Donate to e Foundation | Murena handsets with /e/OS | Own a part of Murena! Learn more

Commit 25ef208d authored by Joe Fernandez's avatar Joe Fernandez
Browse files

Systrace doc updates 

Update to reflect new user interface and command line options
in Android 4.3+. Also add section on using application-level
tracing.

Fixes for bugs:
b/7306847
b/10113361
b/9425766
b/7306847
b/9262485

Change-Id: Ia1c2a54fa2edc12cd68da27055aebe7ec47df745
parent 5b93d259

docs/html/images/systrace/systrace-button.png

0 → 100644
+1.15 KiB
Loading image diff...

docs/html/tools/debugging/systrace.jd

+124 −36
Original line number Diff line number Diff line 
page.title=Analyzing Display and Performance with Systrace

page.title=Analyzing Display and Performance

page.tags=systrace,speed

parent.title=Debugging

parent.link=index.html

@jd:body
@@ -12,10 +13,11 @@ parent.link=index.html 
      <li><a href="#generate">Generating Traces</a>

        <ol>

          <li><a href="#limit-trace">Limiting trace data</a></li>

          <li><a href="#config-categories">Configuring trace data categories</a></li>

          <li><a href="#running">Running a trace</a></li>

          <li><a href="#running-4.3">Tracing on Android 4.3 and higher</a>

          <li><a href="#running-4.2">Tracing on Android 4.2 and lower</a></li>

        </ol>

      </li>

      <li><a href="#app-trace">Tracing Application Code</a></li>

      <li><a href="#analysis">Analyzing Traces</a>

        <ol>

          <li><a href="#long-processes">Long running processes</a></li>
@@ -25,13 +27,12 @@ parent.link=index.html 
    </ol>

    <h2>See also</h2>

    <ol>

      <li><a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/systrace.html">Systrace</a>

      </li>

      <li><a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/systrace.html">Systrace</a></li>

    </ol>

  </div>

</div>



<p>After building features, eliminating bugs and cleaning up your code, you should spend some

<p>After building features, eliminating bugs, and cleaning up your code, you should spend some

  time looking at the performance of your application. The speed and smoothness with which your

  application draws pixels and performs operations has an significant impact on your users'

  experience.</p>
@@ -42,21 +43,21 @@ parent.link=index.html 
  threaded processes for resources, which can cause performance problems that are hard to diagnose.

</p>



<p>The {@code systrace} tool allows you to collect and review code execution data for your

<p>The Systrace tool allows you to collect and review code execution data for your

  application and the Android system. You can use this data to diagnose execution problems and

  improve the performance of your application.</p>





<h2 id="overview">Overview</h2>



<p>{@code systrace} helps you analyze how the execution of your application fits into the larger

<p>Systrace helps you analyze how the execution of your application fits into the larger

  Android environment, letting you see system and applications process execution on a common

  timeline. The tool allows you to generate highly detailed, interactive reports from devices

  running Android 4.1 and higher, such as the report in figure 1.</p>



<img src="{@docRoot}images/systrace/report.png" alt="Systrace example report" id="figure1" />

<p class="img-caption">

  <strong>Figure 1.</strong> An example {@code systrace} report on 5 seconds of process execution

  <strong>Figure 1.</strong> An example Systrace report on 5 seconds of process execution

  for a running application and related Android system processes.

</p>
@@ -66,14 +67,19 @@ parent.link=index.html 
<p>In order to create a trace of your application, you must perform a few setup steps. First, you

  must have a device running Android 4.1 or higher. Set up the device for

  <a href="{@docRoot}tools/device.html#setting-up">debugging</a>, connect it to your development

  system and install your application. Some types of trace information, specifically disk activity

  and kernel work queues, require root access to the device, but most {@code systrace} log data

  only requires that the device be enabled for developer debugging.</p>

  system, and install your application. Some types of trace information, specifically disk activity

  and kernel work queues, require that you have root access to the device. However, most Systrace

  log data only requires that the device be enabled for developer debugging.</p>



<p>Systrace traces can be run either from a

  <a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/systrace.html#options">command line</a> or from a

  <a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/systrace.html#gui">graphical user interface</a>. This guide

  focuses on using the command line options.</p>





<h3 id="limit-trace">Limiting trace data</h3>



<p>The {@code systrace} tool can generate a potentially huge amount of data from applications

<p>The Systrace tool can generate a potentially huge amount of data from applications

  and system sources. To limit the amount of data the tool collects and make the data more relevant

  to your analysis, use the following options:</p>
@@ -81,39 +87,68 @@ parent.link=index.html 
  <li>Limit the amount of time covered by the trace with the {@code -t, --time} option. The default

    length of a trace is 5 seconds.</li>

  <li>Limit the size of the data collected by the trace with the {@code -b, --buf-size} option.</li>

  <li>Specify what types of processes are traced using the {@code --set-tags} option and the

  {@code --disk}, {@code --cpu-freq}, {@code --cpu-idle}, {@code --cpu-load} options.</li>

