Python High Performance - Second Edition

Finding bottlenecks with cProfile

After assessing the correctness and timing the execution time of the program, we are ready to identify the parts of the code that need to be tuned for performance. Those parts are typically quite small compared to the size of the program.

Two profiling modules are available through the Python standard library:

• The profile module: This module is written in pure Python and adds a significant overhead to the program execution. Its presence in the standard library is because of its vast platform support and because it is easier to extend.
• The cProfile module: This is the main profiling module, with an interface equivalent to profile. It is written in C, has a small overhead, and is suitable as a general purpose ...