Merge pull request #23 from talex5/docs

Add more documentation

Author: talex5

README.md

@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 eio-trace can be used to record and display traces of programs using the [Eio][] library
 (requires Eio 0.14 or later).
 
+## Installation
+
 To install eio-trace:
 
 ```
@@ -11,6 +13,36 @@ cd eio-trace
 dune build
 ```
 
+### macOS
+
+These instructions will walk you through installing the system dependencies necessary in order to install eio-trace's dependencies from OPAM.
+
+These instructions make use of [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/), adapt them to MacPorts, Fink, etc., if needed.
+
+First ensure everything is up-to-date:
+```sh
+brew update
+brew upgrade
+opam update
+```
+
+Then install the required packages:
+```sh
+brew install bash cairo gtk+3 m4 pkg-config libffi
+```
+
+Consider restarting your terminal session at this stage.
+
+You can now install eio-trace's dependencies.
+
+If installing `conf-gtk3` fails with a `libffi` version error, run the following before trying again:
+```sh
+export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/usr/local/Cellar/libffi/3.4.4/lib/pkgconfig
+```
+Update the version number to match the currently installed version of libffi.
+
+## Tracing a program
+
 To run an Eio program and display the trace:
 
 ```
@@ -20,13 +52,15 @@ dune exec -- eio-trace run -- myprog ...
 You might like to start by tracing the example that comes with eio-trace:
 
 ```
-dune exec -- eio-trace run -- ./_build/default/examples/net/main.exe
+dune build && dune exec -- eio-trace run -- ./_build/default/examples/net/main.exe
 ```
 
 <p align='center'>
   <img src="./doc/net.svg"/>
 </p>
 
+Scrolling with the mouse or touchpad will zoom in or out of the diagram.
+
 To record a trace:
 
 ```
@@ -50,35 +84,42 @@ To convert a trace to SVG format:
 dune exec -- eio-trace render -f trace.fxt trace.svg
 ```
 
-[Eio]: https://github.com/ocaml-multicore/eio
-[Perfetto]: https://ui.perfetto.dev/
+## Reading traces
 
-## macOS
+Eio fibers are shown as horizontal bars.
+Green regions show when the fiber is running.
+Lighter-green regions highlight particular operations.
+Dark grey regions indicate that the fiber is suspended (allowing other fibers to run).
+Only one fiber in a domain can be running at a time.
 
-These instructions will walk you through installing the system dependencies necessary in order to install eio-trace's dependencies from OPAM.
+When a new fiber is created, a vertical green line links the parent fiber to the child.
 
-These instructions make use of [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/), adapt them to MacPorts, Fink, etc., if needed.
+Cancellation contexts (including switches) are shown as brackets.
+Switched can be named using `Switch.run ~name`. Unnamed switches are shown as "switch".
+A context being cancelled is indicated by a vertical red line.
 
-First ensure everything is up-to-date:
-```sh
-brew update
-brew upgrade
-opam update
-```
+Domain-wide events, such as garbage collection and waiting for events,
+are shown as yellow regions behind all the fibers in the domain.
+Nested events get progressively darker yellow.
+When there are multiple domains, they are shown stacked vertically:
 
-Then install the required packages:
-```sh
-brew install bash cairo gtk+3 m4 pkg-config libffi
-```
+<p align='center'>
+  <img src="./doc/gc.svg"/>
+</p>
 
-Consider restarting your terminal session at this stage.
+In the above trace, the upper domain performed GC while suspended
+(the dark "minor" region in the top right, inside the "suspend-domain" region).
+This is possible because each domain has a "backup" thread that handles GC while the domain is suspended.
 
-You can now install eio-trace's dependencies.
+## Limitations
 
-### lablgtk3
+- OCaml 5.1 can [deadlock when tracing multiple domains](https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/issues/12897). This should be fixed in OCaml 5.2.
+- Events are reported per-domain, but not per-systhread.
+  Events generated in systhreads will get mixed up and cannot be shown correctly.
+  They will either appear attached to whatever fiber happens to be running, or shown as domain-level events.
+- If events are produced too fast, some will be lost. eio-trace is unlikely to handle this well.
+- The rendering is not optimised yet and may become quite slow on larger traces.
+
+[Eio]: https://github.com/ocaml-multicore/eio
+[Perfetto]: https://ui.perfetto.dev/
 
-If installing `conf-gtk3` fails with a `libffi` version error, run the following before trying again:
-```sh
-export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/usr/local/Cellar/libffi/3.4.4/lib/pkgconfig
-```
-Update the version number to match the currently installed version of libffi.