The X Performance Characterization (XPC) project group is reviewing a preliminary version of a new standard benchmark for measuring X-server performance base d on typical user applications.

The software under development, called the Xlib Playback Benchmark (XPB), includes a set of recording and playback programs that will allow for standardized measurement of X-server performance across different hardware platforms. It is being developed for the XPC group by Computing Clarity, a graphics software development firm based in Eugene, Ore. The preliminary version of the XPB is being used by XPC project group members to test how well the software can be ported to their hardware platforms.

Xlib has become the standard application programming interface (API) for 2D graphics software developers. Currently, the XPC group offers Xmark93, a primitive-level benchmarking tool, for measuring 2D graphics performance. The XPB is expected to be a much superior graphics performance measurement tool, since it incorporates recordings of actual user applications.

Standard benchmark files based on prevalent user applications will be developed by the XPC group to run on vendors' ports of the XPB software. The test files will be derived from live recording sessions of users working with typical functions from a selected application. Performance results from the standard benchmark files will be reported by XPC subcommittee members in this publication. The XPB will also allow users to record Xlib calls from their own applications.

The first reporting of performance results under the XPB is expected before the end of 1996. The final version of the XPB will be freely available to the public.