NAME | DESCRIPTION | EXAMPLE | SEE ALSO | COLOPHON

PMVIEW(5)                    File Formats Manual                   PMVIEW(5)

NAME         top

       pmview - configuration file format for performance

DESCRIPTION         top

       This man page describes version 2.1 of the pmview configuration file
       format.
       The configuration format supports metrics from multiple hosts or
       archives.  A configuration file can specify metrics without a source,
       with different hosts and different archives.  However, a
       configuration file that contains archives may only have one archive
       for any one host.  When in ``replay'' mode, any metrics with host
       specific sources require an archive to be specified for that host on
       the command line or as a source to a previous metric.  The archive
       must be the same archive (based on a string comparison of the archive
       names) of any archives specified in the configuration file for the
       same host.
       The time controls will list all hosts that are specified on the
       command line and the configuration file in the timezone listing (see
       pmtime(1)).
       The configuration file format is based on a two-dimensional grid
       which can contain a variety of bars, stacks, links, pipes, labels and
       other grids.  The grids resize each column and row to match the size
       of the largest item in that column or row.  A configuration file that
       contains only one object does not require a grid. The pmview
       configuration file starts with an identification header in the first
       non-comment line:
          pmview Version 2.1 [command_line]
       The optional command_line should be the command line with which the
       tool was launched, if the configuration file has been generated by
       another tool.  This is useful for applications that are to be
       restarted automatically on the next login, after the user has logged
       out while pmview was still running.  Care should be taken to ensure
       that the command specified is either a full pathname or will be found
       on the PATH available at login.
       All lines which begin with ``#'' are treated as comments and ignored.
       Otherwise, all spaces, tabs and newlines are treated as white space
       so multiple commands may be on the same line.
       The syntax for specifying values in the configuration file is
       consistent for all commands, namely:
       color
           A color must be either a X(1) color name, a X(1) numerical color,
           or three normalized real values representing the saturation of
           red, green and blue.  For example, the following colors are
           identical:
               red
               rgbi:1.0/0.0/0.0
               1.0 0.0 0.0
       int An integer.
       metric
           A metric consists of an optional source (host or archive), the
           metric name, an optional instance list immediately after name,
           followed by the maximum (or normalization value).  A colon
           (``:'') is used to separate a host name from the metric, and a
           forward slash (``/'') to separate an archive name from the
           metric.  Instances are enclosed in square brackets and comma
           separated.  Each instance may be enclosed in quotes.
           For example, some legal metrics are:
               kernel.all.cpu.idle 4000
               myhost:kernel.all.cpu.idle[cpu0,"cpu3"] 1000.0
               /path/to/myarchive/kernel.all.cpu.idle[cpu1] 1000
           To assist the process of matching instance names, two further
           comparisons are made beyond a simple string comparison.  If the
           instance name contains spaces, only the first word in the
           instance name is required to match the instance, assuming that
           the first word is unique.  If the first word is not unique, only
           the first matching instance will be selected.  The second
           comparison occurs if the first word is a number with leading
           zeros.  Any leading zeros will be skipped before comparing the
           first word again.  This permits process ids used in the proc
           metrics to be easily matched, without specifying the entire
           instance name.  For example, to visualize the user and system
           time of init use the metric specification
               proc.psusage.utime[1]    1000
               proc.psusage.stime[1]    1000
       name
           A name for an object which may be referred to later in the
           configuration file.  Names must be a single word consisting of
           all alphanumeric characters, as well as underscores, dashes and
           colons.  It is recommended that names do not begin with an
           underscore as this may be interpreted as a keyword.
       pos This is the position of the object within the grid.  The syntax
           of a position is:
          [ [x z] [ [width depth] [alignment] ] ]
              x      The horizontal coordinate (left to right) of the
                     object, starting at 0.  The default x is 0.
              z      The vertical coordinate (top to bottom) of the object,
                     starting at 0.  The default z is 0.
              width  The number of columns occupied by the object.  The
                     default width is 1.
              depth  The number of rows occupied by the object.  The default
                     depth is 1.
              alignment
                     The edge or corner that the object is aligned with.
                     Possible alignments include: north, south, east, west,
                     northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest and center.
                     Abbreviations like se and SE are also accepted.  The
                     default alignment is center.
                     The size of an object may not be known as the number of
