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Memory Allocation Profiling is Managed Only!
13 December 06 07:24 AM | AngryRichard | 2 Comments   

People have been discovering that the VS Team System profiler can collect allocation data for an application. It isn't long after that they discover that it only works on managed code, not native. Sadly, the documentation is not clear on this. The memory Read More...

How to shoot yourself in the foot with const (or the lack thereof)
24 May 06 11:00 AM | AngryRichard | 2 Comments   

It has long puzzled me why various Win32 functions take non-const string parameters, when clearly they have no business manipulating the string. Take, for instance, GetNamedSecurityInfo: DWORD GetNamedSecurityInfo( LPTSTR pObjectName , SE_OBJECT_TYPE Read More...

Filed under: Useless rants

DataCollection at the Global Level
10 October 05 10:41 AM | AngryRichard | 3 Comments   

If you are using the DataCollection API (either from native, by linking agains VSPerf.lib, or from managed, by importing Microsoft.VisualStudio.Profiler.dll), and wish to enable or disable collection at the global level, you must pass CurrentId for the Read More...

Response Files
07 August 05 07:12 PM | AngryRichard | 2 Comments   

On the forums, someone was using the /INCLUDE option in VsInstr.exe. It is possible to use multiple instances of this option to include different sets of functions. For a big chunk of functions, you might want to use dozens of function specifications. Read More...

Off-road Profiling Windows Services
28 July 05 12:36 PM | AngryRichard | 2 Comments   

I've just posted an article on the pitfalls of profiling services with the Visual Studio profiler. It includes a sample service with a quick walkthrough. Enjoy. Profiling Windows™ Services with the Visual Studio Profiler Read More...

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Offroad Profiling: The Visual Studio Profiler and Windows™ Services
28 July 05 12:00 PM | AngryRichard | 8 Comments   

This article discusses some of the pitfalls to profiling Windows Services, and how to navigate through them to get useful data. Read More...

Limiting the Data Crunch from Trace Profiling
16 January 05 07:41 PM | AngryRichard | 7 Comments   

Typically, one can use the sampling profiler to nail down the hot spot in an application. Having done that, what does one do when the sampling data doesn't provide enough information? The trace profiler can offer up more detail, particularly if the issue Read More...

Filed under: Profiling

Trying out the profiler on the VPC
06 August 04 02:19 PM | AngryRichard | 4 Comments   

I've frequently heard the question asked, "Can I use the profiler on a Virtual PC?" It has even come up on the blog feedback a few times. My answer has always been, "Theoretically, yes." I didn't want to post this answer externally until I'd actually Read More...

Filed under: Profiling

VPC and the BSOD (part 2)
03 June 04 08:00 PM | AngryRichard | 2 Comments   

I had a nice long email chat with members of the Virtual PC team. The good news: The Virtual PC emulates the host processor well enough that our kernel-mode driver can detect what features are enabled. The bad news: The Virtual PC does not emulate an Read More...

Filed under: Profiling

VPC and the BSOD
01 June 04 08:14 PM | AngryRichard | 3 Comments   

I'm so pleased. Someone did something exciting and dangerous with the profiler. In case you're not reading the newsgroups, an intrepid customer tried to profile on a Virtual PC , and discovered that it only leads to pain and misery via the BSOD. So don't Read More...

Filed under: Profiling

C'mon, all your Friends are Doing it
27 May 04 03:15 PM | AngryRichard | 4 Comments   

A bunch of the guys on the team I work for have been starting up blogs. I started feeling left out, which made me very angry. It appears all blogs start with "Hi, I'm a developer who does X and I'm going to talk about Y and maybe Z." It's all part of Read More...

Filed under: Profiling, Useless rants