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Measuring Execution Time in C++

Measuring Execution Time in C++​

This simple example shows how to measure the execution time of a block of code using the <chrono> library.

Code Example​

// #include <chrono>

auto start = chrono::high_resolution_clock::now();

// CODE TO BE MEASURED
// Example: for (int i = 0; i < 1000000; ++i) {}

auto end = chrono::high_resolution_clock::now();

chrono::duration<double, milli> duration = end - start;
cout << "Execution time: " << duration.count() << " ms" << endl;

Explanation​

  • chrono::high_resolution_clock::now() Captures the current high-precision timestamp (start and end).

  • end - start Calculates the elapsed time between the two timestamps.

  • chrono::duration<double, milli> Converts the time difference into milliseconds.

  • duration.count() Returns the numerical value of the elapsed time, which is printed to the console.

Tip​

You can replace the comment // CODE TO BE MEASURED with any operation you want to benchmark — for example, loops, function calls, or algorithm executions.