Performance Tips & Best Practices for TMS IntraWeb HTML5 Controls PackTMS IntraWeb HTML5 Controls Pack provides a rich set of modern UI components for Delphi-based IntraWeb applications. While these controls enable polished, responsive interfaces, careless use can cause bloat, slow page loads, and poor runtime responsiveness. This article focuses on practical performance tips and best practices to help you get fast, scalable IntraWeb apps using the TMS HTML5 Controls Pack.
1. Choose the right controls for the job
Not all controls are equal in complexity or resource needs. Use lightweight controls where full-featured components aren’t necessary.
- Use simple form elements (e.g., basic input, select) instead of heavy grid or chart controls when you only need text or limited interactivity.
- For display-only lists, prefer lightweight list or repeater components rather than full data-aware grids.
- When you need large datasets, use virtualized or paginated controls rather than binding an entire dataset to a client-side control.
2. Minimize client-side payload
Reducing the amount of JavaScript, CSS, and HTML delivered to the browser is one of the most effective ways to speed up load times.
- Only include the control units and CSS files you actually use. Avoid globally including every TMS pack resource.
- Use production builds and minified versions of JavaScript/CSS. If your deployment process doesn’t already do this, add a build step to minify assets.
- Disable unused features and modules in controls when possible. Some controls provide options to exclude optional plugins to reduce footprint.
3. Defer noncritical resources and use lazy loading
Load essential UI components first and defer secondary ones to improve perceived performance.
- Lazy-load charts, complex grids, and large component sets until they become visible (e.g., on tab activation or scroll into view).
- Use asynchronous module loading or dynamic component creation in IntraWeb to instantiate heavy controls only when needed.
- For images and media inside TMS controls, use native lazy-loading attributes or JavaScript-based lazy loading.
4. Optimize server-side rendering and state size
IntraWeb applications maintain server-side component state. Large state can increase memory usage and slow serialization/deserialization.
- Limit the number of server-side components per page. Remove unused components and prefer dynamic creation at runtime for conditional UI.
- Keep component state small: avoid storing large datasets, binary blobs, or long strings in component properties. Store data on the server outside component state and bind on demand.
- Use session management properly. Configure session timeout and consider session storage backends appropriate for your scale (in-memory for small deployments, external stores for larger clusters).
5. Use data virtualization and pagination
Handling large datasets efficiently is essential for both client and server performance.
- For grids and lists, enable server-side paging, sorting, and filtering so only a subset of records is sent to the client.
- Use virtual scrolling or data-on-demand patterns supported by TMS controls to fetch rows as the user scrolls.
- Batch server requests when possible (e.g., combine multiple small queries into a single request) to reduce network overhead.
6. Reduce round-trips and optimize event handling
Frequent server round-trips increase latency and load.
- Consolidate multiple UI actions into single events where it makes sense. For example, group form fields and submit once instead of sending individual change events.
- Avoid per-keystroke server callbacks. Debounce or throttle input events and perform validation on the client when possible.
- Use client-side scripting for immediate interactions; reserve server calls for data operations or actions that require server authority.
7. Cache aggressively and smartly
Caching reduces redundant work and speeds up response times.
- Cache static assets (JavaScript, CSS, images) using HTTP cache headers and long-lived versioned filenames.
- Use server-side caching for frequently requested but infrequently changing data (e.g., lookup lists). Invalidate caches thoughtfully when source data changes.
- For compiled templates or expensive computations, store results and reuse them across requests/sessions where safe.
8. Optimize network usage
Network latency and bandwidth impact perceived speed, especially for remote users.
- Use HTTP/2 or HTTP/3 where available to reduce latency and improve multiplexing of resource requests.
- Compress responses with gzip or brotli; ensure static assets are served compressed.
- Reduce number of HTTP requests by bundling assets where appropriate, but balance bundling with caching strategies to avoid forcing clients to re-download everything after a small change.
9. Monitor, profile, and benchmark
You can’t fix what you don’t measure. Implement monitoring and profiling to find real bottlenecks.
- Profile server-side CPU and memory usage under realistic loads. Measure IntraWeb session memory per user and estimate capacity.
- Capture client-side load times (TTFB, FCP, Largest Contentful Paint) and JavaScript execution times with browser tools or RUM solutions.
- Create benchmarks for common user flows and test changes to validate real-world impact.
10. Use modern build and deployment practices
A robust build and deployment pipeline ensures consistent, optimized releases.
- Automate asset minification, bundling, and fingerprinting (cache-busting) during CI builds.
- Separate environments (dev, staging, prod) to test performance under production-like conditions.
- Roll out changes progressively and use feature flags for risky or heavy features to minimize impact.
11. Accessibility and progressive enhancement
Performance and accessibility often go hand-in-hand — simpler UIs are faster and more compatible.
- Design components to work without heavy JavaScript where feasible (progressive enhancement).
- Ensure semantic HTML output from TMS controls where possible so assistive tech and search engines can parse content without executing scripts.
- Optimize CSS selectors and avoid deeply nested rules that increase rendering complexity.
12. Memory management and garbage collection
Delphi server processes can accumulate memory if components or datasets aren’t freed properly.
- Free dynamically created components when no longer needed. Prefer using try…finally blocks to ensure cleanup.
- Monitor for memory leaks using profiling tools and fix leaks in long-running components or background tasks.
- Reuse connection and dataset objects where safe, and avoid opening many simultaneous database connections per session.
13. Securely scale across servers
When scaling out, ensure performance optimizations remain valid.
- Use sticky sessions only when necessary. If you rely on server-side component state heavily, sticky sessions (session affinity) simplify state handling but can hinder horizontal scaling and load balancing flexibility.
- Move toward centralized session stores (Redis, database-backed sessions) if you need true stateless load-balanced scaling.
- Balance TLS termination, caching layers, and load balancers appropriately to prevent added latency.
14. Component-specific tips (selected)
- Grids: enable virtualization, server-side sorting/paging, and column virtualization for wide tables.
- Charts: render summaries server-side or use reduced-resolution datasets for initial render; provide a full-detail view on demand.
- Editors: debounce change events and prefer client-side validation for format rules (email, numeric).
- File upload controls: stream uploads directly to storage when possible and validate file size/type client-side to avoid wasted uploads.
15. Checklist before production
- Remove unused controls and static assets.
- Enable minification and compression.
- Configure appropriate session and cache settings.
- Test with realistic datasets and concurrent users.
- Monitor and profile in production for unexpected regressions.
Performance tuning is an iterative process. Start with measurement, apply focused changes (minimizing payload, reducing state, and optimizing data flow), and validate with real-world testing. With attention to component selection, resource loading, and server-side state, TMS IntraWeb HTML5 Controls Pack can deliver responsive, scalable web applications.
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