                     instances for some metrics will vary between hosts and
                     PMDA configurations.  Therefore, the position of the
                     object can be used to specify the likely size of the
                     object, so that the position of the surrounding objects
                     is appropriately adjusted.
                     The following are legal positions:
                     0 5    The object is centered at grid position 0,5
                            occupying 1 grid square.
                     1 2 north
                            The object is aligned with the north edge of
                            position 1,2 occupying 1 grid square.
                     2 2 2 1 east
                            The object is aligned to the eastern edge of
                            position 3,2 and occupies 2 grid squares (2,2
                            and 3,2).
       string
           A string is a series of characters enclosed in double quotes.  A
           string may not contain newlines or escaped double quotes.
       There are several parameters that may affect the size, shape and
       color of objects when they are displayed.  These parameters are
       scoped so that they only alter objects defined later in the same
       scope.  Therefore, parameter settings at the top of a configuration
       file affect the entire scene, unless they are changed later in the
       file.  Most of these parameters are also resources.
       _barLength int
           The side length of the _bar and _stack blocks.  Default is 28.
       _barHeight int
           The maximum height of a _bar and _stack blocks.  Default is 80.
       _baseColor color
           The color of _bar, _grid and _stack base planes.  Default is
           rgbi:0.15/0.15/0.15.
       _baseHeight int
           The height of _bar, _grid and _stack base planes.  Default is 2.
       _gapWidth int
           The gap between blocks in a _bar object in the X-axis.  The
           default is 8.
       _gapDepth int
           The gap between blocks in a _bar object in the Z-axis.  The
           default is 8.
       _gapLabel int
           The gap between the base of a _bar object, and any metric or
           instance labels.  The default is 6.
       _gridWidth int
           The minimum width of a _grid column.  The default is 20.
       _gridDepth int
           The minimum depth of a _grid row.  The default is 20.
       _labelMargin int
           The margin around a _label object.  The default is 5.
       _labelColor color
           The color of _label and _bar labels.  The default is white.
       _marginWidth int
           The extra width of a _bar, _grid and _stack base plane beyond the
           objects on the plane.  The default is 8.
       _marginDepth int
           The extra depth of a _bar, _grid and _stack base plane beyond the
           objects on the plane.  The default is 8.
       _pipeLength int
           Total length of a _pipe.  The default is the value of _barHeight.
       _scale real
           The scale applied to the entire scene.  This parameter may not be
           used within any objects, only at the top of the configuration
           file.  The default is 1.0.
       To simplify the specification of colors, a _colorList and a
       _colorScale may be used to define colors for an object which has
       metrics associated with it, i.e.  _bar, _stack or _pipe.  A color
       list may be defined within an object, or named and defined at the top
       of a configuration file.  A named color list may then be referenced
       within multiple objects:
       _colorList name ( color [color...] )
           Associate the colors with the color list name.  The assignment of
           colors to blocks depends on the type of an object.  For example,
           the color list called foo has the same color three times:
           _colorList foo ( red rgbi:1.0/0.0/0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 )
       _colorScale name color ( color real [color real...] )
           Associate the colors and reals with the color list name.  The
           initial color is the default color of the object.  The object
           will change color to the other colors when the normalized value
           of the object is equal to or greater than each real.  Therefore,
           each real must be larger than the previous real, and should be in
           the range 0.0 to 1.0.  This scale gradually changes from blue to
           red:
           _colorScale coldToHot blue ( rgbi:0.5/0.0/1.0 0.3
                                        purple 0.6
                                        rgbi:1.0/0.0/0.5 0.8
                                        red 0.95)
       There are several different object types which could be found in a
       pmview scene: _bar, _stack, _pipe, _grid, _link, and _label.  There
       is also _xing which is a special type of the _link.  The _bar, _stack
       and _pipe objects are modulated by metric values, a _label is fixed
       text, _link and _xing are interconnects and a _grid is a container of
       objects, including other _grid objects, which controls the layout of
       the scene.  A _grid object is only required if there are two or more
       objects in the scene.
       _bar, _grid and _stack objects may have base planes which provide a
       point of reference for the blocks as they change height.  A label can
       be applied to the base plane _grid object if it is _shown with:
               _baseLabel name|string
       _baseLabel should be used within the scope of the relevant _bar,
       _grid or _stack object.  The first ``\n'' characters in the string
       will be replaced by a new line.  Subsequent ``\n'' characters will be
       ignored.
       For a scene to be valid it must contain at least one modulated
       object.
