You can view the results of a trace in one of two formats. The default is as a simple text file, or you can create a compressed binary file, which can be viewed using the CTF Viewer.
Text format trace files have the advantage that you can view them in a text editor, but there are a number of disadvantages:
- Trace files can get very large very quickly.
- The trace record format needs to be specified before tracing begins (e.g. when tracing a multi-threaded application, the $(THREAD) pseudo-variable needs to be specified to ensure that the thread id appears in each trace record).
- Trace events are meaningless to nearly everyone except the developer who trace-enabled the application/component.
Binary format trace files cannot be viewed in a text editor, but they provide the following advantages:
- Compressed format. Usually at least 50% the size of an equivalent text-format trace file.
- No record format needs to be specified before tracing begins. All relevant information about a trace event is recorded, such as the process id, thread id, date, time, component id, event id, trace data and so on.
You can view binary format trace files using the CTF Viewer.
