gprofng/doc/gprofng.texi

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@c This is the Texinfo source file for the gprofng man page.
@c
@c Author: Ruud van der Pas
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@ifset man
\input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
@setfilename gprofng
@settitle The next generation GNU application profiling tool
@include gp-macros.texi
@end ifset

@c @ManPageStart{NAME}
@c @ManPageStart{SYNOPSIS}
@c @ManPageStart{DESCRIPTION}
@c @ManPageStart{OPTIONS}
@c @ManPageStart{NOTES}
@c @ManPageStart{SEEALSO}
@c @ManPageStart{COPYRIGHT}

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@c This is from the man-pages(7) man page
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@c "The list below shows conventional or suggested sections.  Most manual pages
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@c              NAME
@c              SYNOPSIS
@c              CONFIGURATION    [Normally only in Section 4]
@c              DESCRIPTION
@c              OPTIONS          [Normally only in Sections 1, 8]
@c              EXIT STATUS      [Normally only in Sections 1, 8]
@c              RETURN VALUE     [Normally only in Sections 2, 3]
@c              ERRORS           [Typically only in Sections 2, 3]
@c              ENVIRONMENT
@c              FILES
@c              VERSIONS         [Normally only in Sections 2, 3]
@c              ATTRIBUTES       [Normally only in Sections 2, 3]
@c              CONFORMING TO
@c              NOTES
@c              BUGS
@c              EXAMPLES
@c              AUTHORS          [Discouraged]
@c              REPORTING BUGS   [Not used in man-pages]
@c              COPYRIGHT        [Not used in man-pages]
@c              SEE ALSO
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@c ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@c NAME section
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@ManPageStart{NAME}
@c man begin NAME

gprofng - The driver for the gprofng application profiling tool

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@c SYNOPSIS section
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@ManPageStart{SYNOPSIS}
@c man begin SYNOPSIS

@command{gprofng} [@var{option(s)}] @var{action} [@var{qualifier}]
[@var{option(s)}] @var{target} [@var{options}]

@c man end
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@c ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@c DESCRIPTION section
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@ManPageStart{DESCRIPTION}
@c man begin DESCRIPTION

This is the driver for the gprofng tools suite to gather and analyze
performance data.

The driver executes the @var{action} specified.  An example of an action is
@samp{collect} to collect performance data.  Depending on the action, a
@var{qualifier} may be needed to further define the command.
The last item is the @var{target} that the command applies to.

There are three places where options are supported.  The driver supports
options.  These can be found below.  The @var{action}, possibly in combination
with the @var{qualifier} also supports options.  A description of these can be
found in the man page for the command.  Any options needed to execute the
target command should follow the target name.

For example, to collect performance data for an application called
@command{a.out} and store the results in experiment directory @samp{mydata.er},
the following command may be used:

@smallexample
$ gprofng collect app -o mydata.er a.out -t 2
@end smallexample

In this example, the action is @samp{collect}, the qualifier is @samp{app},
the single argument to the command is @code{-o mydata.er} and the target is
@command{a.out}.  The target command is invoked with the @samp{-t 2} option.

If gprofng is executed without any additional option, action, or target, a
usage overview is printed.

@c man end
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@c ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@c OPTIONS section
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@ManPageStart{OPTIONS}
@c man begin OPTIONS

@table @gcctabopt

@item @var{--version}
@ifclear man
@IndexSubentry{Options, @code{--version}}
@end ifclear
Print the version number and exit.

@item @var{--help}
@ifclear man
@IndexSubentry{Options, @code{--help}}
@end ifclear
Print usage information and exit.

@end table

@c man end
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@c ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@c ENVIRONMENT SECTION
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@ManPageStart{ENVIRONMENT}
@c man begin ENVIRONMENT

The following environment variables are supported:

@table @samp

@item @env{GPROFNG_MAX_CALL_STACK_DEPTH}

@ifclear man
@cindex Environment variables
@end ifclear

Set the depth of the call stack (default is 256).

@item @env{GPROFNG_USE_JAVA_OPTIONS}

@ifclear man
@cindex Environment variables
@end ifclear

May be set when profiling a C/C++ application that uses dlopen() to execute
Java code.

@c -- deferred @item @env{GPROFNG_SSH_REMOTE_DISPLAY}
@c -- deferred Use this variable to define the ssh command executed by the
@c -- remote display tool.

