This is a Word document that I wrote initially in November 2010 and uploaded to Scribd, Code Timing and Object Orientation and Zombies, with a big update in September 2012, about code timing in several languages.

I am going to upload a number of articles to this blog shortly that make use of an updated version of the Oracle code-timing package, and I am aware that many work networks disallow Scribd access, so I thought I would put it here first, Code Timing and Object Orientation and Zombies. It’s also embedded below (if that is accessible).

Here is the introduction:

This article proposes an object-oriented design for simple CPU and elapsed timing of computer programs by individual code section or subroutine. The object data structure is first described using a diagram/tabulation approach first used in A Perl Object for Flattened Master-Detail Data in Excel, followed by a section describing method usage, and including a diagram showing a typical call structure.

The object class is then translated from the Ur-language of design into the programming languages of Oracle, Perl and Java (one might say that our class of class is instantiated into specific object classes for each language). In each case the code is listed, an example driving program is briefly described, the run results are listed, and any interesting features are highlighted.

Oracle’s implementation of object-orientation is rather different from other languages, and a section of the article discusses how one can best obtain the advantages of object orientation in Oracle, suggesting that it’s often better to bypass the ‘official’ object structures. Both approaches have been implemented here to help readers judge for themselves.

Finally, some notes are collated on differences between the languages.