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diff --git a/Documentation/gcov.txt b/Documentation/gcov.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7b727783db7e..000000000000 --- a/Documentation/gcov.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,257 +0,0 @@ -Using gcov with the Linux kernel -================================ - -1. Introduction -2. Preparation -3. Customization -4. Files -5. Modules -6. Separated build and test machines -7. Troubleshooting -Appendix A: sample script: gather_on_build.sh -Appendix B: sample script: gather_on_test.sh - - -1. Introduction -=============== - -gcov profiling kernel support enables the use of GCC's coverage testing -tool gcov [1] with the Linux kernel. Coverage data of a running kernel -is exported in gcov-compatible format via the "gcov" debugfs directory. -To get coverage data for a specific file, change to the kernel build -directory and use gcov with the -o option as follows (requires root): - -# cd /tmp/linux-out -# gcov -o /sys/kernel/debug/gcov/tmp/linux-out/kernel spinlock.c - -This will create source code files annotated with execution counts -in the current directory. In addition, graphical gcov front-ends such -as lcov [2] can be used to automate the process of collecting data -for the entire kernel and provide coverage overviews in HTML format. - -Possible uses: - -* debugging (has this line been reached at all?) -* test improvement (how do I change my test to cover these lines?) -* minimizing kernel configurations (do I need this option if the - associated code is never run?) - --- - -[1] http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Gcov.html -[2] http://ltp.sourceforge.net/coverage/lcov.php - - -2. Preparation -============== - -Configure the kernel with: - - CONFIG_DEBUG_FS=y - CONFIG_GCOV_KERNEL=y - -select the gcc's gcov format, default is autodetect based on gcc version: - - CONFIG_GCOV_FORMAT_AUTODETECT=y - -and to get coverage data for the entire kernel: - - CONFIG_GCOV_PROFILE_ALL=y - -Note that kernels compiled with profiling flags will be significantly -larger and run slower. Also CONFIG_GCOV_PROFILE_ALL may not be supported -on all architectures. - -Profiling data will only become accessible once debugfs has been -mounted: - - mount -t debugfs none /sys/kernel/debug - - -3. Customization -================ - -To enable profiling for specific files or directories, add a line -similar to the following to the respective kernel Makefile: - - For a single file (e.g. main.o): - GCOV_PROFILE_main.o := y - - For all files in one directory: - GCOV_PROFILE := y - -To exclude files from being profiled even when CONFIG_GCOV_PROFILE_ALL -is specified, use: - - GCOV_PROFILE_main.o := n - and: - GCOV_PROFILE := n - -Only files which are linked to the main kernel image or are compiled as -kernel modules are supported by this mechanism. - - -4. Files -======== - -The gcov kernel support creates the following files in debugfs: - - /sys/kernel/debug/gcov - Parent directory for all gcov-related files. - - /sys/kernel/debug/gcov/reset - Global reset file: resets all coverage data to zero when - written to. - - /sys/kernel/debug/gcov/path/to/compile/dir/file.gcda - The actual gcov data file as understood by the gcov - tool. Resets file coverage data to zero when written to. - - /sys/kernel/debug/gcov/path/to/compile/dir/file.gcno - Symbolic link to a static data file required by the gcov - tool. This file is generated by gcc when compiling with - option -ftest-coverage. - - -5. Modules -========== - -Kernel modules may contain cleanup code which is only run during -module unload time. The gcov mechanism provides a means to collect -coverage data for such code by keeping a copy of the data associated -with the unloaded module. This data remains available through debugfs. -Once the module is loaded again, the associated coverage counters are -initialized with the data from its previous instantiation. - -This behavior can be deactivated by specifying