Method Call Recording - Collection Methods and Influence on Performance and Data



1. Call trees and call stacks

At first glance, it might seem that the method call recording settings only influence the CPU section of JProfiler. However, the memory section as well as the thread section display information that originates from the call tree that is build by the profiling agent of JProfiler: the call tree view, the allocation call tree, the stack traces in the monitor contention views as well as many other views all depend on the same call tree. The call tree is always recorded, even if "CPU recording" is switched off in JProfiler.

Selecting the right method call recording type is crucial for a successful profiling run. As explained in the article on profiling settings, the aim is to get the best runtime performance while retaining an acceptable level of informational detail. While the most important profiling setting in this regard is the filter configuration, the method call recording type complements this choice. Each method call recording type has various limitations that you have to bear in mind when configuring call tree filters.

2. The different types of method call recording

There are three different methods for recording the call tree that have different advantages and disadvantages: