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Add IntelliJ profiler usage guide to developer manual #1348

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Add IntelliJ profiler usage guide to developer manual
zyf265600 Jul 21, 2025
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Merge branch 'master' into manual-profiler
wmdietl Mar 20, 2026
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104 changes: 104 additions & 0 deletions docs/developer/developer-manual.html
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Expand Up @@ -34,6 +34,10 @@ <h1 id="Checker_Framework_developer_manual">Checker Framework developer manual</
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#code-style">Code style</a></li>
<li><a href="#IDE_configuration">IDE configuration</a></li>
<li><a href="#development-debugging-tools">Development and Debugging Tools</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#intellij-profiler">Profiling with IntelliJ IDEA</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#pull-requests">Pull requests</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#pull-requests-branches">Branches</a></li>
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -282,6 +286,106 @@ <h2 id="IDE_configuration">IDE configuration</h2>
</p>


<h2 id="development-debugging-tools">Development and Debugging Tools</h2>

<p>
This section covers various development and debugging tools that can help improve your development experience when working on the Checker Framework.
</p>

<h3 id="intellij-profiler">Profiling with IntelliJ IDEA</h3>

<p>
IntelliJ IDEA provides powerful profiling capabilities using Java Flight Recorder (JFR) that can help you analyze performance bottlenecks in the Checker Framework. This tool is essential for identifying slow type-checking operations, memory usage patterns, and optimization opportunities.
</p>

<h4>Step-by-step Usage Guide</h4>

<p>
<strong>Step 1: Generate JFR Profile Data</strong>
</p>

<p>
First, run the Checker Framework with Java Flight Recorder enabled. Here's a practical example:
</p>

<pre>
javac -J-XX:+FlightRecorder \
-J-XX:StartFlightRecording=duration=30s,filename=nullness-profile.jfr \
-processor org.checkerframework.checker.nullness.NullnessChecker \
docs/examples/NullnessExample.java
</pre>

<p>
<strong>Command breakdown:</strong>
</p>
<ul>
<li><code>javac</code> - Java compiler</li>
<li><code>-J-XX:+FlightRecorder</code> - Enables JFR functionality</li>
<li><code>-J-XX:StartFlightRecording=duration=30s,filename=nullness-profile.jfr</code> - Starts a 30-second performance recording session, saving results to <code>nullness-profile.jfr</code> file</li>
<li><code>-processor org.checkerframework.checker.nullness.NullnessChecker</code> - Uses the Nullness Checker for static analysis</li>
<li><code>docs/examples/NullnessExample.java</code> - Target Java file to analyze</li>
</ul>

<p>
<strong>Step 2: Open JFR File in IntelliJ</strong>
</p>

<p>
After the command completes, you'll have a <code>nullness-profile.jfr</code> file. To analyze it in IntelliJ:
</p>
<ol>
<li>Simply double-click the <code>nullness-profile.jfr</code> file</li>
<li>IntelliJ IDEA will automatically open and display the JFR Profiler tool window</li>
</ol>

<p>
<strong>Step 3: Understanding the Profiler Interface</strong>
</p>

<p>
The profiler window contains several important views:
</p>

<h5>Understanding the Five Analysis Windows</h5>
<p>
The profiler provides five different views to analyze your application's performance:
</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Flame Graph:</strong> Visual representation of method call hierarchies with execution time proportions. Horizontal bars show method calls, vertical stacks show call chains.</li>
<li><strong>Call Tree:</strong> Hierarchical tree view of method calls with detailed timing and percentage information for each call path.</li>
<li><strong>Method List:</strong> Flat list of all methods sorted by execution time, allocation count, or other metrics for quick identification of hotspots.</li>
<li><strong>Timeline:</strong> Time-based view showing when different operations occurred during the profiling session, useful for understanding execution patterns.</li>
<li><strong>Events:</strong> Detailed event log including garbage collection events, class loading, thread activity, and other JVM-level activities.</li>
</ul>

<h5>View Controls (Top Right)</h5>
<p>
The <strong>Show</strong> dropdown in the top right allows you to switch between different profiling perspectives:
</p>

<ul>
<li><strong>CPU Samples:</strong>
<ul>
<li>Shows where CPU time is spent during type checking</li>
<li>Identifies bottleneck methods and hot spots</li>
<li>Best for finding slow algorithms or inefficient code paths</li>
<li>Use this to optimize type inference, AST traversal, and annotation processing</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Memory Allocations:</strong>
<ul>
<li>Displays memory allocation patterns and object creation</li>
<li>Helps identify memory-intensive operations</li>
<li>Useful for finding excessive object creation or memory leaks</li>
<li>Important for optimizing type caching and reducing GC pressure</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>

<p>
See the <a href="#testing-optimizations">testing optimizations</a> section for additional performance testing approaches.
</p>

<h2 id="pull-requests">Pull requests</h2>

<p>
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