


Devel::DProf(3p) Perl Programmers Reference GuideDevel::DProf(3p)


NAME
       Devel::DProf - a Perl code profiler

SYNOPSIS
               perl5 -d:DProf test.pl


DESCRIPTION
       The Devel::DProf package is a Perl code profiler.  This
       will collect information on the execution time of a Perl
       script and of the subs in that script.  This information
       can be used to determine which subroutines are using the
       most time and which subroutines are being called most
       often.  This information can also be used to create an
       execution graph of the script, showing subroutine rela-
       tionships.

       To profile a Perl script run the perl interpreter with the
       -d debugging switch.  The profiler uses the debugging
       hooks.  So to profile script test.pl the following command
       should be used:

               perl5 -d:DProf test.pl

       When the script terminates (or when the output buffer is
       filled) the profiler will dump the profile information to
       a file called tmon.out.  A tool like dprofpp can be used
       to interpret the information which is in that profile.
       The following command will print the top 15 subroutines
       which used the most time:

               dprofpp

       To print an execution graph of the subroutines in the
       script use the following command:

               dprofpp -T

       Consult the dprofpp manpage for other options.

PROFILE FORMAT
       The old profile is a text file which looks like this:















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               #fOrTyTwO
               $hz=100;
               $XS_VERSION='DProf 19970606';
               # All values are given in HZ
               $rrun_utime=2; $rrun_stime=0; $rrun_rtime=7
               PART2
               + 26 28 566822884 DynaLoader::import
               - 26 28 566822884 DynaLoader::import
               + 27 28 566822885 main::bar
               - 27 28 566822886 main::bar
               + 27 28 566822886 main::baz
               + 27 28 566822887 main::bar
               - 27 28 566822888 main::bar
               [....]

       The first line is the magic number.  The second line is
       the hertz value, or clock ticks, of the machine where the
       profile was collected.  The third line is the name and
       version identifier of the tool which created the profile.
       The fourth line is a comment.  The fifth line contains
       three variables holding the user time, system time, and
       realtime of the process while it was being profiled.  The
       sixth line indicates the beginning of the sub entry/exit
       profile section.

       The columns in PART2 are:

               sub entry(+)/exit(-) mark
               app's user time at sub entry/exit mark, in ticks
               app's system time at sub entry/exit mark, in ticks
               app's realtime at sub entry/exit mark, in ticks
               fully-qualified sub name, when possible

       With newer perls another format is used, which may look
       like this:

               #fOrTyTwO
               $hz=10000;
               $XS_VERSION='DProf 19971213';
               # All values are given in HZ
               $over_utime=5917; $over_stime=0; $over_rtime=5917;
               $over_tests=10000;
               $rrun_utime=1284; $rrun_stime=0; $rrun_rtime=1284;
               $total_marks=6;













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Devel::DProf(3p) Perl Programmers Reference GuideDevel::DProf(3p)


               PART2
               @ 406 0 406
               & 2 main bar
               + 2
               @ 456 0 456
               - 2
               @ 1 0 1
               & 3 main baz
               + 3
               @ 141 0 141
               + 2
               @ 141 0 141
               - 2
               @ 1 0 1
               & 4 main foo
               + 4
               @ 142 0 142
               + & Devel::DProf::write
               @ 5 0 5
               - & Devel::DProf::write

       (with high value of $ENV{PERL_DPROF_TICKS}).

       New "$over_*" values show the measured overhead of making
       $over_tests calls to the profiler These values are used by
       the profiler to subtract the overhead from the runtimes.

       The lines starting with "@" mark time passed from the pre-
       vious "@" line.  The lines starting with "&" introduce new
       subroutine id and show the package and the subroutine name
       of this id.  Lines starting with "+", "-" and "*" mark
       entering and exit of subroutines by ids, and "goto &subr".

       The old-style "+"- and "-"-lines are used to mark the
       overhead related to writing to profiler-output file.

AUTOLOAD
       When Devel::DProf finds a call to an "&AUTOLOAD" subrou-
       tine it looks at the "$AUTOLOAD" variable to find the real
       name of the sub being called.  See the Autoloading entry
       in the perlsub manpage.

ENVIRONMENT
       "PERL_DPROF_BUFFER" sets size of output buffer in words.
       Defaults to 2**14.

       "PERL_DPROF_TICKS" sets number of ticks per second on some
       systems where a replacement for times() is used.  Defaults
       to the value of "HZ" macro.

       "PERL_DPROF_OUT_FILE_NAME" sets the name of the output
       file.  If not set, defaults to tmon.out.





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Devel::DProf(3p) Perl Programmers Reference GuideDevel::DProf(3p)


BUGS
       Builtin functions cannot be measured by Devel::DProf.

       With a newer Perl DProf relies on the fact that the
       numeric slot of $DB::sub contains an address of a subrou-
       tine.  Excessive manipulation of this variable may over-
       write this slot, as in

         $DB::sub = 'current_sub';
         ...
         $addr = $DB::sub + 0;

       will set this numeric slot to numeric value of the string
       "current_sub", i.e., to "0".  This will cause a segfault
       on the exit from this subroutine.  Note that the first
       assignment above does not change the numeric slot (it will
       mark it as invalid, but will not write over it).

       Mail bug reports and feature requests to the perl5-porters
       mailing list at <perl5-porters@perl.org>.

SEE ALSO
       the perl manpage, the dprofpp manpage, times(2)


































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