.TH mono-profilers 1
.SH NAME
mono\-profilers \- Mono's bundled profiler modules
.SH SYNOPSIS
\fBmono\ \-\-profile=log\fR[:\fIoption\fR,...] \fIprogram.exe\fR [\fIargs\fR]...
.PP
\fBmono\ \-\-profile=coverage\fR[:\fIoption\fR,...] \fIprogram.exe\fR [\fIargs\fR]...
.PP
\fBmono\ \-\-profile=aot\fR[:\fIoption\fR,...] \fIprogram.exe\fR [\fIargs\fR]...
.SH DESCRIPTION
Mono ships with a few profiler modules that enable most typical
profiling scenarios. This page describes each of them in the sections
below.
.SH LOG PROFILER
The log profiler is Mono's general-purpose performance profiler. It
can collect a wide variety of data that can be analyzed by tools such
as \fBmprof\-report\fR(1) or the Xamarin Profiler.
.PP
By default, the log profiler writes its output to \fIoutput.mlpd\fR.
Refer to the \fImono/profiler/log.h\fR file in the Mono source tree
for documentation on the log profiler's file format.
.PP
A default invocation of the log profiler gathers only basic data:
Metadata load and unload events, thread start and stop events,
performance counter samples, exception throws, etc. Most users will
want to enable some of the heavier features such as GC allocation
recording, statistical sampling, heap snapshotting (heapshots), or
method entry and exit instrumentation. See the \fBOptions\fR
sub-section.
.PP
Note that, in most realistic scenarios, the log profiler will record
a vast amount of data. This can lead to very large log files. (The
\fBzip\fR and \fBreport\fR options can help deal with this.)
.SS Options
The log profiler supports the following options:
.TP
\fBhelp\fR
Print usage instructions.
.TP
\fBoutput\fR=[\fI+\fR|\fI#\fR|\fI|\fR]\fIfile\fR
Write log data to \fIfile\fR. The optional modifiers are:
.RS
.ne 8
.TP
\fB+\fR
The program PID is appended to the file name. For example,
\fBoutput=+out.mlpd\fR outputs to \fIout.mlpd.1234\fR if the PID is
\fB1234\fR.
.TP
\fB#\fR
\fIfile\fR is parsed as a file descriptor number, which is opened
with \fBfdopen\fR(3). This is mainly useful in embedding scenarios.
.TP
\fB|\fR
\fIfile\fR is treated as a program name. It will be started with
\fBpopen\fR(3) and the log data will be piped to its standard input.
.RE
.TP
\fBreport\fR
Generate a report directly instead of writing the log data to a file.
If this option is used together with the \fBoutput\fR option, the
report will be written to the specified file instead of the log data.
.TP
\fBzip\fR
Compress the output file with \fBgzip\fR(1).
.TP
\fBport\fR=\fIport\fR
Use \fIport\fR to listen for command server connections. See the
\fBCommand server\fR sub-section.
.TP
\fBnodefaults\fR
Disables pre Mono 5.6 compatibility. In particular, this disables
exception events and performance counter sampling by default. It also
makes it so that GC move events won't be enabled by default when
heapshots are enabled. To use this option, it must be the first
option given to the log profiler.
.IP
This option will be the default in a future version of the log
profiler.
.TP
[\fBno\fR]\fIevent\fR
Enable or disable gathering data for \fIevent\fR, which can be one
of:
.RS
.TP
\fBexception\fR
Exception throw and clause (\fBcatch\fR, \fBfinally\fR, etc)
evaluation events. Enabled by default unless \fBnodefaults\fR is
used.
.TP
\fBmonitor\fR
Monitor lock contention, acquisition, and release events.
.TP
\fBgc\fR
GC start, progress, stop, and resize events.
.TP
\fBgcalloc\fR
GC allocation events.
.TP
\fBgcmove\fR
GC move events.
.TP
\fBgcroot\fR
GC root report events. Generated on every collection if enabled,
unless \fBnodefaults\fR is used, in which case, they're only
generated on heapshots.
.TP
\fBgchandle\fR
GC handle creation and deletion events.
.TP
\fBfinalization\fR
Object finalization events.
.TP
\fBcounter\fR
Performance counter sample events. Enabled by default unless
\fBnodefaults\fR is used.
.TP
\fBjit\fR
JIT code buffer events.
.TP
\fBalloc\fR
Alias for \fBgc\fR, \fBgcalloc\fR, and \fBgcmove\fR.
