Why is my simple python gtk+cairo program running so slowly/stutteringly?

Question

My program draws circles moving on the window. I think I must be missing some basic gtk/cairo concept because it seems to be running too slowly/stutteringly for what I am doing. Any ideas? Thanks for any help!

#!/usr/bin/python

import gtk
import gtk.gdk as gdk
import math
import random
import gobject

# The number of circles and the window size.
num = 128
size = 512

# Initialize circle coordinates and velocities.
x = []
y = []
xv = []
yv = []
for i in range(num):
    x.append(random.randint(0, size))
    y.append(random.randint(0, size))
    xv.append(random.randint(-4, 4))
    yv.append(random.randint(-4, 4))


# Draw the circles and update their positions.
def expose(*args):
    cr = darea.window.cairo_create()
    cr.set_line_width(4)
    for i in range(num):
        cr.set_source_rgb(1, 0, 0)
        cr.arc(x[i], y[i], 8, 0, 2 * math.pi)
        cr.stroke_preserve()
        cr.set_source_rgb(1, 1, 1)
        cr.fill()
        x[i] += xv[i]
        y[i] += yv[i]
        if x[i] > size or x[i] < 0:
            xv[i] = -xv[i]
        if y[i] > size or y[i] < 0:
            yv[i] = -yv[i]


# Self-evident?
def timeout():
    darea.queue_draw()
    return True


# Initialize the window.
window = gtk.Window()
window.resize(size, size)
window.connect("destroy", gtk.main_quit)
darea = gtk.DrawingArea()
darea.connect("expose-event", expose)
window.add(darea)
window.show_all()


# Self-evident?
gobject.idle_add(timeout)
gtk.main()

Answer 1

One of the problems is that you are drawing the same basic object again and again. I'm not sure about GTK+ buffering behavior, but also keep in mind that basic function calls incur a cost in Python. I've added a frame counter to your program, and I with your code, I got around 30fps max.

There are several things you can do, for instance compose larger paths before actually calling any fill or stroke method (i.e. will all arcs in a single call). Another solution, which is vastly faster is to compose your ball in an off-screen buffer and then just paint it to the screen repeatedly:

def create_basic_image():
    img = cairo.ImageSurface(cairo.FORMAT_ARGB32, 24, 24)
    c = cairo.Context(img)
    c.set_line_width(4)
    c.arc(12, 12, 8, 0, 2 * math.pi)
    c.set_source_rgb(1, 0, 0)
    c.stroke_preserve()
    c.set_source_rgb(1, 1, 1)
    c.fill()
    return img

def expose(sender, event, img):
    cr = darea.window.cairo_create()
    for i in range(num):
        cr.set_source_surface(img, x[i], y[i])        
        cr.paint()
        ... # your update code here

...
darea.connect("expose-event", expose, create_basic_image())

This gives about 273 fps on my machine. Because of this, you should think about using gobject.timeout_add rather than idle_add.

Answer 2

I don't see anything fundamentally wrong with your code. To narrow the problem down I tried a different approach that may be minimally faster, but the difference is almost negligible:

class Area(gtk.DrawingArea):
    def do_expose_event(self, event):
        cr = self.window.cairo_create()

        # Restrict Cairo to the exposed area; avoid extra work
        cr.rectangle(event.area.x,
                     event.area.y,
                     event.area.width,
                     event.area.height)
        cr.clip()

        cr.set_line_width(4)
        for i in range(num):
            cr.set_source_rgb(1, 0, 0)
            cr.arc(x[i], y[i], 8, 0, 2 * math.pi)
            cr.stroke_preserve()
            cr.set_source_rgb(1, 1, 1)
            cr.fill()
            x[i] += xv[i]
            y[i] += yv[i]
            if x[i] > size or x[i] < 0:
                xv[i] = -xv[i]
            if y[i] > size or y[i] < 0:
                yv[i] = -yv[i]
        self.queue_draw()

gobject.type_register(Area)

# Initialize the window.
window = gtk.Window()
window.resize(size, size)
window.connect("destroy", gtk.main_quit)
darea = Area()
window.add(darea)
window.show_all()

Also, overriding DrawingArea.draw() with a stub makes no major difference.

I'd probably try the Cairo mailing list, or look at Clutter or pygame for drawing a large number of items on the screen.