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Oracle Solaris Studio 12.2: Performance Analyzer
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Document Information

Preface

1.  Overview of the Performance Analyzer

2.  Performance Data

3.  Collecting Performance Data

Compiling and Linking Your Program

Source Code Information

Static Linking

Shared Object Handling

Optimization at Compile Time

Compiling Java Programs

Preparing Your Program for Data Collection and Analysis

Using Dynamically Allocated Memory

Using System Libraries

Using Signal Handlers

Using setuid and setgid

Program Control of Data Collection

The C and C++ Interface

The Fortran Interface

The Java Interface

The C, C++, Fortran, and Java API Functions

Dynamic Functions and Modules

collector_func_load()

collector_func_unload()

Limitations on Data Collection

Limitations on Clock-Based Profiling

Runtime Distortion and Dilation with Clock-profiling

Limitations on Collection of Tracing Data

Runtime Distortion and Dilation with Tracing

Limitations on Hardware Counter Overflow Profiling

Runtime Distortion and Dilation With Hardware Counter Overflow Profiling

Limitations on Data Collection for Descendant Processes

Limitations on OpenMP Profiling

Limitations on Java Profiling

Runtime Performance Distortion and Dilation for Applications Written in the Java Programming Language

Where the Data Is Stored

Experiment Names

Moving Experiments

Estimating Storage Requirements

Collecting Data

Collecting Data Using the collect Command

Data Collection Options

-p option

-h counter_definition_1...[,counter_definition_n]

-s option

-H option

-M option

-m option

-S option

-c option

-I directory

-N library_name

-r option

Experiment Control Options

-F option

-j option

-J java_argument

-l signal

-t duration

-x

-y signal[ ,r]

Output Options

-o experiment_name

-d directory-name

-g group-name

-A option

-L size

-O file

Other Options

-P process_id

-C comment

-n

-R

-V

-v

Collecting Data From a Running Process Using the collect Utility

To Collect Data From a Running Process Using the collect Utility

Collecting Data Using the dbx collector Subcommands

To Run the Collector From dbx:

Data Collection Subcommands

profile option

hwprofile option

synctrace option

heaptrace option

tha option

sample option

dbxsample { on | off }

Experiment Control Subcommands

disable

enable

pause

resume

sample record name

Output Subcommands

archive mode

limit value

store option

Information Subcommands

show

status

Collecting Data From a Running Process With dbx on Solaris Platforms

To Collect Data From a Running Process That is Not Under the Control of dbx

Collecting Tracing Data From a Running Program

Collecting Data From MPI Programs

Running the collect Command for MPI

Storing MPI Experiments

Collecting Data From Scripts

Using collect With ppgsz

4.  The Performance Analyzer Tool

5.  The er_print Command Line Performance Analysis Tool

6.  Understanding the Performance Analyzer and Its Data

7.  Understanding Annotated Source and Disassembly Data

8.  Manipulating Experiments

9.  Kernel Profiling

Index

Compiling and Linking Your Program

You can collect and analyze data for a program compiled with almost any compiler option, but some choices affect what you can collect or what you can see in the Performance Analyzer. The issues that you should take into account when you compile and link your program are described in the following subsections.

Source Code Information

To see source code in annotated Source and Disassembly analyses, and source lines in the Lines analyses, you must compile the source files of interest with the -g compiler option (-g0 for C++ to enable front-end inlining) to generate debug symbol information. The format of the debug symbol information can be either DWARF2 or stabs, as specified by -xdebugformat=(dwarf|stabs) . The default debug format is dwarf.

To prepare compilation objects with debug information that allows dataspace profiles, currently only for SPARC processors, compile by specifying -xhwcprof and any level of optimization. (Currently, this functionality is not available without optimization.) To see program data objects in Data Objects analyses, also add -g (or -g0 for C++) to obtain full symbolic information.

Executables and libraries built with DWARF format debugging symbols automatically include a copy of each constituent object file’s debugging symbols. Executables and libraries built with stabs format debugging symbols also include a copy of each constituent object file’s debugging symbols if they are linked with the -xs option, which leaves stabs symbols in the various object files as well as the executable. The inclusion of this information is particularly useful if you need to move or remove the object files. With all of the debugging symbols in the executables and libraries themselves, it is easier to move the experiment and the program-related files to a new location.

Static Linking

When you compile your program, you must not disable dynamic linking, which is done with the -dn and -Bstatic compiler options. If you try to collect data for a program that is entirely statically linked, the Collector prints an error message and does not collect data. The error occurs because the collector library, among others, is dynamically loaded when you run the Collector.

Do not statically link any of the system libraries. If you do, you might not be able to collect any kind of tracing data. Also, do not link to the Collector library, libcollector.so.

Shared Object Handling

Normally the collect command causes data to be collected for all shared objects in the address space of the target, whether they are on the initial library list, or are explicitly loaded with dlopen(). However, under some circumstances some shared objects are not profiled:

Optimization at Compile Time

If you compile your program with optimization turned on at some level, the compiler can rearrange the order of execution so that it does not strictly follow the sequence of lines in your program. The Performance Analyzer can analyze experiments collected on optimized code, but the data it presents at the disassembly level is often difficult to relate to the original source code lines. In addition, the call sequence can appear to be different from what you expect if the compiler performs tail-call optimizations. See Tail-Call Optimization for more information.

Compiling Java Programs

No special action is required for compiling Java programs with the javac command.