Cloudinary PHP SDK Performance Comparison Project

This project enables performance profiling and comparison between Cloudinary PHP SDK v2 and v3, focusing on the Media::fromParams() and ImageTag::fromParams() methods.

Project Structure

.
├── v2/                          # Cloudinary SDK v2 testing environment
│   ├── Dockerfile               # PHP 8.3-cli with XDebug profiler for v2
│   ├── docker-compose.yml       # Docker Compose setup for v2
│   ├── composer.json            # Cloudinary SDK v2.12+ dependency
│   ├── src/
│   │   └── profiling_test.php   # v2 test script with 100 Cloudinary calls
│   └── profiler_output/         # XDebug .cachegrind files for v2
├── v3/                          # Cloudinary SDK v3 testing environment
│   ├── Dockerfile               # PHP 8.3-cli with XDebug profiler for v3
│   ├── docker-compose.yml       # Docker Compose setup for v3
│   ├── composer.json            # Cloudinary SDK v3.x dependency
│   ├── src/
│   │   └── profiling_test.php   # v3 test script with 100 Cloudinary calls
│   └── profiler_output/         # XDebug .cachegrind files for v3
└── README.md                    # This file

Requirements

• Docker and Docker Compose
• qcachegrind (for analyzing profiling results)
  • macOS: brew install qcachegrind
  • Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get install kcachegrind

Running Tests

Cloudinary SDK v2 Performance Test

# Navigate to v2 directory
cd v2

# Build and run v2 profiling container
docker-compose up --build

# View generated profiling files
ls -la profiler_output/

Cloudinary SDK v3 Performance Test

# Navigate to v3 directory
cd v3

# Build and run v3 profiling container
docker-compose up --build

# View generated profiling files
ls -la profiler_output/

Running Both Tests Independently

You can run both environments simultaneously from different terminals:

Terminal 1 (v2):

cd v2 && docker-compose up --build

Terminal 2 (v3):

cd v3 && docker-compose up --build

Test Configuration

Both v2 and v3 environments use identical test parameters:

• Cloudinary Configuration: Dummy CNAME (images.example.com)
• Test Calls: 100 separate API calls per version
  • 50 calls to Media::fromParams()
  • 50 calls to ImageTag::fromParams()
• Image Public IDs: Realistic names (product_1, hero_banner, etc.)
• Transformations: width, height, quality=auto, format=auto
• Dimensions: Realistic values ranging from 100px to 800px
• XDebug Profile Mode: Captures every function call for detailed analysis

API Compatibility Notes

Based on research, Cloudinary PHP SDK v3 maintains backward compatibility with the fromParams methods:

v2 to v3 Migration

• Configuration: Same Configuration::instance() syntax
• Media::fromParams(): Identical method signature and behavior
• ImageTag::fromParams(): Identical method signature and behavior
• Namespaces: Same import statements work in both versions

The fromParams methods were specifically designed as migration helpers to ease the transition between SDK versions while maintaining the same URL generation patterns.

Performance Analysis

Analyzing Results with qcachegrind

Compare v2 performance:

qcachegrind v2/profiler_output/cachegrind.out.*

Compare v3 performance:

qcachegrind v3/profiler_output/cachegrind.out.*

Side-by-side comparison:

# Open both in separate qcachegrind instances
qcachegrind v2/profiler_output/cachegrind.out.* &
qcachegrind v3/profiler_output/cachegrind.out.* &

Key Metrics to Compare

1. Function Call Count: Compare total calls for Media::fromParams() and ImageTag::fromParams()
2. Execution Time: Time spent in URL generation methods
3. Memory Usage: Memory allocation patterns between versions
4. Performance Bottlenecks: Identify optimization opportunities in each version
5. Method Efficiency: Compare performance per individual call

Expected Output

Each test generates:

• Media URLs: 50 generated Cloudinary URLs from Media::fromParams() calls
• Image Tags: 50 generated HTML image tags from ImageTag::fromParams() calls
• Profiling Data: Multiple .cachegrind files for detailed analysis

Independent Testing

• ✅ Complete Isolation: Each version runs in separate Docker containers
• ✅ No Shared Dependencies: Independent composer installations
• ✅ Separate Networks: No Docker network conflicts
• ✅ Isolated Profiling: Separate profiler output directories
• ✅ Mac M1 Compatible: Both environments support Apple Silicon

Performance Comparison Goals

This setup enables identification of:

• Performance improvements/regressions between SDK versions
• Function call overhead differences
• Memory usage optimization in newer versions
• API efficiency comparisons
• Migration impact assessment

Troubleshooting

v2 Environment Issues

cd v2
docker-compose down && docker-compose up --build --force-recreate

v3 Environment Issues

cd v3
docker-compose down && docker-compose up --build --force-recreate

XDebug Issues

• No .cachegrind files: Check XDebug installation with docker-compose exec [service] php -m | grep xdebug
• Permission issues: Ensure profiler_output/ directories have write permissions
• Container conflicts: Use docker system prune to clean up conflicting containers

Comparing Results

• Different file formats: Both versions should generate identical URL structures
• Performance variations: Run tests multiple times for consistent measurements
• Resource usage: Monitor Docker resource allocation for fair comparison