Re: x86, ptrace: support for branch trace store(BTS)

From: Ingo Molnar
Date: Thu Dec 13 2007 - 05:30:28 EST



* Metzger, Markus T <markus.t.metzger@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Users who want to process that huge amount of data would be better off
> using a file-based approach (well, if it cannot be held in physical
> memory, they will spend most of their time swapping, anyway). Those
> users would typically wait for the 'buffer full' event and drain the
> buffer into a file - whether this is the real buffer or a bigger
> virtual buffer.
>
> The two-buffer approach would only benefit users who want to hold the
> full profile in memory - or who want to stall the debuggee until they
> processed or somehow compressed the data collected so far. Those
> approaches would not scale for very big profiles. The small profile
> cases would already be covered with a reasonably big real buffer.

well, the two-buffer approach would just be a general API with no
limitations. It would make the internal buffer mostly a pure performance
detail.

Ingo
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