如何在C语言中测量时间间隔?

54

我希望能在C语言中测量时间,但是我很难弄清楚怎么做,我只想要类似以下这样的东西:

  • 开始计时
  • 运行一个方法
  • 停止计时
  • 报告所用时间(至少精确到微秒)

任何帮助都将不胜感激。

(我正在使用mingw编译windows系统)


日期时间还是CPU时间?对于后者,请参见例如https://dev59.com/dknSa4cB1Zd3GeqPLza4#1380663。 - Christoph
7个回答

106
高分辨率定时器提供微秒级别的分辨率,但是由于其与系统相关,因此在不同的操作系统平台上需要使用不同的方法来实现。您可能会对查看以下文章感兴趣,该文章基于下面描述的函数实现了一个跨平台的C++定时器类:
  • [宋浩安 - 高分辨率计时器][1]

Windows

Windows API提供了极高分辨率的计时器函数:QueryPerformanceCounter(),返回当前经过的滴答数,QueryPerformanceFrequency(),返回每秒钟的滴答数。

示例:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <windows.h>                // for Windows APIs

int main(void)
{
    LARGE_INTEGER frequency;        // ticks per second
    LARGE_INTEGER t1, t2;           // ticks
    double elapsedTime;

    // get ticks per second
    QueryPerformanceFrequency(&frequency);

    // start timer
    QueryPerformanceCounter(&t1);

    // do something
    // ...

    // stop timer
    QueryPerformanceCounter(&t2);

    // compute and print the elapsed time in millisec
    elapsedTime = (t2.QuadPart - t1.QuadPart) * 1000.0 / frequency.QuadPart;
    printf("%f ms.\n", elapsedTime);
}

Linux、Unix和Mac

对于基于Unix或Linux的系统,您可以使用gettimeofday()。该函数在"sys/time.h"中声明。

示例:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <sys/time.h>                // for gettimeofday()

int main(void)
{
    struct timeval t1, t2;
    double elapsedTime;

    // start timer
    gettimeofday(&t1, NULL);

    // do something
    // ...

    // stop timer
    gettimeofday(&t2, NULL);

    // compute and print the elapsed time in millisec
    elapsedTime = (t2.tv_sec - t1.tv_sec) * 1000.0;      // sec to ms
    elapsedTime += (t2.tv_usec - t1.tv_usec) / 1000.0;   // us to ms
    printf("%f ms.\n", elapsedTime);
}

7
我认为应该是"struct timeval",而不仅仅是"timeval"。 - rightaway717
1
struct timeval 对我有用(某些GCC ARM编译器)。 - Micka
6
此解决方案适用于C++,但问题要求使用C语言。为什么这个被接受了呢? - Ethan Yang
1
我需要一个 C 版本。这可能吗? - kame
1
我使用C语言,这个解决方案在C语言中有效。@EthanYang - codemonkey
显示剩余3条评论

23

在Linux上,你可以使用clock_gettime()函数:

clock_gettime(CLOCK_REALTIME, &start); // get initial time-stamp

// ... do stuff ... //

clock_gettime(CLOCK_REALTIME, &end);   // get final time-stamp

double t_ns = (double)(end.tv_sec - start.tv_sec) * 1.0e9 +
              (double)(end.tv_nsec - start.tv_nsec);
                                                 // subtract time-stamps and
                                                 // multiply to get elapsed
                                                 // time in ns

1
为什么会有负评?请参考http://linux.die.net/man/3/clock_gettime 了解更多关于clock_gettime的信息。 - Paul R
1
CLOCK_REALTIME 更合适吧?参见:https://stackoverflow.com/questions/23483261/using-clock-process-cputime-id-in-clock-gettime - Mahyar Mirrashed
1
@MahyarMirrashed:是的,在撰写本文时(2010年),CLOCK_REALTIME并不普遍可用,但现在使用它可能是安全的。 - Paul R

3

这是我编写的一个头文件,用于进行一些简单的性能分析(使用手动计时器):

#ifndef __ZENTIMER_H__
#define __ZENTIMER_H__

#ifdef ENABLE_ZENTIMER

#include <stdio.h>
#ifdef WIN32
#include <windows.h>
#else
#include <sys/time.h>
#endif
#ifdef HAVE_STDINT_H
#include <stdint.h>
#elif HAVE_INTTYPES_H
#include <inttypes.h>
#else
typedef unsigned char uint8_t;
typedef unsigned long int uint32_t;
typedef unsigned long long uint64_t;
#endif

#ifdef __cplusplus
extern "C" {
#pragma }
#endif /* __cplusplus */

#define ZTIME_USEC_PER_SEC 1000000

/* ztime_t represents usec */
typedef uint64_t ztime_t;

