# PDF::SimpleTable performance issues

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/pdf-simpletable-performance-issues/96852>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [January 24, 2006, 10:21pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/pdf-simpletable-performance-issues/96852 "2006-01-24T22:21:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jonathan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/aeb1de/32.png) [@jonathan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/jonathan)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 10:21pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/pdf-simpletable-performance-issues/96852/1 "2006-01-24T22:21:01Z")

</div>

Hello,

I am having performance issues ending with a ‘time out’ from Apache when  
I try to generate a PDF file using pdf-writer.

It seems to happen at the render\_on(pdf) function call ; the table I am  
trying to draw has 8 colums which values are generated on the fly.

Can’t find anything about pdf-writer and the ‘time out’ on the Web so  
far.

Any ideas ? Anybody experienced the same issue ?  
Is there any more friendly user and faster PDF generation tool ?

Thank’s,  
Jonathan.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jonathan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/aeb1de/32.png) [@jonathan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/jonathan)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 1:18am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/pdf-simpletable-performance-issues/96852/2 "2006-01-25T01:18:57Z")

</div>

I’ve ran into this error with fop and java (years ago). I haven’t tried  
generating “large” pdf files with PDF::Writer.

In the jsp/java world I had a popup window that would refresh every 5  
seconds or so to avoid the timeout issue. I don’t know if ror has a  
built-in solution for this.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jonathan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/aeb1de/32.png) [@jonathan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/jonathan)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:54am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/pdf-simpletable-performance-issues/96852/3 "2006-01-25T08:54:32Z")

</div>

This might be a trick, but the table I create is certainly not big : 8  
columns (and only 4 are dynamic) and 2 rows.  
The final pdf file contains half a page.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jonathan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/aeb1de/32.png) [@jonathan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/jonathan)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 2:07pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/pdf-simpletable-performance-issues/96852/4 "2006-01-25T14:07:10Z")

</div>

On 25/01/06, Jonathan DERROUGH [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> This might be a trick, but the table I create is certainly not big : 8  
> columns (and only 4 are dynamic) and 2 rows.  
> The final pdf file contains half a page.

Have you tried timing how long it takes to create the document in a  
command-line mode?

## -austin

Austin Z. \* removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid  
\* Alternate: removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jonathan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/aeb1de/32.png) [@jonathan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/jonathan)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 2:46pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/pdf-simpletable-performance-issues/96852/5 "2006-01-25T14:46:29Z")

</div>

> Have you tried timing how long it takes to create the document in a  
> command-line mode?

Nope, I am using Rails with Apache and FastCGI, and I am having trouble  
with the ‘console’ script.  
I will try to fix it tonight and get the timing.