Performance team meeting summary 10 May 2022

Meeting agenda here and the full chat log is available beginning here on Slack.

Focus group updates

Images

@adamsilverstein @mikeschroder

GitHub project

• @adamsilverstein: Refreshed the coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. WebP patchpatch A special text file that describes changes to code, by identifying the files and lines which are added, removed, and altered. It may also be referred to as a diff. A patch can be applied to a codebase for testing. against trunktrunk A directory in Subversion containing the latest development code in preparation for the next major release cycle. If you are running "trunk", then you are on the latest revision. and started separate follow-up PRs for new featured added to the pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party since then.
• @mxbclang: Getting pretty close to wrapping up initial proposals for API to facilitate more accurate sizes #140 and Regenerate existing images #24; next steps will be more detailed design docs and core feature proposals. Research continues on Research: Impact of additional WebP images on upload #289 and Research: WebP compatibility #290 and we’ll draft a follow-up post about our findings and next steps.
• @adamsilverstein: For Research: Impact of additional WebP images on upload #289, working on a survey for hosting providers to gather some field data about file count and size limitations
• @eugenemanuilov: If there’s someone who has Outlook and Windows, please test if WebP is supported for Research: WebP compatibility #290
  • @codekraft: Looks like it’s supported in the most recent version
• @adamsilverstein: Found this summary of WebP support in OG tags; looks like sites should stick with JPEG for OG tags

Feedback requested

• Needs Discussion (8 issues)
• Needs Review (5 issues)

Object Cache

@tillkruess @spacedmonkey

GitHub project

• @spacedmonkey: Did some profiling on Full Site Editing with WP 6.0 RC1; found some performance regressions and created some fixes. All are merged and will be in WP 6.0 RC2 and result in significant improvements:
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/40571
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/40572
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/40752
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/40853 (image-related)
  • @adamsilverstein: Great to see; there are probably other fixes that can be made directly in GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/
• @spacedmonkey: For 6.1, want to spend time profiling Gutenberg, Full Site Editing, and the REST APIREST API The REST API is an acronym for the RESTful Application Program Interface (API) that uses HTTP requests to GET, PUT, POST and DELETE data. It is how the front end of an application (think “phone app” or “website”) can communicate with the data store (think “database” or “file system”) https://developer.wordpress.org/rest-api/. for performance issues; XWP team has already identified 7 issues in the REST API around queries and cache priming. Examples:
  • https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/55594
  • https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/55620
  • https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/55592
  • @furi3r also working on some of these

Feedback requested

• Needs Discussion (2 issues)
• Needs Review (5 issues)

Site Health

N/A

GitHub project

• We’re seeking 1-2 POCs for this group; if you’re interested, please comment here or pingPing The act of sending a very small amount of data to an end point. Ping is used in computer science to illicit a response from a target server to test it’s connection. Ping is also a term used by Slack users to @ someone or send them a direct message (DM). Users might say something along the lines of “Ping me when the meeting starts.” in SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/.
• @furi3r: Add Site Health test for full page caching (advanced cache) #220 is almost ready to be merged

Feedback requested

• Needs Discussion (4 issues)
• Needs Review (3 issues)

Measurement

N/A

GitHub project

• We’re seeking 1-2 POCs for this group; if you’re interested, please comment here or ping in Slack
• No updates

Feedback requested

• Measurement overview doc
• Capturing front-end performance metrics in WordPress doc (for #s 63/64)
• Needs Discussion (5 issues)
• Needs Review (1 issue)

JavaScriptJavaScript JavaScript or JS is an object-oriented computer programming language commonly used to create interactive effects within web browsers. WordPress makes extensive use of JS for a better user experience. While PHP is executed on the server, JS executes within a user’s browser. https://www.javascript.com/.

@aristath @sergiomdgomes

GitHub project

• No updates

Feedback requested

• Needs Discussion (2 issues)
• Needs Review (3 issues)

Infrastructure

@flixos90

GitHub project

• @flixos90: Plugin now has a generator metaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. tagtag A directory in Subversion. WordPress uses tags to store a single snapshot of a version (3.6, 3.6.1, etc.), the common convention of tags in version control systems. (Not to be confused with post tags.) per Add generator tag with plugin version and modules #321
  • This will help us gather important metrics on the performance impact of the plugin
  • Looking into how to gather metrics and eventually plan to document how we can do this throughout the plugin
• @flixos90: Vote for release plugin cadence is complete and we voted to release monthly on the third Monday
  • This means 1.1.0 is just six days away
  • We’ll have our regular release party on Monday, May 16, 2022 at 1pm EDT in the #performance channel
  • We also have a release tracking issue here
  • Please review all PRs for the release; if they’re not merged by Friday, they will be punted to 1.2.0

Feedback requested

• Needs Discussion (5 issues)
• Needs Decision (1 issue)

Open floor

• @mxbclang: Circling back on 6.1 – what are everyone’s current goals for merge?
  • @adamsilverstein: For Images, work continues on WebP uploads, which would be nice to land in 6.1. Also working in <picture> element support, which would be nice to have alongside WebP.
  • @spacedmonkey: XWP team is focusing on:
    • Profile / Improve performance of full site editing functionality
    • Profile / Improve performance of REST API
    • Add caching to WP_Query
    • Improve performance of networknetwork (versus site, blog) options
    • Dominant color for images
  • @adamsilverstein: For JavaScript, hoping to land the script loading strategy proposal and want to finalize the approach at WCEU Contributor DayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/.
  • @furi3r: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/42438 would be a good candidate, too
  • @spacedmonkey: Confirming if @tillkruess still wants to work on https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/4476

Help wanted

• All issues labeled Needs Discussion
• All issues labeled Needs Decision
• All issues labeled Needs Dev
• All issues labeled Needs Review
• All issues labeled Needs Testing

#core-js, #core-media, #performance, #performance-chat, #summary