Documentation / technical / api-trace2.txton commit trace2: write to directory targets (a4d3a28)
   1= Trace2 API
   2
   3The Trace2 API can be used to print debug, performance, and telemetry
   4information to stderr or a file.  The Trace2 feature is inactive unless
   5explicitly enabled by enabling one or more Trace2 Targets.
   6
   7The Trace2 API is intended to replace the existing (Trace1)
   8printf-style tracing provided by the existing `GIT_TRACE` and
   9`GIT_TRACE_PERFORMANCE` facilities.  During initial implementation,
  10Trace2 and Trace1 may operate in parallel.
  11
  12The Trace2 API defines a set of high-level messages with known fields,
  13such as (`start`: `argv`) and (`exit`: {`exit-code`, `elapsed-time`}).
  14
  15Trace2 instrumentation throughout the Git code base sends Trace2
  16messages to the enabled Trace2 Targets.  Targets transform these
  17messages content into purpose-specific formats and write events to
  18their data streams.  In this manner, the Trace2 API can drive
  19many different types of analysis.
  20
  21Targets are defined using a VTable allowing easy extension to other
  22formats in the future.  This might be used to define a binary format,
  23for example.
  24
  25== Trace2 Targets
  26
  27Trace2 defines the following set of Trace2 Targets.
  28Format details are given in a later section.
  29
  30`GIT_TR2` (NORMAL)::
  31
  32        a simple printf format like GIT_TRACE.
  33+
  34------------
  35$ export GIT_TR2=~/log.normal
  36$ git version
  37git version 2.20.1.155.g426c96fcdb
  38------------
  39+
  40------------
  41$ cat ~/log.normal
  4212:28:42.620009 common-main.c:38                  version 2.20.1.155.g426c96fcdb
  4312:28:42.620989 common-main.c:39                  start git version
  4412:28:42.621101 git.c:432                         cmd_name version (version)
  4512:28:42.621215 git.c:662                         exit elapsed:0.001227 code:0
  4612:28:42.621250 trace2/tr2_tgt_normal.c:124       atexit elapsed:0.001265 code:0
  47------------
  48
  49`GIT_TR2_PERF` (PERF)::
  50
  51        a column-based format to replace GIT_TRACE_PERFORMANCE suitable for
  52        development and testing, possibly to complement tools like gprof.
  53+
  54------------
  55$ export GIT_TR2_PERF=~/log.perf
  56$ git version
  57git version 2.20.1.155.g426c96fcdb
  58------------
  59+
  60------------
  61$ cat ~/log.perf
  6212:28:42.620675 common-main.c:38                  | d0 | main                     | version      |     |           |           |            | 2.20.1.155.g426c96fcdb
  6312:28:42.621001 common-main.c:39                  | d0 | main                     | start        |     |           |           |            | git version
  6412:28:42.621111 git.c:432                         | d0 | main                     | cmd_name     |     |           |           |            | version (version)
  6512:28:42.621225 git.c:662                         | d0 | main                     | exit         |     |  0.001227 |           |            | code:0
  6612:28:42.621259 trace2/tr2_tgt_perf.c:211         | d0 | main                     | atexit       |     |  0.001265 |           |            | code:0
  67------------
  68
  69`GIT_TR2_EVENT` (EVENT)::
  70
  71        a JSON-based format of event data suitable for telemetry analysis.
  72+
  73------------
  74$ export GIT_TR2_EVENT=~/log.event
  75$ git version
  76git version 2.20.1.155.g426c96fcdb
  77------------
  78+
  79------------
  80$ cat ~/log.event
  81{"event":"version","sid":"1547659722619736-11614","thread":"main","time":"2019-01-16 17:28:42.620713","file":"common-main.c","line":38,"evt":"1","exe":"2.20.1.155.g426c96fcdb"}
  82{"event":"start","sid":"1547659722619736-11614","thread":"main","time":"2019-01-16 17:28:42.621027","file":"common-main.c","line":39,"argv":["git","version"]}
  83{"event":"cmd_name","sid":"1547659722619736-11614","thread":"main","time":"2019-01-16 17:28:42.621122","file":"git.c","line":432,"name":"version","hierarchy":"version"}
  84{"event":"exit","sid":"1547659722619736-11614","thread":"main","time":"2019-01-16 17:28:42.621236","file":"git.c","line":662,"t_abs":0.001227,"code":0}
  85{"event":"atexit","sid":"1547659722619736-11614","thread":"main","time":"2019-01-16 17:28:42.621268","file":"trace2/tr2_tgt_event.c","line":163,"t_abs":0.001265,"code":0}
  86------------
  87
  88== Enabling a Target
  89
  90A Trace2 Target is enabled when the corresponding environment variable
  91(`GIT_TR2`, `GIT_TR2_PERF`, or `GIT_TR2_EVENT`) is set.  The following
  92values are recognized.
  93
  94`0`::
  95`false`::
  96
  97        Disables the target.
  98
  99`1`::
 100`true`::
 101
 102        Enables the target and writes stream to `STDERR`.
 103
 104`[2-9]`::
 105
 106        Enables the target and writes to the already opened file descriptor.
 107
 108`<absolute-pathname>`::
 109
 110        Enables the target, opens and writes to the file in append mode.
 111
 112        If the target already exists and is a directory, the traces will be
 113        written to files (one per process) underneath the given directory. They
 114        will be named according to the last component of the SID (optionally
 115        followed by a counter to avoid filename collisions).
 116
 117`af_unix:[<socket_type>:]<absolute-pathname>`::
 118
 119        Enables the target, opens and writes to a Unix Domain Socket
 120        (on platforms that support them).
 121+
 122Socket type can be either `stream` or `dgram`.  If the socket type is
 123omitted, Git will try both.
 124
 125== Trace2 API
 126
 127All public Trace2 functions and macros are defined in `trace2.h` and
 128`trace2.c`.  All public symbols are prefixed with `trace2_`.
 129
 130There are no public Trace2 data structures.
 131
 132The Trace2 code also defines a set of private functions and data types
 133in the `trace2/` directory.  These symbols are prefixed with `tr2_`
 134and should only be used by functions in `trace2.c`.
