README

A lightweight benchmark timer for PHP with laps, pause/unpause support, and a simple summary output.
Designed for clarity, correctness, and minimal overhead.

PHPBenchTime v3.0 requires PHP 8.1+ (enum-backed state, typed properties, private internals).

If you’re interested, there is also a Python implementation:
👉 PyBenchTime — https://github.com/nsa-yoda/PyBenchTime

Installation

Install via Composer:

composer require nsa-yoda/phpbenchtime

Autoloading is handled automatically.

Quick Start

<?php

require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use PHPBenchTime\Timer;

$t = new Timer();
$t->start();
sleep(1);
$t->end();

print_r($t->summary());
?>

Core Concepts

• Timers are stateful and controlled via methods only
• All internal properties are private
• State is represented by a PHP 8.1 enum
• All timings are floats (seconds, from microtime(true))
• summary() returns a read-only snapshot

Public API

Methods

start(string $name = "start"): void
end(): void
reset(): void
lap(?string $name = null): void
summary(): array
pause(): void
unpause(): void

Read-only Getters

getState(): TimerState
getStartTime(): float
getEndTime(): float
getPauseTime(): float
getTotalPauseTime(): float
getLaps(): array
getLapCount(): int

Basic Usage

$t = new Timer();
$t->start();

sleep(3);

$t->end();

print_r($t->summary());

Example Output

Array
(
    [running] => -1
    [start]   => 1706812345.1234
    [end]     => 1706812348.1239
    [total]   => 3.0005
    [paused]  => 0
    [laps]    => Array
        (
            [0] => Array
                (
                    [name]  => start
                    [start] => 1706812345.1234
                    [end]   => 1706812348.1239
                    [total] => 3.0005
                )
        )
)

running is the enum value: 1 = RUNNING, 0 = PAUSED, -1 = STOPPED

Laps

Laps allow you to isolate portions of execution time. Each call to lap() automatically closes the previous lap.

$t = new Timer();
$t->start();

sleep(1);
$t->lap();

sleep(2);
$t->lap();

$t->end();

Named Laps

For clearer output, provide names to start() and lap():

$t = new Timer();
$t->start('bootstrap');

sleep(1);
$t->lap('database');

sleep(1);
$t->lap('render');

$t->end();

Pause & Unpause

Paused time is excluded from total runtime but still tracked.

$t = new Timer();
$t->start();

sleep(1);
$t->lap('before pause');

$t->pause();
sleep(3); // excluded from total
$t->unpause();

sleep(1);
$t->lap('after pause');

$t->end();

Paused duration is available via:

$t->getTotalPauseTime();

Calling end() while paused will automatically finalize the pause.

Documentation

A richer usage guide (with examples and explanations) is available in: docs/index.html

This file can be found on th rpojrects GitHub Pages: https://nsa-yoda.github.io/PHPBenchTime/

History

• v3.0.0 - Changes to tighten up the codebase for PHP8.1, strongly typed, and enums etc
• v2.1.0 - Performance improvements, unit tests, PHP 8.1 modernization
• v2.0.0 - Complete rewrite: pause/unpause, centralized lap system, detailed summary
• v1.3.0 - Laps, laps, laps
• v1.2.0 - Non-static namespaces
• v1.1.0 - Static namespaces
• v1.0.0 - Static birth