530606 - generate fast load files at build time

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 512588

(Firefox Build System :: General, defect)

Description

[Mike Beltzner [:beltzner, not reading bugmail]]

From bsmedberg in dev-platform:

"Parsing JavaScript and XML is slow. In order to improve the startup speed of
the app, on first startup we parse the JS and XML and save the parsed
version in a smaller and more efficient bytecode format (XDR for JS, I don't
know what for XUL/XBL) which subsequent startups use."

to which I asked:

Why don't we do this at build time and add a check to see if the XML/JS has changed, and then only generate the fast load files in cases where they've changed?

Read the whole thread here: http://groups.google.com/group/mozilla.dev.platform/browse_thread/thread/ca867015d8e35fd2/bb222c3d11b20a3f#bb222c3d11b20a3f

This bug is for the first bit. Might have a good impact on first startup of the browser.

Comment 1

[[e-mail] (:bhearsum)]

I think this a Build Config (eg, Makefile) issue

Comment 2

[Benjamin Smedberg]

This would require work beyond generating them, we'd have to write extra code to use them, I think. I'm not sure what the interaction of fastload and overlays is: are XUL files fastloaded after overlays are applied? If so, any extensions would make the pre-shipped fastload useless, I think.

Comment 3

[Boris Zbarsky [:bzbarsky]]

Fastload works on the prototype document level at the moment.  So each overlay is fastloaded separately and the overlay merge work has to be done every time even when fastloading.

Comment 4

[(dormant account)]

I believe this bug is a dupe of bug 512588 as the proper point to create these files is at install time.