To propose a complete and accurate set of completion options, Progress Developer Studio for OpenEdge must completely analyze all code and schema information in the current ABL Editor buffer. This analysis is an ongoing process, and in many cases the task is completed so rapidly that there is scarcely any noticeable delay between a request for completion assistance and the response to the request. Under certain circumstances, however, the analysis may take several seconds or more, long enough to make waiting for the list of valid options an annoyance. Editing files that are thousands of lines long, and writing code that refers to a database located on a remote system, are examples of situations that can cause an unacceptably slow system response.

Progress Developer Studio for OpenEdge lets you decide how long you are willing to wait for complete, up-to-date code-completion assistance. In Editor Assistance preferences, the field labeled Milliseconds allowed for re-parsing specifies the maximum amount of time (by default, 300 milliseconds) the ABL Editor will spend updating its analysis before building the list of completion proposals based on the last completed analysis. If this interval elapses before the updated analysis is finished, the completion options that you receive may not be entirely accurate.

The default time allowance of 300 milliseconds should be fine for working on smaller files with local databases, but if your code base requires a relatively long time to be fully parsed, you might want to increase the setting. Note, however, that you cannot enter text while waiting for completion proposals, so a high setting for this value can potentially result in noticeable interruptions to your work.

By default, when the ABL Editor proposes completion options for schema references, it includes field descriptions in the right pane of the pop-up window. In the case of a remote databases, retrieving this information is a time-consuming process that can degrade performance. Therefore, you can choose to disable the inclusion of field descriptions. To do so, deselect the Show description when proposing schema elements option in Editor Assistance preferences.