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IAR Embedded Workbench for RX 5.20

Introduction to analyzing your application’s timeline

In this section:

See also:

Briefly about analyzing the timeline

C-SPY can provide information for various aspects of your application, collected when the application is running. This can help you to analyze the application’s behavior.

You can view the timeline information in different representations:

  • As different graphs that correlate with the running application in relation to a shared time axis. The graphs appear either in the Timeline window or the Sampled graphs window, depending on the source of the data,

  • As detailed logs

  • As summaries of the logs.

Depending on the capabilities of your hardware, the debug probe, and the C-SPY driver you are using, timeline information can be provided for:

Call stack

Can be represented in the Timeline window, as a graph that displays the sequence of function calls and returns collected by the trace system. You get timing information between the function invocations.

Note that there is also a related Call Stack window and a Function Trace window, see Call Stack window and Function Trace window, respectively.

Data logging

Based on data logs collected by the trace system for up to four different variables or address ranges, specified by means of Data Log breakpoints. Choose to display the data logs:

  • In the Timeline window, as a graph of how the values change over time.

  • In the Data Log window and the Data Log Summary window.

Interrupt logging

Based on interrupt logs collected by the trace system. Choose to display the interrupt logs:

  • In the Timeline window, as a graph of the interrupt events during the execution of your application.

  • In the Interrupt Log window and the Interrupt Log Summary window.

Interrupt logging can, for example, help you locate which interrupts you can fine-tune to make your application more efficient.

For more information, see Interrupts.

Power logging

Based on logged power measurement samples generated by the debug probe or associated hardware. Choose to display the power logs:

  • In the Timeline window, as a graph of the power measurement samples.

  • In the Power Log window.

Power logs can be useful for finding peaks in the power consumption and by double-clicking on a value you can see the corresponding source code. The precision depends on the frequency of the samples, but there is a good chance that you find the source code sequence that caused the peak.

For more information, see Power debugging.

Requirements for timeline support

Depending on the capabilities of the hardware, the debug probe, and the C-SPY driver you are using, trace-based timeline information is supported for:

Target system

Call Stack graph

Data Log graph

Interrupt Log graph

Power Log graph

C-SPY simulator

Yes

Yes

Yes

—

C-SPY J-Link driver

—

—

—

Yes

C-SPY E2 driver

—

—

—

Yes

Table 23. Supported graphs in the Timeline window  


For more information about requirements related to trace data, see Requirements for using trace.