[Xsltforms-support] optimization question

[C. M. Sperberg-M. <cm...@bl...>]

As a sort of Christmas present to myself, I've used XForms to make a 
small toy:  an implementation of a very simple virtual machine designed
by Nicklaus Wirth to teach compiler writing.  He used it as the target
machine for a compiler for a small subset of Pascal called PL/0.  I guess
it's appropriate that I got it to work properly yesterday, on the Feast of
St. Nicholas.

  http://blackmesatech.com/2011/12/pl0/index.xhtml

In the current state of the page, the user can select from a small 
number of sample programs for this virtual machine, and step through
them one instruction at a time.  So far, so good.

What puzzles me is the difference in response time between the 
relatively small programs for calculating squares of numbers between
1 and n, and the somewhat longer program (but still only a hundred
instructions or so) for using random numbers to estimate the volume
of a sphere.  (N.B. I'm not talking about the very slow method used to
calculate n mod m, which means the user will almost certainly not
have the patience to step all the way through the program.  I'm 
talking about the clock time between clicking the Step button and
the completion of the actions.)  The response time is not particularly 
great on the small programs, but it didn't particularly bother me as I
was working with the form.  But when the code document becomes
larger, the response time degrades significantly.

Are there good ways to see where the time is going?  Are there
obvious ways to make it faster?  

Thanks for any tips, suggestions, or thought-provoking questions.

Michael Sperberg-McQueen

-- 
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* C. M. Sperberg-McQueen, Black Mesa Technologies LLC
* http://www.blackmesatech.com 
* http://cmsmcq.com/mib                 
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