Whetstone (benchmark) facts for kids

The Whetstone benchmark is a special test for computers. It helps us see how fast a computer can do math, especially complex calculations. It was first created in 1972 in the United Kingdom.

The Whetstone benchmark got its name from a place called Whetstone, Leicestershire. This is where the original computer program that inspired the test was made.

What is the Whetstone Benchmark?

The Whetstone benchmark is like a race for computers. It makes the computer do a lot of math problems very quickly. This helps people understand how powerful a computer is. It's a "synthetic" benchmark, meaning it's designed specifically for testing, not for everyday tasks.

How Did Whetstone Start?

Scientists in the UK wanted a way to measure how fast computers were. They looked at how a specific computer, the KDF9, worked. They found out which types of calculations it did most often.

Then, a scientist named Dr. B.A. Wichman created 42 simple math problems. These problems, when put together, acted like the real work the KDF9 computer did.

Later, Harold Curnow made these problems into a program. This program became the Whetstone benchmark we know today. It was first written in a computer language called Algol 60.

How Whetstone Measures Speed

The Whetstone program runs on a computer. It measures how many "Whetstone instructions" the computer can do in one second. At first, this was measured in thousands of Whetstone instructions per second (kWIPS).

As computers got much faster, the measurement changed. Now, it's often measured in Millions of Whetstone Instructions Per Second (MWIPS). This shows just how much computer speed has grown over the years!

The Whetstone benchmark was one of the first tests that helped set standards for computer speed. It helped people compare different computers fairly.

What Does Whetstone Test?

The Whetstone benchmark mainly tests a computer's ability to do floating-point arithmetic. This is the kind of math that involves numbers with decimal points, like 3.14 or 0.005. These calculations are important for things like science, engineering, and graphics.

There's another similar test called the Dhrystone. The Dhrystone benchmark focuses more on whole numbers and text operations. Together, Whetstone and Dhrystone give a good idea of a computer's overall performance.

You can find the Whetstone benchmark program in many different computer languages. These include C, C++, Basic, Visual Basic, Fortran, and Java.

See also

• Dhrystone
• FLOPS
• Gibson Mix
• LINPACK benchmarks
• Million instructions per second (MIPS)