 135
 136== Conventions for Public Functions and Macros
 137
 138The functions defined by the Trace2 API are declared and documented
 139in `trace2.h`.  It defines the API functions and wrapper macros for
 140Trace2.
 141
 142Some functions have a `_fl()` suffix to indicate that they take `file`
 143and `line-number` arguments.
 144
 145Some functions have a `_va_fl()` suffix to indicate that they also
 146take a `va_list` argument.
 147
 148Some functions have a `_printf_fl()` suffix to indicate that they also
 149take a varargs argument.
 150
 151There are CPP wrapper macros and ifdefs to hide most of these details.
 152See `trace2.h` for more details.  The following discussion will only
 153describe the simplified forms.
 154
 155== Public API
 156
 157All Trace2 API functions send a messsage to all of the active
 158Trace2 Targets.  This section describes the set of available
 159messages.
 160
 161It helps to divide these functions into groups for discussion
 162purposes.
 163
 164=== Basic Command Messages
 165
 166These are concerned with the lifetime of the overall git process.
 167
 168`void trace2_initialize()`::
 169
 170        Determines if any Trace2 Targets should be enabled and
 171        initializes the Trace2 facility.  This includes starting the
 172        elapsed time clocks and thread local storage (TLS).
 173+
 174This function emits a "version" message containing the version of git
 175and the Trace2 protocol.
 176+
 177This function should be called from `main()` as early as possible in
 178the life of the process.
 179
 180`int trace2_is_enabled()`::
 181
 182        Returns 1 if Trace2 is enabled (at least one target is
 183        active).
 184
 185`void trace2_cmd_start(int argc, const char **argv)`::
 186
 187        Emits a "start" message containing the process command line
 188        arguments.
 189
 190`int trace2_cmd_exit(int exit_code)`::
 191
 192        Emits an "exit" message containing the process exit-code and
 193        elapsed time.
 194+
 195Returns the exit-code.
 196
 197`void trace2_cmd_error(const char *fmt, va_list ap)`::
 198
 199        Emits an "error" message containing a formatted error message.
 200
 201`void trace2_cmd_path(const char *pathname)`::
 202
 203        Emits a "cmd_path" message with the full pathname of the
 204        current process.
 205
 206=== Command Detail Messages
 207
 208These are concerned with describing the specific Git command
 209after the command line, config, and environment are inspected.
 210
 211`void trace2_cmd_name(const char *name)`::
 212
 213        Emits a "cmd_name" message with the canonical name of the
 214        command, for example "status" or "checkout".
 215
 216`void trace2_cmd_mode(const char *mode)`::
 217
 218        Emits a "cmd_mode" message with a qualifier name to further
 219        describe the current git command.
 220+
 221This message is intended to be used with git commands having multiple
 222major modes.  For example, a "checkout" command can checkout a new
 223branch or it can checkout a single file, so the checkout code could
 224emit a cmd_mode message of "branch" or "file".
 225
 226`void trace2_cmd_alias(const char *alias, const char **argv_expansion)`::
 227
 228        Emits an "alias" message containing the alias used and the
 229        argument expansion.
 230
 231`void trace2_def_param(const char *parameter, const char *value)`::
 232
 233        Emits a "def_param" message containing a key/value pair.
 234+
 235This message is intended to report some global aspect of the current
 236command, such as a configuration setting or command line switch that
 237significantly affects program performance or behavior, such as
 238`core.abbrev`, `status.showUntrackedFiles`, or `--no-ahead-behind`.
 239
 240`void trace2_cmd_list_config()`::
 241
 242        Emits a "def_param" messages for "important" configuration
 243        settings.
 244+
 245The environment variable `GIT_TR2_CONFIG_PARAMS` can be set to a
 246list of patterns of important configuration settings, for example:
 247`core.*,remote.*.url`.  This function will iterate over all config
 248settings and emit a "def_param" message for each match.
 249
 250`void trace2_cmd_set_config(const char *key, const char *value)`::
 251
 252        Emits a "def_param" message for a specific configuration
 253        setting IFF it matches the `GIT_TR2_CONFIG_PARAMS` pattern.
 254+
 255This is used to hook into `git_config_set()` and catch any
 256configuration changes and update a value previously reported by
 257`trace2_cmd_list_config()`.
 258
 259`void trace2_def_repo(struct repository *repo)`::
 260
 261        Registers a repository with the Trace2 layer.  Assigns a
 262        unique "repo-id" to `repo->trace2_repo_id`.
 263+
 264Emits a "worktree" messages containing the repo-id and the worktree
 265pathname.
 266+
 267Region and data messages (described later) may refer to this repo-id.
 268+
 269The main/top-level repository will have repo-id value 1 (aka "r1").
 270+
 271The repo-id field is in anticipation of future in-proc submodule
 272repositories.
 273
 274=== Child Process Messages
 275
 276These are concerned with the various spawned child processes,
 277including shell scripts, git commands, editors, pagers, and hooks.
 278
 279`void trace2_child_start(struct child_process *cmd)`::
 280
 281        Emits a "child_start" message containing the "child-id",
 282        "child-argv", and "child-classification".
 283+
 284Before calling this, set `cmd->trace2_child_class` to a name
 285describing the type of child process, for example "editor".
 286+
 287This function assigns a unique "child-id" to `cmd->trace2_child_id`.
 288This field is used later during the "child_exit" message to associate
 289it with the "child_start" message.
 290+
 291This function should be called before spawning the child process.
 292
 293`void trace2_child_exit(struct child_proess *cmd, int child_exit_code)`::
 294
 295        Emits a "child_exit" message containing the "child-id",
 296        the child's elapsed time and exit-code.
 297+
 298The reported elapsed time includes the process creation overhead and
 299time spend waiting for it to exit, so it may be slightly longer than
 300the time reported by the child itself.
 301+
 302This function should be called after reaping the child process.
 303
 304`int trace2_exec(const char *exe, const char **argv)`::
 305
 306        Emits a "exec" message containing the "exec-id" and the
 307        argv of the new process.
 308+
 309This function should be called before calling one of the `exec()`
 310variants, such as `execvp()`.
 311+
 312This function returns a unique "exec-id".  This value is used later
 313if the exec() fails and a "exec-result" message is necessary.
