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gprof - reg
- From: santosh tatoju <santosh_tatoju at yahoo dot co dot in>
- To: binutils at sourceware dot org
- Date: Sun, 1 May 2011 17:24:18 +0530 (IST)
- Subject: gprof - reg
Hi all,
I am currently working on gprof utility. I need a clarification on the following.
To determine the execution time of a function, gprof uses sampling method by collecting samples of program counter at regular intervals of time. It provides a statistical approximation of execution time.
Other method is to measure the lapsed time between function entry and function exit. This method is simple and will provide exact timings.
Why the first method is used in spite of its overhead? why the second method is not adopted for evaluating function execution time? What are the advantages of using the first method over the second?
Pls do respond, Thanks in advance.