[webkit-dev] out of control javascript

[Rob Burns]

earlier I wrote:
> So my question is that are these simply poorly written plugins and  
> poorly written javascripts? Is there any way for WebKit to keep  
> these somehow in check (loading a YouTube video and leaving it  
> running in a background tab or window is an especially egregious  
> consumer of processor cycles).

Just to clarify. I'm not talking about leaving the videos themselves  
running. I saying even with the videos fully downloaded and paused the  
background document uses an excessive amount of processor cycles. I  
see this with other sites too (.Mac web galleries), though not to the  
extreme of YouTube.



My entire message:
On May 10, 2008, at 1:14 PM, Rob Burns wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I'm contemplating filing one or more bugs on an issue I'm facing  
> with out of control javascripts (not my javascripts, but others).  
> This might be something better solved by Safari and other  
> applications using WebKit, but I'm wondering whether there's any  
> possible solutions at the Webkit level.
>
> First some background information I've been traveling with a MacBook  
> Air. My primary browser is Safari. Usually I maintain many open  
> windows and each with many tabs. However, battery life is precious  
> on the MacBook Air since there's no way to change batteries. However  
> I find that if I leave my javascript and plugins enabled in Safari  
> that there are one or more javascripts that inevitably eat up my  
> battery and within a very short time. My work around has been to  
> turn off javascript and plugins and launch Firefox whenever I need  
> those (the same problem exists with Firefox and I find that if I  
> forget to quit Firefox when I'm done with the javascript browsing my  
> Air gets very hot and the processors are pegged in Activity Monitor.)
>
> So my question is that are these simply poorly written plugins and  
> poorly written javascripts? Is there any way for WebKit to keep  
> these somehow in check (loading a YouTube video and leaving it  
> running in a background tab or window is an especially egregious  
> consumer of processor cycles).
>
> If not at the WebKit level, I'm considering filing one or more  
> Safari bugs at ADC. For example, would it create any problems to  
> have javscripts paused on all documents loaded in all tabs but the  
> frontmost (that way a user could even load an empty tab in a window  
> just to avoid run-away processes). Even for audio only processes, It  
> doesn't strike me as an undue burden for audio processes to cease in  
> buried tabs. I know this isn't the place to discuss Safari  
> specifically, but there's got to be a way to get these processes  
> under control with either WebKit of the applications using WebKit.
>
> The other option I can see is some sort of evangelism to encourage  
> web content creators (and plugin makers) to utilize event driven  
> models with javscript (I haven't looked at the javascripts in depth,  
> but my guess is that they're cycling and polling continuously to  
> heat up my cpu so much).
>
> Take care,
> Rob
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