 314
 315`void trace2_exec_result(int exec_id, int error_code)`::
 316
 317        Emits a "exec_result" message containing the "exec-id"
 318        and the error code.
 319+
 320On Unix-based systems, `exec()` does not return if successful.
 321This message is used to indicate that the `exec()` failed and
 322that the current program is continuing.
 323
 324=== Git Thread Messages
 325
 326These messages are concerned with Git thread usage.
 327
 328`void trace2_thread_start(const char *thread_name)`::
 329
 330        Emits a "thread_start" message.
 331+
 332The `thread_name` field should be a descriptive name, such as the
 333unique name of the thread-proc.  A unique "thread-id" will be added
 334to the name to uniquely identify thread instances.
 335+
 336Region and data messages (described later) may refer to this thread
 337name.
 338+
 339This function must be called by the thread-proc of the new thread
 340(so that TLS data is properly initialized) and not by the caller
 341of `pthread_create()`.
 342
 343`void trace2_thread_exit()`::
 344
 345        Emits a "thread_exit" message containing the thread name
 346        and the thread elapsed time.
 347+
 348This function must be called by the thread-proc before it returns
 349(so that the coorect TLS data is used and cleaned up.  It should
 350not be called by the caller of `pthread_join()`.
 351
 352=== Region and Data Messages
 353
 354These are concerned with recording performance data
 355over regions or spans of code.
 356
 357`void trace2_region_enter(const char *category, const char *label, const struct repository *repo)`::
 358
 359`void trace2_region_enter_printf(const char *category, const char *label, const struct repository *repo, const char *fmt, ...)`::
 360
 361`void trace2_region_enter_printf_va(const char *category, const char *label, const struct repository *repo, const char *fmt, va_list ap)`::
 362
 363        Emits a thread-relative "region_enter" message with optional
 364        printf string.
 365+
 366This function pushes a new region nesting stack level on the current
 367thread and starts a clock for the new stack frame.
 368+
 369The `category` field is an arbitrary category name used to classify
 370regions by feature area, such as "status" or "index".  At this time
 371it is only just printed along with the rest of the message.  It may
 372be used in the future to filter messages.
 373+
 374The `label` field is an arbitrary label used to describe the activity
 375being started, such as "read_recursive" or "do_read_index".
 376+
 377The `repo` field, if set, will be used to get the "repo-id", so that
 378recursive oerations can be attributed to the correct repository.
 379
 380`void trace2_region_leave(const char *category, const char *label, const struct repository *repo)`::
 381
 382`void trace2_region_leave_printf(const char *category, const char *label, const struct repository *repo, const char *fmt, ...)`::
 383
 384`void trace2_region_leave_printf_va(const char *category, const char *label, const struct repository *repo, const char *fmt, va_list ap)`::
 385
 386        Emits a thread-relative "region_leave" message with optional
 387        printf string.
 388+
 389This function pops the region nesting stack on the current thread
 390and reports the elapsed time of the stack frame.
 391+
 392The `category`, `label`, and `repo` fields are the same as above.
 393The `category` and `label` do not need to match the correpsonding
 394"region_enter" message, but it makes the data stream easier to
 395understand.
 396
 397`void trace2_data_string(const char *category, const struct repository *repo, const char *key, const char * value)`::
 398
 399`void trace2_data_intmax(const char *category, const struct repository *repo, const char *key, intmax value)`::
 400
 401`void trace2_data_json(const char *category, const struct repository *repo, const char *key, const struct json_writer *jw)`::
 402
 403        Emits a region- and thread-relative "data" or "data_json" message.
 404+
 405This is a key/value pair message containing information about the
 406current thread, region stack, and repository.  This could be used
 407to print the number of files in a directory during a multi-threaded
 408recursive tree walk.
 409
 410`void trace2_printf(const char *fmt, ...)`::
 411
 412`void trace2_printf_va(const char *fmt, va_list ap)`::
 413
 414        Emits a region- and thread-relative "printf" message.
 415
 416== Trace2 Target Formats
 417
 418=== NORMAL Format
 419
 420NORMAL format is enabled when the `GIT_TR2` environment variable is
 421set.
 422
 423Events are written as lines of the form:
 424
 425------------
 426[<time> SP <filename>:<line> SP+] <event-name> [[SP] <event-message>] LF
 427------------
 428
 429`<event-name>`::
 430
 431        is the event name.
 432
 433`<event-message>`::
 434        is a free-form printf message intended for human consumption.
 435+
 436Note that this may contain embedded LF or CRLF characters that are
 437not escaped, so the event may spill across multiple lines.
 438
 439If `GIT_TR2_BRIEF` is true, the `time`, `filename`, and `line` fields
 440are omitted.
 441
 442This target is intended to be more of a summary (like GIT_TRACE) and
 443less detailed than the other targets.  It ignores thread, region, and
 444data messages, for example.
 445
 446=== PERF Format
 447
 448PERF format is enabled when the `GIT_TR2_PERF` environment variable
 449is set.
 450
 451Events are written as lines of the form:
 452
 453------------
 454[<time> SP <filename>:<line> SP+
 455    BAR SP] d<depth> SP
 456    BAR SP <thread-name> SP+
 457    BAR SP <event-name> SP+
 458    BAR SP [r<repo-id>] SP+
 459    BAR SP [<t_abs>] SP+
 460    BAR SP [<t_rel>] SP+
 461    BAR SP [<category>] SP+
 462    BAR SP DOTS* <perf-event-message>
 463    LF
 464------------
 465
 466`<depth>`::
 467        is the git process depth.  This is the number of parent
 468        git processes.  A top-level git command has depth value "d0".
 469        A child of it has depth value "d1".  A second level child
 470        has depth value "d2" and so on.
 471
 472`<thread-name>`::
 473        is a unique name for the thread.  The primary thread
 474        is called "main".  Other thread names are of the form "th%d:%s"
 475        and include a unique number and the name of the thread-proc.
 476
 477`<event-name>`::
 478        is the event name.
 479
 480`<repo-id>`::
 481        when present, is a number indicating the repository
 482        in use.  A `def_repo` event is emitted when a repository is
 483        opened.  This defines the repo-id and associated worktree.
