Profiler Detachment via Communication Sealing and Code Completion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing profilers face challenges in efficiently detaching from running applications without leaving lingering profiler-modified functions in call stacks and ensuring completion of profiler runtime code execution, leading to incomplete data collection and shutdown issues.
Innovation Solution
A method involving sealing communications between the profiler and application, waiting for profiler-modified code to complete execution, cleaning up residual items, and shutting down the profiler, which allows for detachment in various environments including managed virtual machines with just-in-time compiling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the profiler is detached from the running application, then the application can operate normally without profiler interference, but profiler-modified functions may linger in call stacks causing incomplete data collection and shutdown issues
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by sealing communications between the profiler and application before actual detachment occurs. This sealing process prepares the system state in advance, ensuring that no new profiler-modified code is executed after detachment is initiated, while allowing already-pushed code to complete execution for complete data collection.
Solution Approach 2:
The detachment process is segmented into distinct phases: sealing communications, waiting for profiler-modified code completion, cleaning up residual items, and shutting down the profiler. This segmentation allows each phase to be handled independently, ensuring complete data collection before the application operates without profiler interference.
2Reliability
If the profiler waits for all profiler-modified code to complete execution, then complete data collection is achieved, but the detachment process takes longer
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial action by waiting only for the necessary profiler-modified code to complete execution rather than all possible code. The sealing mechanism ensures that once detachment is initiated, no additional profiler code is pushed onto the call stack, so waiting for completion of existing code is sufficient for complete data collection without excessive delay.
3Reliability
If the profiler seals communications before detachment, then proper shutdown is enabled, but the detachment process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Sealing communications is performed as a preliminary action that simplifies the overall detachment process. By establishing a clear boundary point before detachment, the system creates a well-defined state transition that makes the shutdown process more reliable and easier to manage, despite adding one additional step to the sequence.
Data Source
AI summary
A profiler may be detached from an actively running application by first sealing communications between the application and profiler, then evacuating the profiler by waiting for any profiler-modified or instrumented code to complete execution, profiler runtime code to complete execution, cleaning up any residual items from the profiler, and shutting down the profiler. The profiler may be operational in many different environments, including a managed environment such as a virtual machine and those environments having just in time compiling of executable code.