#ifdef WIN32
static uint64_t ztimer_freq = 0;
#endif

static void
ztime (ztime_t *ztimep)
{
#ifdef WIN32
    QueryPerformanceCounter ((LARGE_INTEGER *) ztimep);
#else
    struct timeval tv;

    gettimeofday (&tv, NULL);

    *ztimep = ((uint64_t) tv.tv_sec * ZTIME_USEC_PER_SEC) + tv.tv_usec;
#endif
}

enum {
    ZTIMER_INACTIVE = 0,
    ZTIMER_ACTIVE   = (1 << 0),
    ZTIMER_PAUSED   = (1 << 1),
};

typedef struct {
    ztime_t start;
    ztime_t stop;
    int state;
} ztimer_t;

#define ZTIMER_INITIALIZER { 0, 0, 0 }

/* default timer */
static ztimer_t __ztimer = ZTIMER_INITIALIZER;

static void
ZenTimerStart (ztimer_t *ztimer)
{
    ztimer = ztimer ? ztimer : &__ztimer;

    ztimer->state = ZTIMER_ACTIVE;
    ztime (&ztimer->start);
}

static void
ZenTimerStop (ztimer_t *ztimer)
{
    ztimer = ztimer ? ztimer : &__ztimer;

    ztime (&ztimer->stop);
    ztimer->state = ZTIMER_INACTIVE;
}

static void
ZenTimerPause (ztimer_t *ztimer)
{
    ztimer = ztimer ? ztimer : &__ztimer;

    ztime (&ztimer->stop);
    ztimer->state |= ZTIMER_PAUSED;
}

static void
ZenTimerResume (ztimer_t *ztimer)
{
    ztime_t now, delta;

    ztimer = ztimer ? ztimer : &__ztimer;

    /* unpause */
    ztimer->state &= ~ZTIMER_PAUSED;

    ztime (&now);

    /* calculate time since paused */
    delta = now - ztimer->stop;

    /* adjust start time to account for time elapsed since paused */
    ztimer->start += delta;
}

static double
ZenTimerElapsed (ztimer_t *ztimer, uint64_t *usec)
{
#ifdef WIN32
    static uint64_t freq = 0;
    ztime_t delta, stop;

    if (freq == 0)
        QueryPerformanceFrequency ((LARGE_INTEGER *) &freq);
#else
#define freq ZTIME_USEC_PER_SEC
    ztime_t delta, stop;
#endif

    ztimer = ztimer ? ztimer : &__ztimer;

    if (ztimer->state != ZTIMER_ACTIVE)
        stop = ztimer->stop;
    else
        ztime (&stop);

    delta = stop - ztimer->start;

    if (usec != NULL)
        *usec = (uint64_t) (delta * ((double) ZTIME_USEC_PER_SEC / (double) freq));

    return (double) delta / (double) freq;
}

static void
ZenTimerReport (ztimer_t *ztimer, const char *oper)
{
    fprintf (stderr, "ZenTimer: %s took %.6f seconds\n", oper, ZenTimerElapsed (ztimer, NULL));
}

#ifdef __cplusplus
}
#endif /* __cplusplus */

#else /* ! ENABLE_ZENTIMER */

#define ZenTimerStart(ztimerp)
#define ZenTimerStop(ztimerp)
#define ZenTimerPause(ztimerp)
#define ZenTimerResume(ztimerp)
#define ZenTimerElapsed(ztimerp, usec)
#define ZenTimerReport(ztimerp, oper)

#endif /* ENABLE_ZENTIMER */

#endif /* __ZENTIMER_H__ */
ztime()函数是您需要的主要逻辑——它获取当前时间并将其存储在一个以微秒为单位的64位无符号整数中。然后你可以通过简单的数学运算来找出经过的时间。 ZenTimer*()函数只是帮助函数,接受一个指向简单计时器结构体ztimer_t的指针,该结构体记录了开始时间和结束时间。 ZenTimerPause()/ZenTimerResume()函数允许您暂停和恢复计时器,以防您想打印一些不需要计时的调试信息,例如。
您可以在http://www.gnome.org/~fejj/code/zentimer.h上找到原始头文件的副本,在极小的可能情况下我可能弄错了<'s等html转义字符。 它在MIT/X11下获得许可,因此请随意将其复制到任何项目中。

2
以下是一组基于gettimeofday()系统调用的通用C函数,用于定时器管理。所有定时器属性都包含在一个单独的ticktimer结构体中 - 您想要的时间间隔,自计时器初始化以来的总运行时间,指向您想要调用的所需回调的指针,回调被调用的次数。回调函数看起来像这样:
void your_timer_cb (struct ticktimer *t) {
  /* do your stuff here */
}

