User guide

Start Delay— Specify a length of time that Shark should wait after being told to start collecting a profile

before the collection begins. If the program action to be profiled requires a sequence of actions to start,

this option can be used to delay the start until after the setup actions have been completed.

Figure 4-4 Malloc Trace mini configuration editor

Using a Malloc Trace

Once you have recorded a Malloc Trace, there are several ways that you can analyze the resulting trace, which

comes up in a window that superficially resembles a standard time profile. Here are a few of the most common

techniques:

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Profile Browser: Get an Overview— The profile browser from a Malloc Trace, as shown in Using a Malloc

Trace, looks a lot like what you might obtain with a normal Time Profile, but it contains an extra column

listing the amount of memory allocated. In addition, the “Self” and “Total” columns are based on the

number of allocations made using that call instead of execution time. These figures are highlighted in the

figure. By sorting on the “Total” or “Alloc Size” columns in a “Heavy” view, you can see which routines in

your program either make the largest number of allocations or allocate the most memory at a glance. It

Other Profiling and Tracing Techniques

Malloc Trace

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