What's New in JProfiler 4.0

Change release:

Please see the change log for a detailed list of changes.

JProfiler 4.0 introduces the following notable new features:

Support for the new profiling interface in Java 1.5 and 1.6 (JVMTI). While the old profiling interface (JVMPI) is still supported in Java 1.5, it will be removed in Java 1.6. Also, the JVMTI has a number of advantages: Taking a heap snapshot is much more stable and requires less memory than with JVMPI. It also works with the standard garbage collector. Based on the new functionality in JVMTI, JProfiler offers a new "All objects" view that shows all objects on the heap. This provides useful supplemental information to the "Recorded objects" view. The "All objects" view is only visible when you profile with Java >=1.5.
A non-blocking startup mode. You can now start your application server with profiling enabled and attach JProfiler at any later time. JProfiler 4 offers on-demand profiling since it now creates a very small overhead when CPU and allocation recording are switched off. In addition, with JProfiler 4 we now recommend to profile with the hotspot compiler enabled. Furthermore, JProfiler 4 consumes less memory and is faster, even when you record CPU and allocation data. All of this means that you can use JProfiler in a production environment, should the need occur.
Aggregation level selectors in the call tree and hot spot views. You can choose whether you would like to display methods, classes, packages or J2EE components. The screenshot below shows the call tree for the "packages" aggregation level. As visual enhancements to the call tree, informative type icons are displayed for all nodes and a percentage bar is now drawn after the icon that gives quick visual feedback about total and inherent time. Filtered classes are now drawn with a red marker.
The call graph can be calculated for all aggregation levels as well. In the example below, the aggregation level is set to "classes".
Aggregation level selectors for the "Recorded objects" view, the "All objects" view and the classes view of the heap walker. Available aggregation levels are "classes", "packages" and "J2EE components".
J2EE component detection. JProfiler can now recognize servlets, JSPs and EJBs and displays them with separate icons and display names in the call trees and hot spot backtraces. This works for all application servers without any additional configuration. Note the blue triangle for the JSP page and the red triangle for the EJB method. JProfiler substitutes container-generated class names with file names of JSPs and the EJB interface names. The makes the interpretation of the call tree much easier.
The J2EE component level aggregation shows a reduced view through the J2EE stack. This allows you to take a high-level view with the call tree or call graph.
JProfiler can now measure JDBC, JMS and JNDI calls and annotate them into the call tree. This works independently of the implementation of drivers and providers and does not need any configuration. All J2EE service calls are grouped by their type and subsequently by their description.
Call tree splitting for request URLs. JProfiler can now split the call tree every time a new request URL is passed to a servlet or JSP. The exact splitting criteria can be configured or even performed with a custom handler through the API. This feature allows you to analyze the call tree separately for separate classes of requests. In addition, it helps you to pinpoint URLs that are performance bottlenecks.
Hot spot types. Previously, JProfiler would only display hot spots for method calls. Now, JProfiler can also calculate hotspots for JDBC calls, JMS calls, JNDI calls and URL invocations. This feature allows you to analyze the call tree separately for separate classes of requests. In addition, it helps you to pinpoint URLs that are performance bottlenecks. Below you see a list of URL hot spots.
Together with the aggregation level, you have a powerful instrument for determining where performance bottlenecks come from. The screenshot below shows a list of JDBC hot spots with the J2EE component level aggregation selected for the backtraces.
Bookmarks. Often it is important compare different views at the same time. In JProfiler 4, you can set a bookmark in one view and have it displayed in all time-resolved views at the same point in time. You can add a marker at the current time with the bookmark toolbar button or place markers at times in the past with the context menu. Bookmarks have a description that is displayed in a tooltip window when you hover with the mouse over the bookmark line. All bookmarks can be renamed manually.
In addition to manual bookmarks, JProfiler sets automatic bookmarks when you start or stop CPU or allocation recording. If you would like to set bookmarks programmatically, you can do that with the profiling API.
Recording of object allocation times. You can now optionally record the allocation times for recorded objects. This allocation time will be displayed in the reference graph and the data view of the heap walker. What's most important, you can now sort your object sets chronologically, either oldest first or newest first.
Time view in the heap walker. The new time view in the heap walker shows you a time-resolved histogram of object allocations. You can select multiple time intervals and create new object sets based on your selection. Together with the new bookmark feature, it's now possible to answer a new class of memory-related questions.
The heap walker can now calculate the retained size of single objects or object sets. The retained size is the amount of memory that would be freed if the object or objects set in question would be removed. In this way you can determine how much memory is really held on to by one or multiple objects. The retained size is displayed in the reference graph and the data view of the heap walker.
The retained size for an entire object set can be found in the title area of the heap walker. If you're trying to reduce memory consumption, you can sort object sets by the retained size to find the objects that will lead to the biggest savings.
You can now select multiple references in the cumulated references view of the heap walker. This enhances the flexibility when creating new object sets.
A hierarchical top-to-bottom layouter was added to the reference graph in the heap walker. This makes it easier to read long chains of references.
For Java <=1.4 (JVMPI), you can now optionally not record primitive object data in the heap walker. This reduces the memory requirement during a heap snapshot. When profiling with Java >=1.5 (JVMTI), primitive object data is always requested on demand, so this option will not be visible.
Integration of recorded objects view and allocation views. To make it easier to jump from the recorded object view to the allocation views, the context menu offers actions for calculating the allocation call tree or the allocation hot spots for a selected class. The allocation call tree and the allocation hot spots are now class-resolved by default.
Threshold for the call tree. In order to be able to focus on the most time-consuming methods, you can define a threshold for the inherent time in the call tree view settings. Only methods with an inherent time greater than the defined percentage of the total time will be displayed. Intermediate method nodes below the threshold that have to be drawn in order to complete the call tree are displayed with a grayed out icon.
Remove unconnected methods in the call graph. When you work with the call graph, you can end up with lots of unconnected methods if you delete call nodes. To help you clean up the call graph, an action was added that removes all methods that are not connected to the selected method.