Using PHP and DTrace
PHP can be configured with DTrace static probes on platforms that support DTrace Dynamic Tracing.
Configuring PHP for DTrace Static Probes
Refer to external platform specific documentation for enabling operating system DTrace support. For example, on Oracle Linux boot a UEK3 kernel and do:
# modprobe fasttrap
# chmod 666 /dev/dtrace/helper
Instead of using chmod, you could instead use an
ACL package rule to limit device access to a specific user.
Build PHP with the --enable-dtrace configuration parameter:
# ./configure --enable-dtrace ...
# make
# make install
This enables the static probes in core PHP. Any PHP extensions that provide their own probes should be built separately as shared extensions.
DTrace Static Probes in Core PHP
| Probe Name | Probe Description | Probe Arguments |
|---|---|---|
request-startup |
Fires when a request starts. | char *file, char *request_uri, char *request_method |
request-shutdown |
Fires when a request shutdown. | char *file, char *request_uri, char *request_method |
compile-file-entry |
Fires when the compilation of a script starts. | char *compile_file, char *compile_file_translated |
compile-file-return |
Fires when the compilation of a script finishes. | char *compile_file, char *compile_file_translated |
execute-entry |
Fires when an opcode array is to be executed. For example, it fires on function calls, includes, and generator resumes. | char *request_file, int lineno |
execute-return |
Fires after execution of an opcode array. | char *request_file, int lineno |
function-entry |
Fires when the PHP engine enters a PHP function or method call. | char *function_name, char *request_file, int lineno, char *classname, char *scope |
function-return |
Fires when the PHP engine returns from a PHP function or method call. | char *function_name, char *request_file, int lineno, char *classname, char *scope |
exception-thrown |
Fires when an exception is thrown. | char *classname |
exception-caught |
Fires when an exception is caught. | char *classname |
error |
Fires when an error occurs, regardless of the error_reporting level. | char *errormsg, char *request_file, int lineno |
PHP extensions may also have additional static probes.
Listing DTrace Static Probes in PHP
To list available probes, start a PHP process and then run:
# dtrace -l
The output will be similar to:
ID PROVIDER MODULE FUNCTION NAME
[ . . . ]
4 php15271 php dtrace_compile_file compile-file-entry
5 php15271 php dtrace_compile_file compile-file-return
6 php15271 php zend_error error
7 php15271 php ZEND_CATCH_SPEC_CONST_CV_HANDLER exception-caught
8 php15271 php zend_throw_exception_internal exception-thrown
9 php15271 php dtrace_execute_ex execute-entry
10 php15271 php dtrace_execute_internal execute-entry
11 php15271 php dtrace_execute_ex execute-return
12 php15271 php dtrace_execute_internal execute-return
13 php15271 php dtrace_execute_ex function-entry
14 php15271 php dtrace_execute_ex function-return
15 php15271 php php_request_shutdown request-shutdown
16 php15271 php php_request_startup request-startup
The Provider column values consist of php and
the process id of the currently running PHP process.
If the Apache web server is running, the module name might be, for example, libphp5.so, and there would be multiple blocks of listings, one per running Apache process.
The Function column refers to PHP's internal C implementation function names where each provider is located.
If a PHP process is not running, then no PHP probes will be shown.
DTrace with PHP Example
This example shows the basics of the DTrace D scripting language.
Example #1 all_probes.d for tracing all PHP Static Probes with DTrace
#!/usr/sbin/dtrace -Zs
#pragma D option quiet
php*:::compile-file-entry
{
printf("PHP compile-file-entry\n");
printf(" compile_file %s\n", copyinstr(arg0));
printf(" compile_file_translated %s\n", copyinstr(arg1));
}
php*:::compile-file-return
{
printf("PHP compile-file-return\n");
printf(" compile_file %s\n", copyinstr(arg0));
printf(" compile_file_translated %s\n", copyinstr(arg1));
}
php*:::error
{
printf("PHP error\n");
printf(" errormsg %s\n", copyinstr(arg0));
printf(" request_file %s\n", copyinstr(arg1));
printf(" lineno %d\n", (int)arg2);
}
php*:::exception-caught
{
printf("PHP exception-caught\n");
printf(" classname %s\n", copyinstr(arg0));
}
php*:::exception-thrown
{
printf("PHP exception-thrown\n");
printf(" classname %s\n", copyinstr(arg0));
}
php*:::execute-entry
{
printf("PHP execute-entry\n");
printf(" request_file %s\n", copyinstr(arg0));
printf(" lineno %d\n", (int)arg1);
}
php*:::execute-return
{
printf("PHP execute-return\n");
printf(" request_file %s\n", copyinstr(arg0));
printf(" lineno %d\n", (int)arg1);
}
php*:::function-entry
{
printf("PHP function-entry\n");
printf(" function_name %s\n", copyinstr(arg0));
printf(" request_file %s\n", copyinstr(arg1));
printf(" lineno %d\n", (int)arg2);
printf(" classname %s\n", copyinstr(arg3));
printf(" scope %s\n", copyinstr(arg4));
}
php*:::function-return
{
printf("PHP function-return\n");
printf(" function_name %s\n", copyinstr(arg0));
printf(" request_file %s\n", copyinstr(arg1));
printf(" lineno %d\n", (int)arg2);
printf(" classname %s\n", copyinstr(arg3));
printf(" scope %s\n", copyinstr(arg4));
}
php*:::request-shutdown
{
printf("PHP request-shutdown\n");
printf(" file %s\n", copyinstr(arg0));
printf(" request_uri %s\n", copyinstr(arg1));
printf(" request_method %s\n", copyinstr(arg2));
}
php*:::request-startup
{
printf("PHP request-startup\n");
printf(" file %s\n", copyinstr(arg0));
printf(" request_uri %s\n", copyinstr(arg1));
printf(" request_method %s\n", copyinstr(arg2));
}
This script uses the -Z option to
dtrace, allowing it to be run when there is no
PHP process executing. If this option were omitted the script
would immediately terminate because it knows none of the probes to
be monitored are in existence.
The script traces all core PHP static probe points throughout the duration of a running PHP script. Run the D script:
# ./all_probes.d
Run a PHP script or application. The monitoring D script will output each probe's arguments as it fires.
When monitoring is complete, the D script can be terminated with a
^C.
On multi-CPU machines the probe ordering might not appear to be sequential. This depends on which CPU was processing the probes, and how threads migrate across CPUs. Displaying probe time stamps will help reduce confusion, for example:
php*:::function-entry
{
printf("%lld: PHP function-entry ", walltimestamp);
[ . . .]
}
