onivim/oni

Benchmark typing latency

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#90 opened on Dec 12, 2016

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 (6 comments) (3 reactions) (0 assignees)TypeScript (11,389 stars) (336 forks)batch import
help wantedinsiderperformance

Description

This article: https://pavelfatin.com/typing-with-pleasure/ has a really great and in-depth investigation into the typing latency of various editors. This latency - the time from pressing the key to seeing the result on the screen - is incredibly important especially with developers. This latency is a huge part in whether an editor is a joy to use or if it feels slow.

For this work, we should look at the following:

  • What are the current measurements of typing latency?
  • What can we do to improve?
  • Can we add metrics so that build-over-build we can see how the latency changes?

Contributor guide

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
desktopperformance
Issue type
performance
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
mostly clear
Prerequisites
basic knowledge of input latency measurement
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
40
Research direction
Start by reading the referenced article to understand measurement methodology. Then explore Oni's input handling code in src/Input/ and rendering code in src/UI/. Set up a test to measure keypress to screen update latency. Consider using high speed camera or software instrumentation. Document current measurements and propose improvements.