[opensource-dev] Client Plugin System Design

[Dzonatas Sol]

Rob Nelson wrote:
> As stated before, sockets add unnecessary bulk to any plugin
> architecture, ESPECIALLY HTTP.  The SL viewer currently takes up 100%
> CPU even with scripting turned off;  The last thing we need is more
> memory or processor load.  

Please, go ahead and benchmark how SNOW-375 has added such bulk and 
processor load. There is actual code there that works, so no need to 
speculate against HTTP methods for client-side scripts.


 > I therefore suggest C++ Dynamic Shared Objects

We've been through that route. See earlier releases of MonoVida which 
didn't use any HTTP interface. Main problem: asynchronization.

Anything added directly to the viewer requires it to be in the main loop 
for synchronization of locks and access to its memory. More scripts 
added directly to that loop only slow down the entire frame rate more. 
The main issue has been that the network, renderer, UI, and other parts 
don't run asynchronously from each other. They are all in one big loop 
-- a single frame each round-trip.

Multiple processes allow us to take advantage of multi-core machines 
easier. A single loop doesn't allow us to take advantage of multi-core.