Get Started with Performance Profiling

Configuring and running profiling

• To start profiling select in the menu Tools > Tizen > Profiler > Run profiler.

  

• Profiler Setting window will be opened.

  

  • Path to application will be set up automatically in accordance with the opened Solution.

  • Profiling preset - predefined sets of options for different profiling aspects (CPU, Memory Allocation, Source Lines). The less options are included - the less overhead and less data are collected and processed.

    Profiling preset	CPU	Memory Allocation	Source Lines
    CPU Sampling	+	-	+
    Memory Allocation	-	+	+
    Complex Profiling	+	+	+

  • Options

    Option	Description	CPU Sampling	Memory Allocation	Complex Profiling
    Sampling Options
    Sampling Interval	Time interval between samples in miliseconds	10	10	10
    High Granularity	Enable high accuracy and saturated samples. If option is disabled, samples will be dumped only on allocation and stack changing events	on	on	on
    Trace Options
    Trace Execution	Enable tracking of information about execution stack changes	on	off	on
    Trace Memory	Enable tracking of information about allocations	off	on	on
    Trace Garbage Collection	Enable tracking of information about Garbage Collector events	-	on	on
    Trace Source Lines	Enable tracking of instruction pointers for samples. Profiler generates information about IL to native code mapping that can be used for matching between IP and source code fragments	on	on	on
    Stack Track	Enable tracking of execution stack state for memory allocations	-	off	on
    CPU Tracing Options
    Enable CPU	Enable tracking of CPU usage by process and/or managed threads	on	on	on
    Trace Process	Enable tracking of CPU usage by application process	on	on	on
    Trace Threads	Enable tracking of CPU usage by application managed threads	on	on	on
    Trace Interval	Timeout between CPU usage measurements in milliseconds	10	10	10
    Misc Options
    Delayed start	Delay start of profiling. To start profiling it is need to click Start button in the Profiling Progress window	off	off	off

  • Click Ok button.

  • Output window (highlighted with orange rectangle, also be sure that window shows output from Tizen (green highlight)) and Profiling Progress window (red highlight) will be being shown during profiling.

    

  • To stop profiling click Stop button in the Profiling Progress window. Output window will display information about stopping profiling process.

    

  • In the result session entity will be generated which can be opened and managed via Session Explorer window.

Live profiling

Live Profiling allows to profile an application during debugging.

• To enable Live Profiling the next actions are need:

  • To open Tizen options select in the menu Tools > Options > Tizen > Tools.
  • Turn on option Use new debugger when available.
  • Turn on option Use Live Profiler on debugging.

  

Profiling Progress window

The window shows CPU Utilization and Memory consumption by application in the real-time mode.

• On the top right corner buttons Pause/Resume and Stop are located. But if the profiling was started in the Delayed mode instead Pause/Resume button Start button will be to start profiling.

• Depends on the profiling options it is possibly to track JIT and GC events in the real-time mode.

  

• In the debug mode the window shows debugger events, for example : when an application was paused by breakpoint or debug pause button.

  

• To pause profiling click Pause button.

• To resume profiling click Resume button.

• To stop profiling click Stop button.

• On the left bottom corner current status is displayed.

Managing session

• To open Session Explorer window select in the menu Tools > Tizen > Profiler > Session Explorer.

  

• Session Explorer window contains a list of profiling sessions which have been collected within opened Solution. A list entry which is mapped to the session has the next describing fields:

  • Date - date and time of profiling session.

  • Preset - name of the used Profiling preset to create profiling session.

  • Device - name of the used device for profiling.

  • Project - name of the profilled project.

  • Annotation (optional) - user defined Session annotation.

    

• Additional session’s information is displayed in Properties window (usually it is placed below Session Explorer window). The window contains information about specific session’s parameters that had been used to configure the profiler for that session. Annotation field can be edited in this window.

  

• To open session double click on the session’s entry.

• To manage session click Right Mouse Button on the session’s entry.

  

  The next possible operations with session entry are available:

  • Open Profile Session
  • Open Memory Profile Session (availability depends on the session’s parameters)
  • Edit Annotation
  • Delete

Analyzing session data

Depends on the chosen Profiling preset there are available two types of the session data’s viewers:

• Profile Session viewer - if CPU Samplings or Complex preset had been chosen.
• Memory Profile Session viewer - if Memory Allocation or Complex preset had been chosen.

If Complex preset have been chosen both types of sessions will be available.

Profile Session viewer

The window will be automatically shown during profiling or live profiling.

To open it manually select in the menu Tools > Tizen > Profiler > Profiling Progress.

The viewer has the next panels:

• Filters (red highlight) - consists of the next types of filters:

  • Call Tree and methods

    • Time
    • Allocated Memory
    • Samples

    Depends on the selected filter Timeline and Methods panels will be filtered.