 484        Subsequent repo-specific events will reference this repo-id.
 485+
 486Currently, this is always "r1" for the main repository.
 487This field is in anticipation of in-proc submodules in the future.
 488
 489`<t_abs>`::
 490        when present, is the absolute time in seconds since the
 491        program started.
 492
 493`<t_rel>`::
 494        when present, is time in seconds relative to the start of
 495        the current region.  For a thread-exit event, it is the elapsed
 496        time of the thread.
 497
 498`<category>`::
 499        is present on region and data events and is used to
 500        indicate a broad category, such as "index" or "status".
 501
 502`<perf-event-message>`::
 503        is a free-form printf message intended for human consumption.
 504
 505------------
 50615:33:33.532712 wt-status.c:2310                  | d0 | main                     | region_enter | r1  |  0.126064 |           | status     | label:print
 50715:33:33.532712 wt-status.c:2331                  | d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.127568 |  0.001504 | status     | label:print
 508------------
 509
 510If `GIT_TR2_PERF_BRIEF` is true, the `time`, `file`, and `line`
 511fields are omitted.
 512
 513------------
 514d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.011717 |  0.009122 | index      | label:preload
 515------------
 516
 517The PERF target is intended for interactive performance analysis
 518during development and is quite noisy.
 519
 520=== EVENT Format
 521
 522EVENT format is enabled when the `GIT_TR2_EVENT` environment
 523variable is set.
 524
 525Each event is a JSON-object containing multiple key/value pairs
 526written as a single line and followed by a LF.
 527
 528------------
 529'{' <key> ':' <value> [',' <key> ':' <value>]* '}' LF
 530------------
 531
 532Some key/value pairs are common to all events and some are
 533event-specific.
 534
 535==== Common Key/Value Pairs
 536
 537The following key/value pairs are common to all events:
 538
 539------------
 540{
 541        "event":"version",
 542        "sid":"1547659722619736-11614",
 543        "thread":"main",
 544        "time":"2019-01-16 17:28:42.620713",
 545        "file":"common-main.c",
 546        "line":38,
 547        ...
 548}
 549------------
 550
 551`"event":<event>`::
 552        is the event name.
 553
 554`"sid":<sid>`::
 555        is the session-id.  This is a unique string to identify the
 556        process instance to allow all events emitted by a process to
 557        be identified.  A session-id is used instead of a PID because
 558        PIDs are recycled by the OS.  For child git processes, the
 559        session-id is prepended with the session-id of the parent git
 560        process to allow parent-child relationships to be identified
 561        during post-processing.
 562
 563`"thread":<thread>`::
 564        is the thread name.
 565
 566`"time":<time>`::
 567        is the UTC time of the event.
 568
 569`"file":<filename>`::
 570        is source file generating the event.
 571
 572`"line":<line-number>`::
 573        is the integer source line number generating the event.
 574
 575`"repo":<repo-id>`::
 576        when present, is the integer repo-id as described previously.
 577
 578If `GIT_TR2_EVENT_BRIEF` is true, the `file` and `line` fields are omitted
 579from all events and the `time` field is only present on the "start" and
 580"atexit" events.
 581
 582==== Event-Specific Key/Value Pairs
 583
 584`"version"`::
 585        This event gives the version of the executable and the EVENT format.
 586+
 587------------
 588{
 589        "event":"version",
 590        ...
 591        "evt":"1",                     # EVENT format version
 592        "exe":"2.20.1.155.g426c96fcdb" # git version
 593}
 594------------
 595
 596`"start"`::
 597        This event contains the complete argv received by main().
 598+
 599------------
 600{
 601        "event":"start",
 602        ...
 603        "argv":["git","version"]
 604}
 605------------
 606
 607`"exit"`::
 608        This event is emitted when git calls `exit()`.
 609+
 610------------
 611{
 612        "event":"exit",
 613        ...
 614        "t_abs":0.001227, # elapsed time in seconds
 615        "code":0          # exit code
 616}
 617------------
 618
 619`"atexit"`::
 620        This event is emitted by the Trace2 `atexit` routine during
 621        final shutdown.  It should be the last event emitted by the
 622        process.
 623+
 624(The elapsed time reported here is greater than the time reported in
 625the "exit" event because it runs after all other atexit tasks have
 626completed.)
 627+
 628------------
 629{
 630        "event":"atexit",
 631        ...
 632        "t_abs":0.001227, # elapsed time in seconds
 633        "code":0          # exit code
 634}
 635------------
 636
 637`"signal"`::
 638        This event is emitted when the program is terminated by a user
 639        signal.  Depending on the platform, the signal event may
 640        prevent the "atexit" event from being generated.
 641+
 642------------
 643{
 644        "event":"signal",
 645        ...
 646        "t_abs":0.001227,  # elapsed time in seconds
 647        "signal":13        # SIGTERM, SIGINT, etc.
 648}
 649------------
 650
 651`"error"`::
 652        This event is emitted when one of the `error()`, `die()`,
 653        or `usage()` functions are called.
 654+
 655------------
 656{
 657        "event":"error",
 658        ...
 659        "msg":"invalid option: --cahced", # formatted error message
 660        "fmt":"invalid option: %s"        # error format string
 661}
 662------------
 663+
 664The error event may be emitted more than once.  The format string
 665allows post-processors to group errors by type without worrying
 666about specific error arguments.
 667
 668`"cmd_path"`::
 669        This event contains the discovered full path of the git
 670        executable (on platforms that are configured to resolve it).
 671+
 672------------
 673{
 674        "event":"cmd_path",
 675        ...
 676        "path":"C:/work/gfw/git.exe"
 677}
 678------------
 679
 680`"cmd_name"`::
 681        This event contains the command name for this git process
 682        and the hierarchy of commands from parent git processes.
 683+
 684------------
 685{
 686        "event":"cmd_name",
 687        ...
