[Python-Dev] PEP 418: Add monotonic clock

[Victor Stinner]

> I started to write the PEP 418 to clarify the notions of monotonic and
> steady clocks.
>
> The PEP is a draft and everyone is invited to contribute!

time.steady() doesn't fit the benchmarking use case: it looks like we
have to decide between stability and clock resolution.

QueryPerformanceCounter() has a good resolution for benchmarking, but
it is not monotonic and so GetTickCount64() would be used for
time.steady(). GetTickCount64() is monotonic but has only a resolution
of 1 millisecond.

We might add a third new function which provides the most accurate
clock with or without a known starting point. We cannot use
QueryPerformanceCounter() to enhance time.time() resolution because it
has an unknown starting point.

Victor