07-11-2004, 12:58 PM
An idea just came to me. This idea might have occured to others but if not I'll post it up here.
My idea is to load each script and, instead of storing them in memory, store them in random access files. Why you ask? Because moving through a sequential file would be slower and more work than moving through a random access file. Storing them in memory is one technique but limited by available memory and handling EMS/XMS is cumbersome. By using a random access file you can jump around the file without any trouble.
Naturally as you are loading the script into it's file you would also want to examine it briefly. Call this a preprocessor if you want. Basically this stage would be to record the name and position of labels, subroutines, etc. This would be a much faster technique than to search the file for it.
And while we are at it let us address the issue of more than 255 files. The best method, as mentioned before, is to keep track of them in an array. For a speed up you would probably want it to open multiple files at once. As it processes the scripts, have it close each one. Then once it hits the last one in the batch (say the 10th or so) have it open another batch of them.
My idea is to load each script and, instead of storing them in memory, store them in random access files. Why you ask? Because moving through a sequential file would be slower and more work than moving through a random access file. Storing them in memory is one technique but limited by available memory and handling EMS/XMS is cumbersome. By using a random access file you can jump around the file without any trouble.
Naturally as you are loading the script into it's file you would also want to examine it briefly. Call this a preprocessor if you want. Basically this stage would be to record the name and position of labels, subroutines, etc. This would be a much faster technique than to search the file for it.
And while we are at it let us address the issue of more than 255 files. The best method, as mentioned before, is to keep track of them in an array. For a speed up you would probably want it to open multiple files at once. As it processes the scripts, have it close each one. Then once it hits the last one in the batch (say the 10th or so) have it open another batch of them.