A number of different systems produce large volumes of data that can be more easily understood and managed by visual analysis. Analysis of this data can typically be handled in a number of different ways. One example is to use software known as a profiler. A software profiler uses a form of dynamic program analysis that measures, for example, the memory or time complexity of a software product, the usage of particular instructions, the frequency and duration of function calls, etc. This aids the designer of the software product in the optimization of the software product.
One common use for profilers is to aid in the analysis of rendering data. Rendering data is data collected during rendering of visual objects (e.g., images, vectors, colors, etc.) on a computer display. Rendering data may derive from, for example, a user-scriptable engine. Examples of user-scriptable engines include, but are not limited to, ADOBE FLASH PLAYER™ from Adobe Systems, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. as well as web browsers (such as Chrome™ from Google, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif.) operating hypertext markup language 5 (HTML 5). This rendering data often contains data related to visual components and elements, but profilers currently lack the ability to effectively and intuitively visualize such rendering data.