Add --benchmark_out=<filename> and --benchmark_out_format=<format> options.

These options allow you to write the output of a benchmark to the specified
file and with the specified format. The goal of this change is to help support
tooling.

README.md

@@ -427,10 +427,10 @@ static void BM_test(benchmark::State& state) {
 
 ## Output Formats
 The library supports multiple output formats. Use the
-`--benchmark_format=<tabular|json|csv>` flag to set the format type. `tabular` is
+`--benchmark_format=<console|json|csv>` flag to set the format type. `console`
-the default format.
+is the default format.
 
-The Tabular format is intended to be a human readable format. By default
+The Console format is intended to be a human readable format. By default
 the format generates color output. Context is output on stderr and the 
 tabular data on stdout. Example tabular output looks like:
 ```
@@ -493,6 +493,12 @@ name,iterations,real_time,cpu_time,bytes_per_second,items_per_second,label
 "BM_SetInsert/1024/10",106365,17238.4,8421.53,4.74973e+06,1.18743e+06,
 ```
 
+## Output Files
+The library supports writing the output of the benchmark to a file specified
+by `--benchmark_out=<filename>`. The format of the output can be specified
+using `--benchmark_out_format={json|console|csv}`. Specifying
+`--benchmark_out` does not suppress the console output.
+
 ## Debug vs Release
 By default, benchmark builds as a debug library. You will see a warning in the output when this is the case. To build it as a release library instead, use:
 

include/benchmark/benchmark_api.h

@@ -165,11 +165,16 @@ void Initialize(int* argc, char** argv);
 // of each matching benchmark. Otherwise run each matching benchmark and
 // report the results.
 //
-// The second overload reports the results using the specified 'reporter'.
+// The second and third overload use the specified 'console_reporter' and
+//  'file_reporter' respectively. 'file_reporter' will write to the file specified
+//   by '--benchmark_output'. If '--benchmark_output' is not given the
+//  'file_reporter' is ignored.
 //
 // RETURNS: The number of matching benchmarks.
 size_t RunSpecifiedBenchmarks();
-size_t RunSpecifiedBenchmarks(BenchmarkReporter* reporter);
+size_t RunSpecifiedBenchmarks(BenchmarkReporter* console_reporter);
+size_t RunSpecifiedBenchmarks(BenchmarkReporter* console_reporter,
+                              BenchmarkReporter* file_reporter);
 
 
 // If this routine is called, peak memory allocation past this point in the

include/benchmark/reporter.h

@@ -157,13 +157,22 @@ class BenchmarkReporter {
 // default reporter used by RunSpecifiedBenchmarks().
 class ConsoleReporter : public BenchmarkReporter {
 public:
+  enum OutputOptions {
+    OO_None,
+    OO_Color
+  };
+  explicit ConsoleReporter(OutputOptions color_output = OO_Color)
+      : color_output_(color_output == OO_Color) {}
+
   virtual bool ReportContext(const Context& context);
   virtual void ReportRuns(const std::vector<Run>& reports);
 
 protected:
   virtual void PrintRunData(const Run& report);
-
   size_t name_field_width_;
+
+private:
+  bool color_output_;
 };
 
 class JSONReporter : public BenchmarkReporter {

src/benchmark.cc

@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 #include <atomic>
 #include <condition_variable>
 #include <iostream>
+#include <fstream>
 #include <memory>
 #include <thread>
 
@@ -69,6 +70,12 @@ DEFINE_string(benchmark_format, "console",
               "The format to use for console output. Valid values are "
               "'console', 'json', or 'csv'.");
 
+DEFINE_string(benchmark_out_format, "json",
+              "The format to use for file output. Valid values are "
+              "'console', 'json', or 'csv'.");
+
+DEFINE_string(benchmark_out, "", "The file to write additonal output to");
+
 DEFINE_bool(color_print, true, "Enables colorized logging.");
 
 DEFINE_int32(v, 0, "The level of verbose logging to output");
@@ -758,14 +765,13 @@ void RunInThread(const benchmark::internal::Benchmark::Instance* b,
   timer_manager->Finalize();
 }
 
