Python: Timing, Benchmark

Timing, Compare Speed

to time a function or compare the speed of different ways to code the same thing, use the builtin lib timeit.

import timeit

there are several ways to call it:

• timeit.timeit(codeString, number=int)
• timeit.timeit(functionName, number=int)
• timeit.timeit(lambda:functionName(args), number=int)

Example: Time a Code by String

# python 3

import timeit

tt = timeit.timeit("""map(lambda x: x+1, range(10))""", number=100)
print(tt)
# 2.639999999999934e-05

Example: Time a Function with No Argument

# python 3

import timeit

# compute needed setup or input before timing
xinput = range(10)

def f1():
    """add 1 to global xinput"""
    return map(lambda x: x + 1, xinput)

tt = timeit.timeit(f1, number=100)
print(tt)
# 2.0499999999999685e-05

Example: Time a Function with Argument

# python 3

import timeit

# timing a function with args


def f2(xlist):
    """add 1 to all element"""
    return map(lambda x: x + 1, xlist)

# compute needed setup or input before timing
xinput = range(10)

# testing a function with arg
tt = timeit.timeit(lambda: f2(xinput), number=100)
print(tt)
# 2.570000000000003e-05