Two features I don't understand

[Richard Gaskin]

1. ID caching
Page 10 of the v6.0 Release Notes:
<http://downloads.livecode.com/livecode/6_0_0/LiveCodeNotes-6_0_0.pdf>

The description there says:

    The engine now caches lookups of control references of the form
    “card id ...” and “control id ...”.  This speeds up any access
    using those forms after the first time, turning an operation that
    would be completed in linear time into one that will be completed
    in constant time.

What does that mean in practical terms?  How can I benchmark the benefit 
of this new feature?


2. StyledText array
Pages 16-18 of the v5.5.4 Release Notes:
<http://downloads.livecode.com/livecode/5_5_4/LiveCodeNotes-5_5_4.pdf>

Anyone here use this?  Is it faster than doing equivalent operations on 
htmlText?  While the style attributes themselves are well represented in 
the array, the character offsets of runs don't seem to be present, so 
I'm unclear as to what this should be used for.


Any insight into either of these would be appreciated - TIA...

-- 
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World Systems
  Software Design and Development for the Desktop, Mobile, and the Web
  ____________________________________________________________________
  Ambassador at FourthWorld.com                http://www.FourthWorld.com