Extreme Hang In A Repeat Loop - applescript

Question

With my script for a Numbers table, I am experiencing an extreme (3-4 seconds per cell) hang in a repeat loop, which I believe may be caused by my use of the copy command, since as I understand it,copy creates a new reference to the value, instead of replacing the value like the set command would. I am unsure if its the use of the copy command, my Mac, or poor placement of the loop in the sequence of commands. I've tried switching the sequence of commands around which doesn't help. Other uses of a similar copy loop do not behave so slowly. My question is sort of a compound question. Am I asking the loop to process to much, is it misplaced, should I be using something other than copy or is it simply my Mac? (memory doesn't appear to be low enough to cause the hang, still 1.5gb left during the hang, nothing except Numbers and the script running) To sum it up, how can I solve the hang issue?
The portion of the loop where the hang begins is below
-- This is where the extreme hang begins
repeat with x from 1 to (count rows) - 2
repeat with y from 1 to count monthNames
copy incrementDates(y) of me to {theDayIndex, theMonthIndex, theYear, theDateString, monthLengthInDays}
set monthStart to theDateString
set monthEnd to theMonthIndex & "/" & monthLengthInDays & "/" & theYear as text
set theFormula to "=SUMIFS(Amount,Category,A,Date, \">=" & monthStart & "\",Date, \"<=" & monthEnd & "\")"
set value of cell (y + 1) of row (x + 1) to theFormula
end repeat
end repeat
-- Extreme hang ends and script continues normally
The full script for reference is here, in case its a compounded issue of my other copy usage.
set moneyInHeaders to {"Last Name", "First Name", "Receipt Number", "Payment", "Date", "Office", "City", "Referral Name"}
set locationList to {"Location 1", "Location 2"}
set the monthNames to {"January", "February", "March", "April", "May", "June", "July", "August", "September", "October", "November", "December"}
set moneyOutHeaders to {"Expense", "Amount", "Date", "Category", "Item"}
set categoryItems to {"Marketing", "Software", "Tools", "Utilities", "Other"}
set thisYearName to (year of (current date)) as string
set moneyInColor to {31354, 51657, 22615}
set moneyOutColor to {59623, 20816, 14391}
tell application "Numbers"
if not (exists document 1) then make new document
tell document 1
delete every sheet
set the name of sheet 1 to "Money In"
tell sheet 1
delete every table
set moneyInTable to make new table with properties {name:"Money In", position:{-7, 29}, width:788, column count:count moneyInHeaders, row count:14, footer row count:1, header column count:2}
tell moneyInTable
set locationCount to count locationList -- get count of locations
set properties of row 1 to {background color:{moneyInColor}}
my populateCells(moneyInTable, row 1, moneyInHeaders, false) -- fill header row values
set value of last cell of column named "Payment" to ("=SUM(C)")
my populateCells(moneyInTable, column named "Office", locationList, true) -- fill pop up menu values
my formatCells(moneyInTable, column named "Payment", currency)
my formatCells(moneyInTable, column named "Date", date and time)
my formatCells(moneyInTable, column named "Office", pop up menu)
delete (rows 2 through (locationCount + 1)) -- remove rows that contain values so the pop up column is empty
repeat locationCount times -- add the rows back to keep table size
add row below row 2
end repeat
end tell -- end telling moneyInTable
-- Set locked false for now
set totalsTable to make new table with properties {name:"Money In Totals", locked:false, position:{785, 29}, column count:2, row count:(count monthNames) + 2, header column count:1, header row count:1, footer row count:1}
tell totalsTable
set properties of row 1 to {background color:{moneyInColor}}
my populateCells(totalsTable, column "A", monthNames, true)
set value of last cell of column "A" to "Grand Total"
set value of cell "B1" to "Totals"
set value of last cell to ("=SUM(B)")
tell column "B"
repeat with x from 1 to count monthNames -- loop and increment dates for the SUMIFS formula
copy incrementDates(x) of me to {theDayIndex, theMonthIndex, theYear, theDateString, monthLengthInDays}
set monthStart to theDateString
set monthEnd to theMonthIndex & "/" & monthLengthInDays & "/" & theYear as text
set the value of cell (x + 1) to ("=SUMIFS(Payment,Date, \">=" & monthStart & "\", Date, \"<=" & monthEnd & "\")")
end repeat
end tell -- end telling column B
end tell -- end telling totalsTable
end tell -- end telling active sheet
make new sheet with properties {name:"Money Out"}
tell sheet 2
delete every table
set moneyOutTable to make new table with properties {name:"Money Out", position:{-7, 29}, width:710, column count:count moneyOutHeaders, row count:14, footer row count:1}
tell moneyOutTable
set catCount to count categoryItems -- get count of categoryItems
set properties of column "A" to {width:180}
set properties of row 1 to {background color:{moneyOutColor}}
set value of last cell of column "B" to ("=SUM(B)")
my populateCells(moneyOutTable, row 1, moneyOutHeaders, false) -- fill header row values
