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performance optimization

Testing apply_filters() times

Testing how long it takes to assign a variable versus assigning through WordPress’ apply_filters(). Filters are core to WordPress, but I haven’t yet looked at the total number of apply_filters() calls used throughout the code. The answer to this question is that calling a non-existing filter before assignment is about 21 times more costly than […] » about 300 words

Testing file include times for a file that may or may not exist

Question: Should you check for a file before attempting to include it, or just suppress errors? Calling file_exists requires stating it twice if the file does exist, so that could take longer. Answer: the file_exists pattern is more than five times faster than the @include pattern for a file that doesn’t exist, and not substantially […] » about 300 words

MySQL’s Slow Query Log

Zach suggested it last week, but it’s only now that I’ve gotten around to setting up MySQL’s slow query log.

It’s easy enough, you’ve just got to put a couple lines like this in your my.cnf (which is in /etc on my server):

log-slow-queries = /var/log/mysql/mysql-slow.log<br /> long_query_time = 10

This should get most people running, but this story in Database Journal offers a few more details. Potentially more useful is this guide to query and index optimization (though it’s probably a little out of date).

Performance Optimization

A couple notes from the past few days of tweaks and fixes:

  • Hyper-threading has a huge effect on LAMP performance.
     
  • From now on, I’ll have bad dreams about running MySQL without Query Caching in the way that I used to have nightmares about going to school wearing only my underwear. The difference is that big.
     
  • WordPress rocks, but it has some queries that will kill large databases. I’m playing with baseline when I fix ’em, but it’s worth it.
     
  • Being highly ranked for searches related to bears and bear lovers on the weekend that Grizzly Man airs on TV is both good and bad: it doubled my previous high for daily page-loads, but killed my server and taught me some lessons about sloppy coding.
     
  • The support techs are Lunarpages continue to pretty much rock.
     
  • Having friends who cut their teeth on high-performance PHP/MySQL and are willing to spend the night workshopping it with you is indispensable.
     
  • It’s hard to beat the calming beauty of driving home through a snowfall on back roads at 2 AM carried by your life’s soundtrack.