Performance visualization including hierarchical display of performance data

Abstract

Systems and methods provide a display indicating performance characteristics of a computer application. The display may include a call graph having nodes that represent subunits of the application. A first set of statistics for the subunit may be represented in the size or dimensions of the node. A second set of statistics may be displayed in the interior of the node. A third set of statistics may be displayed in response to selecting the node.

1 . A tangible computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions that when executed perform a method, the method comprising:
 receiving performance data for a computer application having subunits, the performance data having a first set of performance statistics with a performance statistic for at least some of the subunits; and   displaying a call graph having nodes that each correspond to a subunit, the call graph being displayed as a hierarchical representation of calls between the subunits, the size of the displayed nodes indicating the performance statistic from the first set of performance statistics for the subunit that the node represents, such that sizes of the displayed nodes vary based on the performance statistic for each node.   
     
     
         2 . The tangible computer-readable medium of  claim 1  wherein the performance data further having a second set of performance statistics with a performance statistic for at least some of the subunits and wherein the interiors of the displayed nodes include an indication of the performance statistic from the second set of performance statistics for the subunit that the node represents, such that each node indicates two performance statistics. 
     
     
         3 . The tangible computer-readable medium of  claim 2  wherein the indication of the performance statistic from the second set of performance statistics is in a representation that is selected from the group consisting of a bar graph, a pie chart, and text. 
     
     
         4 . The tangible computer-readable medium of  claim 2  wherein the performance statistic from the second set of performance statistics is a statistic that is aggregated from execution of a subunit on multiple processors of a multi-processor system. 
     
     
         5 . The tangible computer-readable medium of  claim 2  wherein the performance data further having a third set of performance statistics with a performance statistic for at least some of the subunits and further comprising simultaneously displaying, for a displayed node, a graphic representation for that displayed node indicating a performance statistic of the third set of performance statistics for the displayed node. 
     
     
         6 . The tangible computer-readable medium of  claim 5  wherein the graphic representation is displayed hierarchically below the displayed node whose performance statistic the displayed graphic representation indicates. 
     
     
         7 . The tangible computer-readable medium of  claim 5  when the graphic representation is displayed when a cursor hovers over a displayed node. 
     
     
         8 . The tangible computer-readable medium of  claim 1  wherein a displayed node is highlighted to indicate a performance characteristic. 
     
     
         9 . The tangible computer-readable medium of  claim 1  wherein the performance characteristic is selected from the group consisting of a hot spot and a bottleneck. 
     
     
         10 . A method performed by a computer system for providing a visualization of performance data of a computer program having subunits, the method comprising:
 accessing performance data for the computer program, the performance data having a first performance statistic for at least some of the subunits; and   displaying a call graph having nodes that each correspond to a subunit, the call graph being displayed as a hierarchical representation of calls between the subunits, the size of the displayed nodes indicating the first performance statistic for the subunit that the node represents.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the performance data further having a second performance statistic for at least some of the subunits and wherein the interiors of the displayed nodes include an indication of the second performance statistic for the subunit that the node represents. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the indication of the second performance statistic is selected from the group consisting of a bar graph, a pie chart, and text. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the second performance statistic for a subunit is aggregated from execution of the subunit on multiple processors of a multi-processor system. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the performance data further having a third performance statistic for at least some of the subunits and further comprising simultaneously displaying, for a displayed node, a graphic representation for that displayed node indicating the third performance statistic for the displayed node. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein the graphic representation is displayed hierarchically below the displayed node whose performance statistic the displayed graphic representation indicates. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein when the graphic representation is displayed when a cursor hovers over a displayed node. 
     
     
         17 . A computing system for providing a visualization of performance data of a computer program having subunits, comprising:
 a memory storing computer-executable instructions of:
 a component that accesses performance data for the computer program, the performance data having a first performance statistic for at least some of the subunits; and 
 a component that displays a call graph having nodes that each correspond to a subunit, the call graph being displayed as a hierarchical representation of calls between the subunits, the size of the displayed nodes indicating the first performance statistic for the subunit that the node represents; and 
   a processor that executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory.   
     
     
         18 . The computing system of  claim 17  wherein the performance data further having a second performance statistic for at least some of the subunits and wherein the interiors of the displayed nodes include an indication of the second performance statistic for the subunit that the node represents. 
     
     
         19 . The computing system of  claim 18  wherein the performance data further having a third performance statistic for at least some of the subunits and further comprising simultaneously displaying, for a displayed node, a graphic representation for that displayed node indicating the third performance statistic for the displayed node. 
     
     
         20 . The computing system of  claim 19  wherein when the graphic representation is displayed when a cursor hovers over a displayed node.