1. A reference
mark that something is measured against. The original benchmarks are places on the workbench used to measure common lengths of material, such as lumber.
2. In surveying, a "bench
mark" (two words) is a post or other permanent
mark established at a known elevation that is used as the basis for measuring the elevation of other topographical points.
In
computer and
Internet technology, the term may have any of these meanings:
1) A set of conditions against which a product or system is measured.
PC magazine laboratories frequently
test and compare several
new computers or computer devices against the same set of application programs, user interactions, and contextual situations. The total context against which all products are measured and compared is referred to as the benchmark.
2) A program that is specially designed to provide measurements for a particular operating system or application.
3) A known product with which users are familiar or accustomed to that other newer products can be compared to.
4) A set of performance criteria which a product is expected to meet.
Laboratory benchmarks sometimes fail to reflect real-world product use. For this reason, Eric Raymond defines a benchmark as "an inaccurate measure of
computer performance" and cites the "old
hacker's saying" that "In the
computer industry, there are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and benchmarks."
Still, benchmarks can be useful and some companies offer benchmark programs for downloading or a benchmark testing service on their own site.