 688        "name":"pack-objects",
 689        "hierarchy":"push/pack-objects"
 690}
 691------------
 692+
 693Normally, the "name" field contains the canonical name of the
 694command.  When a canonical name is not available, one of
 695these special values are used:
 696+
 697------------
 698"_query_"            # "git --html-path"
 699"_run_dashed_"       # when "git foo" tries to run "git-foo"
 700"_run_shell_alias_"  # alias expansion to a shell command
 701"_run_git_alias_"    # alias expansion to a git command
 702"_usage_"            # usage error
 703------------
 704
 705`"cmd_mode"`::
 706        This event, when present, describes the command variant This
 707        event may be emitted more than once.
 708+
 709------------
 710{
 711        "event":"cmd_mode",
 712        ...
 713        "name":"branch"
 714}
 715------------
 716+
 717The "name" field is an arbitrary string to describe the command mode.
 718For example, checkout can checkout a branch or an individual file.
 719And these variations typically have different performance
 720characteristics that are not comparable.
 721
 722`"alias"`::
 723        This event is present when an alias is expanded.
 724+
 725------------
 726{
 727        "event":"alias",
 728        ...
 729        "alias":"l",             # registered alias
 730        "argv":["log","--graph"] # alias expansion
 731}
 732------------
 733
 734`"child_start"`::
 735        This event describes a child process that is about to be
 736        spawned.
 737+
 738------------
 739{
 740        "event":"child_start",
 741        ...
 742        "child_id":2,
 743        "child_class":"?",
 744        "use_shell":false,
 745        "argv":["git","rev-list","--objects","--stdin","--not","--all","--quiet"]
 746
 747        "hook_name":"<hook_name>"  # present when child_class is "hook"
 748        "cd":"<path>"              # present when cd is required
 749}
 750------------
 751+
 752The "child_id" field can be used to match this child_start with the
 753corresponding child_exit event.
 754+
 755The "child_class" field is a rough classification, such as "editor",
 756"pager", "transport/*", and "hook".  Unclassified children are classified
 757with "?".
 758
 759`"child_exit"`::
 760        This event is generated after the current process has returned
 761        from the waitpid() and collected the exit information from the
 762        child.
 763+
 764------------
 765{
 766        "event":"child_exit",
 767        ...
 768        "child_id":2,
 769        "pid":14708,     # child PID
 770        "code":0,        # child exit-code
 771        "t_rel":0.110605 # observed run-time of child process
 772}
 773------------
 774+
 775Note that the session-id of the child process is not available to
 776the current/spawning process, so the child's PID is reported here as
 777a hint for post-processing.  (But it is only a hint because the child
 778proces may be a shell script which doesn't have a session-id.)
 779+
 780Note that the `t_rel` field contains the observed run time in seconds
 781for the child process (starting before the fork/exec/spawn and
 782stopping after the waitpid() and includes OS process creation overhead).
 783So this time will be slightly larger than the atexit time reported by
 784the child process itself.
 785
 786`"exec"`::
 787        This event is generated before git attempts to `exec()`
 788        another command rather than starting a child process.
 789+
 790------------
 791{
 792        "event":"exec",
 793        ...
 794        "exec_id":0,
 795        "exe":"git",
 796        "argv":["foo", "bar"]
 797}
 798------------
 799+
 800The "exec_id" field is a command-unique id and is only useful if the
 801`exec()` fails and a corresponding exec_result event is generated.
 802
 803`"exec_result"`::
 804        This event is generated if the `exec()` fails and control
 805        returns to the current git command.
 806+
 807------------
 808{
 809        "event":"exec_result",
 810        ...
 811        "exec_id":0,
 812        "code":1      # error code (errno) from exec()
 813}
 814------------
 815
 816`"thread_start"`::
 817        This event is generated when a thread is started.  It is
 818        generated from *within* the new thread's thread-proc (for TLS
 819        reasons).
 820+
 821------------
 822{
 823        "event":"thread_start",
 824        ...
 825        "thread":"th02:preload_thread" # thread name
 826}
 827------------
 828
 829`"thread_exit"`::
 830        This event is generated when a thread exits.  It is generated
 831        from *within* the thread's thread-proc (for TLS reasons).
 832+
 833------------
 834{
 835        "event":"thread_exit",
 836        ...
 837        "thread":"th02:preload_thread", # thread name
 838        "t_rel":0.007328                # thread elapsed time
 839}
 840------------
 841
 842`"def_param"`::
 843        This event is generated to log a global parameter.
 844+
 845------------
 846{
 847        "event":"def_param",
 848        ...
 849        "param":"core.abbrev",
 850        "value":"7"
 851}
 852------------
 853
 854`"def_repo"`::
 855        This event defines a repo-id and associates it with the root
 856        of the worktree.
 857+
 858------------
 859{
 860        "event":"def_repo",
 861        ...
 862        "repo":1,
 863        "worktree":"/Users/jeffhost/work/gfw"
 864}
 865------------
 866+
 867As stated earlier, the repo-id is currently always 1, so there will
 868only be one def_repo event.  Later, if in-proc submodules are
 869supported, a def_repo event should be emitted for each submodule
 870visited.
 871
 872`"region_enter"`::
 873        This event is generated when entering a region.
 874+
 875------------
 876{
 877        "event":"region_enter",
 878        ...
 879        "repo":1,                # optional
 880        "nesting":1,             # current region stack depth
 881        "category":"index",      # optional
 882        "label":"do_read_index", # optional
 883        "msg":".git/index"       # optional
 884}
 885------------
 886+
 887The `category` field may be used in a future enhancement to
 888do category-based filtering.
 889+
 890The `GIT_TR2_EVENT_NESTING` environment variable can be used to
 891filter deeply nested regions and data events.  It defaults to "2".
 892
 893`"region_leave"`::
 894        This event is generated when leaving a region.
 895+
 896------------
 897{
 898        "event":"region_leave",
 899        ...
 900        "repo":1,                # optional
 901        "t_rel":0.002876,        # time spent in region in seconds
 902        "nesting":1,             # region stack depth
 903        "category":"index",      # optional
 904        "label":"do_read_index", # optional
 905        "msg":".git/index"       # optional
 906}
 907------------
 908
 909`"data"`::
 910        This event is generated to log a thread- and region-local
 911        key/value pair.
 912+
 913------------
 914{
 915        "event":"data",
 916        ...
