Optimize Benchmarks

Optimize Benchmarks

Iterative loop: benchmark, optimise, test, verify improvement, repeat.

Workflow

1. Baseline

cargo bench -p syncpack-specifier -- --save-baseline before 2>&1 | tail -40

Save the output. Identify which variants are slowest.

2. Identify Bottleneck

From the full baseline, focus on the slowest benchmarks first.

Priority order for specifier parsing:

1. Specifier::create — the main parse function, called for every version string
2. parser::is_range — checks 12 regexes sequentially
3. parser::is_exact — checks 4 regexes sequentially
4. parser::is_complex_range — splits, collects, iterates
5. Individual regex matches in regexes.rs

3. Apply ONE Optimisation

Make a single, focused change. Do NOT bundle multiple optimisations — each must be independently measurable.

4. Verify Tests Pass

cargo test -p syncpack-specifier 2>&1 | tail -5

If tests fail, fix or revert. Never proceed with failing tests.

5. Benchmark Against Baseline

cargo bench -p syncpack-specifier -- --baseline before 2>&1 | tail -40

Look for [-XX.XXX% ...] (improvement) or [+XX.XXX% ...] (regression).

6. Evaluate

• Improved: Report the gains. Update baseline: cargo bench -p syncpack-specifier -- --save-baseline before. Continue to step 2.
• No change: Revert and try a different approach.
• Regressed: Revert immediately.

7. Repeat

Go to step 2. Stop when:

• User says stop
• No bottlenecks remain
• Gains are <1% across all benchmarks

Known Optimisation Opportunities

High Impact

Replace regex with char-based parsing in parser.rs / regexes.rs

Most regexes in regexes.rs match simple patterns like ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ (exact semver). These can be replaced with byte/char iteration:

// Instead of regex EXACT: r"^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$"
fn is_exact_version(s: &str) -> bool {
  let mut dots = 0;
  let bytes = s.as_bytes();
  if bytes.is_empty() { return false; }
  for &b in bytes {
    match b {
      b'0'..=b'9' => {},
      b'.' => dots += 1,
      _ => return false,
    }
  }
  dots == 2
}

Regex is_match() has overhead even for simple patterns: engine setup, capture group allocation. Char-based parsing for these patterns is 5-20x faster.

Reduce sequential regex attempts in parser::is_range

is_range tries 12 regexes. Instead, match on first char(s) to dispatch:

fn is_range(s: &str) -> bool {
  match s.as_bytes().first() {
    Some(b'^') => is_semver_after(s, 1) || is_semver_tag_after(s, 1),
    Some(b'~') => is_semver_after(s, 1) || is_semver_tag_after(s, 1),
    Some(b'>') => { /* check >= vs > then validate remainder */ },
    Some(b'<') => { /* check <= vs < then validate remainder */ },
    _ => false,
  }
}

Consolidate related regex patterns

Many regexes are pairs: EXACT + EXACT_TAG, CARET + CARET_TAG, etc. Merge each pair into one function that handles both cases:

fn is_exact(s: &str) -> bool {
  // Parse digits.digits.digits, then optionally -tag
  let rest = parse_semver_triple(s)?;
  rest.is_empty() || rest.starts_with('-')
}

Medium Impact

Replace lazy_static with std::sync::OnceLock

lazy_static uses an extra indirection layer. OnceLock (stable since Rust 1.80) is zero-cost after init:

use std::sync::OnceLock;

fn exact_regex() -> &'static Regex {
  static RE: OnceLock<Regex> = OnceLock::new();
  RE.get_or_init(|| Regex::new(r"^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$").unwrap())
}

But if regex is being replaced with char-based parsing, this becomes irrelevant.

Reorder checks in Specifier::create by frequency

In a typical monorepo, most specifiers are ^x.y.z (range) or x.y.z (exact). The current order already checks exact first, then range — good. But is_exact tries 4 regex patterns. A single fast char check can short-circuit:

// Fast path: first char is digit → likely exact or major or minor
// Fast path: first char is ^ or ~ → likely range

Avoid String allocation in strip_semver_range

strip_semver_range returns &str (already good), but callers like Range::create then .to_string() the result. Consider whether the allocation can be deferred.

Low Impact

• Replace HashMap in caches with FxHashMap (faster hashing for short strings)
• Use SmallString or stack-allocated strings for short specifiers
• Pre-size cache HashMap with expected capacity

Architecture Notes

Key files in crates/syncpack-specifier/src/:

The hot path is: Specifier::create() → parser::is_*() → regexes::* → variant ::create() → node_semver parsing.

Optimising the parser::is_* layer gives the biggest wins because it runs for every specifier, and most of the time most checks return false (only one branch matches).

Rules

• ONE change per iteration
• Always verify tests pass before benchmarking
• Always compare against baseline
• Report numbers: before → after (% change)
• Revert regressions immediately
• Don't optimise what doesn't show up in benchmarks
• Use fast iteration ("batch" filter) during the loop, full suite only at start and end

Source: JamieMason/syncpack — distributed by TomeVault.