       The objects are defined as:
       _bar [options] ( [metric-list] [color-list] [label-list] )
           A _bar object represents a collection of blocks.  The number of
           blocks depends on the number of metrics and metric instances
           assigned to the object.  By default, the blocks are modulated by
           changing the height of each block.  Alternatively, blocks may be
           modulated by changing color, or both height and color.  Each
           color in the color-list is assigned to each metric.  Therefore,
           multiple instances of the one metric will have the same color.
           The options that may be passed to a _bar object are:
           pos The position of the _bar object within the current _grid
               object.
           _col|_row
               Position the blocks so that each instance is in a column
               (_col) or a row (_row).  This implies that each different
               metric is in a separate row or column, respectively.  The
               default is _col.
           _show|_hide
               Is the base plane visible? Default is _show.
           _ymod|_colormod|_colorymod
               Modulate the blocks by adjusting their height (_ymod), color
               (_colormod) or both height and color (_colorymod).
           _cube|_cylinder
               Set the shape of the blocks.  The default is _cube.
           _groupbymetric|_groupbyinst|_groupbyrow||groupbycol
               Set the grouping of blocks when launching other tools. For
               tools like pmchart(1) some views may generate many small
               charts which cannot be drawn entirely within the screen.
               Another problem is it may be more appropriate to generate
               charts with the same instance in each chart, rather then the
               same metric.  The group specifiers control the algorithm used
               so that a separate chart will be drawn for each _metrics
               specification (_groupbymetric), for the first, second etc.
               instance of each _metric (_groupbyinst), or by the rows and
               columns of the _bar object depending on _row or _col.  The
               default is _groupbymetric.
           The options must be specified in this order, although preceding
           options are not required.  Therefore, this is legal:
               _bar _hide _cylinder ( ... )
           The metrics, colors and labels are specified within the brackets
           in any order.  Only the metric-list is mandatory.
           metric-list
               A _bar metric list contains a list of metric names,
               normalization values and an optional label for the metric:
               _metrics ( metric real [string] [metric real [string]...] )
           color-list
               A _bar color list may be a named color list that was defined
               earlier, or an unnamed color list.  A _colorScale list should
               be used when using _colormod or _colorymod modulation.
               Therefore, the syntax for color lists within a _bar object
               are any of:
               _colorList name
               _colorList ( color [color...] )
               _colorScale name
               _colorScale color ( color real [color real...] )
           label-list
               In addition to labels for each metric in the metric-list,
               metric and instance labels may be defined using _metriclabels
               and _instlabels statements.  The position of the labels
               around the _bar object depends on the _row or _col
               orientation of metrics and instances, and whether the label
               is read _towards the _bar object, or _away.  The default is
               _towards.
               _metriclabels [_away|_towards] ( name|string [name|string...] )
               _instlabels [_away|_towards] ( name|string
               [name|string...] )
       _grid [pos] [_show|_hide] ( objects )
           A _grid object is a container for objects, including other _grid
           objects.  The rows and columns of a _grid object are resized to
           the largest object in the row or column.  If an object spans
           multiple rows and/or columns, those rows and columns may be
           partly resized to contain the object.  However, the resizing of
           rows and columns for objects occupying multiple rows and columns
           occurs after resizing for objects occupying only one grid square.
           A collision between objects occupying the same squares will be
           reported as an error message and the later object will be
           ignored.
           The options to a _grid object control the position (pos) of the
           _grid object in the parent _grid, and indicate whether to _show
           or _hide the _grid base plane.  By default, the base plane is
           hidden.
           The parameters described above may be specified within the
           brackets of a _grid object, however they only apply to the
           objects within the _grid, not the _grid itself.  For a parameter
           to be applied to a _grid object, it must be specified before the
           _grid object declaration.
       _label [options] string
           A _label object draws the contexts of string at the location,
           orientation and size specified in the options:
           pos The position of the _label object in the current _grid
               object.
           _left|_right|_up|_down
               The orientation of the string.  The direction indicates the
               direction the label is read.  Therefore, _right is the
               default since the string is read from left to right.
           _small|_medium|_large
               The font size.  The default is _medium.
       _link pos [string]
           A _link object draws a straight or L-shaped horizontal round
