Documentation / technical / api-trace2.txton commit trace2: clarify UTC datetime formatting (bad229a)
   1= Trace2 API
   2
   3The Trace2 API can be used to print debug, performance, and telemetry
   4information to stderr or a file.  The Trace2 feature is inactive unless
   5explicitly enabled by enabling one or more Trace2 Targets.
   6
   7The Trace2 API is intended to replace the existing (Trace1)
   8printf-style tracing provided by the existing `GIT_TRACE` and
   9`GIT_TRACE_PERFORMANCE` facilities.  During initial implementation,
  10Trace2 and Trace1 may operate in parallel.
  11
  12The Trace2 API defines a set of high-level messages with known fields,
  13such as (`start`: `argv`) and (`exit`: {`exit-code`, `elapsed-time`}).
  14
  15Trace2 instrumentation throughout the Git code base sends Trace2
  16messages to the enabled Trace2 Targets.  Targets transform these
  17messages content into purpose-specific formats and write events to
  18their data streams.  In this manner, the Trace2 API can drive
  19many different types of analysis.
  20
  21Targets are defined using a VTable allowing easy extension to other
  22formats in the future.  This might be used to define a binary format,
  23for example.
  24
  25== Trace2 Targets
  26
  27Trace2 defines the following set of Trace2 Targets.
  28Format details are given in a later section.
  29
  30`GIT_TR2` (NORMAL)::
  31
  32        a simple printf format like GIT_TRACE.
  33+
  34------------
  35$ export GIT_TR2=~/log.normal
  36$ git version
  37git version 2.20.1.155.g426c96fcdb
  38------------
  39+
  40------------
  41$ cat ~/log.normal
  4212:28:42.620009 common-main.c:38                  version 2.20.1.155.g426c96fcdb
  4312:28:42.620989 common-main.c:39                  start git version
  4412:28:42.621101 git.c:432                         cmd_name version (version)
  4512:28:42.621215 git.c:662                         exit elapsed:0.001227 code:0
  4612:28:42.621250 trace2/tr2_tgt_normal.c:124       atexit elapsed:0.001265 code:0
  47------------
  48
  49`GIT_TR2_PERF` (PERF)::
  50
  51        a column-based format to replace GIT_TRACE_PERFORMANCE suitable for
  52        development and testing, possibly to complement tools like gprof.
  53+
  54------------
  55$ export GIT_TR2_PERF=~/log.perf
  56$ git version
  57git version 2.20.1.155.g426c96fcdb
  58------------
  59+
  60------------
  61$ cat ~/log.perf
  6212:28:42.620675 common-main.c:38                  | d0 | main                     | version      |     |           |           |            | 2.20.1.155.g426c96fcdb
  6312:28:42.621001 common-main.c:39                  | d0 | main                     | start        |     |  0.001173 |           |            | git version
  6412:28:42.621111 git.c:432                         | d0 | main                     | cmd_name     |     |           |           |            | version (version)
  6512:28:42.621225 git.c:662                         | d0 | main                     | exit         |     |  0.001227 |           |            | code:0
  6612:28:42.621259 trace2/tr2_tgt_perf.c:211         | d0 | main                     | atexit       |     |  0.001265 |           |            | code:0
  67------------
  68
  69`GIT_TR2_EVENT` (EVENT)::
  70
  71        a JSON-based format of event data suitable for telemetry analysis.
  72+
  73------------
  74$ export GIT_TR2_EVENT=~/log.event
  75$ git version
  76git version 2.20.1.155.g426c96fcdb
  77------------
  78+
  79------------
  80$ cat ~/log.event
  81{"event":"version","sid":"1547659722619736-11614","thread":"main","time":"2019-01-16T17:28:42.620713Z","file":"common-main.c","line":38,"evt":"1","exe":"2.20.1.155.g426c96fcdb"}
  82{"event":"start","sid":"1547659722619736-11614","thread":"main","time":"2019-01-16T17:28:42.621027Z","file":"common-main.c","line":39,"t_abs":0.001173,"argv":["git","version"]}
  83{"event":"cmd_name","sid":"1547659722619736-11614","thread":"main","time":"2019-01-16T17:28:42.621122Z","file":"git.c","line":432,"name":"version","hierarchy":"version"}
  84{"event":"exit","sid":"1547659722619736-11614","thread":"main","time":"2019-01-16T17:28:42.621236Z","file":"git.c","line":662,"t_abs":0.001227,"code":0}
  85{"event":"atexit","sid":"1547659722619736-11614","thread":"main","time":"2019-01-16T17:28:42.621268Z","file":"trace2/tr2_tgt_event.c","line":163,"t_abs":0.001265,"code":0}
  86------------
  87
  88== Enabling a Target
  89
  90A Trace2 Target is enabled when the corresponding environment variable
  91(`GIT_TR2`, `GIT_TR2_PERF`, or `GIT_TR2_EVENT`) is set.  The following
  92values are recognized.
  93
  94`0`::
  95`false`::
  96
  97        Disables the target.
  98
  99`1`::
 100`true`::
 101
 102        Enables the target and writes stream to `STDERR`.
 103
 104`[2-9]`::
 105
 106        Enables the target and writes to the already opened file descriptor.
 107
 108`<absolute-pathname>`::
 109
 110        Enables the target, opens and writes to the file in append mode.
 111
 112`af_unix:[<socket_type>:]<absolute-pathname>`::
 113
 114        Enables the target, opens and writes to a Unix Domain Socket
 115        (on platforms that support them).
 116+
 117Socket type can be either `stream` or `dgram`.  If the socket type is
 118omitted, Git will try both.
 119
 120== Trace2 API
 121
 122All public Trace2 functions and macros are defined in `trace2.h` and
 123`trace2.c`.  All public symbols are prefixed with `trace2_`.
 124
 125There are no public Trace2 data structures.
 126
 127The Trace2 code also defines a set of private functions and data types
 128in the `trace2/` directory.  These symbols are prefixed with `tr2_`
 129and should only be used by functions in `trace2.c`.
 130
 131== Conventions for Public Functions and Macros
 132
 133The functions defined by the Trace2 API are declared and documented
 134in `trace2.h`.  It defines the API functions and wrapper macros for
 135Trace2.
