Empirical scaling analyzer: An automated system for empirical analysis of performance scaling

Abstract

The time complexity of algorithms, i.e., the scaling of the time required for solving a problem instance as a function of instance size, is of key interest in theoretical computer science and practical applications. In this work, we present a fully automated tool – Empirical Scaling Analyzer (ESA) – for performing sophisticated and detailed empirical scaling analyses. The methodological approach underlying ESA is based on a combination of automatic function fitting and bootstrap sampling; previous versions of the methodology have been used in prior work to characterize the empirical scaling behaviour of several prominent, high-performance SAT and TSP solvers. ESA is applicable to any algorithm or system, as long as running time data can be collected on sets of problem instances of various sizes. We present results from rigorous stress-testing to critically assess ESA on scenarios with challenging characteristics. We also give an overview of empirical scaling results obtained using ESA.