Category: WebAssembly

Celebrating 10 years of WebXPRT!

on March 30, 2023

We’re excited to announce that it’s been 10 years since the initial launch of WebXPRT! In early 2013, we introduced WebXPRT as a unique browser performance benchmark in a market space that was already crowded with a variety of specialized measurement tools. Our goal was to offer a benchmark that could compare the performance of almost any web-enabled device, using scenarios created to mirror real-world tasks. We wanted it to be a free, easily accessible, easy-to-run, useful, and appealing testing option for OEM labs, vendors, and the tech press.

When we look back on the last 10 years of WebXPRT, we can’t help but conclude that our efforts have been successful. Since those early days, the WebXPRT market presence has grown from humble beginnings into a worldwide industry standard. Hundreds of tech press publications have used WebXPRT in thousands of articles and reviews, and testers have now run the benchmark well over 1.1 million times.

Below, I’ve listed some of the WebXPRT team’s accomplishments over the last decade. If you’ve been following WebXPRT from the beginning, this may all be familiar, but if you’re new to the community, it may be interesting to see some of the steps that contributed to making WebXPRT what it is today.

We published four versions of the benchmark: WebXPRT 2013, WebXPRT 2015, WebXPRT 3, and WebXPRT 4.
We added subtests and updated existing workloads along the way to measure browser performance with newer HTML5, JavaScript, and WebAssembly technologies.
We added Simplified Chinese and German language options to the WebXPRT UI.
We added a WebXPRT host server in Singapore for testers in East Asia.
We published six WebXPRT white papers, along with three results calculation spreadsheets.
We published the WebXPRT: See how well your device handles common web tasks and What is WebXPRT and why should I care? videos.
We developed the WebXPRT 3 Processor Comparison Chart.
We developed the WebXPRT 4 results viewer tool.

In future blog posts, we’ll look at how the number of WebXPRT runs has grown over time, and how WebXPRT use has grown among OEMs, vendors, and the tech press worldwide. Do you have any thoughts that you’d like to share from your WebXPRT testing experience? If so, let us know!

Justin

Posted in benchmark, Benchmarking, BenchmarkXPRT, Browser-based benchmarks, Cross-platform benchmarks, German, History of benchmarking, JavaScript, Performance benchmarking, results, Simplified Chinese, tech press, WebAssembly, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 2013, WebXPRT 2015, WebXPRT 3, WebXPRT 4, WebXPRT Processor Comparison Chart, White papers | Tagged browser, browser benchmark, browser performance, German, HTML5, JavaScript, results, Simplified Chinese, WebAssembly, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 2015, WebXPRT 3, WebXPRT 4, white paper |

How to automate WebXPRT 4 testing

By Justin Greene

on November 23, 2022

As the number of WebXPRT runs continues to grow, we realize many new WebXPRT users may be unfamiliar with all the features and capabilities of the benchmark. To help inform users about features that might facilitate their testing, we’ve decided to highlight a few WebXPRT features here in the blog. A few weeks ago, we discussed the multiple language options available in the WebXPRT 4 UI. This week, we look at WebXPRT 4 test automation.

WebXPRT 4 allows users to run scripts in an automated fashion. You can control the execution of WebXPRT 4 by appending parameters and values to the WebXPRT URL. Three parameters are available: testtype, tests, and result. Below, you’ll find a description of those parameters and instructions for utilizing automation.

Test type

The WebXPRT automation framework accounts for two test types: (1) the six core workloads and (2) any experimental workloads we might add in future builds. There are currently no experimental tests in WebXPRT 4, so always set the test type variable to 1.

Core tests: 1

Test scenario

This parameter lets you specify which tests to run by using the following codes:

Photo enhancement: 1
Organize album using AI: 2
Stock option pricing: 4
Encrypt notes and OCR scan using WASM: 8
Sales graphs: 16
Online homework: 32

To run a single individual test, use its code. To run multiple tests, use the sum of their codes. For example, to run Stocks (4) and Notes (8), use the sum of 12. To run all core tests, use 63, the sum of all the individual test codes (1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 16 + 32 = 63).

Results format

This parameter lets you select the format of the results:

Display the result as an HTML table: 1
Display the result as XML: 2
Display the result as CSV: 3
Download the result as CSV: 4

To use the automation feature, start with the URL http://www.principledtechnologies.com/benchmarkxprt/webxprt/2021/wx4_build_3_7_3, append a question mark (?), and add the parameters and values separated by ampersands (&). For example, to run all the core tests and download the results, you would use the following URL: http://principledtechnologies.com/benchmarkxprt/webxprt/2021/wx4_build_3_7_3/auto.php?testtype=1&tests=63&result=4

We hope the WebXPRT automation features will make testing easier for you. If you have any questions about WebXPRT or the automation process, please feel free to ask!

Justin

Posted in Automation, benchmark, Benchmark metrics, Benchmarking, BenchmarkXPRT, Browser-based benchmarks, Cross-platform benchmarks, Performance benchmarking, results, Web-based testing, WebAssembly, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 4 | Tagged automation, benchmark, cross-platform, HTML5, WASM, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 4 |

The WebXPRT 4 results calculation white paper is now available

By Justin Greene

on September 8, 2022

Last week, we published the Exploring WebXPRT 4 white paper. The paper describes the design and structure of WebXPRT 4, including detailed information about the benchmark’s harness, HTML5 and WebAssembly capability checks, and the structure of the performance test workloads. This week, to help WebXPRT 4 testers understand how the benchmark calculates results, we’ve published the WebXPRT 4 results calculation and confidence interval white paper.

