Defer heavy operations while scrolling

1. A method comprising:

by a computing device, detecting a scroll event corresponding to a change in a graphical user interface displayed, using a first computing process, by the computing device;

by the computing device, identifying, for delayed execution, an operation associated with a second computing process, different from the first computing process, that, if not delayed, would cause the graphical user interface to drop one or more frames, based on the detected event, wherein the identified operation is related to retrieving and rendering content of a structured document used in displaying a webpage in the graphical user interface;

by the computing device, determining a state of the identified operation, the determined state identifying a relative progress of the identified operation with respect to completing an associated task that is currently executing, wherein the relative progress indicates whether the identified operation is (1) idle, (2) at an initial stage of processing data, or (3) almost finished processing data;

by the computing device, determining whether to defer the identified operation for a deferral period based on the determined state and whether the identified operation is likely to trigger an automatic memory management activity controlled by the computing device and not controlled by an application displaying the graphical user interface; and

by the computing device, resuming execution of the identified operation after the deferral period.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, by the computing device:

pausing execution of the identified operation during the deferral period.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the change exceeds a pre-determined threshold.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identified operation comprises JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) parsing, database query, data serialization or de-serialization, or photograph decoding.

5. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory coupled to the processors comprising instructions executable by the processors, the processors being operable when executing the instructions to:

detect a scroll event corresponding to a change in a graphical user interface displayed, using a first computing process, by the computing device;

identify, for delayed execution, an operation associated with a second computing process, different from the first computing process, that, if not delayed, would cause the graphical user interface to drop one or more frames, based on the detected event, wherein the identified operation is related to retrieving and rendering content of a structured document used in displaying a webpage in the graphical user interface;

determine a state of the identified operation, the determined state identifying a relative progress of the identified operation with respect to completing an associated task that is currently executing, wherein the relative progress indicates whether the identified operation is (1) idle, (2) at an initial stage of processing data, or (3) almost finished processing data;

determine whether to defer the identified operation for a deferral period based on the determined state and whether the identified operation is likely to trigger an automatic memory management activity controlled by the computing device and not controlled by an application displaying the graphical user interface; and

resume execution of the identified operation after the deferral period.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the processor is further operable to:

pause execution of the identified operation during the deferral period.

7. The system of claim 5 , wherein the change exceeds a pre-determined threshold.

8. The system of claim 5 , wherein the identified operation comprises JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) parsing, database query, data serialization or de-serialization, or photograph decoding.

9. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying software that is operable when executed to:

detect a scroll event corresponding to a change in a graphical user interface displayed, using a first computing process, by the computing device;

identify, for delayed execution, an operation associated with a second computing process, different from the first computing process, that, if not delayed, would cause the graphical user interface to drop one or more frames, based on the detected event, wherein the identified operation is related to retrieving and rendering content of a structured document used in displaying a webpage in the graphical user interface;

determine a state of the identified operation, the determined state identifying a relative progress of the identified operation with respect to completing an associated task that is currently executing, wherein the relative progress indicates whether the identified operation is (1) idle, (2) at an initial stage of processing data, or (3) almost finished processing data;

determine whether to defer the identified operation for a deferral period based on the determined state and whether the identified operation is likely to trigger an automatic memory management activity controlled by the computing device and not controlled by an application displaying the graphical user interface; and

resuming execution of the identified operation after the deferral period.

10. The one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media of claim 9 , wherein the software is further operable when executed to:

pause execution of the identified operation during the deferral period.

11. The one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media of claim 9 , wherein the change exceeds a pre-determined threshold.

12. The one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media of claim 9 , wherein the identified operation comprises JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) parsing, database query, data serialization or de-serialization, or photograph decoding.