the gcov_persist kernel -parameter: - - gcov_persist=0 - -At run-time, a user can also choose to discard data for an unloaded -module by writing to its data file or the global reset file. - - -6. Separated build and test machines -==================================== - -The gcov kernel profiling infrastructure is designed to work out-of-the -box for setups where kernels are built and run on the same machine. In -cases where the kernel runs on a separate machine, special preparations -must be made, depending on where the gcov tool is used: - -a) gcov is run on the TEST machine - -The gcov tool version on the test machine must be compatible with the -gcc version used for kernel build. Also the following files need to be -copied from build to test machine: - -from the source tree: - - all C source files + headers - -from the build tree: - - all C source files + headers - - all .gcda and .gcno files - - all links to directories - -It is important to note that these files need to be placed into the -exact same file system location on the test machine as on the build -machine. If any of the path components is symbolic link, the actual -directory needs to be used instead (due to make's CURDIR handling). - -b) gcov is run on the BUILD machine - -The following files need to be copied after each test case from test -to build machine: - -from the gcov directory in sysfs: - - all .gcda files - - all links to .gcno files - -These files can be copied to any location on the build machine. gcov -must then be called with the -o option pointing to that directory. - -Example directory setup on the build machine: - - /tmp/linux: kernel source tree - /tmp/out: kernel build directory as specified by make O= - /tmp/coverage: location of the files copied from the test machine - - [user@build] cd /tmp/out - [user@build] gcov -o /tmp/coverage/tmp/out/init main.c - - -7. Troubleshooting -================== - -Problem: Compilation aborts during linker step. -Cause: Profiling flags are specified for source files which are not - linked to the main kernel or which are linked by a custom - linker procedure. -Solution: Exclude affected source files from profiling by specifying - GCOV_PROFILE := n or GCOV_PROFILE_basename.o := n in the - corresponding Makefile. - -Problem: Files copied from sysfs appear empty or incomplete. -Cause: Due to the way seq_file works, some tools such as cp or tar - may not correctly copy files from sysfs. -Solution: Use 'cat' to read .gcda files and 'cp -d' to copy links. - Alternatively use the mechanism shown in Appendix B. - - -Appendix A: gather_on_build.sh -============================== - -Sample script to gather coverage meta files on the build machine -(see 6a): -#!/bin/bash - -KSRC=$1 -KOBJ=$2 -DEST=$3 - -if [ -z "$KSRC" ] || [ -z "$KOBJ" ] || [ -z "$DEST" ]; then - echo "Usage: $0 <ksrc directory> <kobj directory> <output.tar.gz>" >&2 - exit 1 -fi - -KSRC=$(cd $KSRC; printf "all:\n\t@echo \${CURDIR}\n" | make -f -) -KOBJ=$(cd $KOBJ; printf "all:\n\t@echo \${CURDIR}\n" | make -f -) - -find $KSRC $KOBJ \( -name '*.gcno' -o -name '*.[ch]' -o -type l \) -a \ - -perm /u+r,g+r | tar cfz $DEST -P -T - - -if [ $? -eq 0 ] ; then - echo "$DEST successfully created, copy to test system and unpack with:" - echo " tar xfz $DEST -P" -else - echo "Could not create file $DEST" -fi - - -Appendix B: gather_on_test.sh -============================= - -Sample script to gather coverage data files on the test machine -(see 6b): - -#!/bin/bash -e - -DEST=$1 -GCDA=/sys/kernel/debug/gcov - -if [ -z "$DEST" ] ; then - echo "Usage: $0 <output.tar.gz>" >&2 - exit 1 -fi - -TEMPDIR=$(mktemp -d) -echo Collecting data.. -find $GCDA -type d -exec mkdir -p $TEMPDIR/\{\} \; -find $GCDA -name '*.gcda' -exec sh -c 'cat < $0 > '$TEMPDIR'/$0' {} \; -find $GCDA -name '*.gcno' -exec sh -c 'cp -d $0 '$TEMPDIR'/$0' {} \; -tar czf $DEST -C $TEMPDIR sys -rm -rf $TEMPDIR - -echo "$DEST successfully created, copy to build system and unpack with:" -echo " tar xfz $DEST" |