Smooth scrolling

[Curry Kenworthy]

David:

 > My impression is that a LiveCode field scrolls less smoothly
 > than a comparable field in some other programs

Fair impression. :)

 > 25,000 words into a word wrapped scrolling field

Performance does degrade as text size increases.
(Exponentially, after a certain point.)

 > Does anyone know the underlying cause of this,

For fun, try the same text in LC 5.5 or 4.6!
I would expect snappier results.

Performance took a huge hit with LC 7 and 8.
There was (and is) a myth that this is completely due to Unicode.
But in a series of videos and published tests, I proved otherwise.
Many other areas were impacted. So beware of that myth!

So Unicode (and the way it was implemented) played a part,
but it's not the only culprit. This is an ongoing saga.
To their credit, the LC team has made good optimizations in a few areas!
Mark was quite responsive to the "need for speed."
On the flip side, overall LC performance remains ... underwhelming.

 > or a remedy?

It helps to optimize your own code/UI/setup as much as you can:

Most LC user code is poorly organized and wastes tons of CPU time.
Many times people also have extravagant or sloppy UI.
And their problem-solving setup is not focused; lots of extra crap.
Tightening up all these can help a LOT! You'll see results.

Bonus good news: Standalone will run a little smoother than IDE.
(IDE is a bit on the bloatware side.)
Optimize all you can, and your build may be blessed a bit extra! :)

Beyond that, the ultimate solution is join the effort.
Make a useful test stack, maybe a video to demo results.
Design the test code well. Post a bug report.

I'm still involved in this campaign, but currently "mute" -
post-COVID, breathing got worse; can't talk in video or on phone.
But I'm adjusting to that - I'll be using sound effects, TTS, whatever.
So hopefully this year I'll get another test and video posted.

I encourage others (and yourself) to do the same!
I believe LC can be quite a bit faster.
So far, I've been proven correct....

Best wishes,

Curry Kenworthy

Custom Software Development
"Better Methods, Better Results"
LiveCode Training and Consulting
http://livecodeconsulting.com/