I'll pipe in again, possibly triggering one or two souls again but that's OK if it will help others. :)

So, I really feel for the people who are still having big problems using SE and IDE. I've been there and felt that pain; it's no fun. LC without code editing is quite restrictive. But the good news is that right now I'm able to type up a storm in LC 9.

While a final fix may need to come from LC itself, hopefully the remaining users with frequent problems can work around the problem and get running again quickly with logic and a little luck. Don't give up!

In my case, (A) I was having huge problems with the newest LC 9's on my old but not-too-old Windows laptop, (B) the old laptop hardware got sick so I bought a new one, (C) the new laptop had problems with the newest 9's too, so I took time out to discuss and report the bug.

Then (D) when I had a chance I changed some software on the new laptop including AV, (E) most of the problems went away; I couldn't reproduce the bug for a better recipe as I intended, (F) I heard back from LC that disabling Windows Defender had helped several people, (G) I looked at my settings and sure enough my new AV had replaced the Windows Defender features in question. Of course a few other variables were in the mix including different projects I was working on and tweaks to other AV(s) and other software and settings on the machine.

Afterwards (H) some people notified me of similar Mac symptoms, I was interested but some time later (I) it happened on my Mac too. Wow! I was surprised, in the middle of a bunch of stuff so no recipe, but there it was. Assuming that the same symptoms is likely the same bug - not a certainty but a good possibility. Furthermore (J) given that this topic still exists as of today - with even some very savvy and accomplished LiveCoders affected -I assume that the quick fix on Windows Defender, while it works for most people, doesn't work for everyone even on Windows.

So to summarize some probable points:

1. It's not just Windows Defender; WD's techniques have followed other AVs' "innovations" and are in turn being followed by yet other AVs. Over the years I've had to chastise more than one AV for not playing nice with LiveCode. In the AV world WD is not unique; it's just currently very widespread, bundled with the OS. Fortunately as a result, for this SE slowdown the WD fix works for most. But others should take heart and keep digging.

2. It's not just Windows. Other people have seen the SE symptoms on Mac, and now that includes myself. (Today I even witnessed a possible case of a Mac AV messing some things up in the Mac IDE!)

3. It's not just AV. Although AV is usually involved (not always), there's another side to the coin. Merely editing and formatting text, while the IDE is open but in a fairly static condition, ideally should not present opportunities for AV to constantly get involved. Of course there's also any user scripts that may be executing at the same time. But if the user plays nice and doesn't have any faulty scripts running, the IDE should also play nice and not take actions that would involve AV unnecessarily or in excess. Why? Because this suggests the possibility of actions (such as file access) or the timing of such actions that would lower performance anyway, besides opening the door to other potential current or future issues. If SE and/or the IDE have some weak code, it needs fixing to banish these symptoms forever and ensure a more robust IDE. Good code ensures no ghosts in the machine, and ghosts suggest weak code. I strongly suspect improvements are needed.

4. Individual computers are different, especially the software installed. If you're having problems, look at your AV settings and try some tweaks. Try turning off some real-time protection options temporarily, or whitelisting LC. If your AV is the hard-headed type, maybe try a different one altogether. There's even the possibility of other software on your system that is not strictly labeled AV. Once you're typing away in LC 9, believe me it's worth the effort of finding it. In my case I was forced to change AV anyway because McAfee (the default) was doing some crazy things including disabling firewall from time to time. Whatever the key is on your particular system, I think it's likely that the problem can be worked around until the IDE is beefed up. Don't give up.

5. It's a complex problem. We have the IDE plus the SE plus any user stacks or addons, all very important to factor in, plus OS, AV, and other software. Lots of things going on. Is the weakness is in the SE or other parts of the IDE, maybe even a special combination required to trigger the problems? And what triggers it on Mac? Not to mention user stack code. We do need one or more clean, simple, reliable recipe(s).

If someone who still has the problems, or someone who can just flip a software setting switch and experience the problem at will, can reproduce this and make a recipe with a fresh brand new stack in a fresh IDE instance, that may help. (Or a very reliable recipe for a more complex scenario.) Unfortunately I am no longer among those who can just flip a switch, due to my current AV's override, that's the state of my computer and I can't make huge changes right now with projects going on. Therefore it would be great if someone else can do this. Maybe more than one user could make a recipe! There's no guarantee that this is caused by a single factor, although I hope it is.

To reassure any faint of heart, I have great confidence in LC and currently exclusively use LC in ALL my professional software dev and consulting, something few others can honestly say. Not rehashing this to enjoy goosing the easily triggered or to test list bandwidth, but rather summarizing what we (may) know because some people are still having problems right now, and I hope this may help them work around it right now. If it should be 1 bug or 100 bugs, I'm fine with that.

To those people still having the slow SE: Keep trying as time allows - look at your AV and other software, your user stacks (try it fresh) and addons, your LC and SE settings. Consider making a recipe; it may help you to workaround immediately, as well as helping LC on a final fix. I hope that you, like myself, can get back happily to work using LC 9 on platform of choice where this particular issue is concerned!

(There are some other annoyances in SE and IDE which I'll be QA-reporting soon if they haven't been already, others please report them first if you have the time. But this SE slowdown was the biggest and baddest of them all. It really was a showstopper on 9 until I changed my AV, so to any still affected, I really hope and believe you can find the key to get thing running well enough on your system at least most of the time.)

Best wishes,

Curry Kenworthy

Custom Software Development
"Better Methods, Better Results"
LiveCode Training and Consulting
http://livecodeconsulting.com/

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