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https://github.com/paulross/pymemtrace

Python memory tracing.
https://github.com/paulross/pymemtrace

memory-management python python-memory

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Python memory tracing.

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README

          

*******************
Introduction
*******************

``pymemtrace`` provides tools for tracking and understanding Python memory usage at different levels, at different
granularities and with different runtime costs.

Full documentation: https://pymemtrace.readthedocs.io

pymemtrace Tools
======================

The tools provided by ``pymemtrace``:

* ``process`` is a very lightweight way of logging the total memory usage at regular time intervals.
It can plot memory over time with plotting programs such as ``gnuplot``.
See `some process examples `_
* ``cPyMemTrace`` is a memory tracer written in C that can report total memory usage for every function call/return for
both C and Python sections.
See some `cPyMemTrace examples `_
and a `technical note on cPyMemTrace `_.
* DTrace: Here are a number of D scripts that can trace the low level ``malloc()`` and ``free()`` system calls and
report how much memory was allocated and by whom.
See some `DTrace examples `_
and a `technical note on DTrace `_.
* ``trace_malloc`` is a convenience wrapper around the Python standard library `tracemalloc` module.
This can report Python memory usage by module and line compensating for the cost of ``tracemalloc``.
This can take memory snapshots before and after code blocks and show the change on memory caused by that code.
See some `trace_malloc examples `_
* ``debug_malloc_stats`` is a wrapper around the ``sys._debugmallocstats`` function that can take snapshots of
memory before and after code execution and report the significant differences of the Python small object allocator.
See some `debug_malloc_stats examples `_

Tool Characteristics
======================

Each tool can be characterised by:

- *Memory Granularity*: In how much detail is a memory change is observed.
An example of *coarse* memory granularity is measuring the
`Resident Set Size `_ which is normally in chunks of 4096 bytes.
An example of *fine* memory granularity is recording every ``malloc()`` and ``free()``.
- *Execution Granularity*: In how much code detail is the memory change observed.
An example of *coarse* execution granularity is measuring the memory usage every second.
An example of *fine* execution granularity is recording the memory usage every Python line.
- *Memory Cost*: How much extra memory the tool needs.
- *Execution Cost*: How much the execution time is increased.

Clearly there are trade-offs between these depending on the problem you are trying to solve.

.. list-table:: **Tool Characteristics**
:widths: 15 30 30 30 30
:header-rows: 1

* - Tool
- Memory Granularity
- Execution Granularity
- Memory Cost
- Execution Cost
* - ``process``
- RSS (total Python and C memory).
- Regular time intervals.
- Near zero.
- Near zero.
* - ``cPyMemTrace``
- RSS (total Python and C memory).
- Per Python line, Python function and C function call.
- Near zero.
- x10 to x20.
* - DTrace
- Every ``malloc()`` and ``free()``.
- Per function call and return.
- Minimal.
- x90 to x100.
* - ``trace_malloc``
- Every Python object.
- Per Python line, per function call.
- Significant but compensated.
- x900 for small objects, x6 for large objects.
* - ``debug_malloc_stats``
- Python memory pool.
- Snapshots the CPython memory pool either side of a block of code.
- Minimal.
- x2000+ for small objects, x12 for large objects.

Package Metadata
=========================

.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/pymemtrace.svg
:target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/pymemtrace

.. image:: https://img.shields.io/travis/paulross/pymemtrace.svg
:target: https://travis-ci.org/paulross/pymemtrace

.. image:: https://readthedocs.org/projects/pymemtrace/badge/?version=latest
:target: https://pymemtrace.readthedocs.io/en/latest/?badge=latest
:alt: Documentation Status

.. image:: https://pyup.io/repos/github/paulross/pymemtrace/shield.svg
:target: https://pyup.io/repos/github/paulross/pymemtrace/
:alt: Updates

Licence
-----------------------

Python memory tracing.

* Free software: MIT license
* Documentation: https://pymemtrace.readthedocs.io.
* Project: https://github.com/paulross/pymemtrace.

Credits
-----------------

Phil Smith (AHL) with whom a casual lunch time chat lead to the creation of an earlier, but quite different
implementation, of ``cPyMemTrace`` in pure Python.

This package was created with Cookiecutter_ and the `audreyr/cookiecutter-pypackage`_ project template.

.. _Cookiecutter: https://github.com/audreyr/cookiecutter
.. _`audreyr/cookiecutter-pypackage`: https://github.com/audreyr/cookiecutter-pypackage