Netscape Navigator and Communicator both use caching to enhance their performance. A cache is used to store copies of Web pages and graphics locally. Fetching local copies of these items is much faster than re-retrieving them from the network.
Most users are familiar with Netscape's disk cache. It's the place where Netscape browsers save information (HTML files, images, sounds, etc.) about pages the user has visited. If a user revisits a page that's already been cached, the browser will get the information about that site from the cache instead of the network.
Unfortunately, disk cache, while speedier than retrieving a page from over a network, is still limited by the speed of disk I/O, and the overhead of sifting through and reading a multitude of relatively small disk files.
There is a way to get around this bottleneck, however: memory cache. Instead of using a hard drive to write and read information from pages, Netscape browsers can use RAM to hold this data. Since memory I/O is orders of magnitude faster than disk I/O, substantial performance gains can be achieved by holding page information in a memory cache.
Unfortunately, Macintosh users, unlike their Wintel counterparts, have had no simple way to access and modify the memory cache settings in Netscape browsers. There is no control in the Preferences dialog for setting memory cache. Before NavCom Cache Control, the only ways to activate and modify memory cache were by (1) hacking the browser's resources with ResEdit (not recommended), or (2) manually editing the Netscape Preferences file (not for the faint of heart).
Enter NavCom Cache Control 1.1.1. It's a PowerPC application that allows you to easily set the disk and memory cache for Navigator or Communicator.
Requirements
NavCom Cache Control is a PowerPC-only application. I have been petitioned by 68K users for a 68K version. Now that the feature set is fairly well complete for NCCC, I may have the time to turn my attention to that project. Heck, I retired my venerable Quadra 610, may it rest in peace, just six months ago.
NavCom Cache Control requires a PowerPC and System software that supports the Appearance Manager. Since System 8 and above support Appearance out of the box, it will run on them. For pre-8 Systems you must have the Appearance extension installed. In theory, this means NCCC can run on systems going all the way back to 7.1. In fact, we have not tested this software on anything earlier than System 8.1
The Appearance extension can be downloaded as part of Apple's Appearance Manager SDK. The URL is:
NOTE: You only need the Appearance extension if Appearance Manager functionality is not built in to your system. Mac OS 8.5 and 8.5.1 incorporate AM in the System file, so no extension is needed. System 8 and 8.1 include the Appearance extension in their distributions. Only pre-8 System users will need to get the Appearance extension from Apple. Check to see if you have it first.
Setup
None. Just fire up NavCom Cache Control.
Using NavCom Cache Control (NEW STUFF HERE!)
When you open up NavCom Cache Control, it checks the "Netscape ƒ" and "Netscape Users" folders on your startup disk for Netscape Preferences files. If you have more than one file in these locations (as you might if your browser is set up for multiple users), NCCC will display a list of the files, and let you select which one you want to work with. You can also manually search for the file you want.
If NCCC doesn't find any files in these locations, it will tell you so, and ask you if you want to search for the file yourself. If you opt to search yourself, NCCC will show you a standard file dialog. Just find the file you want and click "Open".
If NCCC only finds one file in these locations (which should be the case for the majority of users), it will load that file and present you with the cache options dialog so you can make changes.
When the cache options dialog first appears, it shows the current cache settings for your browser. Popup menus allow you to change your disk and memory cache settings. You can use the preset increments found in the popups (5, 10, 15, 20, 30, or 50 MB), or you can enter a custom cache size from 0 to 99999 KB. To save your new cache settings, just click on the "Save Cache Settings" button (or type "S", or hit the Enter or Return keys). The save button won't activate until you've set options which are different than your current cache settings.
To quit NCCC without making any changes, select "Quit" from the File menu. You can also type command-Q or command-period, or hit the Esc key.
If you have a Netscape browser running after you've saved your cache settings, NavCom Cache Control will put up an alert reminding you to quit and restart the browser for the changes to take effect. Your changes won't be available until the browser has had a chance to reload the changed preference file.
You can also restore the default cache settings for your Netscape browser by selecting the "Default" items in the popup menus. The default settings for Navigator/Communicator 4.x are 7680K of disk cache and 1 MB of memory cache. These may change, so the "Default" setting is whatever the default value is for that version of Netscape or Communicator.