           ``pipe'' with diameter equal to 80% of the _baseHeight of an
           enclosing _grid.  The properties of the object are defined by the
           options:
           pos sets both the position of the _link on the grid and its
               shape.  _link starts in the column and row on the _grid
               specified by first two numbers in the pos and spans the
               number of columns and rows set by the second two numbers. The
               alignment value is used to decide the orientation of the link
               (links are always aligned at the center): east and west links
               are straight and going from left to right, north and south
               links are straight and going from far end of the grid to near
               end, northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest links are
               L-shaped and connect the corresponding points of the compass,
               i.e. a northeast link takes on the general shape of the Latin
               letter ``L''.
           string
               sets the ``tag'' for the _link which will be displayed in the
               text window when the pointer is over the link.
       _pipe pos ( [metric-list] [color-list] [tag] )
           A _pipe object represent a set of cylinders, placed on top of
           each other and oriented parallel to the base plane. The diameter
           of a _pipe is equal to 80% of _baseHeight.  The number of blocks
           is dependent on the number of metric instances in the metric-
           list.  The colors in the color-list are assigned in turn to each
           cylinder in the _pipe.  The length of the _pipe is defined by the
           _pipeLength.
           pos defines the position of the _pipe on the enclosing _grid and
               its orientation with alignment field used to define at which
               end of the pipe to stack the colored cylinders. The cylinders
               are stacked at the corresponding point of the compass and the
               pipe's direction is from the point of the compass towards the
               center of the compass. Only east, west, north, and south are
               valid values for the pipe's alignment.
       The metrics, colors and label may be specified within the brackets in
       any order.  Only the metric-list is mandatory.
       metric-list
           A _pipe metric list contains a list of metric names and
           normalization values:
           _metrics ( metric real [metric real...] )
       color-list
           A _pipe color list may be named color list that was defined
           earlier, or an unnamed color list:
           _colorList name
           _colorList ( color [color...] )
       tag A _pipe may have a ``tag'' for the filler block (unanimated block
           on the ``other'' end of the pipe) which will be displayed in the
           text window when the pointer is over that end of the pipe.
           _pipeTag name|string
       _stack [options] ( [metric-list] [color-list] [label] )
           A _stack object represents a set of blocks placed vertically on
           top of each other.  The number of blocks is dependent on the
           number of metric instances in the metric-list.  The colors in the
           color-list are assigned to each block in the _stack.  By default,
           the height of the _stack will be the sum of the height of each
           block.  The options that may be passed to a _stack object are:
           pos The position of the _stack object within the current _grid
               object.
           _show|_hide
               Is the base plane visible? Default is _show.
           _utilmod|_fillmod
               Force the height of the stack to always be the maximum
               height.  This is achieved by normalizing the height of each
               block (_utilmod), or by adding a grey block to the top of the
               stack (_fillmod).
           _cube|_cylinder
               Set the shape of the blocks.  The default is _cube.
           The options must be specified in this order, although preceding
           options are not required.  Therefore, this is legal:
               _stack 1 1 _north _utilmod ( ... )
           The metrics, colors and label may be specified within the
           brackets in any order.  Only the metric-list is mandatory.
           metric-list
               A _stack metric list contains a list of metric names and
               normalization values:
               _metrics ( metric real [metric real...] )
           color-list
               A _stack color list may be named color list that was defined
               earlier, or an unnamed color list:
               _colorList name
               _colorList ( color [color...] )
           label
               A _fillmod type _stack may have a label for the filler block:
               _stackLabel name|string
       _xing col row columns rows dir1 ... dir4
           A _xing is a special kind of link which is used to draw a pair of
           links which cross each other. To convey the visual impression
           that the links do not join, one of the links is drawn as a
           ``broken'' cylinder.  col and row define the position on the
           enclosing grid.  columns and rows define the size of the bounding
           box. The end points of the crossing cylinders are placed exactly
           in the center of the corner cells of the bounding box and four
           small cylinders or stubs are used to join the perimeter of the
           bounding box with the end points on the crossing cylinders. Four
           dir values define the orientation of the stubs, starting at the
           upper left corner of the _xing and proceeding clockwise, such
           that respective stubs are used to join the point of the compass
           with the center on the cell (see example).

