Dynamic analysis of program performance (DAP) in a fortran batch environment

‘Frequency counts add an important new dimension to Fortran programs; indeed, it is difficult to express in words how “eye opening” they are’ (Knuth1). Given a source program as input, a DAP environment effects changes to the execution of the program so that when the object code is run, the output of the program includes a list of the executable statements and their execution counts (a profile). By extending this basic principle so that the analysis also includes a time estimate for the statement (generated from the code associated with the statement) and a measure of the relative importance of the statement (with respect to the total run time of the object) the DAP report not only becomes an effective user software aid, but, also, an invaluable research tool. This paper discusses the development of such a DAP environment within a Fortran Batch System.