Question

slow loading table

Asked by: faster_tables

Hi,
I know this question has been asked again and again, and I tried the suggested things from the solutions provided for same question before, but nothing is helping. I am adding the code for table with 4 columns and 4 rows, but the real table has 50+ columns and 10+ rows atleast. This table is generated from a servlet, so the number of rows and columns can grow even more.
It takes more than a minute to load on slow connection or machine with low memory.

Thanks,

Here is the code
<html>
<body><div>
      <table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
            <tr valign="top">
            <tr valign="top">
                  <td width="10" class="header-light"><img src="blank.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0" alt=""></td>
                  <td width="10"><img src="blank.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0" alt=""></td>
                  <td width="100%"><p id="errorMessageField"></p><p class="main-message"></p></td>
            </tr>
            <td width="10" class="header-light">
            <img src="blank.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0" alt=""></td>
            <td width="10">
            <img src="blank.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0" alt=""></td>
            <td width="100%" valign="top"><br>
                  <FORM NAME="ASSIGNMENT" METHOD="POST" ACTION="_ASSIGNMENT_">
                        <INPUT type="hidden" name="main" value="true"><INPUT type="hidden" name="op">
                        <div><table cellspacing="1" width="100%" cellpadding="4" border="1">
                                    <tr valign="middle">
                                          <th class="detail">Group</th>
                                          <th colspan="3" class="detail">column header</th>
                                    </tr>
                                    <tr valign="middle">
                                          <th width="200" > </th>
                                          <th >test 1</th>
                                          <th >test 2</th>
                                          <th >test 3</th>
                                    </tr>
                                    <tr valign="middle" align="center" class="general">
                                          <td>A G 1</td>
                                          <td ><a href="">
                                                <img height="18" width="25" alt="" border="0" name="__ASSIGNMENT_Default_DELIMITER_2_img" src="check.gif"></a>
                                                <input name="__ASSIGNMENT_Default_DELIMITER_2" type="hidden" value="ASSIGNED">
                                          </td>
                                          <td ><a href="">
                                                <img height="18" width="25" alt="" border="0" name="__ASSIGNMENT_HGFIag15920_DELIMITER_2_img" src="check.gif"></a>
                                                <input name="__ASSIGNMENT_HGFIag15920_DELIMITER_2" type="hidden" value="ASSIGNED">
                                          </td>
                                          <td ><a href="">
                                                <img height="18" width="25" alt="" border="0" name="__ASSIGNMENT_60j4ER1800003_DELIMITER_2_img" src="dash.gif"></a>
                                                <input name="__ASSIGNMENT_60j4ER1800003_DELIMITER_2" type="hidden">
                                          </td>
                                    </tr>
                                    <tr valign="middle" align="center" class="general">
                                          <td>A G 2</td>
                                          <td ><a href="">
                                                <img height="18" width="25" alt="" border="0" name="__ASSIGNMENT_Default_DELIMITER_1069000_img" src="check.gif"></a>
                                                <input name="__ASSIGNMENT_Default_DELIMITER_1069000" type="hidden" value="ASSIGNED">
                                          </td>
                                          <td ><a href="">
                                                <img height="18" width="25" alt="" border="0" name="__ASSIGNMENT_HGFIag15920_DELIMITER_1069000_img" src="check.gif"></a>
                                                <input name="__ASSIGNMENT_HGFIag15920_DELIMITER_1069000" type="hidden" value="ASSIGNED">
                                          </td>
                                          <td ><a href="">
                                                <img height="18" width="25" alt="" border="0" name="__ASSIGNMENT_60j4ER1800003_DELIMITER_1069000_img" src="dash.gif"></a>
                                                <input name="__ASSIGNMENT_60j4ER1800003_DELIMITER_1069000" type="hidden">
                                          </td>
                                    </tr>
                              </table>
                              <p><INPUT type="checkbox" name="s_change">change</p>
                        </div></FORM>
            </td>
            <td width="10"><img src="blank.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0" alt=""></td>
            </tr>
            <tr valign="top">
                  <td width="10" class="header-light"><img src="blank.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0" alt=""></td>
                  <td width="10"><img src="blank.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0" alt=""></td>
                  <td width="100%"> </td>
            </tr>
      </table>
</div>
<SCRIPT language="JavaScript">
var inputs = [document.ASSIGNMENT.__ASSIGNMENT_Default_DELIMITER_2,
                   document.ASSIGNMENT.__ASSIGNMENT_HGFIag15920_DELIMITER_2,
                   document.ASSIGNMENT.__ASSIGNMENT_60j4ER1800003_DELIMITER_2,
                   document.ASSIGNMENT.__ASSIGNMENT_Default_DELIMITER_1069000,
                   document.ASSIGNMENT.__ASSIGNMENT_HGFIag15920_DELIMITER_1069000,
                   document.ASSIGNMENT.__ASSIGNMENT_60j4ER1800003_DELIMITER_1069000];
var images = [document.ASSIGNMENT.__ASSIGNMENT_Default_DELIMITER_2_img,
                   document.ASSIGNMENT.__ASSIGNMENT_HGFIag15920_DELIMITER_2_img,
                   document.ASSIGNMENT.__ASSIGNMENT_60j4ER1800003_DELIMITER_2_img,
                   document.ASSIGNMENT.__ASSIGNMENT_Default_DELIMITER_1069000_img,
                   document.ASSIGNMENT.__ASSIGNMENT_HGFIag15920_DELIMITER_1069000_img,
                   document.ASSIGNMENT.__ASSIGNMENT_60j4ER1800003_DELIMITER_1069000_img];
</SCRIPT>
</body>
</html>

