SystemTap provides free software (GPL) infrastructure to
simplify the gathering of information about the running Linux
system. This assists diagnosis of a performance or functional
problem. SystemTap eliminates the need for the developer to go
through the tedious and disruptive instrument, recompile, install,
and reboot sequence that may be otherwise required to collect data.
SystemTap provides a simple command line interface and
scripting language for writing instrumentation for a live
running kernel plus user-space applications. We are publishing
samples, as well as enlarging the internal "tapset" script library to aid reuse and abstraction.
Among other tracing/probing tools, SystemTap is the tool of choice
for complex tasks that may require live analysis, programmable on-line
response, and whole-system symbolic access. SystemTap can also handle
simple tracing jobs.