my populateCells(moneyOutTable, column named "Category", categoryItems, true) -- fill pop up values
my formatCells(moneyOutTable, column "A", text)
my formatCells(moneyOutTable, column named "Amount", currency)
my formatCells(moneyOutTable, column named "Date", date and time)
my formatCells(moneyOutTable, column named "Category", pop up menu)
my formatCells(moneyOutTable, column named "Item", text)
delete (rows 2 through (catCount + 1)) -- remove rows that contain values so the pop up menu is empty
repeat catCount times -- add the rows back to keep table size
add row below row 2
end repeat
end tell -- end telling moneyOutTable
set totalsTable to make new table with properties {name:"Money Out Totals", locked:false, position:{744, 29}, column count:2, row count:(count monthNames) + 2, header column count:1, header row count:1, footer row count:1}
tell totalsTable
set properties of row 1 to {background color:{moneyOutColor}}
my populateCells(totalsTable, column "A", monthNames, true)
set value of last cell of column "A" to "Grand Total"
set value of cell "B1" to "Totals"
set value of last cell to ("=SUM(B)")
tell column "B"
repeat with x from 1 to count monthNames -- oop and increment dates for the SUMIFS formula
copy incrementDates(x) of me to {theDayIndex, theMonthIndex, theYear, theDateString, monthLengthInDays}
set monthStart to theDateString
set monthEnd to theMonthIndex & "/" & monthLengthInDays & "/" & theYear as text
set theFormula to ("=SUMIFS(Amount,Date, \">=" & monthStart & "\", Date, \"<=" & monthEnd & "\")")
set the value of cell (x + 1) to theFormula
end repeat
end tell -- end telling column B
end tell -- end telling totalsTable
set summaryTable to make new table with properties {name:"Category Totals", position:{943, 29}, column count:2, row count:(catCount) + 1}
tell summaryTable
set properties of row 1 to {background color:{moneyOutColor}}
set value of cell "B1" to "Totals"
my populateCells(summaryTable, column "A", categoryItems, true)
my formatCells(summaryTable, column "B", currency)
tell column 2
repeat with x from 2 to the count of cells
set theFormula to ("=SUMIFS(Amount,Category,A)")
set the value of cell x to theFormula
end repeat
end tell -- end telling column 2
end tell -- end telling summaryTable
-- Extreme hang starts on this table, specifically below where noted
set breakDownTable to make new table with properties {name:"Expenses By Month", column count:(count monthNames) + 1, row count:(count categoryItems) + 2, header column count:1, footer row count:1, header row count:1}
tell breakDownTable
set properties of row 1 to {background color:{moneyOutColor}}
my populateCells(breakDownTable, row 1, monthNames, true)
my populateCells(breakDownTable, column "A", categoryItems, true)
my formulateRow(breakDownTable, last row, "SUM")
set selection range to range "B2:M8"
set properties of selection range to {format:currency}
set value of last cell of column "A" to "Total"
--***** This is where the extreme hang begins
repeat with x from 1 to (count rows) - 2
repeat with y from 1 to count monthNames
copy incrementDates(y) of me to {theDayIndex, theMonthIndex, theYear, theDateString, monthLengthInDays}
set monthStart to theDateString
set monthEnd to theMonthIndex & "/" & monthLengthInDays & "/" & theYear as text
set theFormula to "=SUMIFS(Amount,Category,A,Date, \">=" & monthStart & "\",Date, \"<=" & monthEnd & "\")"
set value of cell (y + 1) of row (x + 1) to theFormula
end repeat
end repeat
--***** Extreme hang ends and script continues normally
add column after last column -- add a totals column after everything else is done
set totalsColumn to the last column
tell totalsColumn
set value of cell 1 to "Total"
my formulateColumn(breakDownTable, totalsColumn, "SUM")
end tell -- end telling totalsColumn
end tell -- end telling breakDownTable
end tell -- end telling sheet 2
make new sheet with properties {name:"Overview"}
tell sheet 3
delete every table
set cashFlowTable to make new table with properties {name:"Cashflow", column count:2, row count:(count monthNames) + 2, footer row count:1}
tell cashFlowTable
my populateCells(cashFlowTable, column "A", monthNames, true)
set value of last cell of column "A" to "Grand Total"
my formatCells(cashFlowTable, column "B", currency)
set value of cell "B1" to "Cashflow Totals"
set value of last cell to ("=SUM(B)")
tell column 2
repeat with x from 1 to count monthNames
set value of cell (x + 1) to ("=Money In::Money In Totals::Totals " & item x of monthNames & "−Money Out::Money Out Totals::Totals " & item x of monthNames)
end repeat
end tell -- end telling column 2
end tell -- end telling cashflow table
end tell -- end telling sheet 3
set active sheet to first sheet
end tell -- end telling document
end tell -- end telling Numbers
using terms from application "Numbers"
to populateCells(theTable, theDirection, theListToUse, usingHeaders)
tell theTable
set x to 1
if usingHeaders is true then
repeat with x from 1 to count theListToUse
set value of cell (x + 1) of theDirection to (item x of theListToUse)
end repeat
else
repeat with x from 1 to count theListToUse
set value of cell x of theDirection to (item x of theListToUse)
end repeat
end if
end tell
end populateCells