The white paper explains the WebXPRT 4 confidence interval and how it differs from typical benchmark variability, and the formulas the benchmark uses to calculate the individual workload scenario scores and overall score. The paper also provides an overview of the statistical techniques WebXPRT uses to translate raw timings into scores.

To supplement the white paper’s discussion of the results calculation process, we’ve also published a results calculation spreadsheet that shows the raw data from a sample test run and reproduces the calculations WebXPRT uses to produce workload scores and the overall score.

The paper is available on WebXPRT.com and on our XPRT white papers page. If you have any questions about the WebXPRT results calculation process, please let us know!

Justin

Posted in benchmark, Browser-based benchmarks, HTML5, Performance benchmarking, results, WebAssembly, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 4, White papers |

The Exploring WebXPRT 4 white paper is now available

By Justin Greene

on September 1, 2022

This week, we published the Exploring WebXPRT 4 white paper. It describes the design and structure of WebXPRT 4, including detailed information about the benchmark’s harness, HTML5 and WebAssembly (WASM) capability checks, and changes we’ve made to the structure of the performance test workloads. We explain the benchmark’s scoring methodology, how to automate tests, and how to submit results for publication. The white paper also includes information about the third-party functions and libraries that WebXPRT 4 uses during the HTML5 and WASM capability checks and performance workloads.

The Exploring WebXPRT 4 white paper promotes the high level of transparency and disclosure that is a core value of the BenchmarkXPRT Development Community. We’ve always believed that transparency builds trust, and trust is essential for a healthy benchmarking community. That’s why we involve community members in the benchmark development process and disclose how we build our benchmarks and how they work.

You can find the paper on WebXPRT.com and our XPRT white papers page. If you have any questions about WebXPRT 4, please let us know, and be sure to check out our other XPRT white papers.

Justin

Posted in Automation, benchmark, Benchmarking, BenchmarkXPRT, BenchmarkXPRT development community, Performance benchmarking, results, results submission, WebAssembly, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 3, WebXPRT 4, White papers | Tagged benchmark, BenchmarkXPRT, BenchmarkXPRT Development Community, HTML5, results, results submission, WebAssembly, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 4, white paper |

A note about WebXPRT 4 and Internet Explorer

By Justin Greene

on February 10, 2022

During some recent internal WebXPRT 4 Preview testing, we discovered that the WebXPRT 4 Preview does not run in Internet Explorer (IE) 11. In fact, before the first workload begins in IE, the WebXPRT 4 built-in WebAssembly (WASM) check fails and produces an error message.

The reason we haven’t tested WebXPRT 4 on IE 11 before now is that Internet Explorer is currently in its end-of-life phase. Microsoft has been removing support for IE 11 in Microsoft 365 and other apps for some time, they did not include the desktop version of IE 11 in Windows 11, and they are removing support for IE 11 in Windows 10 on June 15, 2022. Among Windows users, the most popular browsers are now Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox.

We’re proud that WebXPRT has historically had broad, cross-platform compatibility in almost any browser. However, the modern web is rapidly incorporating powerful tools such as WASM that do not work in older legacy browsers. To maintain the benchmark’s relevance in future years, we need to deprioritize some level of legacy compatibility, and this begins with WebXPRT 4 release.

For the WebXPRT testers who wish to continue testing with IE 11, WebXPRT 3 will remain on our site for the foreseeable future. Barring any further changes from Microsoft, the benchmark should continue to run in existing instances of the Internet Explorer desktop app.

The official WebXPRT 4 launch is approaching, and we hope to announce the release date within the next few weeks! Until that time, we will continue to share the latest updates here in the blog. If you have any questions or comments about WebXPRT 4 or compatibility with legacy browsers, please feel free to contact us!

Justin

Posted in benchmark, Benchmarking, Browser-based benchmarks, Cross-platform benchmarks, Google Chrome, Performance benchmarking, Web-based testing, WebAssembly, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 3, webxprt 4, Windows 11 | Tagged browser, browser benchmark, browser performance, Google Chrome, Microsoft, Microsoft Edge, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 3, WebXPRT 4 |

The WebXPRT 4 results viewer is live!

By Justin Greene

on December 27, 2021

In October, we shared an early preview of the new results viewer tool that we’ve been developing in parallel with WebXPRT 4. The WebXPRT 4 Preview is now available to the public, and we’re excited to announce that the new results viewer is also live. We already have over 65 test results in the viewer, and in the weeks leading up to the WebXPRT 4 general release, we’ll be actively populating the viewer with the latest PT-curated WebXPRT 4 Preview results.

We encourage readers to visit the blog for details about the viewer’s features, and to take some time to explore the data. We’re excited about this new tool, which we view as an ongoing project with room for expansion and improvement based on user feedback.

If you have any questions or comments about the WebXPRT 4 Preview or the new results viewer, please feel free to contact us!

Justin

Posted in HTML5, JavaScript, results, results submission, WebAssembly, WebXPRT, webxprt 4 | Tagged browser benchmark, browser performance, browsers, preview, results, results submission, test results, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 4 |

Category: WebAssembly

Celebrating 10 years of WebXPRT!

How to automate WebXPRT 4 testing

Test type

Test scenario

Results format

The WebXPRT 4 results calculation white paper is now available

The Exploring WebXPRT 4 white paper is now available

A note about WebXPRT 4 and Internet Explorer

The WebXPRT 4 results viewer is live!

Check out the other XPRTs: