NAME

DashProfiler::UserGuide - a user guide for the DashProfiler modules

INTRODUCTION

The DashProfiler modules provide an efficient, simple, flexible, and powerful way to collect aggregate timing (performance) information for your code.

CONCEPTS

The core of DashProfiler are DashProfiler::Core objects, naturally.

DashProfiler::Core

The DashProfiler module provides a by-name interface to DashProfiler::Core objects to avoid needing to manage object references yourself. Most DashProfiler::Core object methods have corresponding DashProfiler static methods that take a profiler name as the first argument.

    DashProfiler
         |
         v
DashProfiler::Core

Behind the scenes, DashProfiler::Core uses DBI::Profile to efficiently aggregate timing samples.

    DashProfiler
         |
         v
DashProfiler::Core  -->  DBI::Profile

DBI::Profile aggregates timing samples into a tree structure. By default DashProfiler::Core arranges for the samples to be aggregated into a tree with two levels. We refer to these as context1 and context2. You provide values for these that make the most sense for you and your application. For example, context1 might a type of network service and context2 might be the specific host name being used to provide that service.

To add timing samples you need to use a Sampler. A Sampler is a code reference that, when called, creates a new DashProfiler::Sample object and returns a reference to it. The Sampler code reference is customized to contain the value for context1 to be used for the created DashProfiler::Sample.

Samplers are created using the prepare() method. Typically you'll have one customized Sampler per module using DashProfiler.

                           DashProfiler
                                |
sampler code ref -.             v
sampler code ref --->  DashProfiler::Core  -->  DBI::Profile
sampler code ref -'             ^
                                |
                      DashProfiler::Sample

When you call the Sampler code reference you pass it a value for context2 to be used for this sample and it returns a new DashProfiler::Sample object containing the relevant information, including the exact time it was created.

When that DashProfiler::Sample object is destroyed, typically by going out of scope, it adds a timing sample to all the DBI::Profile objects attached to the Core it's associated with. The timing is from object creation to object destruction.

The DashProfiler::Import module lets you import customized Sampler code references as if they were ordinary functions.

DashProfiler::Import  <---  DashProfiler
        |                        |
        v                        |
 sampler function -.             v
 sampler function --->  DashProfiler::Core  -->  DBI::Profile
 sampler function -'             ^
                                 |
                                 |
                       DashProfiler::Sample

The DashProfiler::Auto module gives you a simple way to start using DashProfiler. It creates a DashProfiler called 'auto' with a useful default configuration. It also uses DashProfiler::Import to import an auto_profiler() sampler function pre-configured with the name of the source file it's imported into.

Where next? Well DashProfiler::Auto is a good place to start if you're keen to try it.