[Feature Request] Always display event cost % in the timeline

[lostintangent]

For me, it's much easier to read the timeline as duration percentages, as long as the length of the session is actually meaningful (e.g. 80% of 2ms probably isn't worth investigating). It's great that the timeline displays the duration percentages when you hover over a row, but it would be ideal if this value was always displayed, so that users could visually scan the events and read them in the way that was most intuitive for them.

Additionally, for users that are mostly keyboard driven, it's nice to not have to rely on mouse hovering to attain useful information.

[lostintangent]

Additionally, if the % value was always displayed, it would get rid of the odd looking (subjectively speaking!) gap between the event's duration and the corresponding "bar", when the cost label is left aligned :)

[mike-kaufman]

/cc @chetsangnil

[nikmd23]

@lostintangent, when the timeline is "live" (the request is still on going) percentage values would be continually changing over time - at least until timeline activity was complete.

Would seeing the percentage numbers change bother you?

[avanderhoorn]

Also the percentages take into account client events... meaning that if an ajax request happens 30s after the server responded, the values would update to be a fraction of ~30s. Its one of the downsides of the current setup. @lostintangent in this case what would you expect to happen, what would you want to see re the fractions for both client and server side events?

[lostintangent]

@nikmd23 That's a good question. I hadn't thought about that :) I was mostly commenting on the experience for completed requests, where you would be able to display a static % value. Maybe the % value is something that could be displayed as soon as a request was completed? I'm not too sure how equivalent tools/experiences have solved this challenge (of if they even have it).

[nikmd23]

Okay, cool. Thanks @lostintangent, we'll keep noodling on this.

[avanderhoorn]

What if we only showed percentages for items that occurred before the "end" of the request (i.e. domComplete or something similar). This would mean that ajax requests that happen 30secs into the page being live would not effect the percentages already being shown and that it itself would not get a percentage value as it happened after "end" of the request/domComplete.