-void RunBenchmark(const benchmark::internal::Benchmark::Instance& b,
+std::vector<BenchmarkReporter::Run>
-                  BenchmarkReporter* br,
+RunBenchmark(const benchmark::internal::Benchmark::Instance& b,
-                  std::vector<BenchmarkReporter::Run>& complexity_reports)
+             std::vector<BenchmarkReporter::Run>* complexity_reports)
   EXCLUDES(GetBenchmarkLock()) {
+   std::vector<BenchmarkReporter::Run> reports; // return value
   size_t iters = 1;
 
-  std::vector<BenchmarkReporter::Run> reports;
-
   std::vector<std::thread> pool;
   if (b.multithreaded)
     pool.resize(b.threads);
@@ -872,7 +878,7 @@ void RunBenchmark(const benchmark::internal::Benchmark::Instance& b,
           report.complexity = b.complexity;
           report.complexity_lambda = b.complexity_lambda;
           if(report.complexity != oNone)
-            complexity_reports.push_back(report);
+            complexity_reports->push_back(report);
         }
 
         reports.push_back(report);
@@ -903,18 +909,18 @@ void RunBenchmark(const benchmark::internal::Benchmark::Instance& b,
                  additional_run_stats.end());
 
   if((b.complexity != oNone) && b.last_benchmark_instance) {
-    additional_run_stats = ComputeBigO(complexity_reports);
+    additional_run_stats = ComputeBigO(*complexity_reports);
     reports.insert(reports.end(), additional_run_stats.begin(),
                    additional_run_stats.end());
-    complexity_reports.clear();
+    complexity_reports->clear();
   }
 
-  br->ReportRuns(reports);
-
   if (b.multithreaded) {
     for (std::thread& thread : pool)
       thread.join();
   }
+
+  return reports;
 }
 
 }  // namespace
@@ -975,8 +981,10 @@ namespace internal {
 namespace {
 
 void RunMatchingBenchmarks(const std::vector<Benchmark::Instance>& benchmarks,
-                           BenchmarkReporter* reporter) {
+                           BenchmarkReporter* console_reporter,
-  CHECK(reporter != nullptr);
+                           BenchmarkReporter* file_reporter) {
+  // Note the file_reporter can be null.
+  CHECK(console_reporter != nullptr);
 
   // Determine the width of the name field using a minimum width of 10.
   bool has_repetitions = FLAGS_benchmark_repetitions > 1;
@@ -1000,23 +1008,30 @@ void RunMatchingBenchmarks(const std::vector<Benchmark::Instance>& benchmarks,
   // Keep track of runing times of all instances of current benchmark
   std::vector<BenchmarkReporter::Run> complexity_reports;
 
-  if (reporter->ReportContext(context)) {
+  if (console_reporter->ReportContext(context)
+      && (!file_reporter || file_reporter->ReportContext(context))) {
     for (const auto& benchmark : benchmarks) {
-      RunBenchmark(benchmark, reporter, complexity_reports);
+      std::vector<BenchmarkReporter::Run> reports =
+          RunBenchmark(benchmark, &complexity_reports);
+      console_reporter->ReportRuns(reports);
+      if (file_reporter) file_reporter->ReportRuns(reports);
     }
   }
+  console_reporter->Finalize();
+  if (file_reporter) file_reporter->Finalize();
 }
 
-std::unique_ptr<BenchmarkReporter> GetDefaultReporter() {
+std::unique_ptr<BenchmarkReporter>
+CreateReporter(std::string const& name, ConsoleReporter::OutputOptions allow_color) {
   typedef std::unique_ptr<BenchmarkReporter> PtrType;
-  if (FLAGS_benchmark_format == "console") {
+  if (name == "console") {
-    return PtrType(new ConsoleReporter);
+    return PtrType(new ConsoleReporter(allow_color));
-  } else if (FLAGS_benchmark_format == "json") {
+  } else if (name == "json") {
     return PtrType(new JSONReporter);
-  } else if (FLAGS_benchmark_format == "csv") {
+  } else if (name == "csv") {
     return PtrType(new CSVReporter);
   } else {
-    std::cerr << "Unexpected format: '" << FLAGS_benchmark_format << "'\n";
+    std::cerr << "Unexpected format: '" << name << "'\n";
     std::exit(1);
   }
 }
@@ -1025,10 +1040,17 @@ std::unique_ptr<BenchmarkReporter> GetDefaultReporter() {
 } // end namespace internal
 
 size_t RunSpecifiedBenchmarks() {
-  return RunSpecifiedBenchmarks(nullptr);
+  return RunSpecifiedBenchmarks(nullptr, nullptr);
 }
 
