From: bjorn@ludd.luth.se (Bjorn Fahller)
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.misc
Subject: WPS *MUST* be optimized with regard to memory and *.ini
Date: 13 Dec 92 16:38:57 GMT
Organization: Lule} Tekniska H|gskolas Datorf|rening - Ludd


  I think IBM should make it top priority to optimize WPS with regards 
to memory- and OS2*.INI-fragmentation. I'll tell you a horror storie in 
a moment. I know that what I'm experiencing might be due to too little 
memory and a somewhat unorthodox setup, but I think I shouldn't have to 
experience it anyway.
 
Hardware:
IBM PS/2 55sx (386sx/16)
6Mb RAM (4 on board, 2 on addon card)
30Mb HD (HPFS, OS/2 system only)
33Mb external SCSI HD (HPFS only 1 partition. Desktop + *.ini)
Future Domain MSC-700 SCSI controller (pretty dumb, but works)
Standard VGA
 
Software that (might) matter:
OS/2 2.0 (US version) + SP
4os2 1.0 rev D
AlarmPro
Carlsberg tools Swap20 swapfile size monitor
 
The story of a swapfile that grew despite no running apps and an 
OS2SYS.INI file that grew without containing anything.
 
Yesterday I was processing a large amount of downloads from hobbes. 
50-100 files, I think. All files located in d:\tmp. To make processing 
simple, the following 4os2 command was issued:
 
        for %i in (*.z*;*.lzh;*.arj) do (IF NOT EXIST %@name[%i] (echo 
        %i & mdcd %@name[%i] & x ..\%i & cd..))
 
where mdcd is an alias mdcd=`mkdir %1 & cd %1`
and x is an alias that use the extention of the argument to chose which 
program to unpack the archive with. In this case unzip, lh x, zoo -x or
unarj x.
 
After this the swapfile was 5Mb (normal) and OS2SYS.INI around 2Mb (also
normal).
 
To make the processing further simpler I have a folder (marked as a 
work-area) with shadows of d:\tmp (icon view), my archive directory 
(tree view) and my BIN directory (only the icon, hardly ever open it). 
To prevent myself from fatal mistakes I also use a plastic bag folder 
(and a template for it) instead of immediately shredding objects.
 
Sorting the d:\tmp folder makes every archive file sit next to a folder
with the same name (except the extention, of course). Processing the 
files are done this way:
 
        Open the folder. Decide if the content is worth saving or not.
        Not worth saving:
                Close the folder and drag both folder icon and archive
                file icon to the plastic bag.
        Worth saving:
                Drag the archive file folder to the appropriate place in
                the archive tree.
                Pitch the folder if it's nothing I want immediately.
                Create a program object if it's a program (or several)
                and drag the folder to the BIN folder.
                Play with the associations and object types.
 
After having done this with just over half the files, the system was 
very sluggish. The swapfile was now 8Mb in size (not one more program 
running than there was when the processing started, for which 5Mb swap 
file was okay). OS2SYS.INI was roughly 6Mb in size.
 
I decided to shut down and restart the system. A rather brutal way of 
solving a memory fragmentation problem, but it helped. The swap file was
now down to 5Mb again, and the system a lot snappier. It still took an 
awful long time (lots of disk access) to get the menues for all sort of
objects, though.
 
The rest of the files were processed the same way as above. When I was 
finished, I shredded the plastic bag. After all it contained nearly 16Mb
of trash. After getting a new plastic bag, OS2SYS.INI was 10350232 bytes
long, and OS2.INI 320905 bytes long. COPYINI pealed down OS2SYS.INI to 
slim 133281 bytes (on other words there was 77 times as much garbage in 
it as there was information) and OS2.INI was slimmed to 252116 bytes.
The swapfile had grown to 6Mb.
 
I don't think this is the way it should be at all. Something really 
needs to be done about this.
   _
/Bjorn.
 

-- 
Bjorn Fahller     Phone:              |The opinions above are not necessarily
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