How do I profile a Python script?

Profiling Techniques: Unlock Efficiency!

Command-Line Profiling: Quick & Dirty!

Make the command-line your friend:

python -m cProfile -o output_stats.prof myscript.py
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With -o, you can save the output for later like squirrels saving nuts for winter. For module-level profiling, unleash:

python -m cProfile -o output_stats.prof -m mymodule
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Use profile.bat files for quick repeated profile missions.

Profiling the Spiders: Multi-Threaded Profiling

Embrace thread-specific profiling with cProfile.Profile(), or use threading.setprofile() for an overview of your multi-threaded applications. Create a ProfiledThread subclass:

import cProfile
import threading

class ProfiledThread(threading.Thread):
    def run(self):
        profiler = cProfile.Profile()
        profiler.enable()
        super().run()
        profiler.disable()
        profiler.dump_stats(f"profile-{self.name}.prof")
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Swap threading.Thread with this class to profile threads like James Bond surveilling villains.

Profiling Picture Show: pycallgraph

Imagine visualizing your code's journey with pycallgraph:

pip install pycallgraph
pycallgraph graphviz -- ./myscript.py
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The resulting heatmap pycallgraph.png will depict dependencies and hotspots.

Some Sssssssinful Analysis with snakeviz

Turn cProfile data into pie-charts of joy:

pip install snakeviz
python -m cProfile -o stats.prof your_script.py
snakeviz stats.prof
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The analysis is launched post-execution in your browser. It's like eating cake slices of performance data!

Got Graphviz?

Install Graphviz for visual profiling tools:

sudo apt-get install graphviz
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It boosts your graph-rendering artillery for visual geniuses.

Profiling Mastery: Tools & Tips

Store & Explore: Saving Statistics

Preserve your cProfile session for further investigation like a time capsule:

python -m cProfile -o profile.stats your_script.py
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Crack open this capsule with pstats or gprof2dot for a deep dive into the data.

Get a Profiler, Be a Profiler

To broaden your toolkit, add python-profiler:

sudo apt-get install python-profiler
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Don't forget to invite pycallgraph and gprof2dot using pip.

Python Docs: The Profiler's Bible

The Python Wiki and Docs offer a wealth of insight into performance optimizations. Unleash these resources, let them guide you like a compass in this quest.

Confused by Competitive coding? Let Profiling Help

In scenarios like Project Euler, profiling is a knight in shining armor saving you from the dragon of convoluted codes.

Keep it Crisp with SVG

For clarity at every zoom level, opt for cairo-renderer SVG when using pycallgraph:

pycallgraph graphviz --output-format=svg ./myscript.py
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Retrofit your in-depth graphics with the scalability of SVG.