cli progress bar benchmark

Introduction

We make sure that the timer is not TRUE, by setting it to ten hours.

library(cli)
# 10 hours
cli:::cli_tick_set(10 * 60 * 60 * 1000)
cli_tick_reset()
#> NULL
`__cli_update_due`
#> [1] FALSE

R benchmarks

The timer

fun <- function() NULL
ben_st <- bench::mark(
  `__cli_update_due`,
  fun(),
  .Call(ccli_tick_reset),
  interactive(),
  check = FALSE
)
ben_st
#> # A tibble: 4 × 6
#>   expression                  min   median `itr/sec` mem_alloc `gc/sec`
#>   <bch:expr>             <bch:tm> <bch:tm>     <dbl> <bch:byt>    <dbl>
#> 1 __cli_update_due              0     10ns    1.15e8        0B        0
#> 2 fun()                  120.02ns  141.1ns    4.78e6        0B        0
#> 3 .Call(ccli_tick_reset)    100ns    120ns    8.29e6        0B        0
#> 4 interactive()            8.96ns   10.1ns    6.10e7        0B        0

ben_st2 <- bench::mark(
  if (`__cli_update_due`) foobar()
)
ben_st2
#> # A tibble: 1 × 6
#>   expression                    min median `itr/sec` mem_alloc `gc/sec`
#>   <bch:expr>                  <bch> <bch:>     <dbl> <bch:byt>    <dbl>
#> 1 if (`__cli_update_due`) fo…  40ns   49ns 21704837.        0B        0

`cli_progress_along()`

seq <- 1:100000
ta <- cli_progress_along(seq)
bench::mark(seq[[1]], ta[[1]])
#> # A tibble: 2 × 6
#>   expression      min   median `itr/sec` mem_alloc `gc/sec`
#>   <bch:expr> <bch:tm> <bch:tm>     <dbl> <bch:byt>    <dbl>
#> 1 seq[[1]]      110ns    131ns  6999178.        0B       0 
#> 2 ta[[1]]       130ns    150ns  5941641.        0B     594.

`for` loop

This is the baseline:

f0 <- function(n = 1e5) {
  x <- 0
  seq <- 1:n
  for (i in seq) {
    x <- x + i %% 2
  }
  x
}

With progress bars:

fp <- function(n = 1e5) {
  x <- 0
  seq <- 1:n
  for (i in cli_progress_along(seq)) {
    x <- x + seq[[i]] %% 2
  }
  x
}

Overhead per iteration:

ben_taf <- bench::mark(f0(), fp())
ben_taf
#> # A tibble: 2 × 6
#>   expression      min   median `itr/sec` mem_alloc `gc/sec`
#>   <bch:expr> <bch:tm> <bch:tm>     <dbl> <bch:byt>    <dbl>
#> 1 f0()         22.4ms   22.5ms      44.3    21.6KB     251.
#> 2 fp()         24.9ms   24.9ms      40.1    82.3KB     201.
(ben_taf$median[2] - ben_taf$median[1]) / 1e5
#> [1] 24.1ns

ben_taf2 <- bench::mark(f0(1e6), fp(1e6))
#> Warning: Some expressions had a GC in every iteration; so filtering is
#> disabled.
ben_taf2
#> # A tibble: 2 × 6
#>   expression      min   median `itr/sec` mem_alloc `gc/sec`
#>   <bch:expr> <bch:tm> <bch:tm>     <dbl> <bch:byt>    <dbl>
#> 1 f0(1e+06)     249ms    249ms      3.99        0B     33.3
#> 2 fp(1e+06)     265ms    266ms      3.76    1.87KB     30.1
(ben_taf2$median[2] - ben_taf2$median[1]) / 1e6
#> [1] 16.9ns

ben_taf3 <- bench::mark(f0(1e7), fp(1e7))
#> Warning: Some expressions had a GC in every iteration; so filtering is
#> disabled.
ben_taf3
#> # A tibble: 2 × 6
#>   expression      min   median `itr/sec` mem_alloc `gc/sec`
#>   <bch:expr> <bch:tm> <bch:tm>     <dbl> <bch:byt>    <dbl>
#> 1 f0(1e+07)     2.56s    2.56s     0.390        0B     32.7
#> 2 fp(1e+07)     2.61s    2.61s     0.383    1.87KB     31.8
(ben_taf3$median[2] - ben_taf3$median[1]) / 1e7
#> [1] 4.86ns

