c++posixreal-timegperftools

What does 'f' suffix mean on a C++ library name and how do I load it?


I'm using gperftools v2.3rc and would like to use the improved profiling of threads feature. The release notes state in part:

new cpu profiling mode on Linux is now implemented. It sets up separate profiling timers for separate threads. ... [It] is enabled if both librt.f is loaded and CPUPROFILE_PER_THREAD_TIMERS environment variable is set. ...

My C++ application is linked with librt.so (-lrt — the POSIX.1b Realtime Extensions library), but I have not heard of a library with a .f suffix before. What does the .f mean, where can I find this library, and how do I load it in my application?


Solution

  • I suspect temporary arthritis brought on by lack of coffee (it's a typo). What is meant is librt.so. From the middle of src/profile-handler.cc:

    // We use weak alias to timer_create to avoid runtime dependency on
    // -lrt and in turn -lpthread.
    //
    // At runtime we detect if timer_create is available and if so we
    // can enable linux-sigev-thread mode of profiling
    

    and further down in the code:

    #if HAVE_LINUX_SIGEV_THREAD_ID
      if (getenv("CPUPROFILE_PER_THREAD_TIMERS")) {
        if (timer_create && pthread_once) {  // <-- note this bit here.
          timer_sharing_ = TIMERS_SEPARATE;
          CreateThreadTimerKey(&thread_timer_key);
          per_thread_timer_enabled_ = true;
        } else {
          RAW_LOG(INFO,
                  "Not enabling linux-per-thread-timers mode due to lack of timer_create."
                  " Preload or link to librt.so for this to work");
        }
      }
    #endif
    

    It's checking if the envvar is set and librt has been loaded. It's about librt.so.