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2584bab2f9
No textual changes beyond formatting. Cc: Peter Oberparleiter <oberpar@linux.vnet.ibm.com> Signed-off-by: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>
257 lines
7.4 KiB
ReStructuredText
257 lines
7.4 KiB
ReStructuredText
Using gcov with the Linux kernel
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================================
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gcov profiling kernel support enables the use of GCC's coverage testing
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tool gcov_ with the Linux kernel. Coverage data of a running kernel
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is exported in gcov-compatible format via the "gcov" debugfs directory.
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To get coverage data for a specific file, change to the kernel build
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directory and use gcov with the ``-o`` option as follows (requires root)::
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# cd /tmp/linux-out
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# gcov -o /sys/kernel/debug/gcov/tmp/linux-out/kernel spinlock.c
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This will create source code files annotated with execution counts
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in the current directory. In addition, graphical gcov front-ends such
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as lcov_ can be used to automate the process of collecting data
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for the entire kernel and provide coverage overviews in HTML format.
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Possible uses:
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* debugging (has this line been reached at all?)
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* test improvement (how do I change my test to cover these lines?)
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* minimizing kernel configurations (do I need this option if the
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associated code is never run?)
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.. _gcov: http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Gcov.html
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.. _lcov: http://ltp.sourceforge.net/coverage/lcov.php
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Preparation
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-----------
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Configure the kernel with::
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CONFIG_DEBUG_FS=y
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CONFIG_GCOV_KERNEL=y
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select the gcc's gcov format, default is autodetect based on gcc version::
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CONFIG_GCOV_FORMAT_AUTODETECT=y
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and to get coverage data for the entire kernel::
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CONFIG_GCOV_PROFILE_ALL=y
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Note that kernels compiled with profiling flags will be significantly
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larger and run slower. Also CONFIG_GCOV_PROFILE_ALL may not be supported
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on all architectures.
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Profiling data will only become accessible once debugfs has been
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mounted::
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mount -t debugfs none /sys/kernel/debug
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Customization
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-------------
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To enable profiling for specific files or directories, add a line
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similar to the following to the respective kernel Makefile:
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- For a single file (e.g. main.o)::
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GCOV_PROFILE_main.o := y
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- For all files in one directory::
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GCOV_PROFILE := y
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To exclude files from being profiled even when CONFIG_GCOV_PROFILE_ALL
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is specified, use::
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GCOV_PROFILE_main.o := n
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and::
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GCOV_PROFILE := n
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Only files which are linked to the main kernel image or are compiled as
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kernel modules are supported by this mechanism.
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Files
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-----
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The gcov kernel support creates the following files in debugfs:
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``/sys/kernel/debug/gcov``
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Parent directory for all gcov-related files.
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``/sys/kernel/debug/gcov/reset``
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Global reset file: resets all coverage data to zero when
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written to.
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``/sys/kernel/debug/gcov/path/to/compile/dir/file.gcda``
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The actual gcov data file as understood by the gcov
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tool. Resets file coverage data to zero when written to.
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``/sys/kernel/debug/gcov/path/to/compile/dir/file.gcno``
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Symbolic link to a static data file required by the gcov
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tool. This file is generated by gcc when compiling with
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option ``-ftest-coverage``.
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Modules
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-------
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Kernel modules may contain cleanup code which is only run during
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module unload time. The gcov mechanism provides a means to collect
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coverage data for such code by keeping a copy of the data associated
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with the unloaded module. This data remains available through debugfs.
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Once the module is loaded again, the associated coverage counters are
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initialized with the data from its previous instantiation.
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This behavior can be deactivated by specifying the gcov_persist kernel
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parameter::
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gcov_persist=0
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At run-time, a user can also choose to discard data for an unloaded
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module by writing to its data file or the global reset file.