@c -- deferred @item @env{GPROFNG_SKIP_VALIDATION}
@c -- deferred Set this variable to disable checking hardware, system, and
@c -- Java versions.

@item @env{GPROFNG_ALLOW_CORE_DUMP}

@ifclear man
@cindex Environment variables
@end ifclear

Set this variable to allow a core file to be generated; otherwise an error
report is created on @samp{/tmp}.

@item @env{GPROFNG_ARCHIVE}

@ifclear man
@cindex Environment variables
@end ifclear

Use this variable to define the settings for automatic archiving upon
experiment recording completion.

@item @env{GPROFNG_ARCHIVE_COMMON_DIR}

@ifclear man
@cindex Environment variables
@end ifclear

Set this variable to the location of the common archive.

@item @env{GPROFNG_JAVA_MAX_CALL_STACK_DEPTH}

@ifclear man
@cindex Environment variables
@end ifclear

Set the depth of the Java call stack; the default is 256; set to 0 to disable
capturing of call stacks.

@item @env{GPROFNG_JAVA_NATIVE_MAX_CALL_STACK_DEPTH}

@ifclear man
@cindex Environment variables
@end ifclear

Set the depth of the Java native call stack; the default is 256; set to 0 to
disable capturing of call stacks (JNI and assembly call stacks are not
captured).

@item @env{GPROFNG_SYSCONFDIR}

@ifclear man
@cindex Environment variables
@end ifclear

Set the path to the @file{gprofng.rc} configuration file.  By default, this
file is placed in the @file{etc} subdirectory of the binutils installation
directory.  In case an RPM has been used for the installation, this file is
in directory @file{/etc}.

When building and installing from the source, the user can set the path
to this configuration file to a non-default location.  If this is the case,
the user may set the @code{GPROFNG_SYSCONFDIR} environment variable to point
to this location.

Otherwise, the @command{gprofng display text}, @command{gprofng display src},
and @command{gprofng archive} tools cannot find this file.

@end table

@c man end
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@c ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@c NOTES section
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@ManPageStart{NOTES}
@c man begin NOTES

The gprofng driver supports the following commands.

@iftex
@vspace{1}
@end iftex

@c The man pages for the commands below can be viewed using the command name
@c with the spaces replaced by a dash ("-").  For example
@c the man page name for "gprofng collect app" is "gprofng-collect-app".

@i{Collect performance data:}

@table @code

@item gprofng collect app
Collect application performance data.

@end table

@i{Display the performance results:}

@table @code

@item gprofng display text
Display the performance data in ASCII format.

@item gprofng display html
Generate an HTML file from one or more experiments.

@item gprofng display gui
Start the GUI.  Note that this tool is not available by default and needs to
be installed seperately.

@end table

@i{Miscellaneous commands:}

@table @code

@item gprofng display src
Display source or disassembly with compiler annotations.

@item gprofng archive
Include binaries and source code in an experiment directory.

@end table

It is also possible to invoke the lower level commands directly, but since
these are subject to change, in particular the options, we recommend to
use the driver.

The @emph{gprofng GUI} is an optional tool that provides a graphical interface
for @code{gprofng}.  It is easy to use and supports many views into the
performance data.  For those interested in this GUI, we
recommend to search for @code{gprofng-gui} how to obtain, install and use it.

@c man end
@ManPageEnd{}

@c ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@c SEEALSO section
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@ManPageStart{SEE ALSO}
@c man begin SEEALSO

gprofng-archive(1),
gprofng-collect-app(1),
@c -- gprofng-display-gui(1),
gprofng-display-html(1),
gprofng-display-src(1),
gprofng-display-text(1)

@iftex
@vspace{1}
@end iftex

Each gprofng command also supports the @option{--help} option.  This lists the
options and a short description for each option.

For example this displays the options supported on the
@command{gprofng collect app} command:

@smallexample
$ gprofng collect app --help
@end smallexample

The user guide for gprofng is maintained as a Texinfo manual.  If the
@command{info} and @command{gprofng} programs are correctly installed, the
command @command{info gprofng} should give access to this document.

@c man end
@ManPageEnd{}

@c ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@c COPYRIGHT section
@c ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

@ManPageStart{COPYRIGHT}
@c man begin COPYRIGHT

Copyright @copyright{} 2022-2025 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3
or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no
Back-Cover Texts.  A copy of the license is included in the
section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.

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