Tips and Recommendations (NEW STUFF HERE, TOO!)
• If you are using memory cache, set your disk cache to "None". As long as a disk cache is available, Netscape browsers will attempt to use it first, before using the memory cache.
• If you are using NCCC to run a memory cache, go the Advanced:Cache pane in your browser's preferences. Change the setting for how often the browser compares the cache to the network to "Never" or "Once Per Session". Since memory cache doesn't persist between sessions, these settings are equivalent. Use whichever one you want.
• It isn't necessary to increase the memory allocation for your Netscape browser in order to use memory cache. It will use available temporary memory for cache. If you have a number of plug-ins, however, you may need to boost the memory partition for them.
• It is necessary to have a sufficient amount of physical RAM available for the cache, though. If you rely on virtual memory or RAM Doubler to provide space for the cache, you'll essentially be creating a disk cache.
• If you think a cached page has gotten stale, just hold down the Shift key while clicking the reload button. This tells your Netscape browser to ignore the cache and reload the page from the network.
• If NCCC isn't finding a Netscape Preferences file that you know exists, there is a fairly good possibility the file is broken in some way. NCCC will only read files with the name "Netscape Preferences" that have Netscape's application signature ("MOSS") and a preference file type ("pref"). Also, the file must contain data, have at least one well-formed preference line, and contain properly terminated lines. If you think your Netscape Preferences file is defective, the easiest thing to do is just throw it away. The next time you start your browser, a new one will be created. Plug-in installers have been known to mangle Netscape Preferences files. One that comes immediately to mind is RealAudio.
Limitations, Incongruities, and Unresolved Issues
• With this release, and I'm crossing my fingers here, all of the major issues involving NCCC have been addressed: auto-find is no longer brain-dead, and NCCC handles potentially corrupt files without going belly-up. This is a release I'd feel safe letting my mother use.
• NCCC does not handle every conceivable way a Netscape Preferences file can be abused by owners or third parties. If you've hand-edited a file in the past, or you suspect an installer has mucked around with a file, my advice is to pitch it, and start with a fresh file created by your browser.
Credits, etc.
This application is based on a thread fragment in comp.infosystems.www.browsers.mac. In particular, it uses suggestions in Simon Fraser's post on 10/20/98, entitled "Re: How to speed up Netscape Communicator (maybe)". That post can be found at:
http://www.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=403269025
Mr. Fraser works for Netscape. I do not. Neither Mr. Fraser nor Netscape have approved or endorsed anything done in NavCom Cache Control 1.1.1. And, for that matter, I have neither approved nor endorsed anything Mr. Fraser or Netscape has done in their browsers. Any similarity with persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
The foundation for this application was layed in a series of MacPerl scripts travelling under the moniker of NS Cache Control. Even though that script made it up to version 1.0.5, InfoMac only has 1.0.2. They stopped accepting our submissions when we switched over to StuffIt 5.0. Coincidence? You decide...
This application is distributed without any warranty whatsoever, express or implied.
Even though the crack quality control staff at Day Job Softwerks (me) has taken every step to produce a safe, pleasant, and effective user experience, there is always a remote possibility that Day Job's elite team of programmers (me) might have missed something. If that is the case, or you want to make a comment or suggestion, please feel free to contact our fearless leader (me) at:
jackb@io.com
NavCom Cache Control is shareware.
That's the bad news. The good news is that the shareware fee is $1.00, plus whatever it costs to mail me that buck. I figure there's about a million or so Macintosh/Netscape users who can benefit from this program. :) So, make me a millionaire...one dollar at a time!
All kidding aside, I've put about a hundred hours into this application. I'm releasing it without any restrictions on its use. You can use it for as long as you want, and as many times as you want. If you use it and it does good things for you, please take the time to put a dollar in an envelope and mail it to:
Jack Browning
1711 Rutland Drive, #722
Austin, TX 78758
Be sure to include your e-mail address so I can notify you of updates and new products.
NavCom Cache Control can be distributed to archives and placed on CDs as long as this Read Me file accompanies the distribution. I would appreciate notice from authors of CD compilations.