 136
 137Some functions have a `_fl()` suffix to indicate that they take `file`
 138and `line-number` arguments.
 139
 140Some functions have a `_va_fl()` suffix to indicate that they also
 141take a `va_list` argument.
 142
 143Some functions have a `_printf_fl()` suffix to indicate that they also
 144take a varargs argument.
 145
 146There are CPP wrapper macros and ifdefs to hide most of these details.
 147See `trace2.h` for more details.  The following discussion will only
 148describe the simplified forms.
 149
 150== Public API
 151
 152All Trace2 API functions send a messsage to all of the active
 153Trace2 Targets.  This section describes the set of available
 154messages.
 155
 156It helps to divide these functions into groups for discussion
 157purposes.
 158
 159=== Basic Command Messages
 160
 161These are concerned with the lifetime of the overall git process.
 162
 163`void trace2_initialize_clock()`::
 164
 165        Initialize the Trace2 start clock and nothing else.  This should
 166        be called at the very top of main() to capture the process start
 167        time and reduce startup order dependencies.
 168
 169`void trace2_initialize()`::
 170
 171        Determines if any Trace2 Targets should be enabled and
 172        initializes the Trace2 facility.  This includes setting up the
 173        Trace2 thread local storage (TLS).
 174+
 175This function emits a "version" message containing the version of git
 176and the Trace2 protocol.
 177+
 178This function should be called from `main()` as early as possible in
 179the life of the process after essential process initialization.
 180
 181`int trace2_is_enabled()`::
 182
 183        Returns 1 if Trace2 is enabled (at least one target is
 184        active).
 185
 186`void trace2_cmd_start(int argc, const char **argv)`::
 187
 188        Emits a "start" message containing the process command line
 189        arguments.
 190
 191`int trace2_cmd_exit(int exit_code)`::
 192
 193        Emits an "exit" message containing the process exit-code and
 194        elapsed time.
 195+
 196Returns the exit-code.
 197
 198`void trace2_cmd_error(const char *fmt, va_list ap)`::
 199
 200        Emits an "error" message containing a formatted error message.
 201
 202`void trace2_cmd_path(const char *pathname)`::
 203
 204        Emits a "cmd_path" message with the full pathname of the
 205        current process.
 206
 207=== Command Detail Messages
 208
 209These are concerned with describing the specific Git command
 210after the command line, config, and environment are inspected.
 211
 212`void trace2_cmd_name(const char *name)`::
 213
 214        Emits a "cmd_name" message with the canonical name of the
 215        command, for example "status" or "checkout".
 216
 217`void trace2_cmd_mode(const char *mode)`::
 218
 219        Emits a "cmd_mode" message with a qualifier name to further
 220        describe the current git command.
 221+
 222This message is intended to be used with git commands having multiple
 223major modes.  For example, a "checkout" command can checkout a new
 224branch or it can checkout a single file, so the checkout code could
 225emit a cmd_mode message of "branch" or "file".
 226
 227`void trace2_cmd_alias(const char *alias, const char **argv_expansion)`::
 228
 229        Emits an "alias" message containing the alias used and the
 230        argument expansion.
 231
 232`void trace2_def_param(const char *parameter, const char *value)`::
 233
 234        Emits a "def_param" message containing a key/value pair.
 235+
 236This message is intended to report some global aspect of the current
 237command, such as a configuration setting or command line switch that
 238significantly affects program performance or behavior, such as
 239`core.abbrev`, `status.showUntrackedFiles`, or `--no-ahead-behind`.
 240
 241`void trace2_cmd_list_config()`::
 242
 243        Emits a "def_param" messages for "important" configuration
 244        settings.
 245+
 246The environment variable `GIT_TR2_CONFIG_PARAMS` can be set to a
 247list of patterns of important configuration settings, for example:
 248`core.*,remote.*.url`.  This function will iterate over all config
 249settings and emit a "def_param" message for each match.
 250
 251`void trace2_cmd_set_config(const char *key, const char *value)`::
 252
 253        Emits a "def_param" message for a specific configuration
 254        setting IFF it matches the `GIT_TR2_CONFIG_PARAMS` pattern.
 255+
 256This is used to hook into `git_config_set()` and catch any
 257configuration changes and update a value previously reported by
 258`trace2_cmd_list_config()`.
 259
 260`void trace2_def_repo(struct repository *repo)`::
 261
 262        Registers a repository with the Trace2 layer.  Assigns a
 263        unique "repo-id" to `repo->trace2_repo_id`.
 264+
 265Emits a "worktree" messages containing the repo-id and the worktree
 266pathname.
 267+
 268Region and data messages (described later) may refer to this repo-id.
 269+
 270The main/top-level repository will have repo-id value 1 (aka "r1").
 271+
 272The repo-id field is in anticipation of future in-proc submodule
 273repositories.
 274
 275=== Child Process Messages
 276
 277These are concerned with the various spawned child processes,
 278including shell scripts, git commands, editors, pagers, and hooks.
 279
 280`void trace2_child_start(struct child_process *cmd)`::
 281
 282        Emits a "child_start" message containing the "child-id",
 283        "child-argv", and "child-classification".
 284+
 285Before calling this, set `cmd->trace2_child_class` to a name
 286describing the type of child process, for example "editor".
 287+
 288This function assigns a unique "child-id" to `cmd->trace2_child_id`.
 289This field is used later during the "child_exit" message to associate
 290it with the "child_start" message.
 291+
 292This function should be called before spawning the child process.
 293
 294`void trace2_child_exit(struct child_proess *cmd, int child_exit_code)`::
 295
 296        Emits a "child_exit" message containing the "child-id",
 297        the child's elapsed time and exit-code.
 298+
 299The reported elapsed time includes the process creation overhead and
 300time spend waiting for it to exit, so it may be slightly longer than
 301the time reported by the child itself.
 302+
 303This function should be called after reaping the child process.
 304
 305`int trace2_exec(const char *exe, const char **argv)`::
 306
 307        Emits a "exec" message containing the "exec-id" and the
 308        argv of the new process.
 309+
 310This function should be called before calling one of the `exec()`
 311variants, such as `execvp()`.
