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2021.3
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  1. Analyze Timeline Profiling Results
  2. Call Stack
  3. Call Tree
  4. Folding Calls

Folding Calls

Last modified: 01 October 2021

The Call Tree can be simplified by folding groups of calls meaningless to analysis. Namely, chains of system function calls and recursive calls.

Folding system calls

System calls are calls of non-user code, for example, calls to methods from System and Microsoft namespaces. Normally, these calls are filtered out and are shown in Call Tree in gray font. Use folding to hide chains of system calls:

  • System call chains that can be folded are marked with the Callchain unfolded icon.

  • Folded call chains are marked with the Callchain folded icon.

  • Note that you can mark user assemblies as system ones.

To fold a chain of system calls

  1. Select a desired call chain that contains system calls.

  2. Click Callchain unfolded or press Ctrl+Space to fold the calls.

To unfold a chain of system calls

  1. Select a desired call chain that contains system calls.

  2. Click Callchain folded or press Ctrl+Space to unfold the calls.

Example

Tv plain list 2

For instance, if in the example above folding is configured so that all system calls must be folded, Call Tree will look as follows:

UserMethod1
   |UserMethod2
   |   |SystemMethod2
   |Callchain foldedSystemMethod1
      |UserMethod1
      |UserMethod2
         |SystemMethod1

Folding recursive calls

Recursive call stacks can be deep and difficult to analyze. Thus, complex call stacks with multiple recursive calls require almost infinite stack scrolling. To simplify analysis of such call stacks, you can fold recursive calls. When a chain of recursive calls is folded, dotTrace recalculates this call tree (it summarizes call times of a particular method in all recursive subtrees) and presents information by method signatures:

  • Recursive calls are marked with the Ico recursive icon.

  • Folded recursive calls are marked with the Ico recursive collapse icon.

To fold a recursive call

  1. Select a recursive function call in Call Tree.

  2. Click Ico recursive to fold the function call.

To unfold a recursive call

  1. Select a recursive function call in Call Tree.

  2. Click Ico recursive collapse to unfold the function call.

Example

Consider an example for better understanding of how Timeline Viewer calculates calls time when recursive calls are folded.

Folded recursive calls example

If in the example above you fold recursive calls starting from the call A UserMethod1, Call Tree will look like follows (each letter stands for a call own time).

Ico recursive collapseUserMethod1 A + B + C + D + E + F + G + H + I
|UserMethod2 E + G
| |SystemMethod1 G
|SystemMethod1 C + H
|SystemMethod2 I