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pdGuideBook
pdGuideBook CodeScanner
pdProfiler pdGuideBook Question:
My timing results are different from yours - why?
There are a variety of circumstances that effect timing results, for
example, the CPU speed, memory, cache memory, disk speed, and many
others. Obviously, it would be impossible to test under every
conceivable combination (millions), not to mention the enormous amount of
data would be meaningless to you, the developer. So, what we have
done is test under 2 scenarios to give you an idea of the impacts on
different ends of the systems you may encounter. We test on these
systems: Windows 2000, 500Mhz processor, 256MB
RAM, 8000RPM 6 Gig Disk
Windows 95, 300Mhz processor, 64MB RAM, 6000RPM 2 Gig Disk Question:
Why are several of the categories grayed out (not available)?
In the trial version, only a few of the categories are
available. In the release version, some categories may be marked as
<future> or <specific date - month, year). These are
planned update categories (we never stop working for you!).
How do I use the pdTimer component in my own
applications ?
First, you
should read the help file provided with pdTimer. All of the details about
the use of the component are covered in the help file. Here is a quick
sample illustrating the use of pdTimer in an application:
'
This is the button event - call the subs to
compare then show the results
Private
Sub cmdTest_Click()
pdTimer.mClearTimerResults
Call A
Call B
pdTimer.mShowTimerResults
End Sub
' This is Sub A in the Group Comparison Group AB
Public
Sub A()
Dim pdt As pdTimer.CTimer
Set
pdt = pdTimer.CCTimer("Group AB", "Procedure A")
'do something
'note
that you do not need to stop the timer, VB will terminate
'the class when it goes out of scope
End Sub
' This is Sub A in the Group Comparison Group AB
Public
Sub A()
Dim
pdt As pdTimer.CTimer
Set
pdt = pdTimer.CCTimer("Group AB", "Procedure B")
'do
something
'note that you do not need
to stop the timer, VB will terminate
'the class when it goes out of scope
End Sub
Do these tips apply if I compile to P-Code ?
P-Code does
make a difference in the outcome of some tips presented here. For example,
in P-Code applications, For-Next loops are faster than Do-Loop loops,
while the opposite is true for compiled applications. Another example is
the use of GoSubs, which has a big impact in Native compiled applications
but is fast in P-Code apps. Generally, however, most of the tips apply to
both P-Code and compiled applications although the impacts may vary.
What factors affect code timings?
There
are many variations to performance testing: various operating systems such
as Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, various hardware such as memory,
processor, video. The combinations are endless. Each system configuration
will produce different results. How do you know the optimizations will
work on your users machines? You must test. For example, some
optimizations may produce 3% gains, while under Windows 95 the same
optimization produces a 98% gain. Aside from machine differences, your
application may vary from the test cases in this guidebook. For example,
some variations in database access may result from the number of records
accessed, the version or type of database being accessed, etc.
pdGuideBook
CodeScanner Why
is the pdCodeScanner not always accurate?
We make every effort to make sure the
pdCodeScanner is reasonability accurate, however, there is some trade-off
that we make in order to quickly process the scan. If you find
a particular instance of a mistaken result, please send it to our technical
support team. We will continue to improve both the depth and accuracy
of the pdCodeScanner moving forward. What
if I don't care about certain tips - can I avoid scanning for them?
Yes. There are
actually 2 ways. First, you can de-select the tip in the pdCodeScanner
dialog (the list on the right). When you de-select an item, that item
will not be scanned. Your settings will be maintained for the project
you are working on. Secondly, you can disable the tip in the
pdGuideBook. Select the tip and move to the User tab (last tab to the
right). Uncheck the "Active Optimization Item"
checkbox. Now the tip will not be displayed in the pdCodeScanner. pdProfiler |