 312+
 313This function returns a unique "exec-id".  This value is used later
 314if the exec() fails and a "exec-result" message is necessary.
 315
 316`void trace2_exec_result(int exec_id, int error_code)`::
 317
 318        Emits a "exec_result" message containing the "exec-id"
 319        and the error code.
 320+
 321On Unix-based systems, `exec()` does not return if successful.
 322This message is used to indicate that the `exec()` failed and
 323that the current program is continuing.
 324
 325=== Git Thread Messages
 326
 327These messages are concerned with Git thread usage.
 328
 329`void trace2_thread_start(const char *thread_name)`::
 330
 331        Emits a "thread_start" message.
 332+
 333The `thread_name` field should be a descriptive name, such as the
 334unique name of the thread-proc.  A unique "thread-id" will be added
 335to the name to uniquely identify thread instances.
 336+
 337Region and data messages (described later) may refer to this thread
 338name.
 339+
 340This function must be called by the thread-proc of the new thread
 341(so that TLS data is properly initialized) and not by the caller
 342of `pthread_create()`.
 343
 344`void trace2_thread_exit()`::
 345
 346        Emits a "thread_exit" message containing the thread name
 347        and the thread elapsed time.
 348+
 349This function must be called by the thread-proc before it returns
 350(so that the coorect TLS data is used and cleaned up.  It should
 351not be called by the caller of `pthread_join()`.
 352
 353=== Region and Data Messages
 354
 355These are concerned with recording performance data
 356over regions or spans of code.
 357
 358`void trace2_region_enter(const char *category, const char *label, const struct repository *repo)`::
 359
 360`void trace2_region_enter_printf(const char *category, const char *label, const struct repository *repo, const char *fmt, ...)`::
 361
 362`void trace2_region_enter_printf_va(const char *category, const char *label, const struct repository *repo, const char *fmt, va_list ap)`::
 363
 364        Emits a thread-relative "region_enter" message with optional
 365        printf string.
 366+
 367This function pushes a new region nesting stack level on the current
 368thread and starts a clock for the new stack frame.
 369+
 370The `category` field is an arbitrary category name used to classify
 371regions by feature area, such as "status" or "index".  At this time
 372it is only just printed along with the rest of the message.  It may
 373be used in the future to filter messages.
 374+
 375The `label` field is an arbitrary label used to describe the activity
 376being started, such as "read_recursive" or "do_read_index".
 377+
 378The `repo` field, if set, will be used to get the "repo-id", so that
 379recursive oerations can be attributed to the correct repository.
 380
 381`void trace2_region_leave(const char *category, const char *label, const struct repository *repo)`::
 382
 383`void trace2_region_leave_printf(const char *category, const char *label, const struct repository *repo, const char *fmt, ...)`::
 384
 385`void trace2_region_leave_printf_va(const char *category, const char *label, const struct repository *repo, const char *fmt, va_list ap)`::
 386
 387        Emits a thread-relative "region_leave" message with optional
 388        printf string.
 389+
 390This function pops the region nesting stack on the current thread
 391and reports the elapsed time of the stack frame.
 392+
 393The `category`, `label`, and `repo` fields are the same as above.
 394The `category` and `label` do not need to match the correpsonding
 395"region_enter" message, but it makes the data stream easier to
 396understand.
 397
 398`void trace2_data_string(const char *category, const struct repository *repo, const char *key, const char * value)`::
 399
 400`void trace2_data_intmax(const char *category, const struct repository *repo, const char *key, intmax value)`::
 401
 402`void trace2_data_json(const char *category, const struct repository *repo, const char *key, const struct json_writer *jw)`::
 403
 404        Emits a region- and thread-relative "data" or "data_json" message.
 405+
 406This is a key/value pair message containing information about the
 407current thread, region stack, and repository.  This could be used
 408to print the number of files in a directory during a multi-threaded
 409recursive tree walk.
 410
 411`void trace2_printf(const char *fmt, ...)`::
 412
 413`void trace2_printf_va(const char *fmt, va_list ap)`::
 414
 415        Emits a region- and thread-relative "printf" message.
 416
 417== Trace2 Target Formats
 418
 419=== NORMAL Format
 420
 421NORMAL format is enabled when the `GIT_TR2` environment variable is
 422set.
 423
 424Events are written as lines of the form:
 425
 426------------
 427[<time> SP <filename>:<line> SP+] <event-name> [[SP] <event-message>] LF
 428------------
 429
 430`<event-name>`::
 431
 432        is the event name.
 433
 434`<event-message>`::
 435        is a free-form printf message intended for human consumption.
 436+
 437Note that this may contain embedded LF or CRLF characters that are
 438not escaped, so the event may spill across multiple lines.
 439
 440If `GIT_TR2_BRIEF` is true, the `time`, `filename`, and `line` fields
 441are omitted.
 442
 443This target is intended to be more of a summary (like GIT_TRACE) and
 444less detailed than the other targets.  It ignores thread, region, and
 445data messages, for example.
 446
 447=== PERF Format
 448
 449PERF format is enabled when the `GIT_TR2_PERF` environment variable
 450is set.
 451
 452Events are written as lines of the form:
 453
 454------------
 455[<time> SP <filename>:<line> SP+
 456    BAR SP] d<depth> SP
 457    BAR SP <thread-name> SP+
 458    BAR SP <event-name> SP+
 459    BAR SP [r<repo-id>] SP+
 460    BAR SP [<t_abs>] SP+
 461    BAR SP [<t_rel>] SP+
 462    BAR SP [<category>] SP+
 463    BAR SP DOTS* <perf-event-message>
 464    LF
 465------------
 466
 467`<depth>`::
 468        is the git process depth.  This is the number of parent
 469        git processes.  A top-level git command has depth value "d0".
 470        A child of it has depth value "d1".  A second level child
 471        has depth value "d2" and so on.
 472
 473`<thread-name>`::
 474        is a unique name for the thread.  The primary thread
 475        is called "main".  Other thread names are of the form "th%d:%s"
 476        and include a unique number and the name of the thread-proc.
 477
 478`<event-name>`::
 479        is the event name.
 480
 481`<repo-id>`::
 482        when present, is a number indicating the repository
 483        in use.  A `def_repo` event is emitted when a repository is
 484        opened.  This defines the repo-id and associated worktree.
