Crawling Python

[Tim Peters]

[MK]
> While playing with anydbm module using IDLE 0.4, I have made
> Python to do the following:
>
> Python 1.5.2 (#0, Apr 13 1999, 10:51:12) [MSC 32 bit (Intel)] on win32
> Copyright 1991-1995 Stichting Mathematisch Centrum, Amsterdam
> [... a bunch of code building a long string ...]
> >>> len(s)
> 49035
> >>>
>
> Then I tried was typing s only to see the string. Shell printed
> it after some 20 seconds, and then came to a crawl.

I've noticed that too.  Don't know whether it's the IDLE code or the Tk Text
widget that's unhappy.  Probably both; e.g., IDLE spends a lot of time
syntax-coloring the junk, and the Tk Text docs warn that long lines can be
expensive.

Everything speeds up back to normal if you simply delete the giant string
from the window.

> ...
> PS. I have tried the same thing in DOS executable -- above does
> not happen.

Sure, and in return none of IDLE's history, undo/redo, searching, replacing,
scrolling or editing cmds work in a DOS box either <wink>.

adaptively y'rs  - tim