dftracer-annotate-cpp

C++ Annotation Rules (dftracer)

C++ Rule 1 — Include and RAII guard for regular functions

Add the include after all existing #include lines in the .cpp file (never in a header):

#include <dftracer/dftracer.h>

Regular C++ functions — use the RAII scope guard (no manual END needed):

void my_function(const char *path) {
  DFTRACER_CPP_FUNCTION();                      // RAII — END called automatically when scope exits
  DFTRACER_CPP_FUNCTION_UPDATE("path", path);
  ...
  // No explicit END needed
}

• DFTRACER_CPP_FUNCTION() must be the first statement after the opening {.
• No manual END required — the destructor fires on scope exit.
• Never mix C and C++ macros in the same file.
• Never annotate header files (.h, .hpp) — only .cpp / .cxx source files.

C++ Rule 2 — REGION macros only in C++ main; RAII everywhere else

C++ main — use DFTRACER_CPP_REGION_START/END instead of DFTRACER_CPP_FUNCTION(), because the RAII destructor fires after DFTRACER_CPP_FINI(), which is wrong:

int main(int argc, char **argv) {
  DFTRACER_CPP_INIT(nullptr, nullptr, nullptr);
  DFTRACER_CPP_REGION_START(main_region);       // ← REGION, not FUNCTION
  ...
  if (error) {
    DFTRACER_CPP_REGION_END(main_region);        // ← close region first
    DFTRACER_CPP_FINI();                         // ← then shut down tracer
    return 1;
  }
  ...
  DFTRACER_CPP_REGION_END(main_region);          // ← close region before normal return
  DFTRACER_CPP_FINI();
  return 0;
}

• Order at every exit point in main: REGION_END → FINI → return/exit.
• The region name (main_region) can be any valid C identifier.

C++ Rule 3 — Where NOT to use REGION macros

• C source: never use DFTRACER_C_REGION_START / DFTRACER_C_REGION_END.
• C++ regular functions: never use DFTRACER_CPP_REGION_*. Use DFTRACER_CPP_FUNCTION().
• C++ main only: use DFTRACER_CPP_REGION_START/END.

C++ Rule 4 — UPDATE for I/O metadata

void my_write(const char *path, size_t size) {
  DFTRACER_CPP_FUNCTION();
  DFTRACER_CPP_FUNCTION_UPDATE("path", path);   // string params only
  ...
}

• Use DFTRACER_CPP_FUNCTION_UPDATE("name", value) for string (const char *) params.
• Good targets: path, filename, name, dir, mode.

C++ Quick checklist

• #include <dftracer/dftracer.h> added to .cpp files only (never headers)
• Regular functions: DFTRACER_CPP_FUNCTION() as first statement after {
• main: DFTRACER_CPP_INIT → DFTRACER_CPP_REGION_START → ... → DFTRACER_CPP_REGION_END → DFTRACER_CPP_FINI → return
• REGION_END at every exit point in main (including early returns and exit() calls)
• No REGION macros in non-main functions
• No C macros (DFTRACER_C_*) in C++ files