Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!jdevoto
From: jdevoto@Apple.COM (Jeanne A. E. DeVoto)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hypercard
Subject: Re: More slow things in HC 2.0
Summary: 28 fields is too many.
Message-ID: <47417@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 16 Dec 90 05:44:16 GMT
References: <1990Dec15.174332.416@dhw68k.cts.com>
Organization: Apple Computer Inc., Cupertino, CA
Lines: 29

In article <1990Dec15.174332.416@dhw68k.cts.com> mrx@dhw68k.cts.com
(Mark Murphy) writes:
>   Another slow thing I have found in HC 2.0 is text selection in Fields.
>Currently I have a front end to an Oracle database that has 28 bg flds and
>11 bg btns.  To tab from field to field or select text from script takes
>60 ticks!  At first I thought I might have some sort of overhead with my
>openField messages but this does not seem to be the case.  I created a new
>stack and duplicated the amount of flds and btns I have in my original stack.
>Tabbing was very slow (about 60 ticks).  Now, 28 flds in not a lot of flds
>for a card to have... it is not uncommon.

Actually, 28 fields is quite a few. For HyperCard 1.x, I used the rule-of-
thumb of an upper limit of ten to fifteen fields. I haven't done any testing
on this with 2.0, but it wouldn't surprise me if the magic number were still
in that range (or even lower, what with the slowdown caused by the use of
styled TextEdit). The number of buttons, on the other hand, doesn't seem
to be critical.

A card with 28 fields *will* display slow response when moving from field
to field. I'd recommend you take a serious look at your stack design; it's
usually fairly simple to reduce the number of fields by combining several
fields into one and using chunk expressions to address the combined components.
-- 
========= jeanne a. e. devoto ========================================
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