firefox-devtools / firefox-devtools/profiler

Add a correct "Recording start time"(?) to Profile Info

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Description

#3457 should rename "Recording started" to "Process started" or similar.
Now, we may still want to show something like "Recording started".

I think the frontend has enough information already (`meta.startTime` being the process start time, and being able to find the earliest visible sample/marker to display) to compute the local time corresponding to the left-most side of full range.
Though I don't think the name "Recording started" would be 100% correct, since it's possible some of the early recording was lost if the profile buffer got full. Maybe "Profiling range start" would work? Better suggestions welcome.

After that, Firefox _could_ store the timestamp when the profiler was started (backend change required, please let me know if needed), and store it in a new field, e.g. `meta.recordingStart`. And this could be shown correctly as "Recording started".
But I believe that we should still show "Profiling start range", especially if it's different.

Bonus idea: Show the local time corresponding to displayed profile-relative times (in seconds) in some places. E.g.: When hovering the band with the times at the top of the timeline area; When hovering a "Start" time in the Marker Table; Etc.

┆Issue is synchronized with this [Jira Task](https://mozilla-hub.atlassian.net/browse/FP-421)

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by locating the Profile Info UI and its use of meta.startTime, then inspect how the earliest visible sample or marker defines the full-range left edge. Done means the UI distinguishes the profiling-range start from any true recording start and displays the agreed local-time wording; the optional Firefox metadata and hover enhancements are separate follow-up scope.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
react, typescript
Domain
frontend, performance
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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