Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!austing From: austing@Apple.COM (Glenn L. Austin) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer Subject: Re: Communications Toolbox questions Message-ID: <37198@apple.Apple.COM> Date: 13 Dec 89 02:50:33 GMT References: <9125@hoptoad.uucp> <36869@apple.Apple.COM> <9194@hoptoad.uucp> <37030@apple.Apple.COM> <9222@hoptoad.uucp> Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA Lines: 64 In article <9222@hoptoad.uucp> tim@hoptoad.UUCP (Tim Maroney) writes: >In any case, RAM is not the only problem with putting it in the System >file. System files are already too big; fetching resources from them >can take seconds under some common circumstances, like having a lot of >fonts installed. I think we've all seen DAs like Chooser (no >Appletalk) and Control Panel take forever to come up, and these are >only the most visible occurrences. Standard File seems to have the >same problem, and in fact anything that uses system resources is >susceptible, i.e., everything. And of course, the larger the system >file, the slower Font/DA Mover will run. Look at what the Chooser and Control Panel are looking at -- all the files in the System Folder! Print drivers and other Chooser documents are just that -- documents! The same holds true for Control Panel devices, except that now the Control Panel has to open each file and determine whether or not that cdev should be shown in the list. No, you picked (in my opinion) poor examples. Better examples would be DAs that don't need external files, such as Find File or Calculator, which experience *NO* degradation in loading from a full System file! Also, Font/DA Mover has never been known as a speed demon. It works, it's a minimally used utility, and it rarely crashes. I don't think that the speed of Font/DA Mover is as much System file size (although that does contribute) as it is the function of displaying its information. Standard File, on the other hand, is limited by (1) disk access for filename lookup, (2) any FilterProcs and (3) whether your machine is doing other operations in the background. Nope, I don't see *ANYTHING* that has to really do with the size of the System file here... >There's also more RAM overhead than you're taking into account. >Remember the overhead in the system file resource map. And time@oxtrap >has an excellent point about the ease of deinstallation and >reinstallation. RAM overhead?!? What about another FCB in addition to the RAM overhead for the resource map!?! >Aren't you already playing some cute games to let the tool resource >maps be shared between applications under MultiFinder? Why should it >be any harder, or any slower, to do the same with the main Comm. >Toolbox resource file? If you weren't already doing these things, >I'd say you had a point; but once you take the plunge, I don't see >how an inch or two more is going to hurt. The *ONLY* "cute game" is the addition of a usage counter -- hardly the "hack" that you are implying. No, you have missed the whole idea -- this is System Software. System Software belongs in the System file. Period. The request for deinstalling and reinstalling the CTB is about the same as requesting that the international resources not be loaded - both would be nice for saving only about 3K of memory. Why go to that trouble when there are other, much larger users of RAM, such as virtual screens. >-- >Tim Maroney, Mac Software Consultant, sun!hoptoad!tim, tim@toad.com > >"Please help support the moratorium on meaningless quotes in .signatures." > -- Doug Asherman on rec.music.cd -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Glenn L. Austin | "Have you ever danced with the devil in | | Communications Toolbox Hacker | in the pale moonlight?" -The Joker | | Apple Computer, Inc. | "You made me!" -Batman | | Internet: austing@apple.com |-------------------------------------------| | AppleLink: AUSTIN.GLENN | All opinions stated above are mine -- | | Bellnet: (408) 974-0876 | who else would want them? | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------