plotly / plotly/plotly.js

Offload chart initalization to web workers

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feature P3
Dominant language
JavaScript
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Description

Has it been explored if CPU-intensive tasks like chart initialization can be offloaded to web worker threads?

For example, when I initialize around 20 charts at the same time, I observe a 5 second freeze of the current browser window in Firefox. During this period, I don't see anything drawn to the DOM, so I assume the code that runs could potentially be offloaded to a worker thread, which could then communicate the resulting SVG to the main thread.

I think a change like this could be a great win in terms of user experience.

Also, have a related StackOverflow question.

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Research direction

The issue names no files, tests, or entry points. Start by profiling chart initialization in Firefox and tracing the work performed while multiple charts are created. Done would require a settled approach for worker-based initialization and evidence that the browser freeze is reduced.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
javascript
Domain
data-visualization, frontend, performance
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
20/100

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