PMC.TSC(3)

💖 NAME 💖

pmc.tsc — measurements using the i386 timestamp counter.

From the Library Functions Manual, page tag PMC.TSC(3). Bestie, this page is short, iconic, and all about reading the timestamp counter without losing your mind. 🦋

📚 LIBRARY 📚

Performance Counters Library (libpmc, -lpmc) — yes, that's the library vibe. 💅

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <pmc.h>

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

Okay so in the i386 architecture, the timestamp counter is a monotonically non-decreasing counter that counts processor cycles. Slay. ⏱️

You can select this counter by specifying the event specifier tsc to pmc_allocate(3). The TSC is a read-only counter that may only be allocated in system-wide counting mode. The tsc event does not support further event qualifiers. No extras, no add-ons, periodt. 🙅‍♀️

Multiple processes are allowed to allocate the TSC. Once allocated, the TSC may be read using the pmc_read() function, or by using the RDTSC instruction. Two paths, same timestamp-counter destiny. ⭐

🌀 Event Name Aliases 🌀

The alias cycles maps to the TSC. That's it, that's the alias. 💫

🔗 SEE ALSO 🔗

pmc(3), pmc.amd(3), pmc.atom(3), pmc.core(3), pmc.core2(3), pmc.iaf(3), pmc.soft(3), pmclog(3), hwpmc(4) — go read the friends, bestie. 🫶

🕰️ HISTORY 🕰️

The pmc library first appeared in FreeBSD 6.0. Vintage but still iconic. 👑

👑 AUTHORS 👑

The Performance Counters Library (libpmc, -lpmc) library was written by Joseph Koshy <jkoshy@FreeBSD.org>. Credit where credit is due, no cap. 💜

💌 Cute sign-off: source Debian, date October 4, 2008, and the manual tag PMC.TSC(3). That's the footer info, folded with love. 🫶