The SET EVENT command establishes the collection of event
markers for a specified event when you execute program
locations associated with that event. An event marker is a data
record written to the performance data file to mark that some
significant event has occurred during program execution. You
determine what events are significant and what names to assign to
those events.
Event markers segment the performance or coverage data so that
data can be associated with different phases or time periods
of program execution. The Analyzer uses event markers to filter
performance or coverage data so that only the data associated
with a certain event or time period is tallied in histograms and
tables. Each data point in the data file is associated with the
event name of the most recent event marker that precedes it in
the data file.
When you enter a SET EVENT command, you must specify the name
of the event you wish to define. You must also specify the node
specifications to associate with that event. The Collector places
a breakpoint on each such location and, when the breakpoint is
reached, writes an event marker for that event to the performance
data file.
If you enter the SET EVENT command before entering a SET DATAFILE
command, the Collector establishes a default data file. The
default data file has the same file name as your program's
executable image file and a file type of PCA.
You can use one event marker per program location. Multiple
program locations are allowed for each event name.