TestUnitPerf

[Bil Kleb]

I just read Mike Clark's blog entry,

http://www.clarkware.com/cgi/blosxom/2004/12/29#pyUnitPerf

about a port of JUnitPerf to Python. (JUnitPerf adds
two types of performance tests to JUnit: imposing a limit
to the time it takes to run a test and simulating concurrent
user loads and so forth.)

Is there a similar capability for Ruby?

(Our team has been in need of one for several years, but
it is a non-promotable offense to work on it and we just
don't seem to be able to muster the cash to contract it...)

Thanks,

 

[Mike Clark]

I just read Mike Clark's blog entry,

http://www.clarkware.com/cgi/blosxom/2004/12/29#pyUnitPerf

about a port of JUnitPerf to Python. (JUnitPerf adds
two types of performance tests to JUnit: imposing a limit
to the time it takes to run a test and simulating concurrent
user loads and so forth.)

Is there a similar capability for Ruby?

I'm not aware of a Ruby port of JUnitPerf. I suspect it would be quite
easy and take far less code than the Java version.

Given such a tool, I wonder if there would be interest in a performance
test suite for a Rails installation. It seems folks often ask about
Rails performance and scalability, and rather than guess and speculate,
a test suite would simply measure. Perhaps there's an example Rails
application that demonstrates common use cases, and performance numbers
for various configurations (e.g., Fast CGI, mod ruby) could be posted.
As new versions of Rails become available, the test suite is re-run and
the new numbers are posted.

One could adapt the performance test suite for a custom application
and, for example, fiddle with the number of concurrent users to help
plan for capacity.

Anyway, just a random thought. It may be an interesting way to promote
Rails goodness from another angle: measure, don't guess.

Mike

 

[David Heinemeier Hansson]

Given such a tool, I wonder if there would be interest in a

performance test suite for a Rails installation.

We actually almost have such a tool. It's been "almost finished" by
Florian Weber for quite a while. It serves as an extension to test/unit
and can compile reports on reqs/sec and so on. This would go well with
a sample app that did a bunch of standard things and we've had that in
mind too.

Preferably, it would give you all the details, but also arrive at an
aggregated number you could use for rough comparisons. So you could say
that server A got a 24 req/sec rating while server B got a 110 req/sec
rating. That would be very nice indeed.
--
David Heinemeier Hansson,
http://www.basecamphq.com/ -- Web-based Project Management
http://www.rubyonrails.org/ -- Web-application framework for Ruby
http://macromates.com/ -- TextMate: Code and markup editor (OS X)
http://www.loudthinking.com/ -- Broadcasting Brain

 

[Mike Clark]

We actually almost have such a tool. It's been "almost finished" by
Florian Weber for quite a while. It serves as an extension to
test/unit and can compile reports on reqs/sec and so on. This would go
well with a sample app that did a bunch of standard things and we've
had that in mind too.

Preferably, it would give you all the details, but also arrive at an
aggregated number you could use for rough comparisons. So you could
say that server A got a 24 req/sec rating while server B got a 110
req/sec rating. That would be very nice indeed.

Excellent. I look forward to it.

Mike