[fpc-pascal]Why is FP Win32 Version running and compiling much slower?

[David Emerson]

Try holding down the SHIFT key while your program is executing. (?!)

I discovered this while doing intense text output to the console (where the speed increase is easy to observe directly). Win98 console text output consistently goes twice as fast or faster while holding the shift key, particularly if the program has been executing for a while (5-10 seconds).

I haven't tried this during compilation (or during execution of programs which don't do intense text output) but it's worth a shot.

My hypothesis is that win98 gives the console low priority for system resources. If you hold down the shift key while executing, windoze concludes that you're interacting with the console, and thus will give the console more processor cycles (instead of using them on background processes).

~David

(I have this image in my mind of a rock resting on top of a shift key to hold it down)