QuickStart Development

[Nancy Palmquist]

Richard,



On 6/10/2016 4:49 PM, Richard Kreiss via Filepro-list wrote:
> Now to make things clear, I used quickstart since it came available.
>
> Mark is probably correct that network latency has a greater effect on one's
> perception of an internet connection.
>
> The other side of the coin is an application like I have had to create which
> uses records in one file to create a report run from a system command which
> passes variables to a -v select process.  This output is now up to
> generating 300 separate pdf files.  This would require 300 compiles of
> dreport where report requires none.  And yes, the client has more than
> adequate hardware to throw at this process.
>
> I think that the environment that filePro runs in may also be an issue.
> FilePro on a *nix system runs more efficiently (read faster) then on a
> Windows system. I think the only way filePro would run comparatively would
> be when using RDP to directly the server, unless of course a fiber network
> has been installed.
>
> The Windows environment is more costly when it comes to servers as one need
> to have more horsepower running it.  Windows is still a memory hog and does
> run more efficiently the more memory one uses especially if one is
> configuring a RDP server.  On a single computer, 16GB is really the most one
> would need. (Gamers may want more).  My client's really only need systems
> with 2Gb of RAM but are purchasing 4Gb machines.  One or two of the
> employees may be running application which can use that or more memory.
>
> An aside:
>
> I have installed some small SSD's drives at some client sites and set pftmp
> to use a directory(folder) on that drive.  It does help performance a bit.
> This is like creating a ram disk on a Xenix machine.  In this case, a task
> runs on the weekend to delete all of the files that may be left there.
>
> Richard Kreiss
> GCC Consulting
>
Sorry I am late to the discussion - but here are a few points.

I want to add a bigger issue to your example where you run 300 processes 
to create PDF files for each.  I think a more significant improvement in 
speed is the I/O side of your system.  In my work with issues like this, 
the convert to PDF and writing PDF files is the slow side and the most 
significant on a Windows System is I/O. Remember Windows is still client 
side processing and all that data has to be dragged to your client 
before it is processed.  Any reduction in the quantity of what needs to 
be dragged will offer improvements in speed.

A footnote to remember is that while every effort is made to make 
filepro and Quickstart filepro run exactly the same on the same tables 
it is not always the case.  It is critical that you compile the tables 
with the associated automatic table indicated.  I have seen differences 
in how they throw error messages and like issues over the years.  So it 
is important to test your software in both environments.  QS does not 
have a debugger level so you will have to get very friendly with logtext 
to track your flow.

I distribute 2 big packages using Quickstart installs - no source code - 
and these are great tools.  As Ken suggested earlier, Quickstart made a 
huge difference to load time in the day.  2 minutes to 10 sec kinds of 
differences, but not human significant time now.

Nancy

-- 
Nancy Palmquist         MOS & filePro Training Available
Virtual Software Systems    Web Based Training and Consulting
PHONE: (412) 835-9417           Web site:  http://www.vss3.com