 485        Subsequent repo-specific events will reference this repo-id.
 486+
 487Currently, this is always "r1" for the main repository.
 488This field is in anticipation of in-proc submodules in the future.
 489
 490`<t_abs>`::
 491        when present, is the absolute time in seconds since the
 492        program started.
 493
 494`<t_rel>`::
 495        when present, is time in seconds relative to the start of
 496        the current region.  For a thread-exit event, it is the elapsed
 497        time of the thread.
 498
 499`<category>`::
 500        is present on region and data events and is used to
 501        indicate a broad category, such as "index" or "status".
 502
 503`<perf-event-message>`::
 504        is a free-form printf message intended for human consumption.
 505
 506------------
 50715:33:33.532712 wt-status.c:2310                  | d0 | main                     | region_enter | r1  |  0.126064 |           | status     | label:print
 50815:33:33.532712 wt-status.c:2331                  | d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.127568 |  0.001504 | status     | label:print
 509------------
 510
 511If `GIT_TR2_PERF_BRIEF` is true, the `time`, `file`, and `line`
 512fields are omitted.
 513
 514------------
 515d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.011717 |  0.009122 | index      | label:preload
 516------------
 517
 518The PERF target is intended for interactive performance analysis
 519during development and is quite noisy.
 520
 521=== EVENT Format
 522
 523EVENT format is enabled when the `GIT_TR2_EVENT` environment
 524variable is set.
 525
 526Each event is a JSON-object containing multiple key/value pairs
 527written as a single line and followed by a LF.
 528
 529------------
 530'{' <key> ':' <value> [',' <key> ':' <value>]* '}' LF
 531------------
 532
 533Some key/value pairs are common to all events and some are
 534event-specific.
 535
 536==== Common Key/Value Pairs
 537
 538The following key/value pairs are common to all events:
 539
 540------------
 541{
 542        "event":"version",
 543        "sid":"1547659722619736-11614",
 544        "thread":"main",
 545        "time":"2019-01-16T17:28:42.620713Z",
 546        "file":"common-main.c",
 547        "line":38,
 548        ...
 549}
 550------------
 551
 552`"event":<event>`::
 553        is the event name.
 554
 555`"sid":<sid>`::
 556        is the session-id.  This is a unique string to identify the
 557        process instance to allow all events emitted by a process to
 558        be identified.  A session-id is used instead of a PID because
 559        PIDs are recycled by the OS.  For child git processes, the
 560        session-id is prepended with the session-id of the parent git
 561        process to allow parent-child relationships to be identified
 562        during post-processing.
 563
 564`"thread":<thread>`::
 565        is the thread name.
 566
 567`"time":<time>`::
 568        is the UTC time of the event.
 569
 570`"file":<filename>`::
 571        is source file generating the event.
 572
 573`"line":<line-number>`::
 574        is the integer source line number generating the event.
 575
 576`"repo":<repo-id>`::
 577        when present, is the integer repo-id as described previously.
 578
 579If `GIT_TR2_EVENT_BRIEF` is true, the `file` and `line` fields are omitted
 580from all events and the `time` field is only present on the "start" and
 581"atexit" events.
 582
 583==== Event-Specific Key/Value Pairs
 584
 585`"version"`::
 586        This event gives the version of the executable and the EVENT format.
 587+
 588------------
 589{
 590        "event":"version",
 591        ...
 592        "evt":"1",                     # EVENT format version
 593        "exe":"2.20.1.155.g426c96fcdb" # git version
 594}
 595------------
 596
 597`"start"`::
 598        This event contains the complete argv received by main().
 599+
 600------------
 601{
 602        "event":"start",
 603        ...
 604        "t_abs":0.001227, # elapsed time in seconds
 605        "argv":["git","version"]
 606}
 607------------
 608
 609`"exit"`::
 610        This event is emitted when git calls `exit()`.
 611+
 612------------
 613{
 614        "event":"exit",
 615        ...
 616        "t_abs":0.001227, # elapsed time in seconds
 617        "code":0          # exit code
 618}
 619------------
 620
 621`"atexit"`::
 622        This event is emitted by the Trace2 `atexit` routine during
 623        final shutdown.  It should be the last event emitted by the
 624        process.
 625+
 626(The elapsed time reported here is greater than the time reported in
 627the "exit" event because it runs after all other atexit tasks have
 628completed.)
 629+
 630------------
 631{
 632        "event":"atexit",
 633        ...
 634        "t_abs":0.001227, # elapsed time in seconds
 635        "code":0          # exit code
 636}
 637------------
 638
 639`"signal"`::
 640        This event is emitted when the program is terminated by a user
 641        signal.  Depending on the platform, the signal event may
 642        prevent the "atexit" event from being generated.
 643+
 644------------
 645{
 646        "event":"signal",
 647        ...
 648        "t_abs":0.001227,  # elapsed time in seconds
 649        "signal":13        # SIGTERM, SIGINT, etc.
 650}
 651------------
 652
 653`"error"`::
 654        This event is emitted when one of the `error()`, `die()`,
 655        or `usage()` functions are called.
 656+
 657------------
 658{
 659        "event":"error",
 660        ...
 661        "msg":"invalid option: --cahced", # formatted error message
 662        "fmt":"invalid option: %s"        # error format string
 663}
 664------------
 665+
 666The error event may be emitted more than once.  The format string
 667allows post-processors to group errors by type without worrying
 668about specific error arguments.
 669
 670`"cmd_path"`::
 671        This event contains the discovered full path of the git
 672        executable (on platforms that are configured to resolve it).
 673+
 674------------
 675{
 676        "event":"cmd_path",
 677        ...
 678        "path":"C:/work/gfw/git.exe"
 679}
 680------------
 681
 682`"cmd_name"`::
 683        This event contains the command name for this git process
 684        and the hierarchy of commands from parent git processes.
 685+
 686------------
 687{
 688        "event":"cmd_name",
 689        ...
