[oXygen-user] [OXYGEN-9712] Why is the size limit so low for comfortably editing files in text mode in scripts such as Tamil?

Fri Oct 27 02:16:08 CDT 2023

Hello Adrian,

thank you for your answer.

Yes, it works if I set the limit to 800000 characters,
and I can certainly try to clear the Disble box when the file goes 
beyond that limit,
which will happen soon.

NEVERTHELESS,
the main problem is the following.

I have been using oXygen for more than 10 years,
and have frequently handled files which are much bigger than that.

If I work in Text mode, I have to enter text based on where I know the 
(invisible) cursor to be [disregarding the misleading visible cursor]

If I work in Author mode (when a .CSS is  defined), I have to patiently 
wait for the screen to stabilize, in a number of occasions where some 
reformatting takes place

As a last resource solution, I occasionally edit my .XML files using 
Notepad++, if I have to do some adjustment to my file which would be too 
painful to do otherwise

All this is fine for me, who started to use computers before the age of 
Windows ...

... BUT I NEVER FEEL COMFORTABLE RECOMMENDING THE USE OF OXYGEN TO 
COLLEAGUES WHO WORK ON TAMIL
knowing the suffering it will be for them
-- either to see a misleading insertion point cursor
-- or to see the computer seemingly freeze at the time of redrawing the 
screen

SIMPLE SCRIPTS are not the only scripts

There is a HUGE WORLD of scholarship using COMPLEX SCRIPTS (for Tamil, 
for Sanskrit, for all indian languages, and in other places)

Would it not be wise for the oXygen team to "use native methods (OS 
support) to render and manage cursor positions in the text"?

Please consider this humble plea

அன்புடன்

-- Jean-Luc

https://htl.cnrs.fr/equipe/jl-chevillard/

On 25/10/2023 14:33, Oxygen XML Editor Support (Adrian Buza) wrote:
> Hello,
>
> Tamil is a script that requires "special characters" support in text 
> mode. When you open in Oxygen a document that contains such script 
> (with default options) you are prompted to Enable/Disable support for 
> bidirectional text and special characters. When this support is 
> enabled, the performance is affected significantly. Larger documents 
> incur a more significant performance penalty. By default *this support 
> is disabled for files larger than 300KB, but performance can be 
> acceptable for up to 800KB.*
> https://www.oxygenxml.com/doc/versions/26.0/ug-editor/topics/bidirectional-support.html
>
>> if I edit in text mode a file containing the equivalent of 60 pages 
>> (which has a *size of 693 kB*), I can no longer trust what I see and 
>> have to enter the Tamil text without paying attention to the position 
>> of the cursor, which is far to the right side of the actual insertion 
>> position.
>>
>> Why is that the case?
> To answer your question, if you have the default limit of 300k in 
> Oxygen and are editing a file that is larger, the "special characters" 
> support is disabled without notification. With the support disabled, 
> it is normal for the cursor positioning and editing to be "off".
> If you want to have it enabled, go to Options > Preferences, Editor > 
> Open/Save and in the section "Support for Special Characters" 
> *configure the 'Disable special characters support for documents 
> larger than (characters)' limit to 800k*. If you feel confident it 
> will hold, you could clear the Disable box (so that it never gets 
> disabled), but be aware that the larger the document, the more it will 
> slow down, up to making it appear as hanged. If you disable the limit, 
> I would advise to at least set it to "Prompt for each document", so 
> you can disable it yourself when it's not needed.
>
>> Why is a text editor such as Notepad++ capable of doing what oXygen 
>> cannot do, with respect to rendering text containing complex scritps 
>> such as Tamil? 
> Oxygen XML Editor is a Java application and at least for the text mode 
> it uses the support that Java implements for rendering texts and 
> managing cursor positions. When dealing with large file sizes and 
> special scripts, the Java implementation struggles to efficiently 
> handle the text rendering and cursor positioning due the complexity 
> and nuances of the script that is not handled natively.
>
> On the other hand, text editors like Notepad++, which are solely built 
> for handling text files, might perform better with large files and 
> complex scripts because they use native methods (OS support) to render 
> and manage cursor positions in the text.
>
> Regards,
> Adrian
> Adrian Buza
> oXygen XML Editor and Author Support
> On 24.10.2023 23:41, Jean-Luc Chevillard wrote:
>> Dear list,
>>
>> I have often wondered why the size limit so low for comfortably 
>> editing files in text mode in scripts such as Tamil?
>>
>> I am currently editing an ancient Portuguese-Tamil dictionary
>> and as soon as the file size reaches a certain size, I can no longer 
>> trust the cursor position.
>>
>> To give an example,
>> if I edit today in text mode a file containing the equivalent of one 
>> page, which has a size of 23 kB, I can trust the position of the cursor
>> on screen to show me where the next Tamil character will be inserted.
>>
>> HOWEVER, if I edit in text mode a file containing the equivalent of 
>> 60 pages (which has a size of 693 kB), I can no longer trust what I 
>> see and have to enter the Tamil text without paying attention to the 
>> position of the cursor, which is far to the right side of the actual 
>> insertion position.
>>
>> Why is that the case?
>>
>> Why is a text editor such as Notepad++ capable of doing what oXygen 
>> cannot do, with respect to rendering text containing complex scritps 
>> such as Tamil?
>>
>> Am I doing something wrong?
>>
>> I would like to know
>>
>> Thanks for any solution provided
>>
>> -- Jean-Luc Chevillard
>>
>> https://htl.cnrs.fr/equipe/jl-chevillard/
>>
>>
>> P.S. The problem does not occur in Author mode, but one does not 
>> always want to define a .CSS
>> _______________________________________________
>> oXygen-user mailing list
>> oXygen-user at oxygenxml.com
>> https://www.oxygenxml.com/mailman/listinfo/oxygen-user
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> oXygen-user mailing list
> oXygen-user at oxygenxml.com
> https://www.oxygenxml.com/mailman/listinfo/oxygen-user

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.oxygenxml.com/pipermail/oxygen-user/attachments/20231027/c14f96d9/attachment.htm>