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1:mod:`trace` --- Trace or track Python statement execution
2==========================================================
3
4.. module:: trace
5   :synopsis: Trace or track Python statement execution.
6
7**Source code:** :source:`Lib/trace.py`
8
9--------------
10
11The :mod:`trace` module allows you to trace program execution, generate
12annotated statement coverage listings, print caller/callee relationships and
13list functions executed during a program run.  It can be used in another program
14or from the command line.
15
16.. _trace-cli:
17
18Command-Line Usage
19------------------
20
21The :mod:`trace` module can be invoked from the command line.  It can be as
22simple as ::
23
24   python -m trace --count -C . somefile.py ...
25
26The above will execute :file:`somefile.py` and generate annotated listings of
27all Python modules imported during the execution into the current directory.
28
29.. program:: trace
30
31.. cmdoption:: --help
32
33   Display usage and exit.
34
35.. cmdoption:: --version
36
37   Display the version of the module and exit.
38
39Main options
40^^^^^^^^^^^^
41
42At least one of the following options must be specified when invoking
43:mod:`trace`.  The :option:`--listfuncs <-l>` option is mutually exclusive with
44the :option:`--trace <-t>` and :option:`--count <-c>` options. When
45:option:`--listfuncs <-l>` is provided, neither :option:`--count <-c>` nor
46:option:`--trace <-t>` are accepted, and vice versa.
47
48.. program:: trace
49
50.. cmdoption:: -c, --count
51
52   Produce a set of annotated listing files upon program completion that shows
53   how many times each statement was executed.  See also
54   :option:`--coverdir <-C>`, :option:`--file <-f>` and
55   :option:`--no-report <-R>` below.
56
57.. cmdoption:: -t, --trace
58
59   Display lines as they are executed.
60
61.. cmdoption:: -l, --listfuncs
62
63   Display the functions executed by running the program.
64
65.. cmdoption:: -r, --report
66
67   Produce an annotated list from an earlier program run that used the
68   :option:`--count <-c>` and :option:`--file <-f>` option.  This does not
69   execute any code.
70
71.. cmdoption:: -T, --trackcalls
72
73   Display the calling relationships exposed by running the program.
74
75Modifiers
76^^^^^^^^^
77
78.. program:: trace
79
80.. cmdoption:: -f, --file=<file>
81
82   Name of a file to accumulate counts over several tracing runs.  Should be
83   used with the :option:`--count <-c>` option.
84
85.. cmdoption:: -C, --coverdir=<dir>
86
87   Directory where the report files go.  The coverage report for
88   ``package.module`` is written to file :file:`{dir}/{package}/{module}.cover`.
89
90.. cmdoption:: -m, --missing
91
92   When generating annotated listings, mark lines which were not executed with
93   ``>>>>>>``.
94
95.. cmdoption:: -s, --summary
96
97   When using :option:`--count <-c>` or :option:`--report <-r>`, write a brief
98   summary to stdout for each file processed.
99
100.. cmdoption:: -R, --no-report
101
102   Do not generate annotated listings.  This is useful if you intend to make
103   several runs with :option:`--count <-c>`, and then produce a single set of
104   annotated listings at the end.
105
106.. cmdoption:: -g, --timing
107
108   Prefix each line with the time since the program started.  Only used while
109   tracing.
110
111Filters
112^^^^^^^
113
114These options may be repeated multiple times.
115
116.. program:: trace
117
118.. cmdoption:: --ignore-module=<mod>
119
120   Ignore each of the given module names and its submodules (if it is a
121   package).  The argument can be a list of names separated by a comma.
122
123.. cmdoption:: --ignore-dir=<dir>
124
125   Ignore all modules and packages in the named directory and subdirectories.
126   The argument can be a list of directories separated by :data:`os.pathsep`.
127
128.. _trace-api:
129
130Programmatic Interface
131----------------------
132
133.. class:: Trace([count=1[, trace=1[, countfuncs=0[, countcallers=0[, ignoremods=()[, ignoredirs=()[, infile=None[, outfile=None[, timing=False]]]]]]]]])
134
135   Create an object to trace execution of a single statement or expression.  All
136   parameters are optional.  *count* enables counting of line numbers.  *trace*
137   enables line execution tracing.  *countfuncs* enables listing of the
138   functions called during the run.  *countcallers* enables call relationship
139   tracking.  *ignoremods* is a list of modules or packages to ignore.
140   *ignoredirs* is a list of directories whose modules or packages should be
141   ignored.  *infile* is the name of the file from which to read stored count
142   information.  *outfile* is the name of the file in which to write updated
143   count information.  *timing* enables a timestamp relative to when tracing was
144   started to be displayed.
145
146    .. method:: run(cmd)
147
148       Execute the command and gather statistics from the execution with
149       the current tracing parameters.  *cmd* must be a string or code object,
150       suitable for passing into :func:`exec`.
151
152    .. method:: runctx(cmd, globals=None, locals=None)
153
154       Execute the command and gather statistics from the execution with the
155       current tracing parameters, in the defined global and local
156       environments.  If not defined, *globals* and *locals* default to empty
157       dictionaries.
158
159    .. method:: runfunc(func, *args, **kwds)
160
161       Call *func* with the given arguments under control of the :class:`Trace`
162       object with the current tracing parameters.
163
164    .. method:: results()
165
166       Return a :class:`CoverageResults` object that contains the cumulative
167       results of all previous calls to ``run``, ``runctx`` and ``runfunc``
168       for the given :class:`Trace` instance.  Does not reset the accumulated
169       trace results.
170
171.. class:: CoverageResults
172
173   A container for coverage results, created by :meth:`Trace.results`.  Should
174   not be created directly by the user.
175
176    .. method:: update(other)
177
178       Merge in data from another :class:`CoverageResults` object.
179
180    .. method:: write_results([show_missing=True[, summary=False[, coverdir=None]]])
181
182       Write coverage results.  Set *show_missing* to show lines that had no
183       hits.  Set *summary* to include in the output the coverage summary per
184       module.  *coverdir* specifies the directory into which the coverage
185       result files will be output.  If ``None``, the results for each source
186       file are placed in its directory.
187
188A simple example demonstrating the use of the programmatic interface::
189
190   import sys
191   import trace
192
193   # create a Trace object, telling it what to ignore, and whether to
194   # do tracing or line-counting or both.
195   tracer = trace.Trace(
196       ignoredirs=[sys.prefix, sys.exec_prefix],
197       trace=0,
198       count=1)
199
200   # run the new command using the given tracer
201   tracer.run('main()')
202
203   # make a report, placing output in the current directory
204   r = tracer.results()
205   r.write_results(show_missing=True, coverdir=".")
206
207