  • Thread Timeline

    • GC (Garbage Collection)
    • JIT (Just In Time Compilation)
    • Cpu Utilization

    Depends on the selected filter charts in the Timeline panel will display appropriate information.

• Timeline (green highlight) - includes the next timeline charts:

  • CPU utilization of the application in the top of the panel.

    • Top left corner displays current Time interval. By default the application’s lifespan is got as Time interval and in this case top left corner displays: Selection: <empty>; in other case current Time interval is shown, for example : Selection: 21556 : 35899.

      All panels except Filters depend on the current Time interval.

      It is possibly to set Time interval via mouse: click and drag Left Mouse Button to set new Time interval.

      

    • The chart can handle Right Mouse Button.

      

      Timeline Context Menu has next entries:

      • Zoom to Selection
      • Reset Zoom
      • Reveal Selection

    • To reset Time interval click outside selected area.

    • To set zoom in/out the combination ctrl + Whell Up/Down Mouse Button should bu used.

  • GC, JIT or CPU Utilization for separate threads in the rest part of the panel.

    Depends on the current Call Tree and methods filter field Value on the left below chart shows appropriate inforamtion: Time (for example: Value: 00.59.920), Allocated Memory (for example : Value: 56.36 MB) or Samples (for example : Value: 3320).

    Depends on the current Thread Timeline filter charts shows appropriate information.

    • GC

      

    • JIT

      

    • CPU Utilization

      

    Methods panel depends on the selected thread.

• Methods (blue highlight)

  Panel consists of 3 tabs:

  • Top Methods and Call Tree - displays top methods and call tree by the selected Call Tree and methods filter on the selected Time interval for the selected thread.

    Each entry includes the next fields splitted by `·` symbol:

    • Percentage ratio - method’s percentage ratio based on the selected Call Tree and methods filter between total value and method’s value.
    • Name of a method.
    • Absolute value - depends on the selected Call Tree and methods filter shows the next information:
      • Time - shows how much time method has occupied.
      • Allocated Memory - shows an amount of memory allocations within method (in Kb or Mb).
      • Samples - shows amount of samples within method.
    • Signature of a method (optional).

  • Hot Path - displays hot path by the selected Call Tree and methods filter on the selected Time interval for the selected thread. In the collapsed state the Hot Path tab displays the hottest method. In the expanded state the Hot Path tab displays the whole path from this method to the root method.

    

    Each entry includes the next fields splitted by `·` symbol:

    • Percentage ratio - method’s percentage ratio based on the selected Call Tree and methods filter between total value and method’s value.
    • Name of a method.
    • Absolute value - depends on the selected Call Tree and methods filter shows the next information:
      • Time - shows how much time method has occupied.
      • Allocated Memory - shows an amount of memory allocations within method (in Kb or Mb).
      • Samples - shows amount of samples within method.

Memory Profile Session viewer

The viewer has 4 tabs:

• Heap Profile - shows heap information during application’s lifespan.

  

  The chart has 4 types of the optional curves:

  • Generation 0 - the youngest generation and contains short-lived objects. An example of a short-lived object is a temporary variable. Garbage collection occurs most frequently in this generation.
  • Generation 1 - the generation contains short-lived objects and serves as a buffer between short-lived objects and long-lived objects.
  • Generation 2 - the generation contains long-lived objects. An example of a long-lived object is an object in a server application that contains static data that is live for the duration of the process.
  • Large Objects - contains very large objects that are 85,000 bytes and larger.

  For more information, see, here.

• Memory Profile - shows dynamic memory information during application’s lifespan.

  

  The chart has 3 types of the curves:

  • Heap Allocated - allocated dynamic memory for objects.
  • Heap Reserved - reserved dynamic memory for allocations.
  • Unmanaged - total dynamic memory which application consumes.

• Data Type Allocations - shows information about all allocations during application’s lifespan.

  

  There is list of all memory allocations. A list entry has the next fields:

  • Name - name of the data type.
  • Objects Count - number of the allocated objects.
  • Memory Size - total of allocated memory of the appropriate data type.

• Data Type Charts - shows detailed information about all allocations during application’s lifespan.

  

  The tab has two areas:

  • Chart - represents allocated memory by data type during application’s lifespan.
  • List of the allocations - list of all allocations which can be represented in the chart. A list entry has the next fields:
    • Display - represent appropriate entry in the chart or not.
    • Count Max - max number of the allocated objects at once.
    • Count Avg - average number of the allocated objects.
    • Size Max - max size of the allocated memory at once.
    • Size Avg - average size of the allocated memory.
    • Name - name of the data type.