Profiler

The Profiler records where your application uses CPU time, elapsed time, memory, and CPU processing power. Gathering Profiling data is very simple:

• Compile your source files with -fprofiling
• Run the program
• Analyze the coverage data

After you have set your Project>Properties to include the profiling compiler flag, profiling data is produced automatically when you run (or run in debug) your program. The results are are presented in the Profiler View. Information gathered on the level of the Paragraph/Section included number of times entered, time elapsed, CPU time elapsed, external calls, and time elapsed in external calls. When running in the UNIX/Linux operating environments, you also have access to Memory and CPU usage, displayed in real time.

The Profiler stores the output for a runtime session in a single .xls file that is output at the program exit. The single output file is created using the naming convention:

cob_profiling_<PID>_final.xls.

Profiling Preferences

The behavior of the COBOL Profiling can be adjusted in the Project>Properties>DevOpsTools>Profiler.

Option	Behavior
Open Profiling View automatically	Whenever a new profiling session becomes active the Profiling View can be automatically shown in the current workbench window. (Default: on).
Generate paragraph profiling code (-fprofiling)	Sets the -fprofiling compiler flag.
Enable interval profiling>Refresh interval (seconds)	Sets the interval for the profiling data display in the runtime tab of the Profiler View.

Runtime Environment Variables COB_PROFILING_DIR

When compiling with the -fprofiling compiler flag, the runtime will check for the COB_PROFILING_DIR environment variable, and generate the profiling data file in that directory if it is defined. Otherwise, the profiling data file is created in the same directory as the source file.

Note that COB_PROFILING_DIR environment variable requires a trailing slash. As an example:

Linux/UNIX environments:
>export COB_PROFILING_DIR=mydir/

As a result, the output file is generated as mydir/cob_profiling_<pid>_final.xls

In Windows environments:
>set COB_PROFILING_DIR=mydir\

As a result, the output file is generated as mydir\cob_profiling_<pid>_final.xls

COB_PROFILING_EACH_MODULE

The COB_PROFILING_EACH_MODULE runtime environment variable, when set to Y, causes the profiler to revert to the old profiling behavior, in which the .xls file is output at the exit of each module in an application.

The Profiler View

Opening the Profiler View

The Profiler view is opened automatically after a program is run in profiling mode. As with other Views, it can be manually opened from the Window>Show View menu.

The Profiler View contains two tabs: Runtime and Paragraphs.

The Runtime tab is available in Linux/UNIX operating environments and contains information about current cpu and memory usage of the running program.

The Paragraphs tab is empty during execution. On program exit, the tab is activated and filled with the profiling information that has been collected in the cob_profiling_[pid]_final.xls file.

Paragraphs Tab

The Paragraphs Tab of the Profiler View shows profiling information collected during the runtime session.

Profiler View Summaries

On the Title bar, you see the name of the main program, and the data-time stamp for the profiling session.

In the Paragraphs Tab, you will find the following columns:

Column	Displays
Paragraph	In the form [program name]:[section name].label_[paragraph name].
Entry Count	The number of times the paragraph was entered.
Total CPU	CPU time in thousandths of a second.
External CALL CPU	CPU time spent in external calls in thousandths of a second.
Total Elaps	Total elapsed time in millionths of a second.
External Call Elaps	Total elapsed time in external calls in millionths of a second.
CPU Intrinsic	CPU time executing Intrinsic Functions.
CPU Intrinsic avg run	CPU time executing Intrinsic Functions (average run).
CPU Total avg run	CPU Total (average run).
Elaps Intrinsic	Elapsed time executing Intrinsic Functions.
Elaps Intrinsic avg run	Elapsed time executing Intrinsic Functions (average run).
Elaps Total avg run	Total elapsed time (average run).

The elements may be sorted in ascending or descending order by clicking the respective column header.

Runtime Tab

In Linux/UNIX operating environments, the Runtime tab contains two graphics with cpu and memory information of the running program. During program execution graphics data is updated at an interval rate that is configurable by the user.

The Profiler View Toolbar

The Profiler View Toolbar:

Toolbar Icon	Name	Function
	Relaunch Profiler Session	Re-run the currently selected profiler session.
	Remove Active Session	Remove the currently selected profler session.
	Remove All Sessions	Remove all profiler sessions.
	Select Active Session	Select session from the drop down-menu and make it the active session.
	Link with Current Selection	When this toggle is checked the Profiler View automatically opens target source code when you select a paragraph in the Paragraphs tab.
	Minimize	Minimizes the Coverage View
	Maximize	Maximizes the Coverage View

Relaunch Profiler Session

The Relaunch Profiler Session toolbar button causes the application to be re-launched in the debugger. When the application session has completed the Profiling results will be displayed as the new Active Session.

Select Active Session

The Active Session dropdown box displays the currently active session and sessions which can be selected as the Active Session. The selected session is displayed in the Profiler View.

Link with Current Selection

The Link with Current Selection toolbar button opens the selected source file in the Code Editor Window.

Profiler Session Import

Profiling sessions can be launched from the COBOL command line. As we have seen, when you compile a program with the -fprofiling compiler flag, and then run the program, the runtime will create an output file called cob_profiling_[pid]_final.xls. This file can be imported into the Developer Studio. To import a Code Coverage session, select the File>Import function from the Main Menubar. On the subsequent Import screen, select Profiler Session from among the available COBOL import wizards.

Click on the Next button to open a dialog Window, and select the Profiler Session you wish to import. Profiler sessions are stored in .xls files, as described earlier. In our example below, we have used the Browse button to navigate to a .xls file in which we have saved information.

Click Finish to import the data from the Profiler Session. This data will be displayed in the Paragraphs Tab of the Profiler View, with a notation that the session was imported, and when it was imported.

Profiler Session Export

Profiling sessions that have been generated from within the Developer Studio can be exported to a location of your choice.

To export a Code Coverage session, select the File>Export function from the Main Menubar. On the subsequent Export screen, select Profiler Report from among the available COBOL export wizards.

Click on the Next button to open the Export dialog window. Then click on Finish to export the profiler report to the Export destination.