.TP
\fBlegacy\fR
Alias for \fBexception\fR, \fBmonitor\fR, \fBgc\fR, \fBgcmove\fR,
\fBgcroot\fR, \fBgchandle\fR, \fBfinalization\fR, and \fBcounter\fR.
.RE
.TP
\fBsample\fR[\fB\-real\fR][=\fIfreq\fR]
Enable statistical sampling. The default is to sample at a frequency
of 100 Hz, but \fIfreq\fR can be used to override this.
.IP
By default, sampling uses process time (i.e., the more work a process
does, the more samples are collected). The \fB-real\fR variant uses
wall clock time instead. Wall clock time is better for programs that
are I/O-bound.
.TP
\fBmaxsamples\fR=\fInum\fR
Limit the number of reusable sample events to \fInum\fR allocations.
A value of zero means no limit. By default, the value of this setting
is based on the number of CPU cores. Some tinkering with this setting
may be necessary for programs with an unusually high amount of
threads.
.TP
\fBcalls\fR
Enable method entry and exit instrumentation. This is an alternative
to statistical sampling when you need more precise information. Note
that this mode is extremely heavy and can slow most programs to a
crawl.
.TP
\fBcallspec\fR=\fIspec\fR
Limit method entry and exit instrumentation to methods matching the
specified call spec. This uses the same syntax as the \fB--trace\fR
option for \fBmono\fR(1), so refer to that page for more information.
.TP
\fBcalldepth\fR=\fInum\fR
Limit method entry and exit event collection to a call depth of
\fInum\fR.
.TP
\fBmaxframes\fR=\fInum\fR
Limit backtraces in various events (including statistical samples) to
\fInum\fR frames.
.TP
\fBheapshot\fR[=\fImode\fR]
Enable heap snapshots. \fImode\fR, if given, can be one of:
.RS
.TP
\fBondemand\fR
Only perform a heapshot when receiving a command via the command
server or when triggered through the managed library.
.TP
\fInum\fR\fBgc\fR
Perform a heapshot on every \fInum\fR collections of the major
generation.
.TP
\fInum\fR\fBms\fR
Perform a heapshot on a major generation collection if \fInum\fR
milliseconds have passed since the last heapshot.
.RE
.IP
If \fImode\fR is not given, a heapshot will be performed on every
collection of the major generation.
.TP
\fBheapshot-on-shutdown\fR
In addition to any other heapshot settings, also perform a heapshot
on runtime shutdown.
.TP
\fBdebug\fR
Print detailed debugging information. Most users should not use this
option.
.SS Command server
The log profiler features a simple command server that currently is
only used to trigger manual heapshots (typcally when using the
on-demand mode, but also usable with the other modes). A random port
will be used to listen for connections unless the \fBport\fR option
is used. To trigger a heapshot, open a TCP connection to the command
server and send the C string \fB"heapshot\\n"\fR.
.PP
The command server supports multiple simultaneous connections.
.SS Managed library
The log profiler comes with a managed library called
\fBMono.Profiler.Log\fR. This library allows easily reading log files
in managed code (e.g., C#) as well as interacting with the profiler
at run-time.
.PP
With the ability to easily read log files, users can write all sorts
of interesting analyses that might not be provided by the standard
tools (e.g., \fBmprof\-report\fR(1)).
.PP
The \fBLogProfiler\fR class allows users to reconfigure profiler
settings at run-time. For example, certain event types can be toggled
on or off, the mode and frequency of heapshots and sampling can be
changed, etc. Heapshots can also be triggered manually.
.PP
To use this library, simply pass \fB\-r:Mono.Profiler.Log\fR when
compiling your code.
.SS Example
Collect GC allocation and sampling data for a program, then generate
a report:
.PP
.nf
.RS
mono \-\-profile=log:alloc,sample program.exe
mprof\-report output.mlpd
.RE
.fi
.PP
Perform a heapshot on every 5th collection and generate a report
directly:
.PP
.nf
.RS
mono \-\-profile=log:heapshot=5gc,report program.exe
.RE
.fi
.PP
.SH COVERAGE PROFILER
The code coverage profiler collects information about how often code
paths are executed. This is done by instrumenting JIT-compiled code
at all sequence points. On program exit, the coverage profiler
collects all execution count information and outputs it to an XML
file. The main use case for the coverage profiler is unit testing: By
running unit test suites with the coverage profiler, it is possible
to determine whether the unit tests actually cover all the code that
they should.
.PP
By default, the coverage profiler writes its output to
\fIcoverage.xml\fR. Refer to the \fImono/profiler/coverage.c\fR file
in the Mono source tree for documentation on the schema.
