How to time an operation in milliseconds in Ruby?

In this article, we will learn about how to time an operation in milliseconds in Ruby. We can perform this using different approaches.

Using Benchmark.realtime

Benchmark.realtime method to measure the time taken for the operation inside the block. Inside the block, we perform the operation we want to do. This method returns the time taken in seconds. We multiply it by 1000 to convert it into milliseconds.

Syntax:

require benchmark

time_in_seconds=Benchmark.realtime do

#operation

end

Below is the Ruby program to convert into milliseconds using Benchmark.realtime:

Ruby

require 'benchmark'

time_in_seconds = Benchmark.realtime do
  # Your operation goes here
  # For example:
  sleep(0.5)  # Simulating an operation that takes 0.5 seconds
end

 # converting seconds into milliseconds
time_in_milliseconds = (time_in_seconds * 1000.0).round(2)
puts "Time taken: #{time_in_milliseconds} milliseconds"

Output

Time taken: 500.54 milliseconds

Using Process.clock_gettime

Process.clock_gettime calculates the difference between start time and end time. It records the current time before performing the operation and after performing the operation using Process.clock_gettime(Process::CLOCK_MONOTIC) . This method returns the time taken in seconds. We multiply it by 1000 to convert into milliseconds.

Syntax:

start_time = Process.clock_gettime(Process::CLOCK_MONOTONIC)

#operation

end_time = Process.clock_gettime(Process::CLOCK_MONOTONIC)

time_in_seconds = end_time – start_time

Below is the Ruby program to convert into milliseconds using Process.clock_gettime:

Ruby

start_time = Process.clock_gettime(Process::CLOCK_MONOTONIC)
# Your operation goes here
# For example:
sleep(0.5)  # Simulating an operation that takes 0.5 seconds
end_time = Process.clock_gettime(Process::CLOCK_MONOTONIC)

#calculating the difference
time_in_seconds = end_time - start_time

#converting seconds into milliseconds
time_in_milliseconds = time_in_seconds * 1000.0
puts "Time taken: #{time_in_milliseconds} milliseconds"

Output

Time taken: 500.56117499980246 milliseconds

Using Time class

This approach is similar to the previous aprroach. In Time class method we have Time.now method using which we can calculate the current time before performing the operation and after performing the operation. Then we calculate the difference between them. It returns the result in seconds. We multiply it by 1000 to convert into milliseconds.

Syntax :

start_time = Time.now

#perform operation

end_time = Time.now

time_in_seconds = end_time – start_time

Below is the Ruby program to convert into milliseconds Using Time class:

Ruby

start_time = Time.now
# Your operation goes here
# For example:
sleep(0.5)  # Simulating an operation that takes 0.5 seconds
end_time = Time.now

time_in_milliseconds = (end_time - start_time) * 1000.0
puts "Time taken: #{time_in_milliseconds} milliseconds"

Output

Time taken: 500.386731 milliseconds