Method and apparatus for supporting performance analysis

• US 9,558,096 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2015
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Marvell Asia Pte Limited (Marvell Technology Group Limited)
• Original Assignee: Marvell World Trade Limited (Marvell Technology Group Limited)
• Inventors: Huang, Haitao, Gao, Liping, Jian, Ningsheng, Qi, Xinyu, Pan, XingXing, Li, Pengfei
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhen, Wei
• Assistant Examiner(s): MORSHED, HOSSAIN M
• Application Number:
  US14/657,770
• Publication Number:
  US 20150269052A1
• Time in Patent Office: 690 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3409 for performance assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3428 Benchmarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3466 Performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/36 Preventing errors by testing or debugging software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/865 Monitoring of software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/41 Compilation

Abstract

Aspects of the disclosure provide a method to support performance analysis. The method includes compiling bytecodes to generate native codes corresponding to the bytecodes in an electronic device, generating a file to include the bytecodes and the corresponding native codes in the file, collecting symbol information to map symbols in the bytecodes with offsets of corresponding native codes, and including the symbol information in the file to enable profiling.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

compiling bytecodes to generate native codes corresponding to the bytecodes in an electronic device;

generating a file to include the bytecodes and the corresponding native codes in the file;

collecting symbol information to map symbols in the bytecodes with offsets of corresponding native codes; and

including the symbol information in the file that includes the bytecodes and the corresponding native codes and enables profiling by causing a profiling tool to interrupt periodically and obtain an address from a program counter and calculating an offset in a corresponding native code using the address and mapping the offset to symbols in the bytecodes.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

loading the bytecodes and the native codes from the file to a segment of a memory for execution;

sampling a program counter (PC) to obtain a PC address during execution;

converting the PC address to an offset to a starting address of the segment; and

determining a symbol for the offset according to the symbol information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting the symbol information to map the symbols in the bytecodes with the offsets of the corresponding native codes further comprises:

collecting method information to map methods in the bytecodes with offsets of corresponding native codes for the methods.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting the symbol information to map the symbols in the bytecodes with the offsets of the corresponding native codes further comprises:

collecting bytecodes information to map bytecodes with offsets of corresponding native codes for the bytecodes.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

including one or more symbols with pre-defined meanings in the symbol information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein compiling the bytecodes to generate the native codes corresponding to the bytecodes further comprises at least one of:

compiling the bytecodes, when the bytecodes are executed for a first time, to generate the native codes corresponding to the bytecodes;

compiling the bytecodes of an application at an installation time of the application; and

compiling the bytecodes at a boot time of the electronic device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein including the symbol information in the file to enable profiling further comprising:

including the symbol information to map the symbols for the bytecodes with the offsets of the corresponding native codes in a symbol table of the file.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein compiling the bytecodes to generate the native codes corresponding to the bytecodes in the electronic device further comprises:

starting an Android runtime (ART) to compile the bytecodes to generate the native codes corresponding to the bytecodes.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the file to include the bytecodes and the corresponding native codes in the file further comprises:

generating the file in an executable and linkable format to include the bytecodes and the corresponding native codes in the file.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein including the symbol information in the file to enable profiling further comprises:

including the symbol information in a dynamic symbol section for specifying dynamic linking information.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions for causing a processor to execute operations, the operations comprising:

compiling bytecodes to generate native codes corresponding to the bytecodes in an electronic device;

generating a file to include the bytecodes and the corresponding native codes in the file;

collecting symbol information to map symbols in the bytecodes with offsets of corresponding native codes; and

including the symbol information in the file that includes the bytecodes and the corresponding native codes and enables profiling by causing a profiling tool to interrupt periodically and obtain an address from a program counter and calculating an offset in a corresponding native code using the address and mapping the offset to symbols in the bytecodes.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, the operations further comprising:

loading the bytecodes and the native codes from the file to a segment of a memory for execution;

sampling a program counter (PC) to obtain a PC address during execution;

converting the PC address to an offset to a starting address of the segment; and

determining a symbol for the offset according to the symbol information.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein collecting the symbol information to map the symbols in the bytecodes with the offsets of the corresponding native codes further comprises:

collecting method information to map methods in the bytecodes with offsets of corresponding native codes for the methods.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein collecting the symbol information to map the symbols in the bytecodes with the offsets of the corresponding native codes further comprises:

collecting bytecodes information to map bytecodes with offsets of corresponding native codes for the bytecodes.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, the operations further comprising:

including one or more symbols with pre-defined meanings in the symbol information.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein compiling the bytecodes to generate the native codes corresponding to the bytecodes further comprises at least one of:

compiling the bytecodes, when the bytecodes are executed for a first time, to generate the native codes corresponding to the bytecodes;

compiling the bytecodes of an application at an installation time of the application; and

compiling the bytecodes at a boot time of the electronic device.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprises:

including the symbol information to map the symbols for the bytecodes with the offsets of the corresponding native codes in a symbol table of the file.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein compiling the bytecodes to generate the native codes corresponding to the bytecodes in the electronic device further comprises:

starting an Android runtime (ART) to compile the bytecodes to generate the native codes corresponding to the bytecodes.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein generating the file to include the bytecodes and the corresponding native codes in the file further comprises:

generating the file in an executable and linkable format to include the bytecodes and the corresponding native codes in the file.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein including the symbol information in the file to enable profiling further comprises:

including the symbol information in a dynamic symbol section for specifying dynamic linking information.