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Documentation/technical/api-trace.txt

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+trace API
+=========
+
+The trace API can be used to print debug messages to stderr or a file. Trace
+code is inactive unless explicitly enabled by setting `GIT_TRACE*` environment
+variables.
+
+The trace implementation automatically adds `timestamp file:line ... \n` to
+all trace messages. E.g.:
+
+------------
+23:59:59.123456 git.c:312               trace: built-in: git 'foo'
+00:00:00.000001 builtin/foo.c:99        foo: some message
+------------
+
+Data Structures
+---------------
+
+`struct trace_key`::
+
+	Defines a trace key (or category). The default (for API functions that
+	don't take a key) is `GIT_TRACE`.
++
+E.g. to define a trace key controlled by environment variable `GIT_TRACE_FOO`:
++
+------------
+static struct trace_key trace_foo = TRACE_KEY_INIT(FOO);
+
+static void trace_print_foo(const char *message)
+{
+	trace_printf_key(&trace_foo, "%s", message);
+}
+------------
++
+Note: don't use `const` as the trace implementation stores internal state in
+the `trace_key` structure.
+
+Functions
+---------
+
+`int trace_want(struct trace_key *key)`::
+
+	Checks whether the trace key is enabled. Used to prevent expensive
+	string formatting before calling one of the printing APIs.
+
+`void trace_disable(struct trace_key *key)`::
+
+	Disables tracing for the specified key, even if the environment
+	variable was set.
+
+`void trace_printf(const char *format, ...)`::
+`void trace_printf_key(struct trace_key *key, const char *format, ...)`::
+
+	Prints a formatted message, similar to printf.
+
+`void trace_argv_printf(const char **argv, const char *format, ...)``::
+
+	Prints a formatted message, followed by a quoted list of arguments.
+
+`void trace_strbuf(struct trace_key *key, const struct strbuf *data)`::
+
+	Prints the strbuf, without additional formatting (i.e. doesn't
+	choke on `%` or even `\0`).
+
+`uint64_t getnanotime(void)`::
+
+	Returns nanoseconds since the epoch (01/01/1970), typically used
+	for performance measurements.
++
+Currently there are high precision timer implementations for Linux (using
+`clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC)`) and Windows (`QueryPerformanceCounter`).
+Other platforms use `gettimeofday` as time source.
+
+`void trace_performance(uint64_t nanos, const char *format, ...)`::
+`void trace_performance_since(uint64_t start, const char *format, ...)`::
+
+	Prints the elapsed time (in nanoseconds), or elapsed time since
+	`start`, followed by a formatted message. Enabled via environment
+	variable `GIT_TRACE_PERFORMANCE`. Used for manual profiling, e.g.:
++
+------------
+uint64_t start = getnanotime();
+/* code section to measure */
+trace_performance_since(start, "foobar");
+------------
++
+------------
+uint64_t t = 0;
+for (;;) {
+	/* ignore */
+	t -= getnanotime();
+	/* code section to measure */
+	t += getnanotime();
+	/* ignore */
+}
+trace_performance(t, "frotz");
+------------
+
+Bugs & Caveats
+--------------
+
+GIT_TRACE_* environment variables can be used to tell Git to show
+trace output to its standard error stream. Git can often spawn a pager
+internally to run its subcommand and send its standard output and
+standard error to it.
+
+Because GIT_TRACE_PERFORMANCE trace is generated only at the very end
+of the program with atexit(), which happens after the pager exits, it
+would not work well if you send its log to the standard error output
+and let Git spawn the pager at the same time.
+
+As a work around, you can for example use '--no-pager', or set
+GIT_TRACE_PERFORMANCE to another file descriptor which is redirected
+to stderr, or set GIT_TRACE_PERFORMANCE to a file specified by its
+absolute path.
+
+For example instead of the following command which by default may not
+print any performance information:
+
+------------
+GIT_TRACE_PERFORMANCE=2 git log -1
+------------
+
+you may want to use:
+
+------------
+GIT_TRACE_PERFORMANCE=2 git --no-pager log -1
+------------
+
+or:
+
+------------
+GIT_TRACE_PERFORMANCE=3 3>&2 git log -1
+------------
+
+or:
+
+------------
+GIT_TRACE_PERFORMANCE=/path/to/log/file git log -1
+------------