-size_t RunSpecifiedBenchmarks(BenchmarkReporter* reporter) {
+
+size_t RunSpecifiedBenchmarks(BenchmarkReporter* console_reporter) {
+  return RunSpecifiedBenchmarks(console_reporter, nullptr);
+}
+
+
+size_t RunSpecifiedBenchmarks(BenchmarkReporter* console_reporter,
+                              BenchmarkReporter* file_reporter) {
   std::string spec = FLAGS_benchmark_filter;
   if (spec.empty() || spec == "all")
     spec = ".";  // Regexp that matches all benchmarks
@@ -1041,13 +1063,38 @@ size_t RunSpecifiedBenchmarks(BenchmarkReporter* reporter) {
     for (auto const& benchmark : benchmarks)
       std::cout <<  benchmark.name << "\n";
   } else {
-    std::unique_ptr<BenchmarkReporter> default_reporter;
+    // Setup the reporters
-    if (!reporter) {
+    std::ofstream output_file;
-      default_reporter = internal::GetDefaultReporter();
+    std::unique_ptr<BenchmarkReporter> default_console_reporter;
-      reporter = default_reporter.get();
+    std::unique_ptr<BenchmarkReporter> default_file_reporter;
+    if (!console_reporter) {
+      auto output_opts = FLAGS_color_print ? ConsoleReporter::OO_Color
+                                           : ConsoleReporter::OO_None;
+      default_console_reporter = internal::CreateReporter(
+          FLAGS_benchmark_format, output_opts);
+      console_reporter = default_console_reporter.get();
     }
-    internal::RunMatchingBenchmarks(benchmarks, reporter);
+    std::string const& fname = FLAGS_benchmark_out;
-    reporter->Finalize();
+    if (fname == "" && file_reporter) {
+      std::cerr << "A custom file reporter was provided but "
+                   "--benchmark_out=<file> was not specified." << std::endl;
+      std::exit(1);
+    }
+    if (fname != "") {
+      output_file.open(fname);
+      if (!output_file.is_open()) {
+        std::cerr << "invalid file name: '" << fname << std::endl;
+        std::exit(1);
+      }
+      if (!file_reporter) {
+        default_file_reporter = internal::CreateReporter(
+            FLAGS_benchmark_out_format, ConsoleReporter::OO_None);
+        file_reporter = default_file_reporter.get();
+      }
+      file_reporter->SetOutputStream(&output_file);
+      file_reporter->SetErrorStream(&output_file);
+    }
+    internal::RunMatchingBenchmarks(benchmarks, console_reporter, file_reporter);
   }
   return benchmarks.size();
 }
@@ -1062,6 +1109,8 @@ void PrintUsageAndExit() {
           "          [--benchmark_min_time=<min_time>]\n"
           "          [--benchmark_repetitions=<num_repetitions>]\n"
           "          [--benchmark_format=<console|json|csv>]\n"
+          "          [--benchmark_out=<filename>]\n"
+          "          [--benchmark_out_format=<json|console|csv>]\n"
           "          [--color_print={true|false}]\n"
           "          [--v=<verbosity>]\n");
   exit(0);
@@ -1081,6 +1130,10 @@ void ParseCommandLineFlags(int* argc, char** argv) {
                        &FLAGS_benchmark_repetitions) ||
         ParseStringFlag(argv[i], "benchmark_format",
                         &FLAGS_benchmark_format) ||
+        ParseStringFlag(argv[i], "benchmark_out",
+                        &FLAGS_benchmark_out) ||
+        ParseStringFlag(argv[i], "benchmark_out_format",
+                        &FLAGS_benchmark_out_format) ||
         ParseBoolFlag(argv[i], "color_print",
                        &FLAGS_color_print) ||
         ParseInt32Flag(argv[i], "v", &FLAGS_v)) {
@@ -1092,10 +1145,9 @@ void ParseCommandLineFlags(int* argc, char** argv) {
       PrintUsageAndExit();
     }
   }
-
+  for (auto const* flag : {&FLAGS_benchmark_format,
-  if (FLAGS_benchmark_format != "console" &&
+                           &FLAGS_benchmark_out_format})
-      FLAGS_benchmark_format != "json" &&
+  if (*flag != "console" && *flag != "json" && *flag != "csv") {
-      FLAGS_benchmark_format != "csv") {
     PrintUsageAndExit();
   }
 }

src/colorprint.cc

@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@
 #include <string>
 #include <memory>
 
