[webkit-dev] setTimeout as browser speed throttle

[Peter Kasting]

On Tue, Sep 30, 2008 at 3:08 PM, Maciej Stachowiak <mjs at apple.com> wrote:

> That seems like incorrect reasoning to me. unclamped setTimeout(0) does not
> break processing of user events in a single-process browser (I tested). But
> it will equally drain your laptop battery and produce a great deal of heat
> and noise with single-process and multiprocess architectures.
>

Right, which is one reason we don't run fully-unclamped -- we clamp to 1 ms,
and are trying to get anyone other than hyatt to discuss the ramifications
of clamping to 3 or 4 ms.  I think this proposal solves most of the
objections that have been raised, but people still seem more interested in
discussing the problems encountered back when WebKit had fully-unclamped
timers, which is a different and more risky case.

I certainly do support the proposals for an object-based, higher-resolution
timer alongside.  But the responsiveness/performance gain from lowering the
timer clamp on setTimeout() is noticeable.  It's a real win, which you can
see today, on a number of existing sites.  There's an implementation in the
field today that can provide data on what the true impact of the change is,
both positive and negative.

PK
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