 917        "repo":1,              # optional
 918        "t_abs":0.024107,      # absolute elapsed time
 919        "t_rel":0.001031,      # elapsed time in region/thread
 920        "nesting":2,           # region stack depth
 921        "category":"index",
 922        "key":"read/cache_nr",
 923        "value":"3552"
 924}
 925------------
 926+
 927The "value" field may be an integer or a string.
 928
 929`"data-json"`::
 930        This event is generated to log a pre-formatted JSON string
 931        containing structured data.
 932+
 933------------
 934{
 935        "event":"data_json",
 936        ...
 937        "repo":1,              # optional
 938        "t_abs":0.015905,
 939        "t_rel":0.015905,
 940        "nesting":1,
 941        "category":"process",
 942        "key":"windows/ancestry",
 943        "value":["bash.exe","bash.exe"]
 944}
 945------------
 946
 947== Example Trace2 API Usage
 948
 949Here is a hypothetical usage of the Trace2 API showing the intended
 950usage (without worrying about the actual Git details).
 951
 952Initialization::
 953
 954        Initialization happens in `main()`.  Behind the scenes, an
 955        `atexit` and `signal` handler are registered.
 956+
 957----------------
 958int main(int argc, const char **argv)
 959{
 960        int exit_code;
 961
 962        trace2_initialize();
 963        trace2_cmd_start(argv);
 964
 965        exit_code = cmd_main(argc, argv);
 966
 967        trace2_cmd_exit(exit_code);
 968
 969        return exit_code;
 970}
 971----------------
 972
 973Command Details::
 974
 975        After the basics are established, additional command
 976        information can be sent to Trace2 as it is discovered.
 977+
 978----------------
 979int cmd_checkout(int argc, const char **argv)
 980{
 981        trace2_cmd_name("checkout");
 982        trace2_cmd_mode("branch");
 983        trace2_def_repo(the_repository);
 984
 985        // emit "def_param" messages for "interesting" config settings.
 986        trace2_cmd_list_config();
 987
 988        if (do_something())
 989            trace2_cmd_error("Path '%s': cannot do something", path);
 990
 991        return 0;
 992}
 993----------------
 994
 995Child Processes::
 996
 997        Wrap code spawning child processes.
 998+
 999----------------
1000void run_child(...)
1001{
1002        int child_exit_code;
1003        struct child_process cmd = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
1004        ...
1005        cmd.trace2_child_class = "editor";
1006
1007        trace2_child_start(&cmd);
1008        child_exit_code = spawn_child_and_wait_for_it();
1009        trace2_child_exit(&cmd, child_exit_code);
1010}
1011----------------
1012+
1013For example, the following fetch command spawned ssh, index-pack,
1014rev-list, and gc.  This example also shows that fetch took
10155.199 seconds and of that 4.932 was in ssh.
1016+
1017----------------
1018$ export GIT_TR2_BRIEF=1
1019$ export GIT_TR2=~/log.normal
1020$ git fetch origin
1021...
1022----------------
1023+
1024----------------
1025$ cat ~/log.normal
1026version 2.20.1.vfs.1.1.47.g534dbe1ad1
1027start git fetch origin
1028worktree /Users/jeffhost/work/gfw
1029cmd_name fetch (fetch)
1030child_start[0] ssh git@github.com ...
1031child_start[1] git index-pack ...
1032... (Trace2 events from child processes omitted)
1033child_exit[1] pid:14707 code:0 elapsed:0.076353
1034child_exit[0] pid:14706 code:0 elapsed:4.931869
1035child_start[2] git rev-list ...
1036... (Trace2 events from child process omitted)
1037child_exit[2] pid:14708 code:0 elapsed:0.110605
1038child_start[3] git gc --auto
1039... (Trace2 events from child process omitted)
1040child_exit[3] pid:14709 code:0 elapsed:0.006240
1041exit elapsed:5.198503 code:0
1042atexit elapsed:5.198541 code:0
1043----------------
1044+
1045When a git process is a (direct or indirect) child of another
1046git process, it inherits Trace2 context information.  This
1047allows the child to print the command hierarchy.  This example
1048shows gc as child[3] of fetch.  When the gc process reports
1049its name as "gc", it also reports the hierarchy as "fetch/gc".
1050(In this example, trace2 messages from the child process is
1051indented for clarity.)
1052+
1053----------------
1054$ export GIT_TR2_BRIEF=1
1055$ export GIT_TR2=~/log.normal
1056$ git fetch origin
1057...
1058----------------
1059+
1060----------------
1061$ cat ~/log.normal
1062version 2.20.1.160.g5676107ecd.dirty
1063start git fetch official
1064worktree /Users/jeffhost/work/gfw
1065cmd_name fetch (fetch)
1066...
1067child_start[3] git gc --auto
1068    version 2.20.1.160.g5676107ecd.dirty
1069    start /Users/jeffhost/work/gfw/git gc --auto
1070    worktree /Users/jeffhost/work/gfw
1071    cmd_name gc (fetch/gc)
1072    exit elapsed:0.001959 code:0
1073    atexit elapsed:0.001997 code:0
1074child_exit[3] pid:20303 code:0 elapsed:0.007564
1075exit elapsed:3.868938 code:0
1076atexit elapsed:3.868970 code:0
1077----------------
1078
1079Regions::
1080
1081        Regions can be use to time an interesting section of code.
1082+
1083----------------
1084void wt_status_collect(struct wt_status *s)
1085{
1086        trace2_region_enter("status", "worktrees", s->repo);
1087        wt_status_collect_changes_worktree(s);
1088        trace2_region_leave("status", "worktrees", s->repo);
1089
1090        trace2_region_enter("status", "index", s->repo);
1091        wt_status_collect_changes_index(s);
1092        trace2_region_leave("status", "index", s->repo);
1093
1094        trace2_region_enter("status", "untracked", s->repo);
1095        wt_status_collect_untracked(s);
1096        trace2_region_leave("status", "untracked", s->repo);
1097}
1098
1099void wt_status_print(struct wt_status *s)
1100{
1101        trace2_region_enter("status", "print", s->repo);
1102        switch (s->status_format) {
1103            ...
