[IxDA Discuss] Latency

[Jens Meiert]

> > > However, if the expected waiting time is short, like latency on a
> > > mouse click, it is a problem if there is no prompt feedback. It is a
> > > shame that today's operating systems did not adopt real-time
> > > scheduling from operating systems like the Amiga OS. In my opinion,
> > > user interaction imposes real-time constraints on feedback as a
> > > requirement.
> >
> > True, but rather should /avoiding/ latency be a critical software
> > design principle.
> 
> Both are important. What you are saying is best effort practice. What
> I was mentioning was that unbounded waiting (like when my machine
> starts to swap in/out memory after a mouse click) is a terrible
> experience. At least the window system should continue to remain
> responsive.

Of course, I didn't want to disagree but rather emphasize the importance to design software so that it induces as few latency as possible.

-- 
Jens Meiert
http://meiert.com/en/