2005 / September 30^th/ Backpack is slowing down

Has anyone else noticed lately that Backpack is slowing down? I sure have noticed it. Pages used to load in less than a second, and now it’s taking several seconds just to update a description to one of my pages.

Which brings up something I’ve been meaning to touch on for a while now. If your application uses AJAX you better have a server ready to handle the requests - and fast. When something is supposed to happen without a page load, I’ve come to expect it to be near instantaneous. Once the request hits the second mark, I’d just as well have a full page load. My rule is: if I’m doing a non-critical action (i.e. updating a backpack page vs purchasing a $800 item on NewEgg) I’d just as well do part of it (update a description) hit enter and then go back to whatever I’m doing. I use FireFox’s activity indicator to know when the page load has finished… but I can’t do that with AJAX requests. The page just sits there waiting to be updated.

The usual “well the server isn’t blowing up yet” argument doesn’t seem to hold anymore. I think web users are starting to expect a faster web. AJAX progression has spread that need and lightening fast page loads made available by fast computers, fast internet, and ultra lightweight webservers have made the word “instantaneous” take on all kinds of new meanings. I know it may seem rediculous, but a second is a long time to an experienced web user. Waiting two, three, and up to ten seconds is near unbearable for me.

Anyways, a random caffeine-inspired note you might take note of, or not. Oh, and I just might have something cool to go with my reviving of Drum Report cooking. For now, planning.

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