The time problem
The notion of time in Ada is necessary since the language is intended for use in programming embedded real-time systems. In this chapter, we examine time related issues in Ada and their relation to our approach to benchmarking. There are two aspects of the time problem area that must be considered in performance evaluation. The first is a need for benchmark programs to evaluate the timing related features of the language. Secondly, the existence of timing support provides the basis for developing a method within the language for measuring benchmark execution times. In order to develop an accurate and reliable method for timing measurement, the support for timing provided by the language must be calibrated using benchmark programs. We discuss these two inter-related areas of the time problem in the paragraphs below, after first reviewing the notion of time present in Ada.