-#include "commandlineflags.h"
 #include "check.h"
 #include "internal_macros.h"
 
@@ -28,8 +27,6 @@
 #include <Windows.h>
 #endif
 
-DECLARE_bool(color_print);
-
 namespace benchmark {
 namespace {
 #ifdef BENCHMARK_OS_WINDOWS
@@ -120,14 +117,14 @@ std::string FormatString(const char *msg, ...) {
 void ColorPrintf(std::ostream& out, LogColor color, const char* fmt, ...) {
   va_list args;
   va_start(args, fmt);
-
+  ColorPrintf(out, color, fmt, args);
-  if (!FLAGS_color_print) {
-    out << FormatString(fmt, args);
   va_end(args);
-    return;
 }
 
+void ColorPrintf(std::ostream& out, LogColor color, const char* fmt, va_list args) {
 #ifdef BENCHMARK_OS_WINDOWS
+  ((void)out); // suppress unused warning
+
   const HANDLE stdout_handle = GetStdHandle(STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE);
 
   // Gets the current text color.
@@ -152,7 +149,6 @@ void ColorPrintf(std::ostream& out, LogColor color, const char* fmt, ...) {
   out << FormatString(fmt, args) << "\033[m";
 #endif
 
-  va_end(args);
 }
 
 }  // end namespace benchmark

src/colorprint.h

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ enum LogColor {
 std::string FormatString(const char* msg, va_list args);
 std::string FormatString(const char* msg, ...);
 
+void ColorPrintf(std::ostream& out, LogColor color, const char* fmt, va_list args);
 void ColorPrintf(std::ostream& out, LogColor color, const char* fmt, ...);
 
 }  // end namespace benchmark

src/console_reporter.cc

@@ -30,8 +30,6 @@
 #include "string_util.h"
 #include "walltime.h"
 
-DECLARE_bool(color_print);
-
 namespace benchmark {
 
 bool ConsoleReporter::ReportContext(const Context& context) {
@@ -40,10 +38,10 @@ bool ConsoleReporter::ReportContext(const Context& context) {
   PrintBasicContext(&GetErrorStream(), context);
 
 #ifdef BENCHMARK_OS_WINDOWS
-  if (FLAGS_color_print && &std::cout != &GetOutputStream()) {
+  if (color_output_ && &std::cout != &GetOutputStream()) {
       GetErrorStream() << "Color printing is only supported for stdout on windows."
                           " Disabling color printing\n";
-      FLAGS_color_print = false;
+      color_output_ = false;
   }
 #endif
   std::string str = FormatString("%-*s %13s %13s %10s\n",
@@ -59,18 +57,29 @@ void ConsoleReporter::ReportRuns(const std::vector<Run>& reports) {
     PrintRunData(run);
 }
 
-void ConsoleReporter::PrintRunData(const Run& result) {
+static void  IgnoreColorPrint(std::ostream& out, LogColor,
-  auto& Out = GetOutputStream();
+                               const char* fmt, ...)
+{
+    va_list args;
+    va_start(args, fmt);
+    out << FormatString(fmt, args);
+    va_end(args);
+}
 
+void ConsoleReporter::PrintRunData(const Run& result) {
+  typedef void(PrinterFn)(std::ostream&, LogColor, const char*, ...);
+  auto& Out = GetOutputStream();
+  PrinterFn* printer = color_output_ ? (PrinterFn*)ColorPrintf
+                                     : IgnoreColorPrint;
   auto name_color =
       (result.report_big_o || result.report_rms) ? COLOR_BLUE : COLOR_GREEN;
-  ColorPrintf(Out, name_color, "%-*s ", name_field_width_,
+  printer(Out, name_color, "%-*s ", name_field_width_,
               result.benchmark_name.c_str());
 
