Performance Anti-Patterns
Update: Follow-up Discussion on Artima
What and how should we be measuring? A good benchmark is:

Repeatable, so experiments of comparison can be conducted relatively easily and with a reasonable degree of precision.
Observable, so if poor performance is seen, the developer has a place to start looking. Nothing is more frustrating than a complex benchmark that delivers a single number, leaving the developer with no additional information as to where the problem might lie.
Portable, so that comparisons are possible with your …

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