pixstats(1) — Commands
NAME
pixstats − analyze program execution
SYNOPSIS
pixstats program [ options ]
PARAMETERS
programName of the program executable to be instrumented. This program should be compiled with the −g1, −g2, or −g3 flag to obtain more complete profiling information. If the default symbol table level (−g0) has been used, line number information, static procedure names, and file names are unavailable to the profiling code.
FLAGS
The pixstats command accepts the following options:
−addrs file
Use file instead of program.Addrs as the pixie address file.
−counts file
Use file instead of program.Counts as the pixie counts file.
−cycle ns
Assume a ns cycle time when converting cycle counts to seconds.
−clock MHz
Assume MHz cycle frequency when converting counts to seconds. By default, pixstats uses the cycle time of the processor on which program was run.
−disassemble
Disassemble and show the analyzed object code.
−dislimit f
Limit the disassembly to blocks with f% frequency.
−nocounts
Use 1 for each basic block count.
DESCRIPTION
The pixstats program analyzes a program’s execution characteristics. To use pixstats, first use pixie(5) to translate and instrument the executable object module for the program. Next, execute the translation on an appropriate input. This produces a .Counts file. Finally, use pixstats to generate a detailed report on opcode frequencies, a mini-profile, and more.
RESTRICTIONS
The pixstats program models execution assuming a perfect memory system. Memory system events such as cache misses will increase execution above the pixstats predictions.
The pixstats program assumes that every instruction executes in one cycle, both when estimating the total runtime in seconds and when printing the flat profile. Pipeline interlocks are ignored. Use the prof -pixie -truecycles n command (specifying 0, 1, or 2 for n) to print a variety of profiles that do account for interlocks.
RELATED INFORMATION
Programmer’s Guide