要初始化并启动计时器,请调用ticktimer_init(your_timer, interval, TICKTIMER_RUN, your_timer_cb, 0)。
在程序的主循环中调用ticktimer_tick(your_timer),它将决定是否已经过了适当的时间来调用回调函数。
要停止计时器,只需调用ticktimer_ctl(your_timer, TICKTIMER_STOP)。
ticktimer.h:
#ifndef __TICKTIMER_H
#define __TICKTIMER_H

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/time.h>
#include <sys/types.h>

#define TICKTIMER_STOP         0x00
#define TICKTIMER_UNCOMPENSATE 0x00
#define TICKTIMER_RUN          0x01
#define TICKTIMER_COMPENSATE   0x02

struct ticktimer {
  u_int64_t tm_tick_interval;
  u_int64_t tm_last_ticked;
  u_int64_t tm_total;
  unsigned ticks_total;
  void (*tick)(struct ticktimer *);
  unsigned char flags;
  int id;
};

void ticktimer_init (struct ticktimer *, u_int64_t, unsigned char, void (*)(struct ticktimer *), int);
unsigned ticktimer_tick (struct ticktimer *);
void ticktimer_ctl (struct ticktimer *, unsigned char);
struct ticktimer *ticktimer_alloc (void);
void ticktimer_free (struct ticktimer *);
void ticktimer_tick_all (void);

#endif

ticktimer.c:

#include "ticktimer.h"

#define TIMER_COUNT 100

static struct ticktimer timers[TIMER_COUNT];
static struct timeval tm;

/*!
  @brief
    Initializes/sets the ticktimer struct.

  @param timer
    Pointer to ticktimer struct.
  @param interval
    Ticking interval in microseconds.
  @param flags
    Flag bitmask. Use TICKTIMER_RUN | TICKTIMER_COMPENSATE
    to start a compensating timer; TICKTIMER_RUN to start
    a normal uncompensating timer.
  @param tick
    Ticking callback function.
  @param id
    Timer ID. Useful if you want to distinguish different
    timers within the same callback function.
*/
void ticktimer_init (struct ticktimer *timer, u_int64_t interval, unsigned char flags, void (*tick)(struct ticktimer *), int id) {
  gettimeofday(&tm, NULL);
  timer->tm_tick_interval = interval;
  timer->tm_last_ticked = tm.tv_sec * 1000000 + tm.tv_usec;
  timer->tm_total = 0;
  timer->ticks_total = 0;
  timer->tick = tick;
  timer->flags = flags;
  timer->id = id;
}

/*!
  @brief 
    Checks the status of a ticktimer and performs a tick(s) if 
    necessary.

  @param timer
    Pointer to ticktimer struct.

  @return
    The number of times the timer was ticked.
*/
unsigned ticktimer_tick (struct ticktimer *timer) {
  register typeof(timer->tm_tick_interval) now;
  register typeof(timer->ticks_total) nticks, i;

  if (timer->flags & TICKTIMER_RUN) {
    gettimeofday(&tm, NULL);
    now = tm.tv_sec * 1000000 + tm.tv_usec;

    if (now >= timer->tm_last_ticked + timer->tm_tick_interval) {
      timer->tm_total += now - timer->tm_last_ticked;

      if (timer->flags & TICKTIMER_COMPENSATE) {
        nticks = (now - timer->tm_last_ticked) / timer->tm_tick_interval;
        timer->tm_last_ticked = now - ((now - timer->tm_last_ticked) % timer->tm_tick_interval);

        for (i = 0; i < nticks; i++) {
          timer->tick(timer);
          timer->ticks_total++;

          if (timer->tick == NULL) {
            break;
          }
        }

        return nticks;
      } else {
        timer->tm_last_ticked = now;
        timer->tick(timer);
        timer->ticks_total++;
        return 1;
      }
    }
  }

  return 0;
}

/*!
  @brief
    Controls the behaviour of a ticktimer.

  @param timer
    Pointer to ticktimer struct.
  @param flags
    Flag bitmask.
*/
inline void ticktimer_ctl (struct ticktimer *timer, unsigned char flags) {
  timer->flags = flags;
}

/*!
  @brief
    Allocates a ticktimer struct from an internal
    statically allocated list.

  @return
    Pointer to the newly allocated ticktimer struct
    or NULL when no more space is available.
*/
struct ticktimer *ticktimer_alloc (void) {
  register int i;

  for (i = 0; i < TIMER_COUNT; i++) {
    if (timers[i].tick == NULL) {
      return timers + i;
    }
  }

  return NULL;
}

/*!
  @brief
    Marks a previously allocated ticktimer struct as free.