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Asked On: 2003-07-24 at 14:44:49ID20689685
Topic: Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
Participating Experts: 7
Points: 100
Comments: 9

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Answers

by: COBOLdinosaurPosted on 2003-07-24 at 15:52:07ID: 8999721

The table is not that complex and the graphics do not look that big. I would say the serverlet is inefficient, and that is where you need to look for improvment.

Cd&

by: seanpowellPosted on 2003-07-24 at 16:44:23ID: 9000006

Hi,
Couple of small errors in the table code which can certainly make a difference, commented below. Also, you have 4 cells in the main middle row, but only 3 on the 1st and last rows. I added a column - if that's incorrect simply remove the extra 10 pix wide column from the middle row.

Note: The biggest problem with slow loading tables is that the browser needs to figure out the entire length of the page before it can print to the screen. (You'll notice as your page is loading that your scrollbars aren't getting shorter and adjusting dynamically.)

So it needs to add up all the heights of the images, tr's, td's, etc. before it can load, and it can't do this until it has all the data in the first place. There's a couple ways to speed the process up a bit:

1. If you have any tables at the "bottom" of a long list of rows, try to make it a separate table completely. That way the browser can print the bottom of the page at the same time as the top.
2. Get rid of as many extra spaces in the code as you can. For most long pages, having the entire code in a few very long lines can reduce load time by as much as 15%. Remember, the visual layout that most of us use - i.e.; indenting table data to make it easier to read, is for our benefit only. The browser would be happier if it was just one long line. If it's server generated, give it a shot. (It also makes it more difficult to others to reuse the code as they have to manually insert all the line breaks!!)

Here's the new code:

<html>
<body>
<div>
<table border="1" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tr valign="top">



<td width="10" class="header-light"><img src="blank.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0" alt=""></td>
<td width="10"><img src="blank.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0" alt=""></td>
<td width="100%"><p id="errorMessageField"></p><p class="main-message"></p></td>

<td width="10"><img src="blank.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0" alt=""></td>
</tr>


