Re: [Emacs-diffs] comment-cache 223d16f 2/3: Apply `comment-depth' text properties when calling `back_comment'.

[Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca>]

> In branch comment-cache, on a fully fontified, and fully cached xdisp.c
> buffer, there are 55786 intervals with ~557860 conses, that's an extra
> 512 intervals, or less than 1%.  There are an extra ~115668 conses,
> about an extra 25%.  I'll admit this is a drawback.

There's also the extra cost of applying all those text-properties plus
the cost of slowing down application of other text-properties (since
every time we modify intervals, we have to play with the lists of
properties of the intervals involved), plus the cost of slowing down
all lookups of other text-properties.

These were some of the reasons which made me choose a separate table for
syntax-ppss rather than using text-properties.

This said, I don't think it matters much.  FWIW, syntax-ppss uses a very
naive singly-linked list for the simple reason that I decided to "first
get something working", and I just haven't found a need to go back and
optimize this data-structure (which could be turned into a tree or even
an array, in case it mattered).

Another motivation to go with a separate table was that I figured
I would then be able to more easily manipulate the cache, e.g. in case
I wanted to keep several versions of the cache at the same time (e.g. one
version per syntax-table value being used, or one version per value of
`point-min').  But there again, I haven't had the need to go back and
add that kind of functionality yet.

IOW, I don't think the exact representation chosen matters much.

What I do think is a pity in your implementation (thinking of it as
a potential replacement for syntax-ppss) is that it has to do all the
hard work of computing a full "parse-partial-sexp state" (aka PPSS) and
then throws away the parenthesis part of the state to only keep the
string/comment part, making it unable to provide as much info as
syntax-ppss does, even though it had to work just as hard for it.


        Stefan