Importing Application Profiler data

QNX Tool SuiteIntegrated Development Environment User's GuideDeveloperSetup

You can import Application Profiler sessions from XML files generated by the IDE or import profiling data produced by an application or kernel event trace that ran on a QNX target.

Typically, XML files containing session data are already on the host machine, because you obtain them from either the IDE or other team members who share analysis results. If you run a binary with profiling instrumentation from the command line, when the program finishes, you must copy over the profiling data file to the host by using the Target File System Navigator. For kernel event traces, if you run them from the IDE, the log file automatically gets copied over. If you run them from the command line (i.e., using tracelogger), you must copy the log file to the host using that same mechanism.
To import profiling data:
  1. Select File > Import > QNX > Application Profiler Session, then click Next.
    The import wizard displays the Import Application Profiler Data window, which lets you specify the import file and the application and library binaries that generated the profiling results.
  2. In Import From File, specify the file containing the data that you're importing.

    You can enter an absolute host path or click Browse to open a window that lets you choose a workspace or local file, using a file selector. When providing a name, you can use ${workspace_loc:*} to specify the current workspace; for example: ${workspace_loc:project_name/results_file}.

    In the file selector, you can pick a file with one of these naming conventions:
    • gmon.out.* — for position sampling and call count data
    • *.ptrace — for function runtime measurement data
    • *.kev — for kernel event trace logs containing profiling data
    • *.xml — for profiling sessions that were exported from the IDE

    If you select an XML file, the remaining fields in the window are greyed out and you can skip to Step 6.

  3. In Executable File, specify the executable binary that produced the profiling results.
    Like the previous text field, you can manually enter a filepath or click Browse to pick a file from the workspace or filesystem through a file selector. The ${workspace_loc:*} variable is also supported.
  4. In the Libraries Search Path panel, add the paths of any libraries that the profiled application uses.

    These paths tell the IDE where to find shared libraries referenced by the profiling data. This UI control behaves the same way as the Libraries tab in the launch configuration.

    When you've defined the necessary paths, if the profiled application uses source code compiled on another machine, click Next; otherwise skip to Step 6.

  5. Optional: In the Binary Path dialog, specify any additional required source code paths.
    The Source Lookup Path panel lists the host paths that the IDE should search to find source code that was part of the instrumented binary but wasn't compiled on the host. This UI control behaves like the Source tab in the launch configuration.
  6. Click Finish.
    The IDE begins importing the data into a new Application Profiler session, which it displays in the Analysis Sessions view. The session follows the standard naming convention consisting of the binary that produced the profiling results followed by a new, unique session number. You can rename the session by right-clicking its entry and choosing Rename.
When the import operation finishes, you can view the results from the earlier profiling activity by examining the Execution Time view, which is populated with the new session's data. If you're importing data from a kernel event trace log, the IDE doesn't display the trace statistics in the editor; it just shows the profiling data for any instrumented binary that ran during the trace. The Application Profiler reference explains how to interpret the results.
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