1104        }
1105        trace2_region_leave("status", "print", s->repo);
1106}
1107----------------
1108+
1109In this example, scanning for untracked files ran from +0.012568 to
1110+0.027149 (since the process started) and took 0.014581 seconds.
1111+
1112----------------
1113$ export GIT_TR2_PERF_BRIEF=1
1114$ export GIT_TR2_PERF=~/log.perf
1115$ git status
1116...
1117
1118$ cat ~/log.perf
1119d0 | main                     | version      |     |           |           |            | 2.20.1.160.g5676107ecd.dirty
1120d0 | main                     | start        |     |           |           |            | git status
1121d0 | main                     | def_repo     | r1  |           |           |            | worktree:/Users/jeffhost/work/gfw
1122d0 | main                     | cmd_name     |     |           |           |            | status (status)
1123...
1124d0 | main                     | region_enter | r1  |  0.010988 |           | status     | label:worktrees
1125d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.011236 |  0.000248 | status     | label:worktrees
1126d0 | main                     | region_enter | r1  |  0.011260 |           | status     | label:index
1127d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.012542 |  0.001282 | status     | label:index
1128d0 | main                     | region_enter | r1  |  0.012568 |           | status     | label:untracked
1129d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.027149 |  0.014581 | status     | label:untracked
1130d0 | main                     | region_enter | r1  |  0.027411 |           | status     | label:print
1131d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.028741 |  0.001330 | status     | label:print
1132d0 | main                     | exit         |     |  0.028778 |           |            | code:0
1133d0 | main                     | atexit       |     |  0.028809 |           |            | code:0
1134----------------
1135+
1136Regions may be nested.  This causes messages to be indented in the
1137PERF target, for example.
1138Elapsed times are relative to the start of the correpsonding nesting
1139level as expected.  For example, if we add region message to:
1140+
1141----------------
1142static enum path_treatment read_directory_recursive(struct dir_struct *dir,
1143        struct index_state *istate, const char *base, int baselen,
1144        struct untracked_cache_dir *untracked, int check_only,
1145        int stop_at_first_file, const struct pathspec *pathspec)
1146{
1147        enum path_treatment state, subdir_state, dir_state = path_none;
1148
1149        trace2_region_enter_printf("dir", "read_recursive", NULL, "%.*s", baselen, base);
1150        ...
1151        trace2_region_leave_printf("dir", "read_recursive", NULL, "%.*s", baselen, base);
1152        return dir_state;
1153}
1154----------------
1155+
1156We can further investigate the time spent scanning for untracked files.
1157+
1158----------------
1159$ export GIT_TR2_PERF_BRIEF=1
1160$ export GIT_TR2_PERF=~/log.perf
1161$ git status
1162...
1163$ cat ~/log.perf
1164d0 | main                     | version      |     |           |           |            | 2.20.1.162.gb4ccea44db.dirty
1165d0 | main                     | start        |     |           |           |            | git status
1166d0 | main                     | def_repo     | r1  |           |           |            | worktree:/Users/jeffhost/work/gfw
1167d0 | main                     | cmd_name     |     |           |           |            | status (status)
1168...
1169d0 | main                     | region_enter | r1  |  0.015047 |           | status     | label:untracked
1170d0 | main                     | region_enter |     |  0.015132 |           | dir        | ..label:read_recursive
1171d0 | main                     | region_enter |     |  0.016341 |           | dir        | ....label:read_recursive vcs-svn/
1172d0 | main                     | region_leave |     |  0.016422 |  0.000081 | dir        | ....label:read_recursive vcs-svn/
1173d0 | main                     | region_enter |     |  0.016446 |           | dir        | ....label:read_recursive xdiff/
1174d0 | main                     | region_leave |     |  0.016522 |  0.000076 | dir        | ....label:read_recursive xdiff/
1175d0 | main                     | region_enter |     |  0.016612 |           | dir        | ....label:read_recursive git-gui/
1176d0 | main                     | region_enter |     |  0.016698 |           | dir        | ......label:read_recursive git-gui/po/
1177d0 | main                     | region_enter |     |  0.016810 |           | dir        | ........label:read_recursive git-gui/po/glossary/
1178d0 | main                     | region_leave |     |  0.016863 |  0.000053 | dir        | ........label:read_recursive git-gui/po/glossary/
1179...
1180d0 | main                     | region_enter |     |  0.031876 |           | dir        | ....label:read_recursive builtin/
1181d0 | main                     | region_leave |     |  0.032270 |  0.000394 | dir        | ....label:read_recursive builtin/
1182d0 | main                     | region_leave |     |  0.032414 |  0.017282 | dir        | ..label:read_recursive
1183d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.032454 |  0.017407 | status     | label:untracked
1184...
1185d0 | main                     | exit         |     |  0.034279 |           |            | code:0
1186d0 | main                     | atexit       |     |  0.034322 |           |            | code:0
1187----------------
1188+
1189Trace2 regions are similar to the existing trace_performance_enter()
1190and trace_performance_leave() routines, but are thread safe and
1191maintain per-thread stacks of timers.
1192
1193Data Messages::
1194
1195        Data messages added to a region.
1196+
1197----------------
1198int read_index_from(struct index_state *istate, const char *path,
1199        const char *gitdir)
1200{
1201        trace2_region_enter_printf("index", "do_read_index", the_repository, "%s", path);
1202
1203        ...
1204
1205        trace2_data_intmax("index", the_repository, "read/version", istate->version);
1206        trace2_data_intmax("index", the_repository, "read/cache_nr", istate->cache_nr);
1207
1208        trace2_region_leave_printf("index", "do_read_index", the_repository, "%s", path);
1209}
1210----------------
1211+
1212This example shows that the index contained 3552 entries.
1213+
1214----------------
1215$ export GIT_TR2_PERF_BRIEF=1
1216$ export GIT_TR2_PERF=~/log.perf
1217$ git status
1218...