.PP
Please note that the coverage profiler currently does not support
instrumenting AOT-compiled code. When collecting coverage data, one
may wish to run Mono with the \fB-O=-aot\fR option to disable loading
AOT-compiled code.
.SS Options
The coverage profiler supports the following options:
.TP
\fBhelp\fR
Print usage instructions.
.TP
\fBoutput\fR=[\fI+\fR|\fI#\fR|\fI|\fR]\fIfile\fR
Write coverage data to \fIfile\fR. The optional modifiers are:
.RS
.ne 8
.TP
\fB+\fR
The program PID is appended to the file name. For example,
\fBoutput=+cov.xml\fR outputs to \fIcov.xml.1234\fR if the PID is
\fB1234\fR.
.TP
\fB#\fR
\fIfile\fR is parsed as a file descriptor number, which is opened
with \fBfdopen\fR(3). This is mainly useful in embedding scenarios.
.TP
\fB|\fR
\fIfile\fR is treated as a program name. It will be started with
\fBpopen\fR(3) and the coverage data will be piped to its standard
input.
.RE
.TP
\fBcovfilter-file\fR=\fIfile\fR
Supply a coverage filter file. This option can be given multiple
times. See the \fBFilter files\fR sub-section.
.SS Filter files
Filter files can be used to pick and choose which types should be
considered for coverage instrumentation. A filter file consists of a
series of lines of the form:
.PP
.nf
.RS
\fB+\fR|\fB\-\fR\fB[\fR\fIimage_name\fR\fB]\fR\fItype_name_prefix\fR
.RE
.fi
.PP
Here, \fIimage_name\fR is something like \fBmscorlib\fR.
\fItype_name_prefix\fR can be something like \fBSystem.Int32\fR for
a specific type or \fBSystem.App\fR to pick all types starting with
\fBApp\fR in the \fBSystem\fR namespace.
.PP
Lines starting with \fB+\fR indicate that a type should be
instrumented for coverage, whereas lines starting with \fB\-\fR
indicate the opposite. Lines starting with \fB+\fR always override
lines starting with \fB\-\fR regardless of the order they appear in.
.PP
Lines not starting with either character are ignored. This can be
used to write comments. For example, this is a valid file:
.PP
.nf
.RS
# Ignore coverage in network-related code, except HTTP client code.
-[MyProgram]MyProgram.Net
+[MyProgram]MyProgram.Net.Http.HttpClient
.RE
.fi
.SS Example
Coverage data for a program can be collected like this:
.PP
.nf
.RS
mono \-O=\-aot \-\-profile=coverage:output=cov.xml program.exe
.RE
.fi
.PP
\fIcov.xml\fR will now contain the coverage data.
.SH AOT PROFILER
The AOT profiler will record which generic instantiations a program
makes use of and save the information to a specified file. This data
can then be used by the AOT compiler to compile those generic
instantiations ahead of time to reduce program startup time.
.PP
By default, the AOT profiler writes its output to
\fIoutput.aotprofile\fR. Refer to the \fImono/profiler/aot.h\fR file
in the Mono source tree for documentation on the AOT profiler's file
format.
.SS Options
The AOT profiler supports the following options:
.TP
\fBduration\fR=\fInum\fR
Profile only NUM seconds of runtime and then write the data.
.TP
\fBhelp\fR
Print usage instructions.
.TP
\fBoutput\fR=[\fI+\fR|\fI#\fR|\fI|\fR]\fIfile\fR
Write output data to \fIfile\fR. The optional modifiers are:
.RS
.ne 8
.TP
\fB+\fR
The program PID is appended to the file name. For example,
\fBoutput=+out.aotprofile\fR outputs to \fIout.aotprofile.1234\fR if
the PID is \fB1234\fR.
.TP
\fB#\fR
\fIfile\fR is parsed as a file descriptor number, which is opened
with \fBfdopen\fR(3). This is mainly useful in embedding scenarios.
.TP
\fB|\fR
\fIfile\fR is treated as a program name. It will be started with
\fBpopen\fR(3) and the log data will be piped to its standard input.
.RE
.TP
\fBverbose\fR
Print detailed debugging information. Most users should not use this
option.
.SS Example
A profile can be collected and used like this:
.PP
.nf
.RS
mono \-\-profile=aot:output=program.aotprofile program.exe
mono \-\-aot=profile=program.aotprofile program.exe
mono program.exe
.RE
.fi
.PP
.SH SEE ALSO
\fBmono\fR(1), \fBmprof\-report\fR(1)