TABLIX(1)

📦
version 0.3.5 · 2 versions
, in ubuntu jammy

TABLIX(1) — Tablix User's Manual 💅

okay bestie, come sit with me, we're reading the tablix2_benchmark page together and honestly? it's giving ✨benchmark utility✨ energy and i'm obsessed. this is the Tablix User's Manual, section 1, and yes we're doing the whole thing, no skipping 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

tablix2_benchmark — the Tablix benchmark utility 🧚

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

tablix2_benchmark benchmark [ options ] " Tablix options " file

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

So. Tablix is a genuinely powerful free software kernel for solving general timetabling problems. no cap. it uses a coarse-grained parallel genetic algorithm in combination with other techniques to construct sensible timetables out of XML formatted problem descriptions. she can run on a single host, or she can run on a heterogeneous parallel virtual machine using PVM3. versatile queen 👑

tablix2_benchmark is the girl whose whole job is testing how different Tablix command line options affect the final result. in most tests, Tablix gets started multiple times with the same input file, because we want results that are actually reliable, periodt.

Every single time Tablix starts, three variables get measured:

  • the fitness value of the resulting timetable
  • the serial number of the last generation
  • the elapsed time (in seconds)

When a test finishes, the average for each variable gets printed on standard output, plus the maximum and minimum values. the exact format depends on each test, so don't @ me about it 🫶

The actual timetables that get generated during these tests are stored under temporary file names in the current directory, and they get deleted after tablix2_benchmark exits. clean up after yourself, it's the vibe 🌸

bestie. listen. in some cases these tests can take several days to complete. and because the genetic algorithm can in some cases go into an endless loop, it is always advisable to limit Tablix execution time with the -t option. that way at least the maximum execution time for a test can be calculated. tablix2_benchmark will detect when the time limit set by the -t option was reached, and that information will be included in the final statistics. set your -t, bestie, i am literally begging 🙈

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

The following tests are supported:

  • tablix2_benchmark --single "OPTIONS" file — Execute a single Tablix run and print the results. the OPTIONS parameter is mandatory and contains options that will be passed to the tablix2 process.
  • tablix2_benchmark --multiple N "OPTIONS" FILE — Execute N Tablix runs and print the statistics. the OPTIONS parameter is mandatory and contains options that will be passed to the tablix2 process.
  • tablix2_benchmark --graph START STEP STOP "OPTIONS" FILE — Execute multiple Tablix runs. the character N in OPTIONS is substituted for an integer that is changed from START to STOP by STEP. output is gnuplot friendly 📈
  • tablix2_benchmark --multi-graph M START STEP STOP "OPTIONS" FILE — Execute multiple Tablix runs. the character N in OPTIONS is substituted for an integer that is changed from START to STOP by STEP. M Tablix runs are executed for each value of N. output is gnuplot friendly (use errorbars) 📈

🌈 EXAMPLES 🌈

The following test can, for example, be used to see the minimum grade that can be reached with this configuration file:

tablix2_benchmark --multiple 5 "-t 90 -n 5" sample.xml

so Tablix gets started five times. each time with five computing nodes and with a 90 minute time limit. slay ✨

tablix2_benchmark can also provide useful data for developers. following test can be used to check the effect of the number of computing nodes on the total time required to obtain the result:

tablix2_benchmark --multi-graph 5 1 1 10 "-t 90 -n N" sample.xml > stats.txt

Tablix will be started 50 times. 5 times for each value of N (which in this case means the number of nodes). Ten values of N will be probed: from 1 to 10 with steps of 1. the output will be redirected to stats.txt. a graph of average computing time versus number of nodes can then be produced in gnuplot with the following command:

plot "test.txt" using ($1):($8):($9):($10) with yerrorbars
not me noticing that the file up there is stats.txt and the plot command says test.txt 💀 i'm literally just the messenger bestie, i typed it exactly like the page says it, don't come for me 🙈

💀 BUGS 💀

tablix2_benchmark depends on a number of common UNIX programs (mktemp, grep, sed, awk, ...) that may not be available on all systems. the script is not currently capable of properly detecting if any required programs are missing. so if something's weird, check your tools first, fr fr 😭

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Tomaz Solc (tomaz.solc@tablix.org) 💜

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

tablix2(1), Tablix User's Manual, Tablix modules HOWTO, Tablix on Morphix HOWTO

and that's the whole page bestie, you ate that 🍓 this was the Tablix User's Manual page for TABLIX(1), written by Tomaz Solc and dated 2005-09-03 — iconic behaviour honestly, mwah 💅✨🌸

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