.NET MAUI Performance(Part 1 - Android)

Hello everyone,

After the Christmas and New Year celebrations, along with some well-deserved vacation time, it's time to dive back into the world of .NET MAUI. I'm excited to kick off a series of articles focusing on optimizing the performance of MAUI applications. I'll also share valuable references to help you explore these topics in greater depth. Stay tuned!

Using a profile

During the development of an application, it is essential to prioritize code optimization only after conducting a thorough performance analysis. Profiling tools play a crucial role in this process, identifying the areas where improvements will have the most significant impact on reducing performance-related issues.

A profiler evaluates the application's memory consumption and logs the time spent executing its methods. This data allows developers to explore the application's execution flow and understand the associated costs, making it easier to pinpoint the best opportunities for optimization. By relying on these insights, you can focus your efforts on changes that yield the greatest performance gains.

Using a profiler is a powerful way to analyze and improve the performance of your .NET MAUI applications. Profilers help you identify bottlenecks, memory leaks, and inefficient code by providing detailed insights into how your app is running.

Important links

.NET MAUI Performance Investigations You must see it!!!

Profiling .NET MAUI Apps

Android Profiling Documentation

Speed Scope

Good practices

• Don't use simulator or emulator
• Use different device
• Close all other applications in device

dotnet-trace

dotnet-trace is a command-line tool provided by Microsoft as part of the .NET CLI, used to collect and analyze performance traces of .NET applications during runtime. It is particularly useful for developers and operators who need to diagnose performance issues, identify bottlenecks, and gain insights into the internal behavior of their .NET applications.

Key Features

Runtime Trace Collection:

• Captures performance and execution-related events from .NET Core and .NET applications in real time.
• Supports ETW (Event Tracing for Windows) on Windows and LTTng (Linux Trace Toolkit next generation) on Linux

Cross-Platform Compatibility: Works seamlessly on Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it a versatile tool for various environments.

Lightweight and Non-Intrusive: Designed to have minimal impact on the performance of the running application.

Support for Multiple Event Providers: Allows users to configure which event providers to monitor, such as .NET system events (GC, JIT, exceptions), ASP.NET events, or custom user-defined events.

Integration with the .NET Diagnostics Ecosystem: Can be used alongside other .NET diagnostic tools like dotnet-counters, dotnet-dump, and PerfView for more comprehensive analysis.

dotnet-dsrouter

dotnet-dsrouter is a command-line tool that is part of the .NET diagnostics suite. It acts as a diagnostics router to facilitate communication between diagnostic clients (such as dotnet-trace, dotnet-dump, and dotnet-counters) and .NET applications running in containerized or remote environments. The tool is particularly useful for environments where direct communication with a target process is not feasible, such as in Kubernetes clusters or remote servers.

Key Features

Routing Diagnostic Commands:

• Enables routing of diagnostic commands and data between a client and a target .NET process over network boundaries or containerized environments.
• Acts as a bridge to forward diagnostic commands and relay event data.

Remote Diagnostics Support: Facilitates the use of .NET diagnostic tools in scenarios where the target application is running in a remote environment, ensuring that performance and debugging workflows are not limited by physical or network constraints.

Containerized Application Support: Designed to work effectively with applications running in Docker containers or orchestrated environments like Kubernetes, where direct access to the runtime process may be challenging.

Flexible Communication: Supports bi-directional communication between clients and servers, allowing real-time diagnostics data exchange.

Seamless Integration with the .NET Ecosystem: Works in conjunction with other .NET diagnostic tools like dotnet-trace, dotnet-dump, and dotnet-counters, extending their usability to remote and isolated environments.

dotnet-gcdump

dotnet-gcdump is a command-line tool in the .NET diagnostics suite that is used to collect heap dumps of .NET applications. A heap dump is a snapshot of the managed memory (the memory allocated by the .NET Garbage Collector) at a specific point in time. This tool is particularly useful for diagnosing memory usage issues, analyzing object allocations, and debugging memory leaks in .NET applications.

Key Features

Heap Dump Collection:

• Captures a snapshot of the managed heap of a running .NET application.
• Provides detailed information about objects allocated in memory, their sizes, and types.

Lightweight and Safe:

• Designed to have minimal performance impact on the application being analyzed.
• Safe to use in production environments to collect memory data without disrupting normal application operations.

Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it versatile for different hosting environments.

Integration with Analysis Tools: The collected .gcdump file can be analyzed using tools like Visual Studio, PerfView, or any other tool that supports analyzing managed heap dumps.

Support for Both .NET and .NET Core: Compatible with .NET Core and .NET applications, ensuring broad usability.

Limitations

• Managed Memory Only: dotnet-gcdump focuses on managed memory and does not include information about unmanaged memory usage.
• Snapshot Nature: Since it provides a single snapshot of the heap at a specific point in time, it does not track memory changes over time (like allocations or deallocations).

Thanks for everything! Let’s stay connected for more great content in the future.

See you soon!

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