ben_taf4 <- bench::mark(f0(1e8), fp(1e8))
#> Warning: Some expressions had a GC in every iteration; so filtering is
#> disabled.
ben_taf4
#> # A tibble: 2 × 6
#>   expression      min   median `itr/sec` mem_alloc `gc/sec`
#>   <bch:expr> <bch:tm> <bch:tm>     <dbl> <bch:byt>    <dbl>
#> 1 f0(1e+08)     23.6s    23.6s    0.0425        0B     20.8
#> 2 fp(1e+08)     25.1s    25.1s    0.0398    1.87KB     19.4
(ben_taf4$median[2] - ben_taf4$median[1]) / 1e8
#> [1] 15.8ns

Mapping with `lapply()`

This is the baseline:

f0 <- function(n = 1e5) {
  seq <- 1:n
  ret <- lapply(seq, function(x) {
    x %% 2
  })
  invisible(ret)
}

With an index vector:

f01 <- function(n = 1e5) {
  seq <- 1:n
  ret <- lapply(seq_along(seq), function(i) {
    seq[[i]] %% 2
  })
  invisible(ret)
}

With progress bars:

fp <- function(n = 1e5) {
  seq <- 1:n
  ret <- lapply(cli_progress_along(seq), function(i) {
    seq[[i]] %% 2
  })
  invisible(ret)
}

Overhead per iteration:

ben_tam <- bench::mark(f0(), f01(), fp())
#> Warning: Some expressions had a GC in every iteration; so filtering is
#> disabled.
ben_tam
#> # A tibble: 3 × 6
#>   expression      min   median `itr/sec` mem_alloc `gc/sec`
#>   <bch:expr> <bch:tm> <bch:tm>     <dbl> <bch:byt>    <dbl>
#> 1 f0()         83.7ms   86.6ms     11.1      781KB     14.8
#> 2 f01()       115.7ms  120.5ms      7.89     781KB     11.8
#> 3 fp()        129.7ms  132.5ms      7.49     783KB     13.1
(ben_tam$median[3] - ben_tam$median[1]) / 1e5
#> [1] 460ns

ben_tam2 <- bench::mark(f0(1e6), f01(1e6), fp(1e6))
#> Warning: Some expressions had a GC in every iteration; so filtering is
#> disabled.
ben_tam2
#> # A tibble: 3 × 6
#>   expression      min   median `itr/sec` mem_alloc `gc/sec`
#>   <bch:expr> <bch:tm> <bch:tm>     <dbl> <bch:byt>    <dbl>
#> 1 f0(1e+06)  942.79ms 942.79ms     1.06     7.63MB     4.24
#> 2 f01(1e+06)    1.06s    1.06s     0.941    7.63MB     3.77
#> 3 fp(1e+06)     1.87s    1.87s     0.534    7.63MB     2.67
(ben_tam2$median[3] - ben_tam2$median[1]) / 1e6
#> [1] 931ns
(ben_tam2$median[3] - ben_tam2$median[2]) / 1e6
#> [1] 811ns

Mapping with purrr

This is the baseline:

f0 <- function(n = 1e5) {
  seq <- 1:n
  ret <- purrr::map(seq, function(x) {
    x %% 2
  })
  invisible(ret)
}

With index vector:

f01 <- function(n = 1e5) {
  seq <- 1:n
  ret <- purrr::map(seq_along(seq), function(i) {
    seq[[i]] %% 2
  })
  invisible(ret)
}

With progress bars:

fp <- function(n = 1e5) {
  seq <- 1:n
  ret <- purrr::map(cli_progress_along(seq), function(i) {
    seq[[i]] %% 2
  })
  invisible(ret)
}

