outliner-tracer 1.3.0a1

A tracer for compiled objects

Outliner (Alpha)

Have you ever found an python complex object that you get lost trying to undestand the invoking sequence?! Now it is a solved problem.

Outliner is a Python utility that simplifies the process of tracing the calling flow of callable objects within a complex object. It helps you understand the order in which these callable objects are invoked, making it easier to navigate and comprehend complex code structures.

Table of Contents

• Example
• Installation
• Usage
• Features
• Contributing

Example

We have the given complex object:

class test:
    def __init__(self) -> None:
        self.func1()
    def func1(self):
        self.func2()
        return
    def func2(self):
        return
def test2():
    a = test()
    return

With the outliner you can visualyze the invoking flow in order with the default tree display:

 outliner --file_path=path-to-module --object_name=test

    test2
    │
    │──1. __init__
    │
    │──2. func1
    │
    │──3. func2

Or get more detailed data about invoked objects (-d="detailed_data"):

 outliner --file_path=path-to-module --object_name=test --d="detailed_data"

output:

('test2', {'call': 1, 'return': 1, 'line': 2})
('__init__', {'call': 1, 'return': 1, 'line': 1})
('func1', {'call': 1, 'return': 1, 'line': 2})
('func2', {'call': 1, 'return': 1, 'line': 1})

Features

• Function Tracing: Trace function calls, returns, and line execution within a Python module.
• Data Collection: Collect detailed data on function executions and execution flow.
• Method Tree: Display a tree of methods used by the object for object behavior exploration.
• Easy Integration: Simple and straightforward integration into your Python projects.
• Customizable: Fine-tune tracing parameters to suit your debugging and exploration

Installation

As the library hasn't been released yet, to use it on your machine, you will need to do following steps:

• Use pip install: Make sure that path contains the setup.py file

  pip install -i https://test.pypi.org/simple/ outliner
  

Usage

The Outliner library can be used via the command line interface (CLI) to trace Python code. Follow the steps below to use it:

1. Open your terminal.

2. Run the following command to trace a Python object's execution:

outliner --file_path=<path-to-object> --object_name=<object-name> --object_args=<arguments-passed-to-object>

Contributing

Contributions to the Outliner library are welcome. If you have ideas for improvements, find any issues, or want to contribute to its development, please open an issue or submit a pull request on GitHub.