Creating a Python decorator to measure function execution time

Last update on July 12 2025 13:02:20 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

2. Create a Decorator to Measure Function Execution Time

Write a Python program to create a decorator function to measure the execution time of a function.

Sample Solution:

Python Code:

import time

def measure_execution_time(func):
    def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
        start_time = time.time()
        result = func(*args, **kwargs)
        end_time = time.time()
        execution_time = end_time - start_time
        print(f"Function {func.__name__} took {execution_time:.4f} seconds to execute")
        return result
    return wrapper

# Example usage
@measure_execution_time
def calculate_multiply(numbers):
    tot = 1
    for x in numbers:
        tot *= x
    return tot

# Call the decorated function
result = calculate_multiply([1, 2, 3, 4, 5])
print("Result:", result)

Sample Output:

Function calculate_multiply took 0.0000 seconds to execute
Result: 120

Explanation:

In the above exercise -

• The execution_time variable is calculated by subtracting start_time from end_time, representing the elapsed time.
• The execution time is printed to the console, indicating which function was measured and how long it took. This is done using the format string f"Function {func.__name__} took {execution_time:.4f} seconds to execute". The .4f format specifier ensures four decimal places for execution time.
• Finally, the original function result is returned.

The @execution_time syntax is used to apply the execution_time decorator to the calculate_multiply function. This indicates that it should be decorated with the functionality provided by the execution_time function.

Flowchart:

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

• Write a Python decorator that computes and prints the execution time of a function using the time.time() method.
• Write a Python decorator that returns a tuple of (result, execution_time) when a function is called.
• Write a Python decorator that logs the execution time only if it exceeds a specified threshold.
• Write a Python decorator that uses functools.wraps to preserve function metadata while timing its execution.

Go to:

• Python Decorator Exercises Home ↩
• Python Exercises Home ↩

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