing covers a broad range of engineering or functional evaluations where a material, product, or system is not specified by detailed material or component specifications: Rather, emphasis is on the final measurable performance characteristics.
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Performance tuning is the improvement of system performance. This is typically a computer application, but the same methods can be applied to economic markets, bureaucracies or other complex systems.
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