[edit] Profiling

Profiling is used to find out e.g. what functions are used most often. Typically a certain use case in run over and over again in a loop while gathering the profiling data. The profile will then show what were the most used functions or operations in that use case.

[edit] OProfile

OProfile is a commonly used tool to profile both the kernel and the user space. It needs support from the kernel and user space tools to control the profiling.

The cheat sheet and the manual are good places to get information and examples about the usage.

OProfile can be run in two modes, timer mode, or using performance counter interface. The performance counter interface needs support from the CPU and the timer mode can be used with any CPU.

[edit] Installation

Running matrix install oprofile will install the oprofile tool and its dependencies.

[edit] OMAP3 and ALIP

There seems to be problems with the OMAP3 cores. The performance counter interface stops generating interrupts after a while and therefore it might be safer to use the timer mode.