The SpeedShop User's Guide describes and illustrates methods for measuring program performance using SpeedShop commands such as ssrun and prof. It also contains tutorials that generate performance statistics for C and Fortran programs.
The SpeedShop performance tools described in this manual can help you to identify specific performance problems. The techniques described in this manual are only a part of performance tuning. Other areas that you can tune, but that are outside the scope of this document, include graphics, I/O, the kernel, system parameters, memory, and real-time system calls.
This book is intended for experienced programmers and others who are interested in optimizing program performance.
The following chapters are included in this book:
Chapter 1, “Introduction to Performance Analysis”, provides a general introduction to performance analysis concepts and techniques, plus an overview of the SpeedShop tools.
Chapter 2, “Tutorial for C Users”, provides a tutorial on how to collect performance data and generate reports for a C program.
Chapter 3, “Tutorial for Fortran Users”, provides a tutorial on how to collect performance data and generate reports for Fortran programs running on single-processor machines.
Chapter 4, “Experiment Types”, describes the types of experiments that can be performed using SpeedShop tools.
Chapter 5, “Collecting Data on Machine Resource Usage”, describes how to use the ssusage(1) command to collect information about a program's machine resource usage.
Chapter 6, “Setting Up and Running Experiments: ssrun”, explains in detail how to set up and run experiments using ssrun(1), and explains how to use caliper points to generate reports for part of a program.
Chapter 7, “Analyzing Experiment Results”, explains how to generate reports from performance data using prof(1) and sscompare(1).
Chapter 8, “Miscellaneous Commands”, explains how to use the thrash(1) and squeeze(1) commands to determine the memory usage, or working set, of your application. It also includes commands to print performance data files.
The following documents contain additional information that may be helpful:
Guide to SGI Compilers and Compiling Tools
C Language Reference Manual
MIPSpro C++ Programmer's Guide
ProDev WorkShop: Debugger User's Guide
ProDev WorkShop: Performance Analyzer User's Guide
ProDev WorkShop: Overview
ProDev WorkShop: Static Analyzer User's Guide
ProDev WorkShop: ProMP User's Guide
MIPSpro Fortran 77 Programmer's Guide
MIPSpro Fortran 77 Language Reference Manual
MIPSpro Fortran Language Reference Manual, Volume 1
MIPSpro Fortran Language Reference Manual, Volume 2
MIPSpro Fortran Language Reference Manual, Volume 3
MIPSpro Fortran 90 Commands and Directives Reference Manual
MIPSpro N32/64 Compiling and Performance Tuning Guide
Origin 2000 and Onyx2 Performance Tuning and Optimization Guide
MPI Programmer's Manual
To obtain SGI documentation, go to the SGI Technical Publications Library at http://techpubs.sgi.com.
The following conventions are used throughout this document:
| Convention | Meaning | |
| command | This fixed-space font denotes literal items such as commands, files, routines, path names, signals, messages, and programming language structures. | |
| variable | Italic typeface denotes variable entries and words or concepts being defined. | |
| user input | This bold, fixed-space font denotes literal items that the user enters in interactive sessions. (Output is shown in nonbold, fixed-space font.) | |
| [ ] | Brackets enclose optional portions of a command or directive line. | |
| ... | Ellipses indicate that a preceding element can be repeated. | |
| GUI | This font denotes the names of graphical user interface (GUI) elements such as windows, screens, dialog boxes, menus, toolbars, icons, buttons, boxes, fields, and lists. |
If you have comments about the technical accuracy, content, or organization of this document, please tell us. Be sure to include the title and document number of the manual with your comments. (Online, the document number is located in the front matter of the manual. In printed manuals, the document number is located at the bottom of each page.)
You can contact us in any of the following ways:
Send e-mail to the following address:
techpubs@sgi.com |
Use the Feedback option on the Technical Publications Library World Wide Web page:
Contact your customer service representative and ask that an incident be filed in the SGI incident tracking system.
Send mail to the following address:
| Technical Publications |
| SGI |
| 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy., M/S 535 |
| Mountain View, California 94043-1351 |
Send a fax to the attention of “Technical Publications” at +1 650 932 0801.
We value your comments and will respond to them promptly.