 690        "name":"pack-objects",
 691        "hierarchy":"push/pack-objects"
 692}
 693------------
 694+
 695Normally, the "name" field contains the canonical name of the
 696command.  When a canonical name is not available, one of
 697these special values are used:
 698+
 699------------
 700"_query_"            # "git --html-path"
 701"_run_dashed_"       # when "git foo" tries to run "git-foo"
 702"_run_shell_alias_"  # alias expansion to a shell command
 703"_run_git_alias_"    # alias expansion to a git command
 704"_usage_"            # usage error
 705------------
 706
 707`"cmd_mode"`::
 708        This event, when present, describes the command variant This
 709        event may be emitted more than once.
 710+
 711------------
 712{
 713        "event":"cmd_mode",
 714        ...
 715        "name":"branch"
 716}
 717------------
 718+
 719The "name" field is an arbitrary string to describe the command mode.
 720For example, checkout can checkout a branch or an individual file.
 721And these variations typically have different performance
 722characteristics that are not comparable.
 723
 724`"alias"`::
 725        This event is present when an alias is expanded.
 726+
 727------------
 728{
 729        "event":"alias",
 730        ...
 731        "alias":"l",             # registered alias
 732        "argv":["log","--graph"] # alias expansion
 733}
 734------------
 735
 736`"child_start"`::
 737        This event describes a child process that is about to be
 738        spawned.
 739+
 740------------
 741{
 742        "event":"child_start",
 743        ...
 744        "child_id":2,
 745        "child_class":"?",
 746        "use_shell":false,
 747        "argv":["git","rev-list","--objects","--stdin","--not","--all","--quiet"]
 748
 749        "hook_name":"<hook_name>"  # present when child_class is "hook"
 750        "cd":"<path>"              # present when cd is required
 751}
 752------------
 753+
 754The "child_id" field can be used to match this child_start with the
 755corresponding child_exit event.
 756+
 757The "child_class" field is a rough classification, such as "editor",
 758"pager", "transport/*", and "hook".  Unclassified children are classified
 759with "?".
 760
 761`"child_exit"`::
 762        This event is generated after the current process has returned
 763        from the waitpid() and collected the exit information from the
 764        child.
 765+
 766------------
 767{
 768        "event":"child_exit",
 769        ...
 770        "child_id":2,
 771        "pid":14708,     # child PID
 772        "code":0,        # child exit-code
 773        "t_rel":0.110605 # observed run-time of child process
 774}
 775------------
 776+
 777Note that the session-id of the child process is not available to
 778the current/spawning process, so the child's PID is reported here as
 779a hint for post-processing.  (But it is only a hint because the child
 780proces may be a shell script which doesn't have a session-id.)
 781+
 782Note that the `t_rel` field contains the observed run time in seconds
 783for the child process (starting before the fork/exec/spawn and
 784stopping after the waitpid() and includes OS process creation overhead).
 785So this time will be slightly larger than the atexit time reported by
 786the child process itself.
 787
 788`"exec"`::
 789        This event is generated before git attempts to `exec()`
 790        another command rather than starting a child process.
 791+
 792------------
 793{
 794        "event":"exec",
 795        ...
 796        "exec_id":0,
 797        "exe":"git",
 798        "argv":["foo", "bar"]
 799}
 800------------
 801+
 802The "exec_id" field is a command-unique id and is only useful if the
 803`exec()` fails and a corresponding exec_result event is generated.
 804
 805`"exec_result"`::
 806        This event is generated if the `exec()` fails and control
 807        returns to the current git command.
 808+
 809------------
 810{
 811        "event":"exec_result",
 812        ...
 813        "exec_id":0,
 814        "code":1      # error code (errno) from exec()
 815}
 816------------
 817
 818`"thread_start"`::
 819        This event is generated when a thread is started.  It is
 820        generated from *within* the new thread's thread-proc (for TLS
 821        reasons).
 822+
 823------------
 824{
 825        "event":"thread_start",
 826        ...
 827        "thread":"th02:preload_thread" # thread name
 828}
 829------------
 830
 831`"thread_exit"`::
 832        This event is generated when a thread exits.  It is generated
 833        from *within* the thread's thread-proc (for TLS reasons).
 834+
 835------------
 836{
 837        "event":"thread_exit",
 838        ...
 839        "thread":"th02:preload_thread", # thread name
 840        "t_rel":0.007328                # thread elapsed time
 841}
 842------------
 843
 844`"def_param"`::
 845        This event is generated to log a global parameter.
 846+
 847------------
 848{
 849        "event":"def_param",
 850        ...
 851        "param":"core.abbrev",
 852        "value":"7"
 853}
 854------------
 855
 856`"def_repo"`::
 857        This event defines a repo-id and associates it with the root
 858        of the worktree.
 859+
 860------------
 861{
 862        "event":"def_repo",
 863        ...
 864        "repo":1,
 865        "worktree":"/Users/jeffhost/work/gfw"
 866}
 867------------
 868+
 869As stated earlier, the repo-id is currently always 1, so there will
 870only be one def_repo event.  Later, if in-proc submodules are
 871supported, a def_repo event should be emitted for each submodule
 872visited.
 873
 874`"region_enter"`::
 875        This event is generated when entering a region.
 876+
 877------------
 878{
 879        "event":"region_enter",
 880        ...
 881        "repo":1,                # optional
 882        "nesting":1,             # current region stack depth
 883        "category":"index",      # optional
 884        "label":"do_read_index", # optional
 885        "msg":".git/index"       # optional
 886}
 887------------
 888+
 889The `category` field may be used in a future enhancement to
 890do category-based filtering.
 891+
 892The `GIT_TR2_EVENT_NESTING` environment variable can be used to
 893filter deeply nested regions and data events.  It defaults to "2".
 894
 895`"region_leave"`::
 896        This event is generated when leaving a region.
 897+
 898------------
 899{
 900        "event":"region_leave",
 901        ...
 902        "repo":1,                # optional
 903        "t_rel":0.002876,        # time spent in region in seconds
 904        "nesting":1,             # region stack depth
 905        "category":"index",      # optional
 906        "label":"do_read_index", # optional
 907        "msg":".git/index"       # optional
 908}
 909------------
 910
 911`"data"`::
 912        This event is generated to log a thread- and region-local
 913        key/value pair.
 914+
 915------------
 916{
 917        "event":"data",
 918        ...
