GPROF(1) UNIX Reference Manual GPROF(1)
g
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\bf - display call graph profile data
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g
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\bf [options] [_
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\bt [_
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\bn._
\bo_
\bu_
\bt ...]]
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g
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\bf produces an execution profile of C, Pascal, or Fortran77 programs.
The effect of called routines is incorporated in the profile of each
caller. The profile data is taken from the call graph profile file
(_
\bg_
\bm_
\bo_
\bn._
\bo_
\bu_
\bt default) which is created by programs that are compiled with
the -
\b-p
\bpg
\bg option of cc(1), pc(1), and f77(1). The -
\b-p
\bpg
\bg option also links in
versions of the library routines that are compiled for profiling. G
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\bof
\bf
reads the given object file (the default is _
\ba._
\bo_
\bu_
\bt) and establishes the
relation between it's symbol table and the call graph profile from
_
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\bm_
\bo_
\bn._
\bo_
\bu_
\bt. If more than one profile file is specified, the g
\bgp
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\bf output
shows the sum of the profile information in the given profile files.
G
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\bf calculates the amount of time spent in each routine. Next, these
times are propagated along the edges of the call graph. Cycles are
discovered, and calls into a cycle are made to share the time of the cy-
cle. The first listing shows the functions sorted according to the time
they represent including the time of their call graph descendents. Below
each function entry is shown its (direct) call graph children, and how
their times are propagated to this function. A similar display above the
function shows how this function's time and the time of its descendents
is propagated to its (direct) call graph parents.
Cycles are also shown, with an entry for the cycle as a whole and a list-
ing of the members of the cycle and their contributions to the time and
call counts of the cycle.
Second, a flat profile is given, similar to that provided by prof(1).
This listing gives the total execution times, the call counts, the time
in milleseconds the call spent in the routine itself, and the time in
milleseconds the call spent in the routine itself including its descen-
Finally, an index of the function names is provided.
The following options are available:
-
\b-a
\ba suppresses the printing of statically declared functions. If
this option is given, all relevant information about the static
function (e.g., time samples, calls to other functions, calls
from other functions) belongs to the function loaded just be-
fore the static function in the _
\ba._
\bo_
\bu_
\bt file.
-
\b-b
\bb suppresses the printing of a description of each field in the
-
\b-c
\bc the static call graph of the program is discovered by a heuris-
tic that examines the text space of the object file. Static-
only parents or children are shown with call counts of 0.
-
\b-e
\be _
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be suppresses the printing of the graph profile entry for routine
_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be and all its descendants (unless they have other ancestors
that aren't suppressed). More than one -
\b-e
\be option may be given.
Only one _
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be may be given with each -
\b-e
\be option.
-
\b-E
\bE _
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be suppresses the printing of the graph profile entry for routine
_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be (and its descendants) as -
\b-e
\be, above, and also excludes the
time spent in _
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be (and its descendants) from the total and
percentage time computations. (For example, -
\b-E
\bE _
\bm_
\bc_
\bo_
\bu_
\bn_
\bt -
\b-E
\bE
_
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\bc_
\bl_
\be_
\ba_
\bn_
\bu_
\bp is the default.)
-
\b-f
\bf _
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be prints the graph profile entry of only the specified routine
_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be and its descendants. More than one -
\b-f
\bf option may be
given. Only one _
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be may be given with each -
\b-f
\bf option.
-
\b-F
\bF _
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be prints the graph profile entry of only the routine _
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be and its
descendants (as -
\b-f
\bf, above) and also uses only the times of the
printed routines in total time and percentage computations.
More than one -
\b-F
\bF option may be given. Only one _
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be may be
given with each -
\b-F
\bF option. The -
\b-F
\bF option overrides the -
\b-E
\bE op-
-
\b-k
\bk _
\bf_
\br_
\bo_
\bm_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be _
\bt_
\bo_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be
will delete any arcs from routine _
\bf_
\br_
\bo_
\bm_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be to routine _
\bt_
\bo_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be.
This can be used to break undesired cycles. More than one -
\b-k
\bk
option may be given. Only one pair of routine names may be
given with each -
\b-k
\bk option.
-
\b-s
\bs a profile file _
\bg_
\bm_
\bo_
\bn._
\bs_
\bu_
\bm is produced that represents the sum of
the profile information in all the specified profile files.
This summary profile file may be given to later executions of
gprof (probably also with a -
\b-s
\bs) to accumulate profile data
across several runs of an _
\ba._
\bo_
\bu_
\bt file.
-
\b-z
\bz displays routines that have zero usage (as shown by call counts
and accumulated time). This is useful with the -
\b-c
\bc option for
discovering which routines were never called.
_
\ba._
\bo_
\bu_
\bt the namelist and text space.
_
\bg_
\bm_
\bo_
\bn._
\bo_
\bu_
\bt dynamic call graph and profile.
_
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\bo_
\bn._
\bs_
\bu_
\bm summarized dynamic call graph and profile.
S
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\bE A
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monitor(3), profil(2), cc(1), prof(1)
_
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\bn _
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\be_
\bc_
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\bt_
\bi_
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\bn _
\bP_
\br_
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\be_
\br _
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\bs, by S. Graham, P. Kessler, M.
McKusick; Software - Practice and Experience, Vol. 13, pp. 671-685,
_
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\bf: _
\bA _
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\bl _
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\br_
\ba_
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\bh _
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\bt_
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\br, by S. Graham, P. Kessler, M.
McKusick; Proceedings of the SIGPLAN '82 Symposium on Compiler Construc-
tion, SIGPLAN Notices, Vol. 17, No 6, pp. 120-126, June 1982.
H
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G
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\bf appeared in 4.2 BSD.
The granularity of the sampling is shown, but remains statistical at
best. We assume that the time for each execution of a function can be
expressed by the total time for the function divided by the number of
times the function is called. Thus the time propagated along the call
graph arcs to the function's parents is directly proportional to the
number of times that arc is traversed.
Parents that are not themselves profiled will have the time of their pro-
filed children propagated to them, but they will appear to be spontane-
ously invoked in the call graph listing, and will not have their time
propagated further. Similarly, signal catchers, even though profiled,
will appear to be spontaneous (although for more obscure reasons). Any
profiled children of signal catchers should have their times propagated
properly, unless the signal catcher was invoked during the execution of
the profiling routine, in which case all is lost.
The profiled program must call exit(2) or return normally for the profil-
ing information to be saved in the _
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\bm_
\bo_
\bn._
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\bt file.
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