When using applications with the Workplace Shell, consider the
following:
- If an application is always used, place the application in the
Startup folder. The application will start at system startup.
- If several different applications are used, their objects can be
placed on the desktop or in a folder. The folder can be set to
open at system startup.
- To avoid reloading applications, minimize the application after
use, then maximize the session to use the application again. The
application object appears in the minimized window viewer or on
the desktop.
- To conserve OS/2 system resources and reduce memory requirements:
- Close applications when they are not going to be used again.
- Close folders if they are not needed.
- Move commonly used functions out of folders and to the
desktop, and close the folder that contained the object.
The application type directly affects the amount of memory required.
Consider the amount of memory needed for data and the frequency of
activity while an application is in a background session. For
example:
- An application creating a spreadsheet uses a large amount of
memory while it is processing. Unless automated macros are used
to read in disk file data and perform computations, the
spreadsheet probably processes only while it is interactive.
Most spreadsheet functions cannot sustain activity long enough to
require memory while the user focuses on another task. Therefore,
the operating system can page out memory allocated to the
spreadsheet and "lend" it to the interactive task. In this case,
adding memory can improve the speed of concurrent tasks, because
the operating system must page in any areas of memory it
"borrowed" while a task waited in the background.
- An application processing a lot of data for an extended period of
time must continue to have memory available to it, even while a
user performs another task. For example:
- If a user starts end-of-period processing in an accounting
database application and switches to another task, the
accounting application continues to process data in memory.
- If a user initiates a three-dimensional rendering in a
graphics application, it can continue to draw while the user
focuses on another task.
In these cases, adding memory can improve overall processing
performance.
- If a modem is used, the operating system must leave the
communication program in memory as long as the connection is
needed. When communicating either through a modem or over a LAN
connection, the operating system can continue to send and receive
data while other tasks are performed. The amount of memory
necessary for satisfactory performance depends on the volume of
data a user sends and receives.
- Depending on how they are written, applications have different
levels of efficiency when using memory.