 919        "repo":1,              # optional
 920        "t_abs":0.024107,      # absolute elapsed time
 921        "t_rel":0.001031,      # elapsed time in region/thread
 922        "nesting":2,           # region stack depth
 923        "category":"index",
 924        "key":"read/cache_nr",
 925        "value":"3552"
 926}
 927------------
 928+
 929The "value" field may be an integer or a string.
 930
 931`"data-json"`::
 932        This event is generated to log a pre-formatted JSON string
 933        containing structured data.
 934+
 935------------
 936{
 937        "event":"data_json",
 938        ...
 939        "repo":1,              # optional
 940        "t_abs":0.015905,
 941        "t_rel":0.015905,
 942        "nesting":1,
 943        "category":"process",
 944        "key":"windows/ancestry",
 945        "value":["bash.exe","bash.exe"]
 946}
 947------------
 948
 949== Example Trace2 API Usage
 950
 951Here is a hypothetical usage of the Trace2 API showing the intended
 952usage (without worrying about the actual Git details).
 953
 954Initialization::
 955
 956        Initialization happens in `main()`.  Behind the scenes, an
 957        `atexit` and `signal` handler are registered.
 958+
 959----------------
 960int main(int argc, const char **argv)
 961{
 962        int exit_code;
 963
 964        trace2_initialize();
 965        trace2_cmd_start(argv);
 966
 967        exit_code = cmd_main(argc, argv);
 968
 969        trace2_cmd_exit(exit_code);
 970
 971        return exit_code;
 972}
 973----------------
 974
 975Command Details::
 976
 977        After the basics are established, additional command
 978        information can be sent to Trace2 as it is discovered.
 979+
 980----------------
 981int cmd_checkout(int argc, const char **argv)
 982{
 983        trace2_cmd_name("checkout");
 984        trace2_cmd_mode("branch");
 985        trace2_def_repo(the_repository);
 986
 987        // emit "def_param" messages for "interesting" config settings.
 988        trace2_cmd_list_config();
 989
 990        if (do_something())
 991            trace2_cmd_error("Path '%s': cannot do something", path);
 992
 993        return 0;
 994}
 995----------------
 996
 997Child Processes::
 998
 999        Wrap code spawning child processes.
1000+
1001----------------
1002void run_child(...)
1003{
1004        int child_exit_code;
1005        struct child_process cmd = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
1006        ...
1007        cmd.trace2_child_class = "editor";
1008
1009        trace2_child_start(&cmd);
1010        child_exit_code = spawn_child_and_wait_for_it();
1011        trace2_child_exit(&cmd, child_exit_code);
1012}
1013----------------
1014+
1015For example, the following fetch command spawned ssh, index-pack,
1016rev-list, and gc.  This example also shows that fetch took
10175.199 seconds and of that 4.932 was in ssh.
1018+
1019----------------
1020$ export GIT_TR2_BRIEF=1
1021$ export GIT_TR2=~/log.normal
1022$ git fetch origin
1023...
1024----------------
1025+
1026----------------
1027$ cat ~/log.normal
1028version 2.20.1.vfs.1.1.47.g534dbe1ad1
1029start git fetch origin
1030worktree /Users/jeffhost/work/gfw
1031cmd_name fetch (fetch)
1032child_start[0] ssh git@github.com ...
1033child_start[1] git index-pack ...
1034... (Trace2 events from child processes omitted)
1035child_exit[1] pid:14707 code:0 elapsed:0.076353
1036child_exit[0] pid:14706 code:0 elapsed:4.931869
1037child_start[2] git rev-list ...
1038... (Trace2 events from child process omitted)
1039child_exit[2] pid:14708 code:0 elapsed:0.110605
1040child_start[3] git gc --auto
1041... (Trace2 events from child process omitted)
1042child_exit[3] pid:14709 code:0 elapsed:0.006240
1043exit elapsed:5.198503 code:0
1044atexit elapsed:5.198541 code:0
1045----------------
1046+
1047When a git process is a (direct or indirect) child of another
1048git process, it inherits Trace2 context information.  This
1049allows the child to print the command hierarchy.  This example
1050shows gc as child[3] of fetch.  When the gc process reports
1051its name as "gc", it also reports the hierarchy as "fetch/gc".
1052(In this example, trace2 messages from the child process is
1053indented for clarity.)
1054+
1055----------------
1056$ export GIT_TR2_BRIEF=1
1057$ export GIT_TR2=~/log.normal
1058$ git fetch origin
1059...
1060----------------
1061+
1062----------------
1063$ cat ~/log.normal
1064version 2.20.1.160.g5676107ecd.dirty
1065start git fetch official
1066worktree /Users/jeffhost/work/gfw
1067cmd_name fetch (fetch)
1068...
1069child_start[3] git gc --auto
1070    version 2.20.1.160.g5676107ecd.dirty
1071    start /Users/jeffhost/work/gfw/git gc --auto
1072    worktree /Users/jeffhost/work/gfw
1073    cmd_name gc (fetch/gc)
1074    exit elapsed:0.001959 code:0
1075    atexit elapsed:0.001997 code:0
1076child_exit[3] pid:20303 code:0 elapsed:0.007564
1077exit elapsed:3.868938 code:0
1078atexit elapsed:3.868970 code:0
1079----------------
1080
1081Regions::
1082
1083        Regions can be use to time an interesting section of code.
1084+
1085----------------
1086void wt_status_collect(struct wt_status *s)
1087{
1088        trace2_region_enter("status", "worktrees", s->repo);
1089        wt_status_collect_changes_worktree(s);
1090        trace2_region_leave("status", "worktrees", s->repo);
1091
1092        trace2_region_enter("status", "index", s->repo);
1093        wt_status_collect_changes_index(s);
1094        trace2_region_leave("status", "index", s->repo);
1095
1096        trace2_region_enter("status", "untracked", s->repo);
1097        wt_status_collect_untracked(s);
1098        trace2_region_leave("status", "untracked", s->repo);
1099}
1100
1101void wt_status_print(struct wt_status *s)
1102{
1103        trace2_region_enter("status", "print", s->repo);
1104        switch (s->status_format) {
1105            ...
1106        }
1107        trace2_region_leave("status", "print", s->repo);
1108}
1109----------------
1110+
1111In this example, scanning for untracked files ran from +0.012568 to
1112+0.027149 (since the process started) and took 0.014581 seconds.
