Program page

2.1+

The program page of IBM® watsonx Code Assistant for Z Code Optimization Advice consists of the Program overview tab and the program Problems tab. This page shows information for a specific program.

Program overview tab

The program overview shows the build information, timing statistics, top-performance problems, compiler options.

Build information

This section shows the language the program was written in, the compiler version and program temporary fix (PTF) level the program was compiled with, and the date the program was compiled.

Timing statistics

This chart shows some key performance metrics about the run unit (the application or program) being analyzed, including:
  • CPU time: The total amount of time the CPU spent running the program.
  • Program samples: The total number of times the profiler observed the execution of instructions in the program.
  • CPU percentage: The amount of the application's total CPU usage the program consumed.

Top performance problems

This table highlights the 10 highest ranked performance problems in the program, organized by priority.

This table shows:
  • Line number from the compiled source code where the problem was observed
  • Problem name
  • Problem priority

Select any of the problem lines in this table to display the Problem details overlay.

To access the full list of problems for the program, select View all problems at the end of the table. The full list can also be accessed by selecting the Problems tab.

Compiler options summary

This shows what options have been set, both those that might affect the performance of the program and those that do not.

Problems tab

The problems tab on the program page shows a list of all the problems detected in the program.

Program performance problems table

It includes:
  • Problem name
  • Line number: Line number where the problem is found
  • Data item/Option: The name of the data item or option causing the problem
  • Problem priority: The priority level of the problem based on the CPU usage at the program level

Select any problem in the list to open the problem details side panel.

Search for a specific problem using the search bar, or show problems from a specific problem class using the problem class filter in the drop down menu.
Note: The search field is case sensitive.

By default, this table is organized by priority. Use the header line in the table to change how the list is organized.

Problem details

The problem details component displays as a side panel when accessed through the Problems tab of the Programs page, and as an overlay when accessed through the Top performance problems table of the Program overview page. It shows a detailed explanation of a performance problem in the program, explaining what the problem is, recommended actions to take to fix the problem, and highlights any considerations that need to be made before making any changes. This summary also shows the performance impact of the problem when available, as well as general problem information.

Problem overview

The problem overview shows descriptive information about the performance problem.

This includes:
  • Problem class
  • Program name
  • Line: Line number of the problem in the compiler listing, and line number of the problem in the COBOL source file.
  • Data items: The names of any data items involved in the problem
  • Problem priority

Understand at a glance what the problem is, and select Open source to navigate directly to the source code where the problem is found.

Problem details

This section contains valuable information to help users understand and fix the performance problem.

This includes:
  • Problem description: This description tells users what the problem is and the performance impact it has on the program.
  • Recommended actions: This tells users needs to be done to improve performance, usually by changing an option or setting. Some problems might have more than one recommendation, choose the approach best suited for your needs.
    • Justification: This explains how and why the recommended action improves performance.
    • Considerations: This highlights potential adverse effects that may occur in the program if the recommendation is applied.
  • Documentation links: Links to IBM Documentation that provide more information about the problem and related terms.

This allows users to quickly decide on an appropriate action to fix a performance problem, and helps users understand why the problem occurred. For more information, refer to Correcting a performance problem.

Performance impact

This section shows the performance impact of the problem at the program level. It compares the number of samples involved in the problem against the total number of samples for the program, summarizing it as a percentage of the whole.

Documentation

This section links users to helpful documentation that can be referred to for more information.