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Conference gyro::internet_toolss

Title:Internet Tools
Notice:Report ALL NETSCAPE Problems directly to [email protected].rnet? Read note 448.L for beginner information.
Moderator:teco.mro.dec.com::tecotoo.mro.dec.com::mayer
Created:Fri Jun 25 1993
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:4714
Total number of notes:40609

4651.0. "Netscape causing PC performance problems" by MISTA2::EARLE () Tue May 06 1997 10:56

    I'm part of the SBU Americas Technical Support Call Center providing
    Web site support.
    
    Recently we introduced a new version of our Web site which included
    a Java applet that allowed users to expand and collapse the site's
    Table of Contents. Loading the applet and browsing the TOCusing
    Netscape 3.0 was slow but we also received feedback that it caused 
    their PCs to hang either Netscape or their whole system. The users
    are also running the Call Center Database application which uses
    a fair amount of the PC resources.
    
    We further discovered that we had similar problems when trying to
    load an HTML page with a large Table(160KB in one case). Using the 
    Windows 95 System Monitor, we can see resources not being restored
    completely after loading the applet(any applet for that matter) or the
    large table HTML file.
    
    Most PC systems at the Call Center are running with 32Meg of memory
    with a Pentium 166 Mhz processor. Systems with 48 Meg or more of
    memory do not seem to be having the same problem. I say appear because
    alot depends on what other applications are running at a given time.
    
    The bottom line is that we're having to back off the use of Java
    applets until we see what happens with Netscape 4.0.
    
    Has anybody else had similar performance problems with the Netscape
    browser?
    
    Ed
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4651.1teco.mro.dec.com::tecotoo.mro.dec.com::mayerDanny MayerTue May 06 1997 11:2816
	None of this surprises me.  You should be avoiding things like Java
  for people who don't have Java on their system.  You should be using Java
  only where it's really useful.  I have yet to see a really useful example
  of where Java would actually be of benefit on a Web page.  People are using
  the technology because it's the IN thing to use rather than trying to figure
  out what's best for the application that they are implementing.  If you have
  a hammer, must everything be a nail?  You can try Javascript but again you
  are dependant on the browers that people have.  You can see an example of this
  at URL:

http://www.ntmail.co.uk/

	Has anyone bothered to analyse the Web log files to see what browsers
  people are using?

		Danny
4651.2Thought Java would be acceptableMISTA2::EARLETue May 06 1997 14:2428
    I agree with you about using the technology, in this Java only if
    solves a problem. In this case we felt it did solve the problem of
    navigating to information on our Web Site.
    
    We have more than 10 Gigabytes of information. We recognize that users
    are starting at different points (i.e. know the product not what
    documents are avialable, know the document but not what products are
    included in the document list, etc.).
    
    The expandable/collapsible TOC seemed to address the navigation problem
    quite nicely and it is easy to maintain. Our web site
    http://cosmo.tay.dec.com currently uses this Java applet based TOC.
    
    Our audience are Digital Technical Support people and certain Digital
    Partners. So we felt that are user community would be more receptive to
    the use of this technology if it helped.
    
    We also look at using Javascript but were not satisfied because of the
    need to refresh the screen everytime you expanded/collpased the TOC.
    The Java applet did not do that.
    
    So as you can see, it was an informed decision to go with the Java
    applet approach.
    
    One solution to the performance issue associated with loading applets
    is to cache them. Does anyone know why that can't be done?
    
    Ed
4651.3BIGUN::nessus.cao.dec.com::MayneA wretched hive of scum and villainyTue May 06 1997 19:004
You might also want to look at conforming with the DIGITAL branding guidelines 
at http://www.imc.das.dec.com/brand/index.html.

PJDM
4651.4XSTACY::imladris.ilo.dec.com::grainneGrainne Ni ChoilighWed May 07 1997 08:535
Re: .3

A dirty big purple stripe down the side of his pages will stop users' 
browsers from locking up ? Amazing.
4651.5MRPTH1::16.121.160.249::slab[email protected]Wed May 07 1997 13:124
I'd rather have a co-worker give me a warning on a mistake like that than to 
have corporate shut the page down.

4651.6HYDRA::VANORDENWed May 07 1997 19:0633
    
    Ed,
    
    >Using the Windows 95 System Monitor, we can see resources not being
    >restored completely after loading the applet(any applet for that matter)
    >or the large table HTML file.
    
    The problem appears when loading any applet OR a large table HTML file?
    (So it is not isolated to applets, but to large loads?)
    
    Are you sure the problem is with Netscape?  Have you tried another
    browser (or ruled out other possible culprits?)
    
    There is a known memory leak that occurs when opening and closing a
    Socket using the Windows Sockets API, which might be the source of your
    problem.  The patch is at:
    
    http://www.microsoft.com/windows/software/krnlupd.htm
    
    
    Good luck.
    
    re:  >You might also want to look at conforming with the DIGITAL
         >branding guidelines at http://www.imc.das.dec.com/brand/index.html.
    
    I took a look.  It seems to only address placement of logos, colors,
    product names, etc.  There is no mention of what language we can/cannot
    use to get the job done.  I'd be very disappointed if that decision was
    not left to the developer.
    
    Donna
    
     
4651.7Have you had occasion to use LiveLinks?TWICK::PETTENGILLmulpThu May 08 1997 03:109
>I have yet to see a really useful example
>  of where Java would actually be of benefit on a Web page.

I find the AltaVista search LiveLinks quite useful and the map, implemented
with Java, is able to convey a sense of the data that the two alternate
representations don't.

But I would argue that you should, like AltaVista, offer alternatives to
the Java implementation.
4651.8I actually like the page in question, thoughLGP30::FLEISCHERwithout vision the people perish (DTN 381-0426 ZKO1-1)Thu May 08 1997 07:4836
re Note 4651.7 by TWICK::PETTENGILL:

> I find the AltaVista search LiveLinks quite useful and the map, implemented
> with Java, is able to convey a sense of the data that the two alternate
> representations don't.

        Really, I've tried it numerous times, but have gotten far
        more humor than enlightenment from it.  I must not be asking
        the right queries. :}

        (Besides, for me, running browsers in beta, the use of Java
        seems to mean consistently slower page loading, slower
        browsing in other windows while the applet is running, and
        most of the time the browser will crash sooner.)

> But I would argue that you should, like AltaVista, offer alternatives to
> the Java implementation.

        Another problem for Java vs. HTML is that the content of HTML
        pages is easily indexed (and thus searchable) by crawlers
        such as AltaVista's, as well as links out of HTML pages are
        easily found and followed.  (You can overcome this on a page
        by page basis by careful use of the META tag.)

        (Also, I like having selectable text on pages I'm viewing --
        most browsers make HTML text fully selectable/copyable,
        whereas this does not seem to be true of the text displayed
        by many Java applets.  But, then, I prefer character cell
        Notes for the same reason, so I'd warn you that I'm a
        troglodyte.)

        I personally would use Java only for interaction styles that
        were absolutely essential to the application and which could
        not even be approximated reasonably by HTML.

        Bob