This assignment explores the use of Web Workers to improve performance and user experience in web applications. Web Workers are a valuable tool for offloading heavy tasks to background threads, thus preventing UI blocking and enhancing responsiveness.
- Clone the repository from GitHub.
- Open the project directory on your local machine.
- Find the
index.htmlfile in the project directory. - Open
index.htmlusing any web browser of your choice (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.). - The application should now load and be accessible in your browser locally.
Web Workers are essential for offloading CPU-intensive tasks from the main thread, thereby improving performance and user experience. In the research, I found several scenarios where Web Workers can significantly impact performance:
- Image processing: Web Workers can be utilized to perform image manipulation tasks such as resizing, cropping, and applying filters without blocking the UI thread.
- Data fetching: Background tasks like fetching data from APIs or performing complex computations on large datasets can be executed in Web Workers, preventing UI freezes.
- Heavy computational tasks: Tasks like cryptographic operations, complex mathematical calculations, and simulations can be delegated to Web Workers to maintain a smooth user experience.
During the development process, I encountered several challenges:
- Communication with Web Workers: Synchronizing data between the main thread and Web Workers required careful handling to avoid race conditions and data inconsistencies. I overcame this challenge by utilizing message passing and structured data formats like JSON.
- Debugging: Debugging code running in Web Workers posed challenges due to limited visibility into their execution context. I addressed this issue by logging messages and using browser developer tools to inspect worker threads.
- MDN Web Docs: Using Web Workers
- YouTube: Web Workers Explained
Muhammad Affan Maqsood (2021-CS-130)
Sir Aatif Hussain