We investigate the notion of phases as they occur in object-oriented 
programs. The focus of our investigation is on C++ programs and our 
test suite includes various kinds of object-oriented programs including 
scientific and general-purpose applications.  We focus on individual 
phased branch behavior and attempt to capture information and generalize 
about the frequency of phased behavior.  We provide guidance about the 
advantages of path profiling over edge profiling in determining phase 
change in various program executions.