rust-lang / rust-lang/rust-analyzer

Enhance `textDocument/references` to Utilize Multi-Core CPUs for Better Performance

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C-feature
Dominant language
Rust
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Description

When invoking the textDocument/references action, the current implementation seems processes references sequentially on a single core (I observed this through htop.). This approach is not utilizing the full potential of modern multi-core processors and leads to increased time cost for finding references in large codebases.

image

I propose enhancing the textDocument/references feature to utilize multi-core CPUs by parallelizing the reference search. Leveraging parallel computing (e.g., using crates like rayon) could significantly reduce the time needed for this operation.

I haven't deeply investigated the rust-analyzer codebase yet; is it possible for this feature to be implemented?

Thank you!

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Research direction

Start by tracing the rust-analyzer implementation of the textDocument/references action and determine where reference searches are performed sequentially. Investigate whether parallel execution is safe and suitable, including the proposed rayon approach; done means reference results remain correct while searches use multiple CPU cores and performance improves on large codebases.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
compilers, performance, search
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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