Performance Tools Guide and Reference

Customizing Xprofiler resources

You can customize certain features of an X-Window. For example, you can customize its colors, fonts, and orientation. This section lists each of the resource variables you can set for Xprofiler.

You can customize resources by assigning a value to a resource name in a standard X-Windows format. Several resource files are searched according to the following X-Windows convention:

/usr/lib/X11/$LANG/app-defaults/Xprofiler
/usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/Xprofiler
$XAPPLRESDIR/Xprofiler
$HOME/.Xdefaults

Options in the .Xdefaults file take precedence over entries in the preceding files. This allows you to have certain specifications apply to all users in the app-defaults file, as well as user-specific preferences set for each user in their $HOME/.Xdefaults file.

You customize a resource by setting a value to a resource variable associated with that feature. You store these resource settings in a file called .Xdefaults in your home directory. You can create this file on a server, and so customize a resource for all users. Individual users may also want to customize resources. The resource settings are essentially your personal preferences for how the X-Windows should look.

For example, consider the following resource variables for a hypothetical X-Windows tool:

TOOL*MainWindow.foreground:
TOOL*MainWindow.background:

In this example, suppose the resource variable TOOL*MainWindow.foreground controls the color of text on the tool's main window. The resource variable TOOL*MainWindow.background controls the background color of this same window. If you wanted the tool's main window to have red lettering on a white background, you would insert these lines into the .Xdefaults file.

TOOL*MainWindow.foreground:    red
TOOL*MainWindow.background:    white

Customizable resources and instructions for their use for Xprofiler are defined in /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/Xprofiler file, as well as /usr/lpp/ppe.xprofiler/defaults/Xprofiler.ad file. This file contains a set of X-Windows resources for defining graphical user interfaces based on the following criteria:

• Window geometry
• Window title
• Push button and label text
• Color maps
• Text font (in both textual reports and the graphical display)

Xprofiler resource variables

You can use the following resource variables to control the appearance and behavior of Xprofiler. The values listed in this section are the defaults; you can change these values to suit your preferences.

Controlling fonts

To specify the font for the labels that appear with function boxes, call arcs, and cluster boxes:

To specify the font used in textual reports:

Controlling the appearance of the Xprofiler main window

To specify the size of the main window:

To specify the foreground and background colors of the main window:

To specify the number of function boxes that are displayed when you first open the Xprofiler main window:

You can use the -disp_max flag to override this value.

To specify the colors of the function boxes and call arcs of the function call tree:

To specify the color in which a specified function box or call arc is highlighted:

To specify the color in which de-emphasized function boxes appear:

Function boxes are deemphasized with the -e, -E, -f, and -F flags.

Controlling variables related to the File menu

To specify the size of the Load Files Dialog window, use the following:

The Load Files Dialog window is called by the Load Files option of the File menu.

To specify whether a confirmation dialog box should appear whenever a file will be overwritten:

The value True would be equivalent to selecting the Set Options option from the File menu, and then selecting the Forced File Overwriting option from the Runtime Options Dialog window.

To specify the alternative search paths for locating source or library files:

The value you specify for the search path is equivalent to the search path you would designate from the Alt File Search Path Dialog window. To get to this window, choose the Set File Search Paths option from the File menu.

To specify the file search sequence (whether the default or alternative path is searched first):

The value True is equivalent to selecting the Set File Search Paths from the File menu, and then the Check default path(s) first option from the Alt File Search Path Dialog window.

Controlling variables related to the Screen Dump option

To specify whether a screen dump will be sent to a printer or placed in a file:

The value True is equivalent to selecting the File button in the Output To field of the Screen Dump Options Dialog window. You access the Screen Dump Options Dialog window by selecting Screen Dump and then Set Option from the File menu.

To specify whether the PostScript screen dump will created in color or in shades of grey:

The value False is equivalent to selecting the GreyShades button in the PostScript Output area of the Screen Dump Options Dialog window. You access the Screen Dump Options Dialog window by selecting Screen Dump and then Set Option from the File menu.

To specify the number of grey shades that the PostScript screen dump will include (if you selected GreyShades in the PostScript Output area):

The value 16 is equivalent to selecting the 16 button in the Number of Grey Shades field of the Screen Dump Options Dialog window. You access the Screen Dump Options Dialog window by selecting Screen Dump and then Set Option from the File menu.

To specify the number of seconds that Xprofiler waits before capturing a screen image:

The value 1 is the default for the Delay Before Grab option of the Screen Dump Options Dialog window, but you can specify a longer interval by entering a value here. You access the Screen Dump Options Dialog window by selecting Screen Dump and then Set Option from the File menu.

To set the maximum number of seconds that can be specified with the slider of the Delay Before Grab option:

The value 30 is the maximum for the Delay Before Grab option of the Screen Dump Options Dialog window. This means that users cannot set the slider scale to a value greater than 30. You access the Screen Dump Options Dialog window by selecting Screen Dump and then Set Option from the File menu.

To specify whether the screen dump is created in landscape or portrait format:

The value True is the default for the Enable Landscape option of the Screen Dump Options Dialog window. You access the Screen Dump Options Dialog window by selecting Screen Dump and then Set Option from the File menu.

To specify whether you would like information about how the image was created to be added to the PostScript screen dump:

The value False is the default for the Annotate Output option of the Screen Dump Options Dialog window. You access the Screen Dump Options Dialog window by selecting Screen Dump and then Set Option from the File menu.

To specify the directory that will store the screen dump file (if you selected File in the Output To field):

The value you specify is equivalent to the file name you would designate in the File Name field of the Screen Dump Dialog window. You access the Screen Dump Options Dialog window by selecting Screen Dump and then Set Option from the File menu.

To specify the printer destination of the screen dump (if you selected Printer in the Output To field):

The value qprt -B ga -c -Pps is the default print command, but you can supply a different one.

Controlling variables related to the View menu

To specify the size of the Overview window:

To specify the color of the highlight area of the Overview window:

To specify whether the function call tree is updated as the highlight area is moved (immediate) or only when it is stopped and the mouse button released (delayed):

The value True is equivalent to selecting the Immediate Update option from the Utility menu of the Overview window. You access the Overview window by selecting the Overview option from the View menu.

To specify whether the function boxes in the function call tree appear in two-dimensional or three-dimensional format:

The value True is equivalent to selecting the 2-D Image option from the View menu.

To specify whether the function call tree appears in top-to-bottom or left-to-right format:

The value True is equivalent to selecting the Layout: Top and Bottom option from the View menu.

Controlling variables related to the Filter menu

To specify whether the function boxes of the function call tree are clustered or unclustered when the Xprofiler main window is first opened:

The value True is equivalent to selecting the Cluster Functions by Library option from the Filter menu.

To specify whether the call arcs of the function call tree are collapsed or expanded when the Xprofiler main window is first opened:

The value True is equivalent to selecting the Collapse Library Arcs option from the Filter menu.