The Profiler Control Tool is an unsupported tool which can be used to perform profiler analysis of a Progress based application. The Profiler Control tool is designed to simplify the profiling and analysis of the performance data that the Progress runtime executable generates. This tool is a complete rewrite of the performance profiling tool that ships with some versions of Progress. This tool includes a GUI for simplifying the launching and stopping of procedures. It has the ability to detect whether Progress Dynamics is running and allow the launching of dynamic containers as well as static smart objects and other procedures. It includes all of the same information, but removes much of the complexity of the previous tool by removing the requirement for a database and the timing consuming loading of profile data. In addition to previous execution statics, more information has been added. This tool also includes added functionality that gives the user the ability to perform side-by-side compares and exporting of data to external programs.
The Profiler Control tool is available on Progress Communities at https://community.progress.com/technicalusers/w/openedgegeneral/1980.profiler-control-tool.aspx . It is documented in its included Profiler_Readme.doc file. An earlier version of the tool was included with Progress 9.x and OpenEdge 10.0x in the %DLC%\src\samples\profiler directory. The earlier version was variously known as the 4GL Performance Profiler and the Application Profiler.
A performance profiler is a common and useful tool for a software developer. It provides a "profile" of an application's execution that usually means timing information and call-tree information. With the output, a developer can analyze where the application is spending most of its time, and what part of the application is calling what other part of the application.
When the Profiler Control Tool is used with a Progress 4GL / OpenEdge ABL application, the result is an output file containing a summary of what code was executed and timing data for each line that was executed. The summary data can be read into a Progress database and analyzed.
When profiling is enabled, the runtime interpreter records 4GL statement begin and end times with microsecond precision. In addition, it records the statement line number and a module identifier. Each distinct external procedure, internal procedure, user-defined function, session database trigger, or user interface trigger that is executed is considered a module and is assigned a unique identifier.
The profiling feature can be controlled:
- Through the GUI
- From the 4GL/ABL itself through the PROFILER object
- By command line startup option.
Consult the Profiler_Readme.doc file included in the Profiler directory and the References to Other Documentation below for more information.
A 4GL/ABL application that is run with profiling enabled does not behave differently except for an occasional slowing while the Profiler performs its analysis and input/output.
The Profiler Control Tool is freeware and is not supported by Progress Technical Support. It is provided as is, has not undergone a quality assurance process, and is not maintained by Progress engineering. Please do not contact Progress Technical Support regarding any aspect of this tool or its use.
