Diving into Objects

One of the main functions of the Root Window is quickly display a Process Window that contains information about the selected processes and threads. The procedure is simple: you select what you want to see and then double-click on it. In most cases, you can display more detail about something by placing the cursor over a name or object and diving into it by double-clicking the left mouse button.

Note:   In some cases, single-clicking tells TotalView to dive. For example, diving on a function name in the Stack Trace Pane tells TotalView to dive into the function.

The following tabledescribes some of the information you can dive on. 

Dive on:	Information Displayed by Diving:
Process or thread	When you dive on a processor thread in the Root Window, TotalView finds or opens a Process Window for that process. If it cannot find a matching window, TotalView replaces the contents of an existing Process Window and shows you the selected process.
Subroutine	The source code for the subroutine replaces the current contents of the Process Window--this is called a nested dive. When this occurs TotalView places a right angle bracket (>) in the process's title. Every time it dives, it adds another angle bracket.
	A subroutine must be compiled with source-line information (usually, with the -g option) for you to dive into it and see source code. If the subroutine was not compiled with this information, TotalView displays the routine's assembler code.
Pointer	The referenced memory area appears in a separate Variable Window.
Variable	The contents of the variable appear in a separate Variable Window.
Array element, structure element, or referenced memory area	The contents of the element or memory area replaces the contents that were in the Variable Window--this is known as a nested dive.
Routine in the Stack Trace Pane	The stack frame and source code for the routine appear in a Process Window.

TotalView tries to reuse windows whenever possible. For example, if you dive on a variable and that variable is already being displayed in a window, TotalView pops the window to the top of the display. If you want the information to appear in a separate window, use the Root Window's View > Dive Anew command.

Note:   Using View > Dive Anew on a process or a thread may not create a new window if TotalView determines that it can reuse a Process Window. If you really want to see the information in two windows, use the Process Window's Window > Duplicate command.

For additional information about displaying variable contents, refer to Diving in Variable Windows.

Other windowing commands that you can use are:

• Window > Duplicate: (Variable Window) Creates a duplicate copy of the current Variable Window.
   
• Window > Duplicate Base: (Variable Window) Creates a duplicate copy of the current Variable Window. In contrast with Window > Duplicate, this command contains the dive stack.
   
• File > Close: Closes an open window.
   
• File > Close Relatives: Closes windows that are related to the current window but does not close the current window.
   
• File > Close Similar: Closes the currently open window and all windows similar to it. When you have lots of similar windows, this is a great time-saver.