Running JavaScript-Intensive Web Pages in Google Chrome
I have been noticing the problems that my web page runs into when dealing with lots of data for the AnnotatedTimeLine. In Firefox 3.0.8, if I even fetch the data, I have a potential leak situation. It seems to be functioning a lot like the Java garbage collector where it'll let the memory rise, and then collect a bunch. I was trying to figure out where this was - in the JavaScript on my end, or in the Google code, when we decided it would be a good idea to try Google Chrome and see if it's 'independent threads for each page' idea would yield better results.
I'm glad I did.
It turns out that the JavaScript engine in Chrome, and possibly it's use of WebKit, makes a big difference in the memory stability of my page. Also, the debug capabilities are far better than those in Firefox. I can see the memory usage of each page and plugin separately. This fact alone made me realize that it's not in the Flash plugin. It's in the JavaScript.
This is good news because Chrome is a much better JavaScript engine, and it's funny, because it's because of the AnnotatedTimeLine that I need to have a superior JavaScript engine in the first place. Sort-of like they made the problem, and then realized that they needed to make the solution as well.
So I'll be looking more heavily at Chrome in the coming weeks. It's got a lot of promise, and while I'm not sure I'll use it on my Mac, as it's got WebKit and SquirrelFish in Safari 4 (Beta), it's nice to know that something with that level of capabilities is available on Windows. Not bad at all.