In general, to study the performance of an algorithm you should fist implement the algorithm and than implement a function that
- queries a timer
- call the algorithm giving it the required testing data
- queries the timer (again)
The difference between the values of the two queries is the elapsed.
About timers, you can fund some useful articles here
http://www.codeproject.com/info/search.aspx?artkw=high+resolution+timer[
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or by google "windows high resolution timer".
To come to a graph, you have to repeat that process a number of times, passing different type of data (or calling different algotithm implementations) to came to a "series of numbers".
This can be done:
- manually, calling the testing program many times after changing the data, then pasting the number into a spreadsheet (like excel) and produce a graph,
- semiautomatically by making the testing program able to do the repeated calls and save the results in a text file (that you will later import into a spreadsheet)
- Automatically by writing a testing program that also displays the data in the form of a graph (more complex, if you are unaware of how graphics work on windows, and in general not suitable as a "portable test", but certainly more "scenographic")
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