CProf: customizable calling context cross-profiling for embedded java processors

ABSTRACT

Performance evaluation of embedded software is essential in an early development phase so as to ensure that the software will run on the embedded device's limited computing resources. Prevailing approaches either require the deployment of the software on the embedded target, which can be tedious and may be impossible in an early development phase, or rely on simulation, which can be very slow. In this paper we present CProf, a customizable cross-profiler for embedded Java processors. It allows the developer to profile the embedded software in the host environment, completely decoupled from the target system, in a standard Java Virtual Machine, but the generated profiles represent the execution time metric of the target system. CProf enables calling context cross-profiling and customizable online processing of profiling data. Furthermore, it supports pluggable CPU cycle estimation and cache simulation strategies, easing the reconfiguration for different target processors. Using the Java Optimized Processor JOP as target, CProf's cross-profiles have only a small percent error below 3.3%.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.4 PERFORMANCE OF SYSTEMS
      Subjects: Measurement techniques

Additional Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.3 SPECIAL-PURPOSE AND APPLICATION-BASED SYSTEMS
      Subjects: Real-time and embedded systems

General Terms:
Algorithms, Languages, Measurement, Performance

Keywords:
bytecode instrumentation, cross-profiling, embedded java processors, java virtual machine