gprof

Gprof is a command line tool used to profile the performance of programs on Unix-like operating systems. It stands for "GNU Profiler".

Gprof analyzes the time spent executing different parts of a program and helps identify potential bottlenecks or performance issues.

It provides detailed information about the number of times a function is called, the amount of time spent in each function, and the proportion of overall program execution time attributed to each function.

Gprof works by inserting special instrumentation code into the program during compilation and linking, which collects data on function calls and returns.

During program execution, gprof collects data on function calls and then generates a profile report that can be analyzed to identify performance hotspots.

The generated report can show the total execution time of each function, the percentage of time spent in each function, and the calling relationships between functions.

Gprof provides advanced options for fine-grained profiling, such as profiling only certain functions or excluding certain functions from profiling.

It can be used with programs written in various programming languages, including C, C++, and Fortran.

Gprof is part of the GNU Binutils package and is commonly used by developers and software performance engineers for performance analysis and optimization.

Lastly, gprof supports various output formats, allowing the profile reports to be viewed in different ways or processed by other tools for further analysis.