DreamLight® RAMLight™ is a memory management utility for multimedia developers and web designers. It works with Macromedia Director or with Shockwave in Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

When I ran into a memory fragmentation issue during the development of Quipples, The Internet game show of satirical riddles, I needed help tracking down the source of the problem. So I turned to my old standby, DreamLight RAMLight. I completely redesigned and improved it to help me track down this slippery memory problem deep within the object oriented world of the Autitons.

Previously, DreamLight RAMLight helped me track down and plug a memory leak we were experiencing on the Windows version of one of our hybrid CD-ROM projects, KeyQuest, A Typing Adventure. The Macintosh version of the project was fine, but when we ported it over to Windows we were experiencing unexplained CD-ROM thrashing and GPF crashes. I had a hunch it was memory related. I needed more information and control than were available in Director’s built in memory inspector or other memory utilities I’d seen. So, in a late night debugging session, I wrote a preliminary rough draft of DreamLight RAMLight.

The DreamLight RAMLight thermometer readout first identified that the problem was indeed a memory leak. Then the cast reports it generated are what finally nailed the problem to the source. Sound cast members weren’t being released in Director for Windows. I was so delighted with how quickly this little utility enabled me to find and fix the memory leak, that I decided to polish it off and offer DreamLight RAMLight as a product. If it helped me so much, I thought it might help other multimedia developers as well.

Warning: There are problems with the memory properties in Director on Windows, DreamLight RAMLight (or any other memory related Lingo) may not report actual memory use in Director on Windows since the freeBlock and the freeBytes Lingo properties may not function properly on Windows. These Lingo properties (and DreamLight RAMLight) will function properly in Director 7.0.2-8.5.1 on Macintosh. You can test if the freeBytes works on your Windows machine by putting the freeBytes in the watcher and opening some large files. the freeBytes should shrink appropriately, once available virtual memory begins to run low. If it does not, then the memory Lingo properties (and DreamLight RAMLight) may not work on your machine.

Enjoy, Michael Scaramozzino President and Creative Director

Director Tips & Tricks

Contents

• Introduction
• Installation
• Installation for Director Authoring
• Installation for Use Within Running Projectors
• Using with Shockwave on the Web
• RAM Thermometer
• RAM Readouts
• RAM Controls
• RAM Reports
• Macintosh System Temporary Memory & Wintel Virtual Memory.
• History
• Troubleshooting
• Restrictions

Installation

Installation for Use During Director Authoring

1. Copy the DreamLight RAMLight.DCR movie file into the Xtras folder within the Director folder.
2. Open the movie that you are authoring in Director.
3. Open DreamLight RAMLight under the Xtras menu.

Installation for Use Within a Running Projector

1. Open the movie that you are authoring in Director.
2. Include the following code in your movie to allow opening of DreamLight RAMLight from within your projector.

on keyDown
   global gTestMode 
   -- set gTestMode to true in the startmovie handler 
   -- during your test and development phase.

   if gTestMode then
      if the commandDown AND the key = "R" then
        open window "DreamLight RAMLight"
      end if
   end if
end keyDown

3. Copy the DreamLight RAMLight.DCR file to the same folder as your projector.
4. When the projector is running, hit command-R or control-R. If the RAMLight has been renamed, or it is in another folder, you will get a standard file dialog and can locate the RAMLight that way.
5. Don’t forget to remove DreamLight RAMLight before releasing your product.

Using with Shockwave on the Web.

Here’s a neat trick for Shockwave and web developers. DreamLight RAMLight can track the memory use of any Shockwave movie, or any other type of web page for that matter. You can try it right here, right now.

1. Open this DreamLight RAMLight page in Netscape. (Bookmark this page)
   http://DreamLight.com/webshop/utilities/ramlight.html
2. Open DreamLight RAMLight in a new browser window.
3. Point the original browser window at whatever page you wish to check.

DreamLight RAMLight will show the memory use for the entire Netscape memory partition. The memory readings and the thermometer will include impact from all currently open browser windows, plug-ins (of all types), Shockwave movies, sounds, JavaScript and Java applets currently running under Netscape’s memory partition. It should also work in any other browser that supports Shockwave.

This demo copy will only enable the RAM Thermometer. To use the RAM Readouts, RAM Controls and RAM Reports during the development of your own movies, order the full version of DreamLight RAMLight.

RAM Thermometer

The DreamLight RAMLight thermometer provides a general overview of RAM usage in a compact area. Its small size and quick update make it the best view to maximize performance of the main movie while still keeping an eye on RAM usage.

Simply raise the thermometer’s drop-down triangle to hide the lower portions of the RAMLight.

RAM Readouts

The drop-down triangle next to the thermometer activates DreamLight RAMLight’s readouts.

RAM readouts are translated into: B-Bytes, K-Kilobytes, M-Megabytes, G-Gigabytes or T-Terabytes.