<tr valign="top">

<td width="10" class="header-light"><img src="blank.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0" alt=""></td>
<td width="10"><img src="blank.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0" alt=""></td>
<td width="100%" valign="top"><br>
<FORM NAME="ASSIGNMENT" METHOD="POST" ACTION="_ASSIGNMENT_">
<INPUT type="hidden" name="main" value="true"><INPUT type="hidden" name="op">
<div>
<table cellspacing="1" width="100%" cellpadding="4" border="1">
<tr valign="middle">
<th class="detail">Group</th>
<th colspan="3" class="detail">column header</th>
</tr>
<tr valign="middle">
<th width="200"> </th>
<th>test 1</th>
<th>test 2</th>
<th>test 3</th>
</tr>
<tr valign="middle" align="center" class="general">
<td>A G 1</td>
<td><a href=""><img height="18" width="25" alt="" border="0" name="__ASSIGNMENT_Default_DELIMITER_2_img" src="check.gif"></a><input name="__ASSIGNMENT_Default_DELIMITER_2" type="hidden" value="ASSIGNED"></td>
<td><a href=""><img height="18" width="25" alt="" border="0" name="__ASSIGNMENT_HGFIag15920_DELIMITER_2_img" src="check.gif"></a><input name="__ASSIGNMENT_HGFIag15920_DELIMITER_2" type="hidden" value="ASSIGNED"></td>
<td><a href=""><img height="18" width="25" alt="" border="0" name="__ASSIGNMENT_60j4ER1800003_DELIMITER_2_img" src="dash.gif"></a><input name="__ASSIGNMENT_60j4ER1800003_DELIMITER_2" type="hidden"></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="middle" align="center" class="general">
<td>A G 2</td>
<td><a href=""><img height="18" width="25" alt="" border="0" name="__ASSIGNMENT_Default_DELIMITER_1069000_img" src="check.gif"></a><input name="__ASSIGNMENT_Default_DELIMITER_1069000" type="hidden" value="ASSIGNED"></td>
<td><a href=""><img height="18" width="25" alt="" border="0" name="__ASSIGNMENT_HGFIag15920_DELIMITER_1069000_img" src="check.gif"></a><input name="__ASSIGNMENT_HGFIag15920_DELIMITER_1069000" type="hidden" value="ASSIGNED"></td>
<td><a href=""><img height="18" width="25" alt="" border="0" name="__ASSIGNMENT_60j4ER1800003_DELIMITER_1069000_img" src="dash.gif"></a><input name="__ASSIGNMENT_60j4ER1800003_DELIMITER_1069000" type="hidden"></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><INPUT type="checkbox" name="s_change">change</p>
</div>
</FORM>
</td>


<td width="10"><img src="blank.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0" alt=""></td>

</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td width="10" class="header-light"><img src="blank.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0" alt=""></td>
<td width="10"><img src="blank.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0" alt=""></td>
<td width="100%"> </td>

<td width="10"><img src="blank.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0" alt=""></td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<SCRIPT language="JavaScript">

</SCRIPT>
</body>
</html>

Thanks

by: webwomanPosted on 2003-07-25 at 04:54:36ID: 9003352

I'd also get rid of any div tags. They're not necessary, and anything you can eliminate is good. You can probably also get rid of any widths on the cells -- a lot depends on what holds the content and needs to resize.

Which part gets generated by the servlet?

by: mbaron1969Posted on 2003-07-25 at 10:32:13ID: 9006349

for users with IE you can use the COLS attribute on the table tag (<table cols="50">) to help them. Per microsoft's dhtml reference: "Specifying this number can speed up the processing of the table. " Since this is generated by a servlet it shouldn't be too hard to figure out the number of columns you are going to have and set this...

hope this tip helps

by: i2mcPosted on 2003-07-25 at 13:30:40ID: 9007945

For large tables, I strive to fix the length of each row when possible (ie fix all the column widths) and then use 1 fresh table per row, rather than encompassing the entire construct within 1 big table. Basically rendering the table can be really slow and I prefer to avoid it when I can.

Doesn't help much I guess.

Roger

by: abuimadPosted on 2003-07-26 at 20:49:29ID: 9013316

There is a layout style called table-layout. It's available in IE 5 and later (not sure what NN version supports it).
You use:

<table style="table-layout:fixed;" ..... >

and specify the widths in the first row.

What that does is to start rendering the table according to the widths specified in the first row, regardless of the contents of columns.
This can boost the rendering of the table over the default renederring, which tries to best fit every thing (i.e. it has to scan all rows and figure out a best fit before it starts showing the table on the screen).

Use this if you can set the widths of your columns regardless of the content.

Check out the exapmle M$ has at:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/samples/author/dhtml/refs/tables3.htm

Read this page too:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/workshop/author/tables/tables_overview.asp

Good luck

by: abuimadPosted on 2003-07-31 at 15:11:46ID: 9044575

Hello faster_tables,
Did any of the response work out for you?
If not, please post post back so we can help :)

Cheers.......

by: mplungjanPosted on 2004-02-21 at 04:32:42ID: 10419466

No comment has been added lately, so it's time to clean up this TA.
I will leave the following recommendation for this question in the Cleanup topic area:

Split: georgemarian {http:#9000006} & abuimad {http:#9013316}

Please leave any comments here within the next four days.
PLEASE DO NOT ACCEPT THIS COMMENT AS AN ANSWER!

mplungjan
EE Cleanup Volunteer

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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slow loading table

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Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

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