Performance of folder selection dialogue

Question

I need to present a folder selection of the entire hard drive of the user (script runs on the user pc). From that list the user can choose one or more folders. I am using the jquery library dynatree (http://code.google.com/p/dynatree/) for presentation.

My script works like this:

1.List all folders of a specified drive letter or path and parse it into Dynatree-readable format via this recursive function:

Code:

function getDirectory( $path = '.', $level = 0, $id = 0){ 
$ignore = array( 'cgi-bin', '.', '..' , 'windows', 'user_folders', 'user_profiles'); 
$dh = @opendir( $path ); 
$zaehl = 0; 
if($level != 0) echo(', children: [ ');
while( false !== ( $file = readdir( $dh ))){ 
$zaehl++;
      if( !in_array( strtolower($file), $ignore ) ){ 
        $spaces = str_repeat( ' ', ( $level * 4 ) ); 
        if( is_dir( "$path/$file" ) ){
        echo('{title: "'.$file.'", isFolder: true, key: "'.$path.'/'.$file.'"');
    echo("\n"); 
            getDirectory( "$path/$file", ($level+1), $id.'.'.$zaehl); 
    echo('},');
    echo("\n");

        }       

    } 

} 
 if($level != 0)
    {
        echo(']');
    }
closedir( $dh ); 
} 

2.Present the list using Dynatree:

        $("#tree3").dynatree({

        checkbox: true,

        selectMode: 3,

        children: treeData,

        onSelect: function(select, node) {

            var selKeys = $.map(node.tree.getSelectedNodes(), function(node){

                return node.data.key;

            });
            var selRootNodes = node.tree.getSelectedNodes(true);
            var selRootKeys = $.map(selRootNodes, function(node){
                return node.data.key;
            });
            $("#echoSelectionRootKeys3").text(selRootKeys.join(", "));
            $("#echoSelectionRoots3").text(selRootNodes.join(", "));
        },
        onDblClick: function(node, event) {
            node.toggleSelect();
        },
        onKeydown: function(node, event) {
            if( event.which == 32 ) {
                node.toggleSelect();
                return false;
            }
        }
    });

I don´t think that process number 2 is the problem, as i basically copied it from the creators tutorial. I think that I´ve made a mistake during process 1 while listing the folders.

Running the getDirectory script with a parameter of a harddrive with few folders it works like a charm. When it comes to (typically) harddrives with lots of nested folders it lasts there several minutes.

Does anybody know a better way of listing the folders or a complete different solution for presenting a server-side folder creation dialogue?

Answer 1

If you are complaining about speed, I would suggest Lazy Loading. If you are loading every folder/file in your directory, it will become very slow.

Answer 2

A complete different approach would be to use PHP for getting content of a specific folder only (no recursion). If you use AJAX to do the recursion and to browse deeper into your directory structure, you can do that in parallel.

I would assume that this will increase speed dramatically. Additionally you can show already something everybody will be pleased to see data so soon, even if it's not completed.