Time readouts are translated into:
T-Ticks, S-Seconds:Ticks, M-Minutes:Seconds:Ticks,
H-Hours:Minutes:Seconds, D-Days:Hours:Minutes.

RAM Controls

The drop-down triangle next to the Runtime readout activates DreamLight RAMLight’s memory controls. The memory controls are not available when run in a browser.

When you want to use the preload or unload functions, first select a mode:

• MBR: Cast Members
• FRM: Frames

Enter numbers into the two white numerical fields for a range. The first number is the start and the second is the end of the range. If you set both range fields to 0, it will preload or unload ALL frames or ALL cast members in the castLib number entered in the LIB field. Enter 0 into all three fields to load or unload ALL cast members in ALL castLibs. If a preload fails to load the entire range specified, you will hear a beep and the range end field will be changed to the actual last frame or member number that loaded.

The LT (LoadTime) field will display the time it took to perform the memory function in T-Ticks, S-Seconds:Ticks, M-Minutes:Seconds, H-Hours:Minutes or D-Days:Hours.

RAM Reports

-- "-----------------------------------------------------------------"
-- "DreamLight(R) RAMLight(TM)"
-- "CAST REPORT"
-- "CastLib: 1-Internal Range: 1 - 20"
-- "-----------------------------------------------------------------"
-- "Member Name                  Type         PP        Size   Loaded"
-- "-----------------------------------------------------------------"
-- "   1: BK Rect              | shape      | 3 |   208.00 B | 1"
-- "   2: Rule                 | shape      | 3 |   205.00 B | 1"
-- "   3: RAMLight Title       | text       | 3 | 10466.00 B | 1"
-- "   4: ThermoBar            | shape      | 3 |   210.00 B | 1"
-- "   5: Shadow               | shape      | 3 |   207.00 B | 1"
-- "   6: DreamLight.com       | text       | 3 |  8992.00 B | 1"
-- "   7: RAMLight Scale       | bitmap     | 3 |  1375.00 B | 1"
-- "  11: HandCursor           | bitmap     | 3 |   327.00 B | 1"
-- "  12: HandCursor Mask      | bitmap     | 3 |   332.00 B | 1"
-- "  13: HELP                 | bitmap     | 3 |   462.00 B | 1"
-- "  14: Speed -1             | bitmap     | 3 |    48.00 B | 0"
-- "  15: Speed 0              | bitmap     | 3 |   408.00 B | 1"
-- "  16: Speed 1              | bitmap     | 3 |    48.00 B | 0"
-- "  17: Twidle0              | bitmap     | 3 |    28.00 B | 0"
-- "  18: Twidle1              | bitmap     | 3 |   368.00 B | 1"
-- "-----------------------------------------------------------------"
-- "                     RAM used by loaded cast: 23560.00 B"
-- "                 Total size of cast in range: 23684.00 B"
-- "-----------------------------------------------------------------"

Above is a sample DreamLight RAMLight cast report.

To run a RAM report first set the mode to MBR (Cast Member) or FRM (Frame) and fill in a range and castLib if desired. Then press the option key (alt on PC) and the preload and unload buttons will change to report buttons. Press the preload report button (green) if you only want to report about cast members that are currently loaded in RAM. Press the unload report button (red) to report both loaded and unloaded cast members. When running a frame report both buttons function the same way. Pressing a report button will then post a RAM report to the message window in Director. The RAM reports are only available when run as a MIAW in Director.

Frame Report *CAUTION*

Be careful with the frame report since it moves the playback head in the stage movie to each frame in the range. It then gives you a cast report for each frame. Save your movie first and don’t run this report while your movie is playing. This report can trigger frame based scripts, stepFrames, etc. and could be dangerous if you’re not careful. Since the playback head is moved to each frame, it forces the cast members in that frame to load. So this report is only useful if you wish to know what cast members are being loaded in specific frames by the score. Keep in mind that running a frame report completely changes what is currently loaded into RAM.

Mac System Temporary Memory & Wintel Virtual Memory

DreamLight RAMLight is written completely in Lingo as a MIAW (movie in a window). It draws all its information from the following Lingo properties:

Based on how Lingo’s memory properties work, DreamLight RAMLight is most accurate when run on the Macintosh with “Use System Temporary Memory” disabled. When run on the Macintosh with “Use System Temporary Memory” activated or when run under Windows virtual memory, DreamLight RAMLight is limited by Lingo’s memory property limitations.

The most notable limitation is in “the memorySize” property. Whenever the RAMLight notices that its maxFreeBytes (Mx) is larger than “the memorySize” it switches to track how much of the maxFreeBytes have been used, rather than how much available memory has been used, since there is no way for it to know how much total memory is actually available. In this case UsedRAM (Us) will show how much of the maxFreeBytes (Mx) have been used and TotalRam (TL) will simply duplicate the maxFreeBytes.

