Our Unique T4 & Friends Approach to Performance
A mainstay of the Trendsthatmatter.com approach to performance is our reliance and expert use of the methods and tools known as “T4 & Friends.” Please check out this Quick Intro to T4 & Friends — a PowerPoint slide show and abbreviated version of the original OpenVMS Tech Journal article that launched the T4 & Friends approach. It includes all figures and captions from the original article and it is the best way to get a quick overview of the T4 methodology. These slides will give you a good idea of the ways this approach can save you time and allow you to dig deeper into the toughest performance problems.
For the full details you can download the original OpenVMS Technical Journal article here (PDF, 944 KB). Or, read the article in HTML format on HP's site.
We encourage you to test out the amazing TLViz (TimeLine Visualizer) that runs on Windows PC systems, and to learn more about the CSVPNG command-line utility that can work with your trend data on DOS under Windows, OpenVMS, Linux and HP-UX. The most recent versions of these tools are available from the TrendsThatMatter.com download page for tools
You can also find the downloads for CSVPNG and TLViz and lots of other useful T4 & Friends information on the HP T4 & Friends page. See also HP's useful T4 & Friends FAQ.
Please contact us if you would like some interesting sample data cases to use to test out the power range of these tools and their applicability to your special situation. We would like you to sign up for our email newsletter at the bottom of this page and we encourage you to regularly check out our Trends That Matter blog for the latest news and developments and examples of the T4 & Friends approach to performance.
Want to learn more about why the trend is your friend? If so, you will be well rewarded and inspired by reading a copy of Edward Tufte's groundbreaking book, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.
In addition to our reliance on T4, we approach our performance
troubleshooting work using a set of questions called the Performance
Audit Litany (PAL). The PAL page gives you an
up-to-date list of PAL questions that are ideal for getting started
with these kinds of performance problems. PAL & T4 work hand-in-hand
to produce the best possible results.