doc: add Formatted Metadata API documentation

docs/src/itt-api-reference.rst

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ ITT API Reference
    ittapi/counter-api
    ittapi/domain-api
    ittapi/event-api
+   ittapi/formatted-metadata-api
    ittapi/frame-api
    ittapi/histogram-api
    ittapi/load-module-api

docs/src/ittapi/formatted-metadata-api.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+.. _formatted-metadata-api:
+
+Formatted Metadata API
+======================
+
+
+Use the Formatted Metadata API to attach formatted string data to tasks with efficient string
+formatting capabilities. This API extends the basic Metadata API by providing printf-style formatting functionality.
+
+The Formatted Metadata API is a per-thread function that works in the resumed profiling state only.
+
+
+API Functions
+-------------
+
+**To add formatted metadata to the current task, use the following primitive:**
+
+.. code-block:: cpp
+
+   void __itt_formatted_metadata_add(const __itt_domain *domain,
+                                    __itt_string_handle *format_handle,
+                                    ...);
+
+
+**Parameters of the primitive:**
+
++--------+------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------+
+| Type   | Parameter                    | Description                                        |
++========+==============================+====================================================+
+| [in]   | .. code-block:: cpp          | Metadata domain                                    |
+|        |                              |                                                    |
+|        |    __itt_domain* domain      |                                                    |
++--------+------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------+
+| [in]   | .. code-block:: cpp          | String handle containing the format string with    |
+|        |                              | printf-style format specifiers                     |
+|        |    __itt_string_handle*      |                                                    |
+|        |    format_handle             |                                                    |
++--------+------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------+
+| [in]   | .. code-block:: cpp          | Variable arguments corresponding to format         |
+|        |                              | specifiers in the format string                    |
+|        |    ...                       |                                                    |
++--------+------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------+
+
+
+Metadata Visualization and Analysis in VTune
+--------------------------------------------
+
+Formatted metadata provides several benefits for visualization and analysis in Intel® VTune™ Profiler:
+
+- **Timeline tooltips**: Metadata appears in tooltips when hovering over tasks in the timeline view,
+  providing contextual runtime information.
+- **Bottom-up view grouping**: Formatted metadata can be used as a grouping criteria in the bottom-up view,
+  allowing you to organize and analyze tasks based on their metadata values.
+- **Custom grouping**: Users can group tasks by their metadata values to identify patterns and performance
+  characteristics across different execution contexts.
+- **Square bracket notation for format specifiers**: When you include format specifiers in square brackets
+  (e.g., ``[%s]``) within your format string, VTune treats these as special grouping identifiers.
+
+
+Usage Example
+-------------
+
+.. code-block:: cpp
+
+   #include "ittnotify.h"
+
+   __itt_domain* domain = __itt_domain_create("FileProcessor");
+   __itt_string_handle* operation_format = __itt_string_handle_create("Operation: [%s] on file %s");
+   __itt_string_handle* performance_format = __itt_string_handle_create("Performance: %d bytes in %.2f ms");
+
+   void process_file(const char* filename) {
+       __itt_task_begin(domain, __itt_null, __itt_null, __itt_string_handle_create("process_file"));
+
+       __itt_formatted_metadata_add(domain, operation_format, "file_processing", filename);
+
+       __itt_task_begin(domain, __itt_null, __itt_null, __itt_string_handle_create("read_file"));
+
+       int bytes_read = 1024;
+       double read_time = 15.5;
+       __itt_formatted_metadata_add(domain, performance_format, bytes_read, read_time);
+
+       __itt_task_end(domain);
+
+       __itt_task_begin(domain, __itt_null, __itt_null, __itt_string_handle_create("transform_data"));
+
+       __itt_formatted_metadata_add(domain, operation_format, "data_transform", filename);
+
+       __itt_task_end(domain);
+       __itt_task_end(domain);
+   }
+
+   int main() {
+       process_file("document.txt");
+       process_file("image.jpg");
+       return 0;
+   }
+
+
+Usage Guidelines
+----------------
+
+- Format strings support standard printf-style format specifiers (``%s``, ``%d``, ``%f``, etc.)
+- Metadata is associated with the currently running task at the time of the API call
+- **Limit to one metadata call per task** - making multiple calls to ``__itt_formatted_metadata_add`` for the same task may result in incorrect processing
+- For optimal performance, limit the frequency and size of metadata additions
+- Format specifiers in square brackets (e.g., ``[%s]``) create additional grouping options in VTune analysis views
+- Function arguments are processed during the API calls
+- Maximum length of a string argument is 256 symbols
+

docs/src/ittapi/task-api.rst

@@ -21,6 +21,10 @@ A task instance represents a piece of work performed by a particular
 thread for a period of time. The task is defined by the bracketing of
 ``__itt_task_begin()`` and ``__itt_task_end()`` on the same thread.
 
+You can enhance task representation by adding formatted metadata to tasks using
+the `Formatted Metadata API <formatted-metadata-api.html>`__. This allows you to attach contextual
+information with printf-style formatting that appears in VTune analysis views.
+
 
 Tasks can be simple or overlapped.