Rethink category "Zero-code instrumentation"

[svrnm]

When we discussed separating the language API & SDK docs from the "zero code/automatic" instrumentations we already knew that this second category is not optimal, since it also encapsulates solutions like Spring Boot Starter who are not fully "zero code", e.g. you still need to modify some config files or top level code, or code is changed at compile time, just not by a human.

This now gets even more complicated, since we have the go compile time instrumentation project, the ebpf profiler, and the ebpf instrumentation (beyla), which all kind of fit into the same category but stretch the "zero code" definition.

I would like to kick off this discussion to get answers for the following questions:

• can we keep one top level category for all the solutions we have to add instrumentation to code, which are not the APIs&SDKs?
• if we can do that, what would be the name of such a category? Some suggestions: "Instrumentation Helpers", "Instrumentation Tools", "Instrumentation Ecosystem", "Application Instrumentation"?

[tiffany76]

I think "Instrumentation tools" could work.

I wasn't coming up with anything on my own, so I asked ChatGPT if it had any ideas. Here are a couple options to add to the list:

• "Assisted instrumentation"
• "Instrumentation assistants"
• "Automatic & assisted instrumentation".

"Application instrumentation" and "Instrumentation ecosystem" might overlap with SDKs.

[theletterf]

I like Assisted instrumentation. It encompasses zero-code, automatic profilers, and a bunch of other stuff.

[svrnm]

yeah, "Assisted" or "assistant" sounds good. I mean it has kind of an AI vibe since everything is an assistant right now but still, it's much better grouping for those than most of the ones we had before 👍

[chalin]

As discussed during today's Comms meeting, I'd vote for:

• Automatic & assisted instrumentation

I'd want to set the expectation that, at least for some languages, the instrumentation is fully automatic. Vs. just "assisted instrumentation".

[svrnm]

I actually like that solution, it takes away the ambiguity we created with "zero code" but also solves (some) of the issues with "automatic" since there are some solutions that assist you but are not fully automatic.

[tiffany76]

I also like "Automatic & assisted instrumentation".

[cartermp]

I like this one as well.

[svrnm]

how would we call it in the URL then? /automatic/ ? /assisted/ ? /automatic-and-assisted-instrumentation/ ? /automatic-and-assisted/ ?

[cartermp]

I would probably go with "automatic" as the URL. Especially since the term "automatic instrumentation" is used so broadly.