The other limitation is only on the Macintosh with “Use System Temporary Memory” activated. In this case, the FreeBlock (Bl) readout shows the largest unused block within the program’s actual memory partition. It doesn’t show the largest free block that may be available in the system temporary memory. Therefore Fragmentation (Fg) only shows fragmentation of the application partition, which is not necessarily fragmentation of all the available memory.

Due to these Lingo limitations we recommend doing your memory investigations on the Macintosh with “Use System Temporary Memory” deactivated. Once you are satisfied with how your application runs that way, then you can turn on “Use System Temporary Memory” and/or run it under Windows virtual memory. Maybe in a future version of Director, Lingo will overcome these limitations in the memorySize and the freeBlock.

Warning: There are problems with the memory properties in Director on Windows, DreamLight RAMLight (or any other memory related Lingo) may not report actual memory use in Director on Windows since the freeBlock and the freeBytes Lingo properties may not function properly on Windows. These Lingo properties (and DreamLight RAMLight) will function properly in Director 7.0.2-8.5.1 on Macintosh. You can test if the freeBytes works on your Windows machine by putting the freeBytes in the watcher and opening some large files. the freeBytes should shrink appropriately, once available virtual memory begins to run low. If it does not, then the memory Lingo properties (and DreamLight RAMLight) may not work on your machine.

History

Version 3.0 updated in Director 7.0.2: 07/14/00

Completely updated and expanded in a week-long debugging session hunting down and killing a D7 memory leak/fragmentation bug during our development of Quipples: The Internet game show of satirical riddles.

• Redesigned to allow closing of everything but the thermometer.
• Separated into three panels, thermometer, readouts, controls.
• Added fast, medium and slow update speeds.
• Added tracking of MaxFree, MinFree, Leaked Bytes, Leak Rate and Fragmentation percent to help track down memory leaks and memory fragmentation issues.
• Added tracking of Run Time to help in long running memory tests.
• Reformatted the RAM Reports for improved readability.

Version 2.1 updated in Director 6.0.2: 10/9/98

• Fixed a bug where loading all cast members only loaded from cast lib 1. Now it loads from whichever castLib is specified.

Version 2.0 updated in Director 6.0.2: 10/8/98

• Added support for higher memory quantities. Fields now output in B-Bytes, K-Kilobytes, M-Megabytes, G-Gigabytes and T-Terabytes.
• Changed time readout to adjust for different time scales including the following: T-Ticks, S-Seconds, M-Minutes, H-Hours and D-Days.
• Added support for using system temporary memory on the Macintosh.
• Added support for multiple cast libraries.

Version 1.0 written in Director 4: 7/1/96

Created during a weekend debugging session hunting down and killing a Director 4 puppetSound memory leak that surfaced during our development of the CD-ROM -- KeyQuest: A Typing Adventure.

Troubleshooting

DreamLight RAMLight not working in Director 8.5/8.5.1 on Windows

Warning: There are problems with the memory properties in Director on Windows, DreamLight RAMLight (or any other memory related Lingo) may not report actual memory use in Director on Windows since the freeBlock and the freeBytes Lingo properties may not function properly on Windows. These Lingo properties (and DreamLight RAMLight) will function properly in Director 7.0.2-8.5.1 on Macintosh. You can test if the freeBytes works on your Windows machine by putting the freeBytes in the watcher and opening some large files. the freeBytes should shrink appropriately, once available virtual memory begins to run low. If it does not, then the memory Lingo properties (and DreamLight RAMLight) may not work on your machine.

DreamLight RAMLight MIAW sizing problems

Most of the problems associated with DreamLight RAMLight arise from Director for Windows MIAW bugs. There are a few outstanding Director bugs related to “the rect of window” under Windows. Therefore, we have disabled the MIAW window resizing code under Windows, and simply dim the areas that are not currently activated.

Technical Support

You may contact DreamLight by e-mail. Only DreamLight RAMLight specific questions will be handled. Please send a complete description of your DreamLight RAMLight problem, including a complete profile of your system, via our contact form.

Due to the low cost of this software, telephone support is not available.

Restrictions

TM & (C) Copyright 1996-2001 DreamLight Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.

DreamLight RAMLight is exclusively intended for use by the original purchaser and is non transferable. By downloading DreamLight RAMLight you are agreeing to these restrictions.

DreamLight(R) RAMLight(TM) is a commercial utility. It is not in the public domain. It remains the property of DreamLight Incorporated. It may not be distributed, redistributed, posted for downloads, sold, used as an inducement to purchase any other items, bundled with any other items or altered in any way without the express written consent of DreamLight Incorporated.

DreamLight RAMLight is provided as-is. Use at your own risk. DreamLight makes no warranties whatsoever regarding this item or its use in any way. DreamLight’s liability is limited exclusively to a refund of your DreamLight RAMLight license fee.

DreamLight is a registered trademark of DreamLight Incorporated.
DreamLight RAMLight is a trademark of DreamLight Incorporated.

Created by Michael Scaramozzino

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