449COMPUTATIONAL ACTION METRICS PERFORMANCE METRICS BASED ON COMPUTATIONAL ACTION

We propose a new performance metric based on com-putational action. We examine work as it evolves in time and compute computational action as the integral of the work function over time. We compare the action gener-ated at less than full power with the action that could have been generated at full power. We claim that the goal of performance optimization is to minimize lost, or wasted, action. We calculate our metric for some computers in the Top500 lis