to formatCells(theTable, theDirection, theFormat)
tell theTable
set theRange to ¬
((name of cell 2 of theDirection) & ":" & ¬
(name of last cell of theDirection))
set selection range to range theRange
set properties of selection range to {format:theFormat}
end tell
end formatCells
to colorCells(theTable, theDirection, theColor)
tell theTable
set theRange to ¬
((name of cell 2 of theDirection) & ":" & ¬
(name of last cell of theDirection))
set selection range to range theRange
set properties of selection range to {background color:theColor}
end tell
end colorCells
to formulateColumn(theTable, theColumn, theType)
tell theTable
tell theColumn
repeat with i from 2 to the count of cells
set thisRow to the row of cell i
set rangeStart to the name of cell 2 of thisRow
set rangeEnd to the name of cell -2 of thisRow
set theFormula to ("=" & theType & "(" & rangeStart & ":" & rangeEnd & ")") as string
set value of cell i to theFormula
end repeat
end tell
end tell
end formulateColumn
to formulateRow(theTable, theRow, theType)
tell theTable
tell theRow
repeat with i from 2 to the count of cells
set thisColumn to the column of cell i
set rangeStart to the name of thisColumn
set rangeEnd to the name of thisColumn
set theFormula to ("=" & theType & "(" & rangeStart & ":" & rangeEnd & ")") as string
set value of cell i to theFormula
end repeat
end tell
end tell
end formulateRow
end using terms from
to incrementDates(tempMonth)
copy (current date) to tempDate
set day of tempDate to 1
set month of tempDate to tempMonth
set theDayName to weekday of tempDate
set theDayIndex to day of tempDate
set theMonth to month of tempDate
set theMonthIndex to theMonth as integer
set theMonthName to theMonth as string
set theYear to year of tempDate
set theDateString to short date string of tempDate
repeat with i from 1 to 32
set tempDate to tempDate + (1 * days)
if month of tempDate is not theMonth then
set monthLengthInDays to i
exit repeat
end if
end repeat
return {theDayIndex, theMonthIndex, theYear, theDateString, monthLengthInDays}
end incrementDates

Answer 1

After looking over your script, I've ran it and didn't experience the lag you're describing so that leaves the issue to your system or multiple test runs while writing the script.
Next as mentioned in the comments above, you can use the set command instead of copy in your incrementDates handler. You don't need a copy of (current date) each time your handler is invoked (12 times each call) so that could be changed to
to incrementDates(tempMonth)
set tempDate to (current date)
set day of tempDate to 1
set month of tempDate to tempMonth
set theDayName to weekday of tempDate
set theDayIndex to day of tempDate
set theMonth to month of tempDate
set theMonthIndex to theMonth as integer
set theMonthName to theMonth as string
set theYear to year of tempDate
set theDateString to short date string of tempDate
repeat with i from 1 to 32
set tempDate to tempDate + (1 * days)
if month of tempDate is not theMonth then
set monthLengthInDays to i
exit repeat
end if
end repeat
return {theDayIndex, theMonthIndex, theYear, theDateString, monthLengthInDays}
end incrementDates
from there you would still retrieve the values as you're currently doing.
Next you've also created a handler here where a handler isn't particularly needed.
to formatCells(theTable, theDirection, theFormat)
tell theTable
set theRange to ¬
((name of cell 2 of theDirection) & ":" & ¬
(name of last cell of theDirection))
set selection range to range theRange
set properties of selection range to {format:theFormat}
end tell
end formatCells
The above is the same as using
set properties of column named "Payment" to {format:currency}
The difference is negligible, but my general guide is don't reinvent the wheel. You're also not using a handler where a handler could be used when creating the totalsTable
to makeMonthlyTotalsTable(theTable, theColor)
tell theTable
set properties of row 1 to {background color:{theColor}}
my populateCells(totalsTable, column "A", monthNames, true)
set value of last cell of column "A" to "Grand Total"
set value of cell "B1" to "Totals"
set value of last cell to ("=SUM(B)")
tell column "B"
repeat with x from 1 to count monthNames -- loop and increment dates for the SUMIFS formula
copy incrementDates(x) of me to {theDayIndex, theMonthIndex, theYear, theDateString, monthLengthInDays}
set monthStart to theDateString
set monthEnd to theMonthIndex & "/" & monthLengthInDays & "/" & theYear as text
set the value of cell (x + 1) to ("=SUMIFS(Payment,Date, \">=" & monthStart & "\", Date, \"<=" & monthEnd & "\")")
end repeat
end tell -- end telling column B
end tell -- end telling totalsTable
end makeMonthlyTotalsTable
Again negligible difference and maybe opinion, but cleaner code if you plan on recreating that table in other sheets.
NOTE: I didn't test this handler, I just copied and pasted it from your script and changed the variable names to pass, but it should run fine as long as you set and declare the color name variables and switch monthNames to a property.
property monthNames : {"January", "February", "March", "April", "May", "June", "July", "August", "September", "October", "November", "December"}