1113+
1114----------------
1115$ export GIT_TR2_PERF_BRIEF=1
1116$ export GIT_TR2_PERF=~/log.perf
1117$ git status
1118...
1119
1120$ cat ~/log.perf
1121d0 | main                     | version      |     |           |           |            | 2.20.1.160.g5676107ecd.dirty
1122d0 | main                     | start        |     |  0.001173 |           |            | git status
1123d0 | main                     | def_repo     | r1  |           |           |            | worktree:/Users/jeffhost/work/gfw
1124d0 | main                     | cmd_name     |     |           |           |            | status (status)
1125...
1126d0 | main                     | region_enter | r1  |  0.010988 |           | status     | label:worktrees
1127d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.011236 |  0.000248 | status     | label:worktrees
1128d0 | main                     | region_enter | r1  |  0.011260 |           | status     | label:index
1129d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.012542 |  0.001282 | status     | label:index
1130d0 | main                     | region_enter | r1  |  0.012568 |           | status     | label:untracked
1131d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.027149 |  0.014581 | status     | label:untracked
1132d0 | main                     | region_enter | r1  |  0.027411 |           | status     | label:print
1133d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.028741 |  0.001330 | status     | label:print
1134d0 | main                     | exit         |     |  0.028778 |           |            | code:0
1135d0 | main                     | atexit       |     |  0.028809 |           |            | code:0
1136----------------
1137+
1138Regions may be nested.  This causes messages to be indented in the
1139PERF target, for example.
1140Elapsed times are relative to the start of the correpsonding nesting
1141level as expected.  For example, if we add region message to:
1142+
1143----------------
1144static enum path_treatment read_directory_recursive(struct dir_struct *dir,
1145        struct index_state *istate, const char *base, int baselen,
1146        struct untracked_cache_dir *untracked, int check_only,
1147        int stop_at_first_file, const struct pathspec *pathspec)
1148{
1149        enum path_treatment state, subdir_state, dir_state = path_none;
1150
1151        trace2_region_enter_printf("dir", "read_recursive", NULL, "%.*s", baselen, base);
1152        ...
1153        trace2_region_leave_printf("dir", "read_recursive", NULL, "%.*s", baselen, base);
1154        return dir_state;
1155}
1156----------------
1157+
1158We can further investigate the time spent scanning for untracked files.
1159+
1160----------------
1161$ export GIT_TR2_PERF_BRIEF=1
1162$ export GIT_TR2_PERF=~/log.perf
1163$ git status
1164...
1165$ cat ~/log.perf
1166d0 | main                     | version      |     |           |           |            | 2.20.1.162.gb4ccea44db.dirty
1167d0 | main                     | start        |     |  0.001173 |           |            | git status
1168d0 | main                     | def_repo     | r1  |           |           |            | worktree:/Users/jeffhost/work/gfw
1169d0 | main                     | cmd_name     |     |           |           |            | status (status)
1170...
1171d0 | main                     | region_enter | r1  |  0.015047 |           | status     | label:untracked
1172d0 | main                     | region_enter |     |  0.015132 |           | dir        | ..label:read_recursive
1173d0 | main                     | region_enter |     |  0.016341 |           | dir        | ....label:read_recursive vcs-svn/
1174d0 | main                     | region_leave |     |  0.016422 |  0.000081 | dir        | ....label:read_recursive vcs-svn/
1175d0 | main                     | region_enter |     |  0.016446 |           | dir        | ....label:read_recursive xdiff/
1176d0 | main                     | region_leave |     |  0.016522 |  0.000076 | dir        | ....label:read_recursive xdiff/
1177d0 | main                     | region_enter |     |  0.016612 |           | dir        | ....label:read_recursive git-gui/
1178d0 | main                     | region_enter |     |  0.016698 |           | dir        | ......label:read_recursive git-gui/po/
1179d0 | main                     | region_enter |     |  0.016810 |           | dir        | ........label:read_recursive git-gui/po/glossary/
1180d0 | main                     | region_leave |     |  0.016863 |  0.000053 | dir        | ........label:read_recursive git-gui/po/glossary/
1181...
1182d0 | main                     | region_enter |     |  0.031876 |           | dir        | ....label:read_recursive builtin/
1183d0 | main                     | region_leave |     |  0.032270 |  0.000394 | dir        | ....label:read_recursive builtin/
1184d0 | main                     | region_leave |     |  0.032414 |  0.017282 | dir        | ..label:read_recursive
1185d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.032454 |  0.017407 | status     | label:untracked
1186...
1187d0 | main                     | exit         |     |  0.034279 |           |            | code:0
1188d0 | main                     | atexit       |     |  0.034322 |           |            | code:0
1189----------------
1190+
1191Trace2 regions are similar to the existing trace_performance_enter()
1192and trace_performance_leave() routines, but are thread safe and
1193maintain per-thread stacks of timers.
1194
1195Data Messages::
1196
1197        Data messages added to a region.
1198+
1199----------------
1200int read_index_from(struct index_state *istate, const char *path,
1201        const char *gitdir)
1202{
1203        trace2_region_enter_printf("index", "do_read_index", the_repository, "%s", path);
1204
1205        ...
1206
1207        trace2_data_intmax("index", the_repository, "read/version", istate->version);
1208        trace2_data_intmax("index", the_repository, "read/cache_nr", istate->cache_nr);
1209
1210        trace2_region_leave_printf("index", "do_read_index", the_repository, "%s", path);
1211}
1212----------------
1213+
1214This example shows that the index contained 3552 entries.
1215+
1216----------------
1217$ export GIT_TR2_PERF_BRIEF=1
1218$ export GIT_TR2_PERF=~/log.perf
1219$ git status
1220...
1221$ cat ~/log.perf
1222d0 | main                     | version      |     |           |           |            | 2.20.1.156.gf9916ae094.dirty
1223d0 | main                     | start        |     |  0.001173 |           |            | git status
1224d0 | main                     | def_repo     | r1  |           |           |            | worktree:/Users/jeffhost/work/gfw
1225d0 | main                     | cmd_name     |     |           |           |            | status (status)
1226d0 | main                     | region_enter | r1  |  0.001791 |           | index      | label:do_read_index .git/index
1227d0 | main                     | data         | r1  |  0.002494 |  0.000703 | index      | ..read/version:2
1228d0 | main                     | data         | r1  |  0.002520 |  0.000729 | index      | ..read/cache_nr:3552
1229d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.002539 |  0.000748 | index      | label:do_read_index .git/index
1230...