Overhead per iteration:

ben_pur <- bench::mark(f0(), f01(), fp())
ben_pur
#> # A tibble: 3 × 6
#>   expression      min   median `itr/sec` mem_alloc `gc/sec`
#>   <bch:expr> <bch:tm> <bch:tm>     <dbl> <bch:byt>    <dbl>
#> 1 f0()         75.1ms   75.5ms      13.2    1.41MB     5.30
#> 2 f01()          91ms   92.2ms      10.9   781.3KB    10.9 
#> 3 fp()         98.4ms   99.5ms      10.1  783.23KB     6.71
(ben_pur$median[3] - ben_pur$median[1]) / 1e5
#> [1] 240ns
(ben_pur$median[3] - ben_pur$median[2]) / 1e5
#> [1] 73.7ns

ben_pur2 <- bench::mark(f0(1e6), f01(1e6), fp(1e6))
#> Warning: Some expressions had a GC in every iteration; so filtering is
#> disabled.
ben_pur2
#> # A tibble: 3 × 6
#>   expression      min   median `itr/sec` mem_alloc `gc/sec`
#>   <bch:expr> <bch:tm> <bch:tm>     <dbl> <bch:byt>    <dbl>
#> 1 f0(1e+06)  855.93ms 855.93ms     1.17     7.63MB     2.34
#> 2 f01(1e+06)    1.15s    1.15s     0.867    7.63MB     3.47
#> 3 fp(1e+06)     1.47s    1.47s     0.682    7.63MB     2.04
(ben_pur2$median[3] - ben_pur2$median[1]) / 1e6
#> [1] 611ns
(ben_pur2$median[3] - ben_pur2$median[2]) / 1e6
#> [1] 314ns

`ticking()`

f0 <- function(n = 1e5) {
  i <- 0
  x <- 0 
  while (i < n) {
    x <- x + i %% 2
    i <- i + 1
  }
  x
}

fp <- function(n = 1e5) {
  i <- 0
  x <- 0 
  while (ticking(i < n)) {
    x <- x + i %% 2
    i <- i + 1
  }
  x
}

ben_tk <- bench::mark(f0(), fp())
#> Warning: Some expressions had a GC in every iteration; so filtering is
#> disabled.
ben_tk
#> # A tibble: 2 × 6
#>   expression      min   median `itr/sec` mem_alloc `gc/sec`
#>   <bch:expr> <bch:tm> <bch:tm>     <dbl> <bch:byt>    <dbl>
#> 1 f0()        26.98ms  32.45ms    31.7      39.3KB     1.98
#> 2 fp()          4.38s    4.38s     0.228   100.4KB     2.74
(ben_tk$median[2] - ben_tk$median[1]) / 1e5
#> [1] 43.5µs

Traditional API

f0 <- function(n = 1e5) {
  x <- 0
  for (i in 1:n) {
    x <- x + i %% 2
  }
  x
}

fp <- function(n = 1e5) {
  cli_progress_bar(total = n)
  x <- 0
  for (i in 1:n) {
    x <- x + i %% 2
    cli_progress_update()
  }
  x
}

ff <- function(n = 1e5) {
  cli_progress_bar(total = n)
  x <- 0
  for (i in 1:n) {
    x <- x + i %% 2
    if (`__cli_update_due`) cli_progress_update()
  }
  x
}

ben_api <- bench::mark(f0(), ff(), fp())
#> Warning: Some expressions had a GC in every iteration; so filtering is
#> disabled.
ben_api
#> # A tibble: 3 × 6
#>   expression      min   median `itr/sec` mem_alloc `gc/sec`
#>   <bch:expr> <bch:tm> <bch:tm>     <dbl> <bch:byt>    <dbl>
#> 1 f0()        23.22ms  42.66ms    24.6      18.7KB     3.79
#> 2 ff()        34.04ms  51.58ms    19.8      27.6KB     1.80
#> 3 fp()          2.45s    2.45s     0.409    25.1KB     2.86
(ben_api$median[3] - ben_api$median[1]) / 1e5
#> [1] 24µs
(ben_api$median[2] - ben_api$median[1]) / 1e5
#> [1] 89.2ns

ben_api2 <- bench::mark(f0(1e6), ff(1e6), fp(1e6))
#> Warning: Some expressions had a GC in every iteration; so filtering is
#> disabled.
ben_api2
#> # A tibble: 3 × 6
#>   expression      min   median `itr/sec` mem_alloc `gc/sec`
#>   <bch:expr> <bch:tm> <bch:tm>     <dbl> <bch:byt>    <dbl>
#> 1 f0(1e+06)   229.2ms  229.4ms    4.35          0B     4.35
#> 2 ff(1e+06)   332.1ms  332.5ms    3.01      1.88KB     3.01
#> 3 fp(1e+06)     22.1s    22.1s    0.0453    1.88KB     2.44
(ben_api2$median[3] - ben_api2$median[1]) / 1e6
#> [1] 21.9µs
(ben_api2$median[2] - ben_api2$median[1]) / 1e6
#> [1] 103ns

