CALayer scroll view slowdown with many items - cocoa

Hey, I'm having a performance problem with CALayers in a layer backed NSView inside an NSScrollView. I've got a scroll view that I populate with a bunch of CALayer instances, stacked one on top of the next. Right now all I am doing is putting a border around them so I can see them. There is nothing else in the layer.
Performance seems fine until I have around 1500 or so in the scroll view. When I put 1500 in, the performance is great as I scroll down the list, until I get to around item 1000. Then very suddenly the app starts to hang. It's not a gradual slowdown which is what I would expect if it was just reaching it's capacity. It's like the app hits a brick wall.
When I call CGContextFillRect in the draw method of the layers, the slowdown happens around item 300. I'm assuming this has something to do with maybe the video card memory filling up or something? Do I need to do something to free the resources of the CALayers when they are offscreen in my scroll view?
I've noticed that if I don't setNeedsDisplay on my layers, I can get to the end of 1500 items without slowdowns. This is not a solution however, as I have some custom drawing that I must perform in the layer. I'm not sure if that solves the problem, or just makes it show up with a greater number of items in the layer. Ideally I would like this to be fully scalable with thousands of items in the scroll view (within reason of course). Realistically, how many of these empty items should I expect to be able to display in this way?
#import "ShelfView.h"
#import <Quartz/Quartz.h>
#implementation ShelfView
- (void) awakeFromNib
{
CALayer *rootLayer = [CALayer layer];
rootLayer.layoutManager = self;
rootLayer.geometryFlipped = YES;
[self setLayer:rootLayer];
[self setWantsLayer:YES];
int numItemsOnShelf = 1500;
for(NSUInteger i = 0; i < numItemsOnShelf; i++) {
CALayer* shelfItem = [CALayer layer];
[shelfItem setBorderColor:CGColorCreateGenericRGB(1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0)];
[shelfItem setBorderWidth:1];
[shelfItem setNeedsDisplay];
[rootLayer addSublayer:shelfItem];
}
[rootLayer setNeedsLayout];
}
- (void)layoutSublayersOfLayer:(CALayer *)layer
{
float y = 10;
int totalItems = (int)[[layer sublayers] count];
for(int i = 0; i < totalItems; i++)
{
CALayer* item = [[layer sublayers] objectAtIndex:i];
CGRect frame = [item frame];
frame.origin.x = self.frame.size.width / 2 - 200;
frame.origin.y = y;
frame.size.width = 400;
frame.size.height = 400;
[CATransaction begin];
[CATransaction setAnimationDuration:0.0];
[item setFrame:CGRectIntegral(frame)];
[CATransaction commit];
y += 410;
}
NSRect thisFrame = [self frame];
thisFrame.size.height = y;
if(thisFrame.size.height < self.superview.frame.size.height)
thisFrame.size.height = self.superview.frame.size.height;
[self setFrame:thisFrame];
}
- (BOOL) isFlipped
{
return YES;
}
#end

I found out it was because I was filling each layer with custom drawing, they seemed to all be cached as separate images, even though they shared a lot of common data, so I switched to just creating a dozen CALayers, filling their "contents" property, and adding them as sublayers to a main layer. This seemed to make things MUCH zippier.

Related

NSScrollView starting at middle of the documentView

I have the following code:
[[ticketsListScrollView documentView] setFrame: NSMakeRect(0, 0, [ticketsListScrollView frame].size.width, 53 * [tickets count])];
[[ticketsListScrollView documentView] setFlipped:YES];
for(int i = 0; i < [tickets count]; i++) {
TicketsListViewController *viewController = [[TicketsListViewController alloc] initWithNibName:#"TicketsListViewController" bundle:nil];
viewController.dateLabelText = tickets[i][#"date"];
viewController.timeLabelText = tickets[i][#"time"];
viewController.subjectLabelText = tickets[i][#"title"];
NSRect frame = [[viewController view] frame];
frame.origin.y = frame.size.height * i;
[viewController view].frame = frame;
[[ticketsListScrollView documentView] addSubview:[viewController view]];
}
if the list is large enough (many views), the NSScrollView starts at top-left, which is great. For less views (the views do not take the whole documentView, then NSScrollView starts at the middle.
Any idea why?
Thank you!
Views are not flipped by default, which means your document view is being pinned to the lower-left corner (the default, non-flipped view origin) of the scroll view. What you're seeing is a view not tall enough to push the "top" subview to the top of the scroll view. I see you tried flipping this view, so you already know about this, but you're not doing it correctly.
I'm not sure why you're not getting an error or a warning when calling -setFlipped: since the isFlipped property is read-only. In your document view (the view that's scrolled, and in which you're placing all those subviews), you can override it:
- (BOOL)isFlipped {
return YES;
}
Of course you'll have to put this in a custom NSView subclass and set that as your scroll view's document view's class in IB if you're not creating it at runtime. You'll also need to adjust the frames you use for layout, since you're currently expressing them in the coordinate system of the scroll view's frame. You should be expressing them in your container/layout view's bounds coordinates, which will also be flipped, and so, likely different from your scroll view's coordinates. You'll also need to implement -intrinsicContentSize (and call -invalidateIntrinsicContentSize when adding/removing subviews) so auto-layout can size the container appropriately.

