#1031 Restored the Settings UI. Deferred model loading.

[kittaakos]

Motivation

This PR will restore the (advanced) Settings UI in the IDE2. The proposed changes also defer the model (and UI) loading until the IDE2 is ready. Delaying the model load keeps the startup's performance OK and the Settings UI feature in IDE2.

Change description

How to verify:

• Open the IDE2, and open the preferences as described in GUI-based settings commands produce an empty interface #1031,
• Verify that the preferences UI is the same as before rc7,
• Close the IDE2, and reopen it.
• The widget is open, the content is unavailable, then the UI refreshes. Verify that the Settings UI feature is fully functional.

deferred_pref_model_loading.mp4

Other information

Closes #1031

Reviewer checklist

• PR addresses a single concern.
• The PR has no duplicates (please search among the Pull Requests before creating one)
• PR title and description are properly filled.
• Docs have been added / updated (for bug fixes / features)

[per1234]

This fixes #1031 for me.

However, this assertion from the test procedure provided in the PR message is failing for me:

the content is unavailable

For me, on both my Windows and Linux machines it switches directly from this:

to this:

I did a frame by frame check of a screen recording and it is not a matter of it just flashing through the "That search query has returned no results." quickly.

I thought I should mention this discrepancy as it might indicate that the "Deferred model loading" is not working as intended.

[kittaakos]

For me, on both my Windows and Linux machines it switches directly from this:

Yes, for me too. I downloaded the bundled app and could not notice the unloaded state. The UI loaded promptly.

I looked into it, and the deferring works. Here is the proof. If I open the dev tools and set a breakpoint before updating the model, I can see the unavailable content state on the UI. It's excellent news. It looks like the IDE2 loads and runs faster in the final bundled app than from the sources.

settings_ui_before_model_update.mp4

• The widget is open, the content is unavailable, then the UI refreshes. Verify that the Settings UI feature is fully functional.

Note: I made the initial behavior screencast by running the IDE2 from the sources.

[per1234]

My concern about the failing test assertion has been resolved, so this is a 👍 from me.

Thanks Akos!