PMNSCOMP(1)

NAME
pmnscomp - compile an ASCII performance metrics namespace into binary format.

SYNOPSIS
pmnscomp [-d] [-f] [-n namespace] [-v version] outfile

DESCRIPTION
pmnscomp compiles a Performance Metrics Name Space (PMNS) in ASCII format into a more efficient binary representation. pmLoadNameSpace(3) is able to load this binary representation significantly faster than the equivalent ASCII representation.

If outfile already exists pmnscomp will exit without overwriting it.

By convention, the name of the compiled namespace is that of the root file of the ASCII namespace, with .bin appended. For example, the root of the default PMNS is a file named root and the compiled version of the entire namespace is root.bin.

The options are;

-d  By default the PMNS to be compiled is expected to contain at most one name for each unique Performance Metric Identifier (PMID). The -d option relaxes this restriction and allows the compilation of a PMNS in which multiple names may be associated with a single PMID. Duplicate names are useful when a particular metric may be logically associated with more than one group of related metrics, or when it is desired to create abbreviated aliases to name a set of frequently used metrics.

-f  Force overwriting of an existing outfile if it already exists.

-n  Normally pmnscomp operates on the default PMNS, however if the -n option is specified an alternative namespace is loaded from the file namespace.

-v  By default, pmnscomp writes a version 2 compiled namespace. If version is 1 then pmnscomp will write a version 1 namespace which is similar to version 2, without the extra integrity afforded by checksums. Note that PCP version 2.0 or later can handle both versions 1 and 2 of the binary PMNS format.

The default input PMNS is found in the file $PCP_VAR_DIR/pmns/root unless the environment variable PMNS_DEFAULT is set, in which case the value is assumed to be the pathname to the file containing the default input PMNS.

CAVEAT
Once the writing of the new outfile has begun, the signals SIGINT, SIGHUP and SIGTERM will be ignored to protect the integrity of the new file.

DIAGNOSTICS
Cannot open ``xyz'' - the filename for the root of the PMNS that was passed to pmLoadNameSpace(3) is bogus.

Illegal PMID - either one of the three PMID components (see pmns(5)) is not an integer, or the value for one of the components is negative, or too large.

Expected ... - specific syntax errors when a particular type of lexical symbol was expected and not found; the messages are intended to be self-explanatory.

Internal botch - implementation problem for the parser ...

Duplicate name ``abc'' in subtree for ``pqr.xyz'' - for each non-leaf node, the names of all immediate descendents must be unique.

No name space entry for ``root'' - the special non-leaf node with a pathname of ``root'' defines the root of the PMNS, and must appear somewhere in the PMNS specification.

Multiple name space entries for ``root'' - more than one ``root'' node does not make sense!

Disconnected subtree (``abc.xyz.def'') in name space - the pathname for this non-leaf node does not correspond to any pathname in the PMNS, hence this non-leaf node is ``orphaned'' in the PMNS.

Cannot find definition for non-terminal node ``xyz'' in name space - a non-terminal node is named as part of its parent's specification, but is never defined.

Duplicate metric id (xxx) in name space for metrics ``abc'' and ``xyz'' - each PMID must be unique across the PMNS.

FILES
$PCP_VAR_DIR/pmns/*
    default PMNS specification files
$PCP_VAR_DIR/pmns/root.bin
    compiled version of the default PMNS, when the environment variable PMNS_DEFAULT is unset
$PCP_VAR_DIR/pmns/stdpmid
    some standard macros for PMID generation

PCP ENVIRONMENT
Environment variables with the prefix PCP_ are used to parameterize the file and directory names used by PCP. On each installation, the file /etc/pcp.conf contains the local values for these variables. The $PCP_CONF variable may be used to specify an alternative configuration file, as described in pcp.conf(5).

SEE ALSO
pmnsadd(1), pmnsdel(1), pmnsmerge(1), PMAPI(3), pmLoadNameSpace(3), pcp.conf(5), pcp.env(5) and pmns(5).