  @param timer
    Pointer to ticktimer struct, usually returned by 
    ticktimer_alloc().
*/
inline void ticktimer_free (struct ticktimer *timer) {
  timer->tick = NULL;
}

/*!
  @brief
    Checks the status of all allocated timers from the 
    internal list and performs ticks where necessary.

  @note
    Should be called in the main loop.
*/
inline void ticktimer_tick_all (void) {
  register int i;

  for (i = 0; i < TIMER_COUNT; i++) {
    if (timers[i].tick != NULL) {
      ticktimer_tick(timers + i);
    }
  }
}

1
使用time.h库,可以尝试以下代码:
long start_time, end_time, elapsed;

start_time = clock();
// Do something
end_time = clock();

elapsed = (end_time - start_time) / CLOCKS_PER_SEC * 1000;

CLK_TCK已经过时,请使用CLOCKS_PER_SEC代替。 - Christoph
4
"clock()"函数无法实现1微秒的分辨率。有一份资料显示它的分辨率约为15毫秒:http://www.songho.ca/misc/timer/timer.html - Daniel Vassallo
1
clock() 的粒度在不同的系统上有所不同。 - lyxera
clock() 返回程序使用的处理器时间。使用 sleepusleep 等可能会在您的软件中引起问题。 - Bayou

0

对于 GNU 环境上下的好答案都很棒...

但是...如果你不在操作系统上运行呢?(或者说你需要计时定时器中断本身,或者你不在 PC 上运行)?这里有一个解决方案,直接使用 x86 CPU 时间戳计数器...并不是因为这是好的实践,或者应该在操作系统下运行时做的事情...

  • 注意:仅适用于禁用频率缩放的 x86。
  • 在 Linux 下,仅适用于非无滴答内核。

rdtsc.c:

#include <sys/time.h>
#include <time.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>

typedef unsigned long long int64;

static __inline__ int64 getticks(void)
{
     unsigned a, d;
     asm volatile("rdtsc" : "=a" (a), "=d" (d));
     return (((int64)a) | (((int64)d) << 32));
}

int main(){

     int64 tick,tick1;
     unsigned time=0,mt;

     // mt is the divisor to give microseconds

     FILE *pf;
     int i,r,l,n=0;
     char s[100];

     // time how long it takes to get the divisors, as a test 
     tick = getticks();

     // get the divisors  - todo: for max performance this can 
     // output a new binary or library with these values hardcoded 
     // for the relevant CPU - if you use the equivalent assembler for
     // that CPU
     pf = fopen("/proc/cpuinfo","r");
     do {
      r=fscanf(pf,"%s",&s[0]);
      if (r<0) {
       n=5; break;
      } else if (n==0) {
       if (strcmp("MHz",s)==0) n=1;
      } else if (n==1) {
       if (strcmp(":",s)==0) n=2;
      } else if (n==2) {
       n=3;
      };
     } while (n<3);
     fclose(pf);

     s[9]=(char)0;
     strcpy(&s[4],&s[5]);
     mt=atoi(s);

     printf("#define mt %u // (%s Hz) hardcode this for your a CPU-specific binary ;-)\n",mt,s);

     tick1 = getticks();
     time = (unsigned)((tick1-tick)/mt);
     printf("%u ms\n",time);

     // time the duration of sleep(1) - plus overheads ;-)
     tick = getticks();

     sleep(1);

     tick1 = getticks();
     time = (unsigned)((tick1-tick)/mt);
     printf("%u ms\n",time);

     return 0;
}

使用以下命令进行编译和运行

$ gcc rdtsc.c -o rdtsc && ./rdtsc

它从 /proc/cpuinfo 读取您 CPU 的除数,并显示读取该除数所需的微秒数,以及执行 sleep(1) 所需的时间... 假设 /proc/cpuinfo 中的 Mhz 评级始终包含 3 个小数点 :-o


待办事项:查看/proc/cpuinfo获取它的位置...但我猜测它会计时...所以你最好从内核保存它的更直接格式中读取... - dagelf
谁有兴趣更新此内容,直接从内核中读取?http://lxr.linux.no/linux+v3.8.1/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/proc.c http://lxr.linux.no/linux+v3.8.1/drivers/cpufreq/cpufreq.c#L1217 -- 甚至可以让它在频率缩放设备上工作... - dagelf

0
如果您的 Linux 系统支持它,clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC) 应该是一个高分辨率计时器,不受系统日期更改(例如 NTP 守护进程)的影响。

1
他说他在Windows上使用的是MinGW而不是Linux。 - Shedokan

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