  <li>Specify what types of processes are traced. The types of processes that can be traced depends

    on the version of Android you are running:

    <ul>

      <li>Android 4.2 and lower devices: Use the {@code --set-tags} option and the {@code --disk},

        {@code --cpu-freq}, {@code --cpu-idle}, {@code --cpu-load} options.</li>

      <li>Android 4.3 and higher devices: Use the {@code --list-categories} option to see what

        categories are available on your test device.</li>

    </ul>

   </li>

</ul>





<h3 id="config-categories">Configuring trace data categories</h3>

<h3 id="running-4.3">Tracing on Android 4.3 and higher</h3>



<p>To run a trace on Android 4.3 and higher devices:</p>



<ol>

  <li>Make sure the device is connected through a USB cable and is

  <a href="{@docRoot}tools/device.html#setting-up">enabled for debugging</a>.</li>

  <li>Run the trace with the options you want, for example:

<pre>

$ cd android-sdk/platform-tools/systrace

$ python systrace.py --time=10 -o mynewtrace.html sched gfx view wm

</pre>

  </li>

  <li>On the device, execute any user actions you want be included in the trace.</li>

</ol>



<p>For more information on the available options for running Systrace, see the

<a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/systrace.html#options-4.3">Systrace</a> help page.</p>





<h3 id="running-4.2">Tracing on Android 4.2 and lower</h3>



<p>To use {@code systrace} effectively, you must specify the types of processes you want to trace.

<p>To use Systrace effectively with devices running Android 4.2 and lower,

  you must configure the types of processes you want to trace before running a trace.

  The tool can gather the following types of process information:</p>



<ul>

  <li>General system processes such as graphics, audio and input processes (selected using trace

    <a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/systrace.html#tags">Tags</a>).</li>

    <a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/systrace.html#tags">category tags</a>).</li>

  <li>Low level system information such as CPU, kernel and disk activity (selected using

    <a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/systrace.html#options">Options</a>).</li>

    <a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/systrace.html#options">options</a>).</li>

</ul>



<p>To set trace tags for {@code systrace} using the command-line:</p>

<p>To set trace tags for Systrace using the command-line:</p>



<ol>

  <li>Use the {@code --set-tags} option:

<pre>

$> python systrace.py --set-tags=gfx,view,wm

$ cd android-sdk/platform-tools/systrace

$ python systrace.py --set-tags=gfx,view,wm

</pre>

  </li>

  <li>Stop and restart the {@code adb} shell to enable tracing of these processes.

<pre>

$> adb shell stop

$> adb shell start

$ adb shell stop

$ adb shell start

</pre></li>

</ol>



<p>To set trace tags for {@code systrace} using the device user interface:</p>

<p>To set trace tags for Systrace using the device user interface:</p>



<ol>

  <li>On the device connected for tracing, navigate to: <strong>Settings &gt;
@@ -126,9 +161,6 @@ $> adb shell start 
  selecting trace tags using this method.

</p>





<h3 id="running">Running a trace</h3>



<p>After you have configured the category tags for your trace, you can start collecting

  information for analysis.</p>
@@ -139,21 +171,77 @@ $> adb shell start 
  <a href="{@docRoot}tools/device.html#setting-up">enabled for debugging</a>.</li>

  <li>Run the trace with the low-level system trace options and limits you want, for example:

<pre>

$> python systrace.py --cpu-freq --cpu-load --time=10 -o mytracefile.html

$ python systrace.py --cpu-freq --cpu-load --time=10 -o mytracefile.html

</pre>

  </li>

  <li>On the device, execute any user actions you want be included in the trace.</li>

</ol>



<p>For more information on the available options for running Systrace, see the

<a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/systrace.html#options-pre-4.3">Systrace</a> help page.</p>





<h2 id="app-trace">Tracing Application Code</h2>



<p>The Systrace tool can trace the execution of code within your application. In Android

4.3 (API level 18) and higher, you can use the methods of the {@link android.os.Trace} class to

add instrumentation to your application code and see the results in a Systrace report.</p>



<p>The following code example shows how to use the {@link android.os.Trace} class to track

execution of an application method, including two nested code blocks within that method.</p>



<pre>

public void ProcessPeople() {

    Trace.beginSection("ProcessPeople");

    try {

        Trace.beginSection("Processing Jane");

        try {

            // code for Jane task...

        } finally {

            Trace.endSection(); // ends "Processing Jane"

        }



        Trace.beginSection("Processing John");

        try {

            // code for John task...

        } finally {

            Trace.endSection(); // ends "Processing John"

        }

    } finally {

        Trace.endSection(); // ends "ProcessPeople"

    }

}

</pre>

<p class="note">

  <strong>Note:</strong> When you nest trace calls within each other, the

  {@link android.os.Trace#endSection} method ends the most recently called

  {@link android.os.Trace#beginSection} method. This means that a trace started within another

  trace cannot extend beyond the end of the enclosing trace, so make sure your beginning and

  ending method calls are properly matched to measure your applications processing.

