Is Using Web Workers for AJAX Calls an Over-Optimization?

Currently, I am working on a code that manages all AJAX requests using Web Workers (where available). These workers are mainly handling the XMLHttpRequest object without any additional computations. All requests initiated by the workers are asynchronous (request.open("get",url,true)).

Lately, I have encountered some issues with this code and it has made me question whether I should invest time in fixing it or simply discard the entire solution.

My research indicates that this code might actually be affecting performance negatively. However, I have not been able to find any credible sources to support this claim. The only leads I could uncover are:

  • A two-year-old jQuery feature suggestion to utilize web workers for AJAX calls
  • This Stack Overflow question that appears to discuss a slightly different topic (using synchronous requests in web workers versus AJAX calls)

Could someone direct me towards a dependable source that discusses this dilemma? Alternatively, are there any benchmarks available that can alleviate my concerns?

[EDIT] The complexity of this question deepens when the Web Worker is also responsible for parsing the result using JSON.parse. Does asynchronous parsing yield better performance results?

javascriptajaxasynchronousweb-worker

Answer №1

A benchmark has been created on jsperf to compare the performance of WebWorker approach versus raw ajax calls. The results show that, depending on the browser, the WebWorker approach is 85-95% slower than a direct ajax call.

Here are some important notes:

  • Due to variations in network response times, only new XMLHttpRequest() and JSON.parse(jsonString); are being tested. No actual AJAX calls are made during the benchmark.
  • The setup and teardown operations for WebWorkers are not included in the measurements.
  • Although the results are based on a single request, it's worth noting that the WebWorker approach may perform better with multiple concurrent requests.
  • An alternative benchmark was created by Calvin Metcalf to compare synchronous and asynchronous approaches without the overhead. Even with this adjustment, the WebWorker method still shows a significant performance lag.
  • Feedback from a Reddit discussion highlighted that data passed between the main page and WebWorker must be serialized, adding extra processing steps. This makes using a WebWorker solely for parsing less efficient, as the data will need to be serialized and deserialized before use on the main page.

Answer №2

It's important to keep in mind that web workers don't necessarily make things faster by reducing the amount of time it takes for tasks to complete. Instead, they speed up processes by moving computations to a background thread, preventing user interaction-related processing from being blocked. For example, a complex calculation might take 8 seconds instead of 4 when factoring in data transfer. However, if this computation was carried out on the main thread, the entire page could freeze for 4 seconds - an unacceptable scenario.

Simply transferring ajax calls to a worker thread won't yield significant benefits since ajax calls are inherently non-blocking. However, tasks like JSON parsing or extracting subsets from large requests can be optimized using web workers.

One potential downside to using workers is the possibility of separate caches being utilized compared to the main page. This situation could lead to redundant efforts in loading the same resources both in the main thread and the worker thread.

Answer №3

Your focus should be on optimizing your code in different ways.

Keep in mind that AJAX requests already operate in their own separate thread and will return to the main event loop upon completion (triggering the designated callback function).

Web workers serve as a gateway to threads, primarily designed for handling computationally intensive tasks. This is similar to traditional desktop applications where you aim to prevent interface lag caused by lengthy computations.

Answer №4

Understanding Asynchronous IO in Javascript is crucial.

To begin with, when making a request in Javascript, it already operates asynchronously, allowing non-blocking IO while running other code concurrently. Choosing to execute the callback in a worker thread adds an intriguing dimension to the process.

Furthermore, Javascript engines handle all code execution within the same thread. Introducing new threads requires managing data communication using the worker message api (refer to Semaphore for more information).

In essence, harnessing the asynchronous and single-threaded nature of JavaScript proves to be a potent tool. Utilize it whenever possible and only resort to creating workers when absolutely necessary, such as in lengthy Javascript operations.

Answer №5

Based on my personal experience, utilizing Web Workers for AJAX calls is not recommended. The asynchronous nature of Web Workers means that code will continue to run while waiting for the data to return.

However, leveraging a worker to process the response can be beneficial. Some potential uses include:

  • Extracting and organizing data from the response into a complex model
  • Performing extensive computations on large datasets obtained from the response
  • Utilizing a Shared Web Worker with a template engine alongside the AJAX response to dynamically generate HTML content for insertion into the DOM.

For further insights, I suggest checking out this informative article: Exploring synchronous requests in web workers

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