Episode: Timeline Profiling

[Robadob]

Learning Objectives

• execute a Python program via viztracer to collect a timeline of a Python program’s execution
• use vizviewer visualise the profiling timeline output by viztracer
• interpret vizviewer timelines, to identify performance patterns(?) during a program’s execution

Exercises

A couple of examples where timeline profiling is appropriate:

• e.g. a program that has uniform execution pattern
• e.g. a program that scales over time

Keypoints

These will need updating when the content has been written.

• A python program can be timeline profiled with viztracer via python -m viztracer -o <output file> -- <script name/arguments>
• The output file from viztracer can be visualised via python -m vizviewer <output file>
• Timeline profiling displays the timeline of execution, highlighting individual function calls and how performance patterns evolve over a program's execution
• TODO: when is timeline profiling appropriate over function lvl?