C benchmarks

Baseline function:

SEXP test_baseline() {
  int i;
  int res = 0;
  for (i = 0; i < 2000000000; i++) {
    res += i % 2;
  }
  return ScalarInteger(res);
}

Switch + modulo check:

SEXP test_modulo(SEXP progress) {
  int i;
  int res = 0;
  int progress_ = LOGICAL(progress)[0];
  for (i = 0; i < 2000000000; i++) {
    if (i % 10000 == 0 && progress_) cli_progress_set(R_NilValue, i);
    res += i % 2;
  }
  return ScalarInteger(res);
}

cli progress bar API:

SEXP test_cli() {
  int i;
  int res = 0;
  SEXP bar = PROTECT(cli_progress_bar(2000000000, NULL));
  for (i = 0; i < 2000000000; i++) {
    if (CLI_SHOULD_TICK) cli_progress_set(bar, i);
    res += i % 2;
  }
  cli_progress_done(bar);
  UNPROTECT(1);
  return ScalarInteger(res);
}

SEXP test_cli_unroll() {
  int i = 0;
  int res = 0;
  SEXP bar = PROTECT(cli_progress_bar(2000000000, NULL));
  int s, final, step = 2000000000 / 100000;
  for (s = 0; s < 100000; s++) {
    if (CLI_SHOULD_TICK) cli_progress_set(bar, i);
    final = (s + 1) * step;
    for (i = s * step; i < final; i++) {
      res += i % 2;
    }
  }
  cli_progress_done(bar);
  UNPROTECT(1);
  return ScalarInteger(res);
}

library(progresstest)
ben_c <- bench::mark(
  test_baseline(),
  test_modulo(),
  test_cli(),
  test_cli_unroll()
)
ben_c
#> # A tibble: 4 × 6
#>   expression             min   median `itr/sec` mem_alloc `gc/sec`
#>   <bch:expr>        <bch:tm> <bch:tm>     <dbl> <bch:byt>    <dbl>
#> 1 test_baseline()   622.92ms 622.92ms     1.61     2.08KB        0
#> 2 test_modulo()        1.25s    1.25s     0.803    2.24KB        0
#> 3 test_cli()           1.24s    1.24s     0.804    23.9KB        0
#> 4 test_cli_unroll() 623.91ms 623.91ms     1.60     3.56KB        0
(ben_c$median[3] - ben_c$median[1]) / 2000000000
#> [1] 1ns

Display update

We only update the display a fixed number of times per second. (Currently maximum five times per second.)

Let’s measure how long a single update takes.

Iterator with a bar

cli_progress_bar(total = 100000)
bench::mark(cli_progress_update(force = TRUE), max_iterations = 10000)
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#> # A tibble: 1 × 6
#>   expression                    min median `itr/sec` mem_alloc `gc/sec`
#>   <bch:expr>                  <bch> <bch:>     <dbl> <bch:byt>    <dbl>
#> 1 cli_progress_update(force … 6.3ms  6.4ms      154.     1.4MB     2.02
cli_progress_done()

