---
title: Render timer results to the console
summary: Write a tab-indented textual report for each timer item in an already-built result tree.
status: draft
owner: SAIF
last_reviewed: 2026-07-30
library: SAIF.Framework.CodeTimer
reference_type: package
operation_id: CT-OP-005
trigger: Internal code calls CodeTimerResult.OutputConsole() on a populated result object.
---

# Render timer results to the console

This operation walks the in-memory `CodeTimerItem` tree that `CreateItems()` already built and writes one formatted line per node to the console, indenting each descendant one tab deeper than its parent. It is compiled into the assembly and fully functional, but it is not exposed through the public `CodeTimer` façade, so a consumer of this library can only reach it by calling `CodeTimerResult` directly.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| **Operation ID** | CT-OP-005 |
| **Trigger** | Internal code calls `CodeTimerResult.OutputConsole()` |
| **Inputs** | Existing `CodeTimerItem` tree stored in the current `CodeTimerResult` instance |
| **Outputs** | Console text output |
| **Primary components** | `CodeTimerResult.OutputConsole`, `CodeTimerResult.RecurseConsole`, `CodeTimerResult.Repeat` |
| **Entry point** | `SAIF.Framework.CodeTimer\SAIF.Framework.CodeTimer\CodeTimerResult.cs` |

## Steps

1. Iterate the root `items` collection that `CreateItems()` populated when the enclosing `CodeTimerResult` was constructed — this is the same tree that XML serialization reads from, so console output and XML output always describe the same underlying data.
2. Call `RecurseConsole(item, 3)` for each root-level timer item, seeding the initial indentation at three tab stops.
3. Build one formatted console line per item, showing its indentation level, quantity, average duration, elapsed total, shortest span, longest span, and the timer's name, so a reader can scan the listing and immediately see both totals and outliers for that timer.
4. If the current item has children, recurse into each of them with one additional tab level, so the printed listing visually nests descendants beneath their parent in the same shape as the underlying key hierarchy.
5. Continue until every reachable node in the `items` tree has produced a console line.

## Process flow

The following diagram visualizes this operation's control flow.

```mermaid
flowchart TD
	Start([Console render request]) --> Roots[Iterate root timer items]
	Roots --> WriteLine[Write formatted console line]
	WriteLine --> Children{Child items?}
	Children -->|Yes| Recurse[Render child with deeper indent]
	Children -->|No| Next[Move to next root or child]
	Recurse --> Next
	Next --> Done([Console output complete])
```

## Failure and edge-case behavior

- This operation is internal-only: the public `CodeTimer` API never calls it, so it is reachable only through direct, in-assembly use of `CodeTimerResult`.
- Unlike XML serialization, console rendering recurses into every child node regardless of the parent's `Elapsed` value, so a grouping-only node with no measured time of its own still has its children printed.

## Related documentation
- [Operations and processes](../operations-processes.md)
- [Business rules](../business-rules.md)
- [Configuration](../configuration.md)
- [API reference](../api/index.md)

## Sources
- SAIF.Framework.CodeTimer\SAIF.Framework.CodeTimer\CodeTimerResult.cs
- SAIF.Framework.CodeTimer\SAIF.Framework.CodeTimer\CodeTimerItem.cs