In situ understanding of performance bottlenecks through visually augmented code

Finding and fixing performance bottlenecks requires sound knowledge of the program that is to be optimized. In this paper, we propose an approach for presenting performance-related information to software engineers by visually augmenting source code shown in an editor. Small diagrams at each method...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Beck, Fabian, Moseler, Oliver, Diehl, Stephan, Rey, Gunter Daniel
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Context
Data visualization
Instruction sets
Measurement
Runtime
Visualization
Online Access:Request full text
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Description
Summary:Finding and fixing performance bottlenecks requires sound knowledge of the program that is to be optimized. In this paper, we propose an approach for presenting performance-related information to software engineers by visually augmenting source code shown in an editor. Small diagrams at each method declaration and method call visualize the propagation of runtime consumption through the program as well as the interplay of threads in parallelized programs. Advantages of in situ visualization like this over traditional representations, where code and profiling information are shown in different places, promise to be the prevention of a split-attention effect caused by multiple views; information is presented where required, which supports understanding and navigation. We implemented the approach as an IDE plug-in and tested it in a user study with four developers improving the performance of their own programs. The user study provides insights into the process of understanding performance bottlenecks with our approach.
ISSN:1092-8138
DOI:10.1109/ICPC.2013.6613834