Hi all --
Primitive 126 (#primitiveDeferDisplayUpdates) has a problem. It has no platform-specific code. So no platform-specific rendering backend (e.g., Metal) can communicate whether it actually supports deferred updates.
Because of this, we are forced to guess at the image level how to best work with primitives 127 and 231.
Why is this bad? Because we must somehow reconfigure images for specific VMs because those VMs do not tell whether primitive 126 has an effect or not. So we have to guess. Maybe via using the #platformName. This is bad.
You can see the effects by Eliot's recent concern about Morphic's window-dragging feature, which can only work right if we know how to handle that extra video buffer in the image: http://lists.squeakfoundation.org/pipermail/vm-dev/2022-April/037887.html [http://lists.squeakfoundation.org/pipermail/vm-dev/2022-April/037887.html]
Well, the damage is done. Primitive 126 has been around like forever. When the Metal support was introduced to the VM for macOS many years ago, it broke the decent performance for all macOS users. It overcommitted stuff to the video memory in primitives 127 and 231. As a Windows user, I was always surprised that macOS users had to experience such a sluggish Morphic performance.
Well, after years of complaints from macOS/Squeak users, I couldn't take it anymore and fixed this regression in the recent OSVM. Of course you now have to tell your favorite image that it *really* has to use an image-side composition buffer. Recent images do that already automatically. Fine. I even backported that to Squeak 5.3. For older ones you do this:
PasteUpMorph disableDeferredUpdates: true. Project allMorphicProjects do: [:ea | ea world canvas: nil].
Not that of an issue, one might think. But the VM is not fully backwards compatible either. At least when looking at Morphic and its window-dragging feature.
I don't think that we can change the past. Using the current OSVM with older images would even require that simple in-image configuration if we would adapt primitive 126. The code in WorldState >> #displayWorld:submorphs: never really accounted for an actually working primitive 126.
I am also not happy about this. I think that the original mistake was made when primitive 126 was implemented without connecting it to platform-specific code. But I do prefer a better performance over *not* having to "flip a switch" in your favorite (older) image. Then, again, I am a Windows user. Maybe other macOS users should share their thoughts on this.
Backwards compatibility is hard. 99% might not be 100% but it is still good.
Best, Marcel