If you’d like your model to run faster, the profiler extension may be useful to you. It includes primitives that measure how many times the procedures in your model are called during a run and how long each call takes. You can use this information to where to focus your speedup efforts.
Caution:
The profiler extension is experimental. It is not yet well tested or user friendly. Nonetheless, we think some users will find it useful.
The profiler extension comes preinstalled. To use the extension in your model, add a line to the top of your Code tab:
extensions [profiler]
If your model already uses other extensions, then it already has an
extensions line in it, so just add profiler to the list.
For more information on using NetLogo extensions, see the Extensions Guide
setup ;; set up the model
profiler:start ;; start profiling
repeat 20 [ go ] ;; run something you want to measure
profiler:stop ;; stop profiling
print profiler:report ;; view the results
profiler:reset ;; clear the data
Another way to use the profiler is to export its raw data using
the csv extension
and the profiler:data primitive:
extensions [ csv profiler ]
to profile
setup ;; set up the model
profiler:start ;; start profiling
repeat 20 [ go ] ;; run something you want to measure
profiler:stop ;; stop profiling
csv:to-file "profiler_data.csv" profiler:data ;; save the results
profiler:reset ;; clear the data
end
Running the above procedure will write a profiler_data.csv file that you can then load into your
favorite data analysis program. Here is an example data file produced using
the Wolf Sheep Predation model:
procedure,calls,inclusive_time,exclusive_time
EAT-SHEEP,1085,1.237283,11.637364
DISPLAY-LABELS,20,17.389512,17.389512
MOVE,3578,14.164451,14.164451
GO,20,683.414619,604.773837
GRASS,3,0.05384,0.05384
DEATH,1085,3.172517,3.172517
REPRODUCE-SHEEP,2493,10.265135,10.265135
REPRODUCE-WOLVES,1039,5.599509,5.599509
Thanks to Roger Peppe for his contributions to the code.
profiler:calls
profiler:exclusive-time
profiler:inclusive-time
profiler:start
profiler:stop
profiler:reset
profiler:report
profiler:data
Reports the number of times that procedure-name was called. If procedure-name is not defined, then reports 0.
Reports the exclusive time, in milliseconds, that procedure-name was running for. Exclusive time is the time from when the procedure was entered, until it finishes, but does not include any time spent in other user-defined procedures which it calls.
If procedure-name is not defined, then reports 0.
Reports the inclusive time, in milliseconds, that procedure-name was running for. Inclusive time is the time from when the procedure was entered, until it finishes.
If procedure-name is not defined, then reports 0.
Instructs the profiler to begin recording user-defined procedure calls.
Reports a string containing a breakdown of all user-defined procedure
calls. The Calls column contains the number of times a
user-defined procedure was called. The Incl T(ms) column
is the total time, in milliseconds, it took for the call to complete,
including the time spent in other user-defined procedures. The
Excl T(ms) column is the total time, in milliseconds,
spent within that user-defined procedure, not counting other
user-define procedures it called. The Excl/calls column
is an estimate of the time, in milliseconds, spent in that
user-defined procedure for each call.
Here is example output:
Sorted by Exclusive Time
Name Calls Incl T(ms) Excl T(ms) Excl/calls
CALLTHEM 13 26.066 19.476 1.498
CALLME 13 6.413 6.413 0.493
REPORTME 13 0.177 0.177 0.014
Sorted by Inclusive Time
Name Calls Incl T(ms) Excl T(ms) Excl/calls
CALLTHEM 13 26.066 19.476 1.498
CALLME 13 6.413 6.413 0.493
REPORTME 13 0.177 0.177 0.014
Sorted by Number of Calls
Name Calls Incl T(ms) Excl T(ms) Excl/calls
CALLTHEM 13 26.066 19.476 1.498
Reports a list of lists containing the results of the profiler in a format that is suitable
for exporting with the csv extension.
The first sublist contains the name of the data columns: procedure, calls, inclusive_time and
exclusive_time. This is followed by one sublist containing the profiler data for each user-defined
procedure. The reported times are in milliseconds.