EXAMPLE         top

       This simple example illustrates the use of parameters and different
       object types:
          pmview Version 2.1
          # Use a lighter grey for the base planes
          _baseColor rgbi:0.5/0.5/0.5
          # Define colors for CPU object
          _colorList cpu ( blue2 red2 yellow2 cyan2 green2 )
          # The top grid object, but hide it from view
          _grid _hide (
          # Show the current load in a bar object
             _bar 0 0 (
                 _baseLabel "Load averages over a\n1, 5 and 15 minute interval"
                 _metrics (
                    kernel.all.load[1] 1 "1"
                    kernel.all.load[5] 1 "5"
                    kernel.all.load[15] 1 "15"
               )
               _colorList ( blue blue blue )
              )
          # Add a label below the load bars
              _label 0 1 "Load"
          # Change the color of the base plane for later objects
              _baseColor pink
          # Show the CPU usage over all CPUs in a utilization stack
              _stack 2 0 _south _utilmod (
               _baseLabel "CPU Utilization over all CPUs"
               _metrics (
                    kernel.all.cpu.user 1000
                    kernel.all.cpu.sys 1000
                    kernel.all.cpu.intr 1000
                    kernel.all.cpu.wait.total 1000
                    kernel.all.cpu.idle 1000
               )
               _colorList cpu
              )
          # Add a label below the CPU stack
              _label 2 1 "CPU"
          # Create a separate grid for links and pipes
              _marginWidth 1
              _marginDepth 1
              _gridSpace  12
              _grid 0 3 5 4 _hide (
               _pipeLength 12
               _baseHeight 12
               # Add  a pipe and a link with western orientation
               _pipe 0 0 west (
                   _pipeTag "West pipe"
                   _metrics (
                    kernel.all.cpu.user 1000
                    kernel.all.cpu.sys 1000
                    kernel.all.cpu.idle 1000
                   )
                   _colorList cpu
               )
               _link 0 2 west "West link"
               # Add xing
               _xing 1 0 3 3 west east east west
               # Add a link and a pipe with eastern orientation
               _pipe 4 0 east (
                   _pipeTag "East Pipe"
                   _metrics (
                    kernel.all.cpu.user 1000
                    kernel.all.cpu.sys 1000
                    kernel.all.cpu.idle 1000
                   )
                   _colorList cpu
               )
               _link 4 2 east "East link"
              )
          )

SEE ALSO         top

       pmview(1).

COLOPHON         top

       This page is part of the PCP (Performance Co-Pilot) project.
       Information about the project can be found at ⟨http://www.pcp.io/⟩.
       If you have a bug report for this manual page, send it to
       pcp@oss.sgi.com.  This page was obtained from the project's upstream
       Git repository ⟨git://git.pcp.io/pcp⟩ on 2017-07-05.  If you discover
       any rendering problems in this HTML version of the page, or you
       believe there is a better or more up-to-date source for the page, or
       you have corrections or improvements to the information in this
       COLOPHON (which is not part of the original manual page), send a mail
       to man-pages@man7.org
Performance Co-Pilot                                               PMVIEW(5)

Pages that refer to this page: pmview(1)