Re: [tip:perfcounters/core] perf_counter: record time running and time enabled for each counter

Corey Ashford
2009-03-25T21:35:22Z

Paul Mackerras wrote:
> Commit-ID: 03ced439c94d692363307eeb3abe0bbfa2d08a01
> Gitweb: http://git.kernel.org/tip/03ced439c94d692363307eeb3abe0bbfa2d08a01
> Author: Paul Mackerras <paulus@samba.org>
> AuthorDate: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:46:58 +1100
> Committer: Ingo Molnar <mingo@elte.hu>
> CommitDate: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:24:00 +0100
>
> perf_counter: record time running and time enabled for each counter
[snip]
> These values can be supplied to userspace on a read from the counter.
> Userspace requests that they be supplied after the counter value by
> setting the PERF_FORMAT_TOTAL_TIME_ENABLED and/or
> PERF_FORMAT_TOTAL_TIME_RUNNING bits in the hw_event.read_format field
> when creating the counter. (There is no way to change the read format
> after the counter is created, though it would be possible to add some
> way to do that.)

This change looks good to me, except:

How do I know which value comes first after the counter value if I have
both PERF_FORMAT_TOTAL_TIME_ENABLED and PERF_FORMAT_TOTAL_TIME_RUNNING
set? Are they in the order of their enum values? The order should be
described somewhere. Is there anything to keep a kernel code change
from inadvertantly reversing the position of two values at some point in
the future?

Regards,

- Corey

Corey Ashford
Software Engineer
IBM Linux Technology Center, Linux Toolchain
Beaverton, OR
503-578-3507
cjashfor@us.ibm.com