Improve docstrings

Author: EdmundGoodman

pyperformance/data-files/benchmarks/bm_xdsl/run_benchmark.py

@@ -4,6 +4,21 @@
 ``get_constant_folding_module()`` function, which is then transformed by the
 ``xdsl.transforms.test_constant_folding.TestConstantFoldingPass`` xDSL
 transformation pass.
+
+xDSL is a Python-native compiler framework built around SSA-based intermediate
+representations. It re-implements many of MLIR's data structures and methods in
+Python. This benchmark exercises the simple pattern rewriting transformation of
+constant folding. This is a fair proxy for pattern rewriting transformations in
+general, which are a major component of MLIR-like compilers in lowering passes.
+
+Pattern rewriting in both xDSL and MLIR is a pointer-chasing, unstructured
+workload, which makes it hard to optimise ahead-of-time. This diminishes the
+traditional performance advantage of ahead-of-time compiled languages such as
+C++ over dynamic languages such as Python -- making it an interesting benchmark.
+More information about the design and impact of this benchmark can be found in
+the Master's thesis ``Performance and Dynamism in User-extensible Compiler
+Infrastructures'', which is `available on GitHub
+<https://github.com/EdmundGoodman/masters-project>`_.
 """
 
 import random