ftp.nice.ch/pub/next/developer/objc/fromnext/MiniExamples.91.9.s.tar.gz#/MiniExamples/PerformanceTuning/Winfo/Readme.rtf

This is Readme.rtf in view mode; [Download] [Up]

		Winfo

By Paul S. Kleppner

Winfo provides information about  NeXTStep window  memory usage.  It's useful for finding windows which unnecessarily allocate alpha or color planes and waste large amounts of memory.

Start

The Start button takes a snapshot of the screen.    The outlines of all windows are shown, and each one is labeled with its size in kb.   Depending on the setting of the highlight check boxes, Winfo will shade windows which have alpha setting,  or are using color, or  have a depth of greater than two bits.

Clicking on  any outlined window selects it.  Winfo draws a heavy black border around the selected window and all other windows in the same context.  In addition, it displays the following detailed  information about that window in the report panel:

  Number	the DPS window number
  Context	the DPS context number
  Size		the width and height of the window
  Alpha		whether an alpha channel is allocated
  Depth		number of planes allocated for gray/color
  Depth Limit	max depth the window is permitted
  Backing Store	bytes of backing store consumed by window

Winfo also displays information about all windows in the same context  (typically all windows of an application share the same context):

  On-screen	how many on-screen windows in context
  Off-screen	how many off-screen
  Total		total number of windows for context
  Backing Store	total bytes of backing store for context

The backing store calculations are made based on the window size, alpha, depth, and color, but do not take into account any additional window server overhead that may exist.

Command-clicking on a window sends it to back.

Off-Screen Windows

The Off-Screen Windows button brings all off-screen windows on-screen, for the selected context.  The windows will remain on-screen until you click on a different context. 

Window Contents

If you check the Window Contents box, the windows outlines are replaced by the window contents.  You can click or command-click on windows to bring them to front, or send them to back.

Delay

If you enter a value into the Delay field, Winfo will count down that many seconds after Start is pressed before taking the picture.  This is useful for obtaining information about panels which appear only while an application is active.  During the count down, you can activate another application.

Abount Winfo

Winfo was written during the development of Lotus ImprovTM, to examine window memory usage in that product.  It's provided in the hopes that other NeXT developers may find it helpful.   It may be copied freely (please do!). Winfo is not a Lotus product, and is provided "as is", without warranty. 

These are the contents of the former NiCE NeXT User Group NeXTSTEP/OpenStep software archive, currently hosted by Netfuture.ch.