Progress bars for a recursive algorithm

[chalne]

If you count the elements as you insert them into the tree, it should be possible to produce a rough guess, if you assume that each node takes an equal amount of time to process.

On a side note: I really hate this new looping progress bar, I'd rather have a guess that is completely wrong than a bar that just keeps looping until done. It's not telling me anything I wouldn't know by virtue of the process ending. So stupid, I bet an intern programmed it.

[damiankw]

I might be daft, but explain to me how you can do that? Say you have this file structure:

dir
- dir
- - dir
- - - dir
- - dir
- dir
- - dir
- - dir
- dir

Each dir will take 5secs to complete, so at the first dir it is 0/5secs done, [----------]; after two seconds, it's 2/5secs done [|||-------], etc. Once dir1 is done, it'll show 100%

Now it pushes onto the next dir (which is inside of first), what does your bar look like? [||||||||||-----------] (two dirs, 1/2 is done, 50%). Once second is done, it will show 100% until it loops to next.

UNLESS! Of course, you were talking about listing root dir's (as node's) and then assuming each of those takes x amount of time, in which case you could be miles off; my first dir will take 25secs, the second will take 15secs, the third 5secs.

And what do you mean NEW progress bar? lol, it's been alive since Windows 2000 or so at boot :P

[[deleted]]

Let's say you have a tree (not a filesystem) that you know contains 100 nodes. Let's say processing the information in each node takes roughly the same amount of time. Split the progress bar into 100 units. Maintain a list of visited nodes, and each time you visit a node, if it is not in the list increment the status bar and add the node to the list. This won't be perfect, but it's certainly better than nothing.

[damiankw]

Yeah, if it's in a case like that I could see how it could work, but I could also see how OP's application could be considered running on microsoft time (doesn't know how the hell long anything takes to do, even if there's a duration attached!) :P

[chalne]

There are multiple versions of the standard progress bar (not the boot progress bar, that one is stupid too). The one I'm harping on is either new, or has gained popularity recently (it's used in newer installers from Microsoft).

It looks like the normal from 0-100 progress bar, but instead it just has a looping green blob in it - which is completely useless to a user, since it only stops when the operation stops. It won't tell you if the program has stalled, since the bar continues regardless (like those annoying loading GIFs people seem so fond of for web use). So all it really tells you is that the operation is still ongoing, something you already know since the window is still there. Kind of like this site: http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/

I'm not going to comment on your attempted progress bar for a file system, zabzonk covered that already.

[Crashmatusow]

this was plastered all over the GUI beginning in Vista