   if (result.error_occurred) {
-    ColorPrintf(Out, COLOR_RED, "ERROR OCCURRED: \'%s\'",
+    printer(Out, COLOR_RED, "ERROR OCCURRED: \'%s\'",
                 result.error_message.c_str());
-    ColorPrintf(Out, COLOR_DEFAULT, "\n");
+    printer(Out, COLOR_DEFAULT, "\n");
     return;
   }
   // Format bytes per second
@@ -91,34 +100,34 @@ void ConsoleReporter::PrintRunData(const Run& result) {
 
   if (result.report_big_o) {
     std::string big_o = GetBigOString(result.complexity);
-    ColorPrintf(Out, COLOR_YELLOW, "%10.2f %s %10.2f %s ", real_time,
+    printer(Out, COLOR_YELLOW, "%10.2f %s %10.2f %s ", real_time,
                 big_o.c_str(), cpu_time, big_o.c_str());
   } else if (result.report_rms) {
-    ColorPrintf(Out, COLOR_YELLOW, "%10.0f %% %10.0f %% ", real_time * 100,
+    printer(Out, COLOR_YELLOW, "%10.0f %% %10.0f %% ", real_time * 100,
                 cpu_time * 100);
   } else {
     const char* timeLabel = GetTimeUnitString(result.time_unit);
-    ColorPrintf(Out, COLOR_YELLOW, "%10.0f %s %10.0f %s ", real_time, timeLabel,
+    printer(Out, COLOR_YELLOW, "%10.0f %s %10.0f %s ", real_time, timeLabel,
                 cpu_time, timeLabel);
   }
 
   if (!result.report_big_o && !result.report_rms) {
-    ColorPrintf(Out, COLOR_CYAN, "%10lld", result.iterations);
+    printer(Out, COLOR_CYAN, "%10lld", result.iterations);
   }
 
   if (!rate.empty()) {
-    ColorPrintf(Out, COLOR_DEFAULT, " %*s", 13, rate.c_str());
+    printer(Out, COLOR_DEFAULT, " %*s", 13, rate.c_str());
   }
 
   if (!items.empty()) {
-    ColorPrintf(Out, COLOR_DEFAULT, " %*s", 18, items.c_str());
+    printer(Out, COLOR_DEFAULT, " %*s", 18, items.c_str());
   }
 
   if (!result.report_label.empty()) {
-    ColorPrintf(Out, COLOR_DEFAULT, " %s", result.report_label.c_str());
+    printer(Out, COLOR_DEFAULT, " %s", result.report_label.c_str());
   }
 
-  ColorPrintf(Out, COLOR_DEFAULT, "\n");
+  printer(Out, COLOR_DEFAULT, "\n");
 }
 
 }  // end namespace benchmark

test/complexity_test.cc

@@ -257,14 +257,8 @@ ADD_COMPLEXITY_CASES(&ConsoleOutputTests, &JSONOutputTests, &CSVOutputTests,
 
 
 int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
-  // Add --color_print=false to argv since we don't want to match color codes.
+  benchmark::Initialize(&argc, argv);
-  char new_arg[64];
+  benchmark::ConsoleReporter CR(benchmark::ConsoleReporter::OO_None);
-  char* new_argv[64];
-  std::copy(argv, argv + argc, new_argv);
-  new_argv[argc++] = std::strcpy(new_arg, "--color_print=false");
-  benchmark::Initialize(&argc, new_argv);
-
-  benchmark::ConsoleReporter CR;
   benchmark::JSONReporter JR;
   benchmark::CSVReporter CSVR;
   struct ReporterTest {

test/reporter_output_test.cc

@@ -203,14 +203,8 @@ ADD_CASES(&ConsoleOutputTests, {
 
 
 int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
-  // Add --color_print=false to argv since we don't want to match color codes.
+  benchmark::Initialize(&argc, argv);
-  char new_arg[64];
+  benchmark::ConsoleReporter CR(benchmark::ConsoleReporter::OO_None);
-  char* new_argv[64];
-  std::copy(argv, argv + argc, new_argv);
-  new_argv[argc++] = std::strcpy(new_arg, "--color_print=false");
-  benchmark::Initialize(&argc, new_argv);
-
-  benchmark::ConsoleReporter CR;
   benchmark::JSONReporter JR;
   benchmark::CSVReporter CSVR;
   struct ReporterTest {