</p>



<p class="note">

  <strong>Note:</strong> Traces must begin and end on the same thread. Do not call

  {@link android.os.Trace#beginSection} on one thread of execution and then attempt to end the

  trace with a call to {@link android.os.Trace#endSection} on another thread.

</p>



<p>When using application-level tracing with Systrace, you must specify the package name of your

application in the user interface or specify the {@code -a} or {@code --app=} options on the

command line. For more information, see the

<a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/systrace.html">Systrace</a> help page.</p>



<!-- todo: add ndk coverage -->





<h2 id="analysis">Analyzing Traces</h2>



<p>After you have generated a trace using {@code systrace}, it lists the location of the output

<p>After you have generated a trace using Systrace, it lists the location of the output

  file and you can open the report using a web browser.

  How you use the trace data depends on the performance issues you are investigating. However,

  this section provides some general instructions on how to analyze a trace.</p>



<p>The reports generated by {@code systrace} are interactive, allowing you to zoom into and out of

<p>The reports generated by Systrace are interactive, allowing you to zoom into and out of

  the process execution details. Use the <em>W</em> key to zoom in, the <em>S</em>

  key to zoom out, the <em>A</em> key to pan left and the <em>D</em> key to pan

  right. Select a task in timeline using your mouse to get more information about the task.
@@ -193,7 +281,7 @@ id="figure2" /> 


<h3 id="display-interupts">Interruptions in display execution</h3>



<p>The {@code systrace} tool is particularly useful in analyzing application display slowness,

<p>The Systrace tool is particularly useful in analyzing application display slowness,

  or pauses in animations, because it shows you the execution of your application across multiple

  system processes. With display execution, drawing screen frames with a regular rhythm is essential

  for good performance. Having a regular rhythm for display ensures that animations and motion are
@@ -201,7 +289,7 @@ id="figure2" /> 
  from the users perspective.</p>



<p>If you are analyzing an application for this type of problem, examine the

  <strong>SurfaceFlinger</strong> process in the {@code systrace} report where your application is

  <strong>SurfaceFlinger</strong> process in the Systrace report where your application is

  also executing to look for places where it drops out of its regular rhythm.</p>



<img src="{@docRoot}images/systrace/display-rhythm.png" alt="Systrace exerpt of display processing"
@@ -231,9 +319,9 @@ id="figure3" /> 
</p>



<p class="note">

  <strong>Note:</strong> When using {@code systrace} to analyze display problems, make sure

  <strong>Note:</strong> When using Systrace to analyze display problems, make sure

  you activate the tracing tags for <strong>Graphics</strong> and <strong>Views</strong>.

</p>



<p>For more information on the command line options and keyboard controls for {@code systrace},

see the <a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/systrace.html">Systrace</a> reference page.</p>
 
 No newline at end of file
 
<p>For more information on the command line options and keyboard controls for Systrace,

see the <a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/systrace.html">Systrace</a> help page.</p>
 
 No newline at end of file

docs/html/tools/help/monitor.jd

+2 −1
Original line number Diff line number Diff line
@@ -15,13 +15,14 @@ page.title=Device Monitor 


<p>Android Device Monitor is a stand-alone tool that provides a graphical user interface for

several Android application debugging and analysis tools. The Monitor tool does not

require installation of a integrated development environment, such as Eclipse, and encapsulates the

require installation of an integrated development environment, such as Eclipse, and encapsulates the

following tools:</p>



<ul>

  <li><a href="{@docRoot}tools/debugging/ddms.html">DDMS</a></li>

  <li><a href="gltracer.html">Tracer for OpenGL ES</a></li>

  <li><a href="hierarchy-viewer.html">Hierarchy Viewer</a></li>

  <li><a href="systrace.html">Systrace</a></li>

  <li><a href="traceview.html">Traceview</a></li>

  <li>Pixel Perfect magnification viewer</li>

</ul>

docs/html/tools/help/systrace.jd

+271 −36

File changed.

Preview size limit exceeded, changes collapsed.

docs/html/tools/tools_toc.cs

+1 −1
Original line number Diff line number Diff line
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ 
      <li><a href="<?cs var:toroot ?>tools/debugging/improving-w-lint.html"><span class="en">Improving Your Code with lint</span></a></li>

      <li><a href="<?cs var:toroot ?>tools/debugging/debugging-ui.html"><span class="en">Optimizing your UI</span></a></li>

      <li><a href="<?cs var:toroot ?>tools/debugging/debugging-tracing.html"><span class="en">Profiling with Traceview and dmtracedump</span></a></li>

      <li><a href="<?cs var:toroot ?>tools/debugging/systrace.html"><span class="en">Analysing Display and Performance with Systrace</span></a></li>

      <li><a href="<?cs var:toroot ?>tools/debugging/systrace.html"><span class="en">Analyzing Display and Performance</span></a></li>

      <li><a href="<?cs var:toroot ?>tools/debugging/debugging-memory.html">Investigating Your RAM Usage</a></li>

      <li><a href="<?cs var:toroot ?>tools/debugging/debugging-devtools.html"><span class="en">Using the Dev Tools App</span></a></li>

    </ul>