1219$ cat ~/log.perf
1220d0 | main                     | version      |     |           |           |            | 2.20.1.156.gf9916ae094.dirty
1221d0 | main                     | start        |     |           |           |            | git status
1222d0 | main                     | def_repo     | r1  |           |           |            | worktree:/Users/jeffhost/work/gfw
1223d0 | main                     | cmd_name     |     |           |           |            | status (status)
1224d0 | main                     | region_enter | r1  |  0.001791 |           | index      | label:do_read_index .git/index
1225d0 | main                     | data         | r1  |  0.002494 |  0.000703 | index      | ..read/version:2
1226d0 | main                     | data         | r1  |  0.002520 |  0.000729 | index      | ..read/cache_nr:3552
1227d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.002539 |  0.000748 | index      | label:do_read_index .git/index
1228...
1229----------------
1230
1231Thread Events::
1232
1233        Thread messages added to a thread-proc.
1234+
1235For example, the multithreaded preload-index code can be
1236instrumented with a region around the thread pool and then
1237per-thread start and exit events within the threadproc.
1238+
1239----------------
1240static void *preload_thread(void *_data)
1241{
1242        // start the per-thread clock and emit a message.
1243        trace2_thread_start("preload_thread");
1244
1245        // report which chunk of the array this thread was assigned.
1246        trace2_data_intmax("index", the_repository, "offset", p->offset);
1247        trace2_data_intmax("index", the_repository, "count", nr);
1248
1249        do {
1250            ...
1251        } while (--nr > 0);
1252        ...
1253
1254        // report elapsed time taken by this thread.
1255        trace2_thread_exit();
1256        return NULL;
1257}
1258
1259void preload_index(struct index_state *index,
1260        const struct pathspec *pathspec,
1261        unsigned int refresh_flags)
1262{
1263        trace2_region_enter("index", "preload", the_repository);
1264
1265        for (i = 0; i < threads; i++) {
1266            ... /* create thread */
1267        }
1268
1269        for (i = 0; i < threads; i++) {
1270            ... /* join thread */
1271        }
1272
1273        trace2_region_leave("index", "preload", the_repository);
1274}
1275----------------
1276+
1277In this example preload_index() was executed by the `main` thread
1278and started the `preload` region.  Seven threads, named
1279`th01:preload_thread` through `th07:preload_thread`, were started.
1280Events from each thread are atomically appended to the shared target
1281stream as they occur so they may appear in random order with respect
1282other threads. Finally, the main thread waits for the threads to
1283finish and leaves the region.
1284+
1285Data events are tagged with the active thread name.  They are used
1286to report the per-thread parameters.
1287+
1288----------------
1289$ export GIT_TR2_PERF_BRIEF=1
1290$ export GIT_TR2_PERF=~/log.perf
1291$ git status
1292...
1293$ cat ~/log.perf
1294...
1295d0 | main                     | region_enter | r1  |  0.002595 |           | index      | label:preload
1296d0 | th01:preload_thread      | thread_start |     |  0.002699 |           |            |
1297d0 | th02:preload_thread      | thread_start |     |  0.002721 |           |            |
1298d0 | th01:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002736 |  0.000037 | index      | offset:0
1299d0 | th02:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002751 |  0.000030 | index      | offset:2032
1300d0 | th03:preload_thread      | thread_start |     |  0.002711 |           |            |
1301d0 | th06:preload_thread      | thread_start |     |  0.002739 |           |            |
1302d0 | th01:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002766 |  0.000067 | index      | count:508
1303d0 | th06:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002856 |  0.000117 | index      | offset:2540
1304d0 | th03:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002824 |  0.000113 | index      | offset:1016
1305d0 | th04:preload_thread      | thread_start |     |  0.002710 |           |            |
1306d0 | th02:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002779 |  0.000058 | index      | count:508
1307d0 | th06:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002966 |  0.000227 | index      | count:508
1308d0 | th07:preload_thread      | thread_start |     |  0.002741 |           |            |
1309d0 | th07:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.003017 |  0.000276 | index      | offset:3048
1310d0 | th05:preload_thread      | thread_start |     |  0.002712 |           |            |
1311d0 | th05:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.003067 |  0.000355 | index      | offset:1524
1312d0 | th05:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.003090 |  0.000378 | index      | count:508
1313d0 | th07:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.003037 |  0.000296 | index      | count:504
1314d0 | th03:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002971 |  0.000260 | index      | count:508
1315d0 | th04:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002983 |  0.000273 | index      | offset:508
1316d0 | th04:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.007311 |  0.004601 | index      | count:508
1317d0 | th05:preload_thread      | thread_exit  |     |  0.008781 |  0.006069 |            |
1318d0 | th01:preload_thread      | thread_exit  |     |  0.009561 |  0.006862 |            |
1319d0 | th03:preload_thread      | thread_exit  |     |  0.009742 |  0.007031 |            |
1320d0 | th06:preload_thread      | thread_exit  |     |  0.009820 |  0.007081 |            |
1321d0 | th02:preload_thread      | thread_exit  |     |  0.010274 |  0.007553 |            |
1322d0 | th07:preload_thread      | thread_exit  |     |  0.010477 |  0.007736 |            |
1323d0 | th04:preload_thread      | thread_exit  |     |  0.011657 |  0.008947 |            |
1324d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.011717 |  0.009122 | index      | label:preload
1325...
1326d0 | main                     | exit         |     |  0.029996 |           |            | code:0
1327d0 | main                     | atexit       |     |  0.030027 |           |            | code:0
1328----------------
1329+
1330In this example, the preload region took 0.009122 seconds.  The 7 threads
1331took between 0.006069 and 0.008947 seconds to work on their portion of
1332the index.  Thread "th01" worked on 508 items at offset 0.  Thread "th02"
1333worked on 508 items at offset 2032.  Thread "th04" worked on 508 itemts
1334at offset 508.
1335+
1336This example also shows that thread names are assigned in a racy manner
1337as each thread starts and allocates TLS storage.
1338
1339== Future Work
1340
1341=== Relationship to the Existing Trace Api (api-trace.txt)
1342
1343There are a few issues to resolve before we can completely
1344switch to Trace2.
1345
1346* Updating existing tests that assume GIT_TRACE format messages.
1347
1348* How to best handle custom GIT_TRACE_<key> messages?
1349
1350** The GIT_TRACE_<key> mechanism allows each <key> to write to a
1351different file (in addition to just stderr).
1352
1353** Do we want to maintain that ability or simply write to the existing
1354Trace2 targets (and convert <key> to a "category").