1231----------------
1232
1233Thread Events::
1234
1235        Thread messages added to a thread-proc.
1236+
1237For example, the multithreaded preload-index code can be
1238instrumented with a region around the thread pool and then
1239per-thread start and exit events within the threadproc.
1240+
1241----------------
1242static void *preload_thread(void *_data)
1243{
1244        // start the per-thread clock and emit a message.
1245        trace2_thread_start("preload_thread");
1246
1247        // report which chunk of the array this thread was assigned.
1248        trace2_data_intmax("index", the_repository, "offset", p->offset);
1249        trace2_data_intmax("index", the_repository, "count", nr);
1250
1251        do {
1252            ...
1253        } while (--nr > 0);
1254        ...
1255
1256        // report elapsed time taken by this thread.
1257        trace2_thread_exit();
1258        return NULL;
1259}
1260
1261void preload_index(struct index_state *index,
1262        const struct pathspec *pathspec,
1263        unsigned int refresh_flags)
1264{
1265        trace2_region_enter("index", "preload", the_repository);
1266
1267        for (i = 0; i < threads; i++) {
1268            ... /* create thread */
1269        }
1270
1271        for (i = 0; i < threads; i++) {
1272            ... /* join thread */
1273        }
1274
1275        trace2_region_leave("index", "preload", the_repository);
1276}
1277----------------
1278+
1279In this example preload_index() was executed by the `main` thread
1280and started the `preload` region.  Seven threads, named
1281`th01:preload_thread` through `th07:preload_thread`, were started.
1282Events from each thread are atomically appended to the shared target
1283stream as they occur so they may appear in random order with respect
1284other threads. Finally, the main thread waits for the threads to
1285finish and leaves the region.
1286+
1287Data events are tagged with the active thread name.  They are used
1288to report the per-thread parameters.
1289+
1290----------------
1291$ export GIT_TR2_PERF_BRIEF=1
1292$ export GIT_TR2_PERF=~/log.perf
1293$ git status
1294...
1295$ cat ~/log.perf
1296...
1297d0 | main                     | region_enter | r1  |  0.002595 |           | index      | label:preload
1298d0 | th01:preload_thread      | thread_start |     |  0.002699 |           |            |
1299d0 | th02:preload_thread      | thread_start |     |  0.002721 |           |            |
1300d0 | th01:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002736 |  0.000037 | index      | offset:0
1301d0 | th02:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002751 |  0.000030 | index      | offset:2032
1302d0 | th03:preload_thread      | thread_start |     |  0.002711 |           |            |
1303d0 | th06:preload_thread      | thread_start |     |  0.002739 |           |            |
1304d0 | th01:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002766 |  0.000067 | index      | count:508
1305d0 | th06:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002856 |  0.000117 | index      | offset:2540
1306d0 | th03:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002824 |  0.000113 | index      | offset:1016
1307d0 | th04:preload_thread      | thread_start |     |  0.002710 |           |            |
1308d0 | th02:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002779 |  0.000058 | index      | count:508
1309d0 | th06:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002966 |  0.000227 | index      | count:508
1310d0 | th07:preload_thread      | thread_start |     |  0.002741 |           |            |
1311d0 | th07:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.003017 |  0.000276 | index      | offset:3048
1312d0 | th05:preload_thread      | thread_start |     |  0.002712 |           |            |
1313d0 | th05:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.003067 |  0.000355 | index      | offset:1524
1314d0 | th05:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.003090 |  0.000378 | index      | count:508
1315d0 | th07:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.003037 |  0.000296 | index      | count:504
1316d0 | th03:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002971 |  0.000260 | index      | count:508
1317d0 | th04:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.002983 |  0.000273 | index      | offset:508
1318d0 | th04:preload_thread      | data         | r1  |  0.007311 |  0.004601 | index      | count:508
1319d0 | th05:preload_thread      | thread_exit  |     |  0.008781 |  0.006069 |            |
1320d0 | th01:preload_thread      | thread_exit  |     |  0.009561 |  0.006862 |            |
1321d0 | th03:preload_thread      | thread_exit  |     |  0.009742 |  0.007031 |            |
1322d0 | th06:preload_thread      | thread_exit  |     |  0.009820 |  0.007081 |            |
1323d0 | th02:preload_thread      | thread_exit  |     |  0.010274 |  0.007553 |            |
1324d0 | th07:preload_thread      | thread_exit  |     |  0.010477 |  0.007736 |            |
1325d0 | th04:preload_thread      | thread_exit  |     |  0.011657 |  0.008947 |            |
1326d0 | main                     | region_leave | r1  |  0.011717 |  0.009122 | index      | label:preload
1327...
1328d0 | main                     | exit         |     |  0.029996 |           |            | code:0
1329d0 | main                     | atexit       |     |  0.030027 |           |            | code:0
1330----------------
1331+
1332In this example, the preload region took 0.009122 seconds.  The 7 threads
1333took between 0.006069 and 0.008947 seconds to work on their portion of
1334the index.  Thread "th01" worked on 508 items at offset 0.  Thread "th02"
1335worked on 508 items at offset 2032.  Thread "th04" worked on 508 itemts
1336at offset 508.
1337+
1338This example also shows that thread names are assigned in a racy manner
1339as each thread starts and allocates TLS storage.
1340
1341== Future Work
1342
1343=== Relationship to the Existing Trace Api (api-trace.txt)
1344
1345There are a few issues to resolve before we can completely
1346switch to Trace2.
1347
1348* Updating existing tests that assume GIT_TRACE format messages.
1349
1350* How to best handle custom GIT_TRACE_<key> messages?
1351
1352** The GIT_TRACE_<key> mechanism allows each <key> to write to a
1353different file (in addition to just stderr).
1354
1355** Do we want to maintain that ability or simply write to the existing
1356Trace2 targets (and convert <key> to a "category").