Creative Computing Benchmark

The Creative Computing Benchmark, also called Ahl's Simple Benchmark, is a <a href="/facts/Benchmark_(computing)/XSS42cRe">computer benchmark</a> that was used to compare the performance of the <a href="/facts/BASIC/ELoTkjnM">BASIC</a> programming language on various machines. It was first introduced in the November 1983 issue of <a href="/facts/Creative_Computing_(magazine)/xDFuhfa2">Creative Computing</a> magazine with the measures from a number of <a href="/facts/8-bit/2CkhLNoH">8-bit computers</a> that were popular at the time. Over a period of a few months, the list was greatly expanded to include practically every contemporary machine, topped by the <a href="/facts/Cray-1/4afuzp0D">Cray-1</a> supercomputer, which ran it in 0.01 seconds.
The Creative Computing Benchmark was one of three common benchmarks of the era. Its primary competition in the early 1980s in the United States was the <a href="/facts/Byte_Sieve/N2LlNKQq">Byte Sieve</a>, of September 1981, while the earlier <a href="/facts/Rugg%2fFeldman_benchmarks/xRdle8xb">Rugg/Feldman benchmarks</a> of June 1977 were not as well known in the United States, but were widely used in the United Kingdom.

Creative Computing Benchmark open-in-new

Creative Computing Benchmark