Traceur: Elevate Android Performance with Google’s Open-Source Profiling Library

Robert Harris -

In the rapidly evolving world of Android development, ensuring optimal performance is paramount. Enter Traceur, a robust performance tracking library, open-sourced by Google. Designed with Kotlin and Jetpack Compose, Traceur simplifies the performance tracking journey in Android applications, offering a user-friendly interface.

Traceur's notable features encompass:

  1. Multi-dimensional Performance Tracking: Monitor crucial performance metrics including CPU, memory, network, and battery with ease.
  2. Data Collection and Analysis: Seamlessly collect and dissect performance data to drive informed optimizations.
  3. Visualization of Performance Data: Transform raw data into visual insights, making performance analysis intuitive and actionable.

Embarking on the Traceur expedition requires a straightforward dependency addition to your Android project:

dependencies {
    implementation 'com.google.android:traceur:1.2.0'
}

A snippet of code elucidates Traceur’s ease of use and powerful functionality:

// Kickstart Performance Tracking
Traceur.start()

// Execute some code
doSomething()

// Cease Performance Tracking
Traceur.stop()

// Retrieve Performance Data
val performanceData = Traceur.getPerformanceData()

// Dissect Performance Data
val cpuData = performanceData.cpu
val memoryData = performanceData.memory
val networkData = performanceData.network
val batteryData = performanceData.battery

// Visualize Performance Data
Traceur.visualizePerformanceData()

Upon executing the above, Traceur begins its performance vigil, halting post doSomething() execution. Subsequently, you may extract, analyze, or visualize the performance data to glean insights.

Customizing data collection and analysis is a breeze with Traceur. For instance:

// Adjust Data Collection Interval
Traceur.setSamplingInterval(1000)

// Define Data Collection Limit
Traceur.setSamplingLimit(1000)

// Specify Analysis Method
Traceur.setAnalyzer(object : Analyzer {
    override fun analyze(performanceData: PerformanceData) {
        // Delve into Performance Data
    }
})