adding Parallax Scrolling cocos2d

currently I am adding my background via the method below. how can I modify the background so that it auto scrolls along with the tilemap.
- (void)setupParallax {
NSString *backgroundName = [self.tilemap propertyNamed:#"BackgroundImage"];
CCSprite *background = [CCSprite spriteWithFile:[AssetHelper
getDeviceSpecificFileNameFor:[NSString stringWithFormat:#"background-%#.png",backgroundName]]];
background.anchorPoint = ccp(0,0);
background.position = CGPointMake(0, 0);
[self addChild:background z:0];
}
You may use a CCParallaxNode. Your background and map would be children of the parallaxNode, and when you move it, its children will automatically move accordingly. Assuming the background should be behind your map, the code will look something like this.-
CCParallaxNode *voidNode = [CCParallaxNode node];
[voidNode addChild:background z:10 parallaxRatio:ccp(0.8f, 0.8f) positionOffset:ccp(0, 0)];
[voidNode addChild:map z:20 parallaxRatio:ccp(1.0f, 1.0f) positionOffset:ccp(0, 0)];
[self addChild:voidNode];
ParallaxRatio will set the speed of each layer based on ParallaxNode movement:
(1.0, 1.0) means that the map will move at the same speed that the voidNode among x and y.
(0.8, 0.8) means that the background will move 80% slower than the ParallaxNode

Layer size/bounds during a core animation

I am working on a Mac app for Mac OS X 10.6+ and need to redraw the contents of a CAOpenGLLayer while an animation is occurring. I think I've read up on all the necessary parts, but it is just not working for me. I set up the animation as follows:
[CATransaction setAnimationDuration:SLIDE_DURATION];
CABasicAnimation *drawAnim = [CABasicAnimation animationWithKeyPath:#"drawIt"];
[drawAnim setFromValue:[NSNumber numberWithFloat:0]];
[drawAnim setToValue:[NSNumber numberWithFloat:1]];
[drawAnim setDuration:SLIDE_DURATION];
[chartView.chartViewLayer addAnimation:drawAnim forKey:#"drawIt"];
chartFrame.origin.x += controlFrame.size.width;
chartFrame.size.width -= controlFrame.size.width;
chartView.chartViewLayer.frame = CGRectMake(chartFrame.origin.x,
chartFrame.origin.y,
chartFrame.size.width,
chartFrame.size.height);
The drawIt property is a custom property whose only purpose is to be called to draw the layer during the successive animation frames. It order to get this to work, you have to add this to the chartViewLayer's class:
+ (BOOL)needsDisplayForKey:(NSString *)key
{
if ([key isEqualToString:#"drawIt"])
{
return YES;
}
else
{
return [super needsDisplayForKey:key];
}
}
So this seems to all be working fine. However, I need to get the current (animated) size of the layer before drawing it. I've found various conflicting information on how to get this out of the presentation layer. Here is what I've tried when the layer's:
drawInCGLContext:(CGLContextObj)glContext
pixelFormat:(CGLPixelFormatObj)pixelFormat
forLayerTime:(CFTimeInterval)timeInterval
displayTime:(const CVTimeStamp *)timeStamp
method is called during the animation. I've tried getting the size using KVC, and by querying either the frame or the bounds.
CALayer *presentationLayer = [chartViewLayer presentationLayer];
//bounds.size.width = [[[chartViewLayer presentationLayer]
// valueForKeyPath:#"frame.size.width"] intValue];
//bounds.size.height = [[[chartViewLayer presentationLayer]
// valueForKeyPath:#"frame.size.height"] intValue];
//bounds.size = presentationLayer.bounds.size;
bounds.size = presentationLayer.frame.size;
NSLog(#"Size during animation: %f, %f", bounds.size.width, bounds.size.height);
In all cases, the returned value is the end result of the animation rather than the transitional values. My understanding is that using the presentationLayer should give the transitional values.
So is this just broken or am I missing some critical step? Thanks for any help.

