Using the ANTS Profiler API

See Also

If you have purchased a Pro edition of ANTS Profiler, you can use the Application Program Interface to automate profiling in ANTS Profiler.

The ANTS Profiler API enables you to profile specific parts of your application. You can make calls to the API to take snapshots on demand.

The API is provided by the file RedGate.Profiler.Api.dll which is located in the folder where you installed ANTS Profiler, by default:

Program Files\Red Gate\ANTS Profiler 3

When you add references in your project to RedGate.Profiler.Api.dll, the class RedGate.Profiler.Api will be available to you.

You can use the following methods:

• public static void Disable()

  Stops the profiler. Note that this method is not available for memory profiling.

• public static void Enable()

  Restarts the profiler, if you disabled it. Note that this method is not available for memory profiling.

• public static void Reset()

  Discards the results collected by the profiler during the current run of the application; all hit counts and timings are set to zero.

• public static void TakeSnapshot()

  Takes a snapshot and sends it to the ANTS Profiler graphical user interface.

Note the following:

• Using the API does not start ANTS Profiler. You must set up a project using the Profiler Project Wizard to profile your application and start profiling from within the ANTS Profiler graphical user interface; if you do not do this, the exception ProfilerNotRunningException is thrown.
• The API does not provide a stop profiling method.

Example

This example shows you how can automate the Mandelbrot Set program in the Worked Example so that only the drawing process is profiled.

1. Open the Mandelbrot project file.

   By default, the C# project file is located in:

   Program Files\Red Gate\ANTS Profiler 3\Tutorials\CS\Mandelbrot

2. Add references to RedGate.Profiler.Api.dll

   By default, the .dll file is located in:

   Program Files\Red Gate\ANTS Profiler 3

3. In Form1.Main( ), modify the DrawMandelbrot method as shown below, and then build the project.
   • Call RedGate.Profiler.Api.Reset( ) to discard all the results gathered up to the point when the program starts drawing the fractal.
   • Call RedGate.Profiler.Api.TakeSnapshot( ) so that when the program has finished drawing the fractal, you capture the profiling results up to that point.

private void DrawMandelbrot()
		{

			RedGate.Profiler.Api.Reset();

			double dx = m_Settings.Width / m_MandelbrotImage.Width;
			double dy = m_Settings.Height / m_MandelbrotImage.Height;

			double x = m_Settings.XMin;
			double y = m_Settings.YMin;

			for(int i = 0; i < m_MandelbrotImage.Width; i++)
			{
				for( int j = 0; j < m_MandelbrotImage.Height; j++)
				{
					int iterations = m_Algorithm.Evaluate(x, y);
					m_MandelbrotImage.SetPixelColor(i, j, iterations);
					y += dy;
				}

				if(!m_Running)
					return;

				y = m_Settings.YMin;
				x += dx;

				// redraw the picture box every 10 pixels
				if ((i % 10)==0)
				{
					m_PictureBox1.Refresh();
					Application.DoEvents();
				}

			}

			m_PictureBox1.Refresh();

			RedGate.Profiler.Api.TakeSnapshot();
		}

In ANTS Profiler, use the Profiler Project Wizard to set up a project to profile the application, and then run the application in ANTS Profiler.

 

 

 

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