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Separated build and test machines
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---------------------------------
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The gcov kernel profiling infrastructure is designed to work out-of-the
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box for setups where kernels are built and run on the same machine. In
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cases where the kernel runs on a separate machine, special preparations
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must be made, depending on where the gcov tool is used:
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a) gcov is run on the TEST machine
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The gcov tool version on the test machine must be compatible with the
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gcc version used for kernel build. Also the following files need to be
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copied from build to test machine:
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from the source tree:
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- all C source files + headers
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from the build tree:
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- all C source files + headers
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- all .gcda and .gcno files
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- all links to directories
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It is important to note that these files need to be placed into the
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exact same file system location on the test machine as on the build
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machine. If any of the path components is symbolic link, the actual
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directory needs to be used instead (due to make's CURDIR handling).
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b) gcov is run on the BUILD machine
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The following files need to be copied after each test case from test
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to build machine:
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from the gcov directory in sysfs:
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- all .gcda files
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- all links to .gcno files
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These files can be copied to any location on the build machine. gcov
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must then be called with the -o option pointing to that directory.
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Example directory setup on the build machine::
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/tmp/linux: kernel source tree
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/tmp/out: kernel build directory as specified by make O=
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/tmp/coverage: location of the files copied from the test machine
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[user@build] cd /tmp/out
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[user@build] gcov -o /tmp/coverage/tmp/out/init main.c
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Troubleshooting
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---------------
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Problem
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Compilation aborts during linker step.
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Cause
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Profiling flags are specified for source files which are not
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linked to the main kernel or which are linked by a custom
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linker procedure.
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Solution
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Exclude affected source files from profiling by specifying
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``GCOV_PROFILE := n`` or ``GCOV_PROFILE_basename.o := n`` in the
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corresponding Makefile.
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Problem
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Files copied from sysfs appear empty or incomplete.
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Cause
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Due to the way seq_file works, some tools such as cp or tar
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may not correctly copy files from sysfs.
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Solution
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Use ``cat``' to read ``.gcda`` files and ``cp -d`` to copy links.
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Alternatively use the mechanism shown in Appendix B.
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Appendix A: gather_on_build.sh
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------------------------------
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Sample script to gather coverage meta files on the build machine
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(see 6a)::
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#!/bin/bash
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KSRC=$1
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KOBJ=$2
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DEST=$3
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if [ -z "$KSRC" ] || [ -z "$KOBJ" ] || [ -z "$DEST" ]; then
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echo "Usage: $0 <ksrc directory> <kobj directory> <output.tar.gz>" >&2
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exit 1
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fi
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KSRC=$(cd $KSRC; printf "all:\n\t@echo \${CURDIR}\n" | make -f -)
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KOBJ=$(cd $KOBJ; printf "all:\n\t@echo \${CURDIR}\n" | make -f -)
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find $KSRC $KOBJ \( -name '*.gcno' -o -name '*.[ch]' -o -type l \) -a \
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-perm /u+r,g+r | tar cfz $DEST -P -T -
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if [ $? -eq 0 ] ; then
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echo "$DEST successfully created, copy to test system and unpack with:"
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echo " tar xfz $DEST -P"
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else
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echo "Could not create file $DEST"
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fi
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Appendix B: gather_on_test.sh
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-----------------------------
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Sample script to gather coverage data files on the test machine
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(see 6b)::
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#!/bin/bash -e
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DEST=$1
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GCDA=/sys/kernel/debug/gcov
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if [ -z "$DEST" ] ; then
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echo "Usage: $0 <output.tar.gz>" >&2
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exit 1
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fi
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TEMPDIR=$(mktemp -d)
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echo Collecting data..
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find $GCDA -type d -exec mkdir -p $TEMPDIR/\{\} \;
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find $GCDA -name '*.gcda' -exec sh -c 'cat < $0 > '$TEMPDIR'/$0' {} \;
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find $GCDA -name '*.gcno' -exec sh -c 'cp -d $0 '$TEMPDIR'/$0' {} \;
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tar czf $DEST -C $TEMPDIR sys
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rm -rf $TEMPDIR
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echo "$DEST successfully created, copy to build system and unpack with:"
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echo " tar xfz $DEST"
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