BKBNCHMK.RVW   960903
 
"The Benchmark Book", Rich Grace, 1996, 0-13-341801-4
%A   Rich Grace
%C   One Lake St., Upper Saddle River, NJ   07458
%D   1996
%G   0-13-341801-4
%I   Prentice Hall
%O   +1-201-236-7139 fax: +1-201-236-7131 beth_hespe@prenhall.com
%P   313
%T   "The Benchmark Book"
 
As the saying goes, the wonderful thing about computer standards is that there
are so many to choose from.  The same is true of computer benchmarks, with the
added complication that said benchmarks must, by their nature, measure a
complex amalgam of parts and functions.  A single number may give you next to
no information about how a particular machine will perform the specific task
you want it to.
 
Grace has compiled an overview look at the classic tests, Ziff-Davis' personal
computer and network tests, SPEC, TPC (Transaction Processing Performance
Council), AIM Technology, Neal Nelson and Associates, and other tests.  He
explains what the benchmarks are intended to measure, some details about what
the actually look at, and, where appropriate, how these tests can be skewed or
misused.  This provides the manager with an understanding of what type of test
to look for, and which to ignore, for a given type of application.
 
A frustration in the book might be the lack of contact information.  Reading
the chapters, one might be interested to find either the test programs or
suites themselves, or the compilation reports of testing organizations. 
Addresses for some of the test organizations are available in the bibliography,
but this could have better placement, and could definitely be expanded.
 
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1996   BKBNCHMK.RVW   960903

======================
roberts@decus.ca         rslade@vcn.bc.ca         slade@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
link to virus, book info at http://www.freenet.victoria.bc.ca/techrev/rms.html
Author "Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses" 0-387-94663-2 (800-SPRINGER)