Iterator without a bar

cli_progress_bar(total = NA)
bench::mark(cli_progress_update(force = TRUE), max_iterations = 10000)
#> ⠙ 1 done (510/s) | 3ms
#> ⠹ 2 done (70/s) | 29ms
#> ⠸ 3 done (83/s) | 37ms
#> ⠼ 4 done (92/s) | 44ms
#> ⠴ 5 done (98/s) | 52ms
#> ⠦ 6 done (103/s) | 59ms
#> ⠧ 7 done (106/s) | 66ms
#> ⠇ 8 done (109/s) | 74ms
#> ⠏ 9 done (111/s) | 81ms
#> ⠋ 10 done (113/s) | 89ms
#> ⠙ 11 done (115/s) | 96ms
#> ⠹ 12 done (116/s) | 104ms
#> ⠸ 13 done (118/s) | 111ms
#> ⠼ 14 done (119/s) | 119ms
#> ⠴ 15 done (119/s) | 126ms
#> ⠦ 16 done (120/s) | 134ms
#> ⠧ 17 done (121/s) | 141ms
#> ⠇ 18 done (122/s) | 148ms
#> ⠏ 19 done (122/s) | 156ms
#> ⠋ 20 done (123/s) | 164ms
#> ⠙ 21 done (123/s) | 172ms
#> ⠹ 22 done (123/s) | 180ms
#> ⠸ 23 done (123/s) | 187ms
#> ⠼ 24 done (124/s) | 195ms
#> ⠴ 25 done (124/s) | 202ms
#> ⠦ 26 done (124/s) | 210ms
#> ⠧ 27 done (125/s) | 217ms
#> ⠇ 28 done (125/s) | 225ms
#> ⠏ 29 done (125/s) | 232ms
#> ⠋ 30 done (126/s) | 240ms
#> ⠙ 31 done (126/s) | 247ms
#> ⠹ 32 done (126/s) | 255ms
#> ⠸ 33 done (126/s) | 263ms
#> ⠼ 34 done (126/s) | 270ms
#> ⠴ 35 done (126/s) | 278ms
#> ⠦ 36 done (127/s) | 285ms
#> ⠧ 37 done (127/s) | 293ms
#> ⠇ 38 done (127/s) | 300ms
#> ⠏ 39 done (127/s) | 308ms
#> ⠋ 40 done (127/s) | 315ms
#> ⠙ 41 done (127/s) | 323ms
#> ⠹ 42 done (127/s) | 330ms
#> ⠸ 43 done (128/s) | 338ms
#> ⠼ 44 done (128/s) | 345ms
#> ⠴ 45 done (128/s) | 353ms
#> ⠦ 46 done (128/s) | 361ms
#> ⠧ 47 done (128/s) | 368ms
#> ⠇ 48 done (128/s) | 376ms
#> ⠏ 49 done (128/s) | 383ms
#> ⠋ 50 done (128/s) | 391ms
#> ⠙ 51 done (128/s) | 398ms
#> ⠹ 52 done (128/s) | 406ms
#> ⠸ 53 done (128/s) | 413ms
#> ⠼ 54 done (129/s) | 421ms
#> ⠴ 55 done (129/s) | 428ms
#> ⠦ 56 done (128/s) | 439ms
#> ⠧ 57 done (128/s) | 446ms
#> ⠇ 58 done (128/s) | 454ms
#> ⠏ 59 done (128/s) | 461ms
#> ⠋ 60 done (128/s) | 468ms
#> ⠙ 61 done (128/s) | 476ms
#> ⠹ 62 done (128/s) | 483ms
#> ⠸ 63 done (128/s) | 491ms
#> ⠼ 64 done (129/s) | 498ms
#> ⠴ 65 done (129/s) | 506ms
#> ⠦ 66 done (129/s) | 513ms
#> ⠧ 67 done (129/s) | 521ms
#> ⠇ 68 done (129/s) | 528ms
#> # A tibble: 1 × 6
#>   expression                    min median `itr/sec` mem_alloc `gc/sec`
#>   <bch:expr>                 <bch:> <bch:>     <dbl> <bch:byt>    <dbl>
#> 1 cli_progress_update(force… 7.26ms 7.47ms      133.     265KB     2.02
cli_progress_done()

Gábor Csárdi

2025-10-21

Introduction

R benchmarks

The timer

`cli_progress_along()`

`for` loop

Mapping with `lapply()`

Mapping with purrr

`ticking()`

Traditional API

C benchmarks

Display update

Iterator with a bar

Iterator without a bar

cli progress bar benchmark

Gábor Csárdi

2025-10-21

Introduction

R benchmarks

The timer

cli_progress_along()

for loop

Mapping with lapply()

Mapping with purrr

ticking()

Traditional API

C benchmarks

Display update

Iterator with a bar

Iterator without a bar

`cli_progress_along()`

`for` loop

Mapping with `lapply()`

`ticking()`