Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
The target menu
Use the target pop-up to select the process or processes to be recorded. When you profile a project from Xcode,
your project is pre-selected for you here. But you can profile any running process by attaching Instruments to it,
as shown in Figure 16.4.
Manual attaching is more limited than project profiling. For example, system applications such as iTunes, Front
Row, DVD Player, and QuickTime are deliberately cloaked from Instruments, and you can't collect data from
them. Some instruments rely on debug symbol tables. Most applications don't include these, so you can't profile
or test them at a low level.
FIGURE 16.4
When you are attaching to a process, the pop-up shows all running processes, including ones you won't usually
want to profile.
Like many features in Instruments, the target menu has hidden depths, and you can make very specific selec-
tions. Figure 16.5 shows the Edit Active Target sub-option in the target menu. You can define the environment
variables for the target, add new variables and launch arguments, and select one of the possible consoles for the
application.
FIGURE 16.5
Working with target settings
