Question 1

How do I set up jprof for my Love2D game?

Accepted Answer

Copy jprof.lua and MessagePack.lua into your game directory, require jprof, and annotate your code with push and pop calls. Ensure zones are nested within a 'frame' zone in love.update and love.draw for the viewer to work correctly, as outlined in the documentation.

Question 2

jprof vs other Lua profilers like LuaProfiler – which is better for Love2D?

Accepted Answer

jprof is specifically tailored for Love2D with luajit, addressing debug hook unreliability, while general Lua profilers may fail. jprof offers manual, low-overhead profiling with a dedicated viewer, but requires code annotations, making it a better fit for Love2D despite the extra work.

Question 3

Can jprof profile memory usage accurately in real-time?

Accepted Answer

In file-based mode, memory tracking is accurate, but in real-time mode, jprof's own garbage generation can affect measurements. The README advises capturing to file first to check for discrepancies and avoid skewed data during live sessions.

Question 4

How to view jprof data without the Love2D viewer?

Accepted Answer

The viewer is a separate Love2D application, and there's no built-in alternative. You'd need to parse the saved MessagePack file manually or use external tools, but the viewer is optimized for visualization with flame graphs and averaging modes.

Question 5

Is jprof compatible with standard Lua or only Love2D's LuaJIT?

Accepted Answer

jprof is designed for Love2D's LuaJIT environment and may not work reliably with standard Lua due to its reliance on luajit-specific behaviors and Love2D's frame structure. The README focuses on Love2D compatibility.

Question 6

How to disable jprof for release builds to avoid overhead?

Accepted Answer

Set the PROF_CAPTURE flag to false before requiring jprof. This replaces all profiling functions with no-ops, allowing annotations to remain in the code without any runtime cost, as described in the zero-cost disabling feature.

jprof

What is jprof?

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Frequently Asked Questions