CAShapeLayer Slow User Interaction

I have a CAShapeLayer and it has to do a simple task of moving on the screen, guided by the user's finger.
The problem is that the movement is too slow. The layer does move, but there is a lag and it feels slow.
I have another test app where an UIImage is moved and there is no lag at all and the image moves instantly.
What can I do to overcome this?
-(void)touchesBegan:(NSSet *)touches withEvent:(UIEvent *)event
{
currentPoint = [[touches anyObject] locationInView:self];
}
- (void) touchesMoved:(NSSet*)touches withEvent:(UIEvent*)event
{
CGPoint activePoint = [[touches anyObject] locationInView:self];
CGPoint newPoint = CGPointMake(activePoint.x - currentPoint.x,activePoint.y - currentPoint.y);
curLayer.position = CGPointMake(shapeLayer.position.x+newPoint.x,shapeLayer.position.y+newPoint.y);
currentPoint = activePoint;
}
Thanks!
Keep in mind that when you set the position on a layer (assuming it's not the root layer of a UIView on which actions are disabled by default), it implicitly animates to the new position, which takes 0.25 seconds. If you want to make it snappier, temporarily disable actions on the layer like this:
- (void) touchesMoved:(NSSet*)touches withEvent:(UIEvent*)event
{
CGPoint activePoint = [[touches anyObject] locationInView:self];
CGPoint newPoint = CGPointMake(activePoint.x -
currentPoint.x,activePoint.y - currentPoint.y);
[CATransaction begin];
[CATransaction setDisableActions:YES];
curLayer.position = CGPointMake(shapeLayer.position.x +
newPoint.x, shapeLayer.position.y + newPoint.y);
[CATransaction commit];
currentPoint = activePoint;
}
This should cause it to jump to the new position rather than animate. If that doesn't help, then let me take a look at your layer init code so I can see what properties and dimensions it has. Properties such as cornerRadius, for example, can affect performance.
Try setting shouldRasterize to YES on your CAShapeLayer, particularly if it is usually drawn at the same scale. If your app runs on high-DPI devices, you may also need to set rasterizationScale to match the layer’s contentsScale.
While rasterizing your shape can make it faster to move the shape around, you’ll probably want to temporarily disable rasterization while you’re animating the layer’s path or size.

removing/adding CALayers for GPU optimization

I have a layer backed view, I am trying to add subLayers roughly sized around 300 X 270 (in pixels) to it.
The sublayers' count may reach 1000 to 2000, not to mention each sublayer is again scalable to roughly 4280 X 1500 or more for starters.
So the problem is obviously that of a GPU constraint.
After adding around 100 subLayers sized 300 X 270 , there is a warning image is too large for GPU, ignoring and that is messing with the layer display.
The solution for such a problem (from some mailing lists) was to use CATiledLayer, but I can't make use of the tiledLayer due to the complex requirement of the subLayers' display.
Is there a possibility of removing the subLayers which don't fall under VisibleRect of the view?
I tried to removeFromSuperlayer and then add it whenever required, there's always a crash when I try to add the subLayer back.
How can I do this?
I am adding sublayer twice (I need to change it) but for now just for the gist of the code:
-(IBAction)addLayer:(id)sender
{
Layer *l = [[Layer alloc] init];
CALayer *layer = [l page];
[contentArray addObject:page];
[drawLayer addSublayer:layer];
[self layout];
}
-(void)layout
{
NSEnumerator *pageEnumr = [contentArray objectEnumerator];
float widthMargin = [self frame].size.width;
CGRect rect;
float zoom = [self zoomFactor];
while(obj = [contentEnmr nextObject] )
{
[obj setZoomFactor:zoom];
CALayer *pg =(CALayer *)[obj page] ;
rect = pg.bounds;
if ( x + pg.bounds.size.width > widthMargin )
{
x = xOffset;
y += rect.size.height + spacing ;
}
rect.origin = CGPointMake(x,y);
[obj changeBounds];
NSRect VisibleRect = [self visibleRect];
NSRect result = NSIntersectionRect(VisibleRect,NSRectFromCGRect( rect));
if( NSEqualRects (result ,NSZeroRect) )
{
[pg removeFromSuperlayer];
}else
{
[drawLayer addSublayer:pg];
[pg setFrame:rect];
[pg setNeedsDisplay];
}
x += ( rect.size.width + spacing);
}
NSRect viewRect = [self frame];
if(viewRect.size.height < ( y + rect.size.height + spacing ) )
viewRect.size.height = ( y + rect.size.height + spacing) ;
[self setFrameSize: viewRect.size];
}
#interface Layer : NSObject {
CALayer *page;
}
#property (retain) CALayer *page;
Have a look at the PhotoScroller application included as part of the WWDC conference. It demonstrates how to zoom and scroll through a very large image by loading only portions of that image that are currently visible.
Also check out this discussion.
You'll need to do what NSTableView and UITableView do, and manage the addition / removal of layers yourself whenever the visible rect changes. Subscribe to the boundsDidChange noitification of the enclosing scroll view's clip view (I'm assuming that the reason some of the layer is offscreen is that it's enclosed in a scroll view):
- (void) viewDidMoveToSuperview
{
NSClipView* clipView = [[self enclosingScrollView] contentView];
[clipView setPostsBoundsChangedNotifications:YES];
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self
selector:#selector(clipViewBoundsDidChange:)
name:NSViewBoundsDidChangeNotification
object:clipView];
}
and then write a clipViewBoundsDidChange: method that adds and removes sublayers as needed. You may also want to cache and reuse invalidated layers to cut down on allocations. Take a look at the way UITableView and NSTableView interact with their dataSource object for some ideas about how to design the interface for this.
CATiledLayer solves this problem the content of a layer --- ie, whatever you set its contents property or draw into its graphics context directly. It won't do this for sublayers, in fact I think you're advised not to add sublayers to a CATiledLayer at all, as this interferes with its drawing behaviour.

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