Stop recomputing images on display-only setting changes; cache and lazily compute

Colormap, DC threshold, velocity grating, and FFT pad-factor changes were
all routing through a full recompute, which is unworkable on large v6
scans where a single angle's FFT can take minutes. These are now applied
as cheap post-processing on cached data instead:

- ComputeWorker computes CH1/Velocity as an unmasked raw FFT plus its DC4
  mask image, cached per (angle, bg_sub, n_fft). Threshold masking and
  grating scaling are applied to the cached array on redraw, so neither
  needs a recompute; colormap changes only touch matplotlib.
- New DcPrecomputeWorker fills a per-angle DC (CH3/CH4) cache in the
  background right after load, since DC images are cheap (mean, no FFT)
  and make switching angles instant once cached. Progress is shown in the
  Scan Info panel.
- New _refresh_display()/_show_image_now() route every settings-changed
  handler through the cache first, falling back to the existing threaded
  _start_compute() (with a progress popup, now FFT- vs DC-specific) only
  on a genuine cache miss.
- File load now defaults to a DC channel instead of CH1/FFT, so opening a
  large file shows something in seconds instead of minutes.

Verified against a real 532 GB / 17-angle file: DC compute for one angle
takes ~100s+ (I/O-bound over USB) the first time, but switching to an
already-cached angle takes 0.4s with no compute thread spun up at all.

Audited every widget signal connection for this pass; the spinboxes
already correctly used editingFinished rather than valueChanged — the
recompute-on-every-change bug was in the handlers, not the event type.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

sras_viewer.py

@@ -713,33 +713,45 @@ class LoadWorker(QObject):
 
 
 class ComputeWorker(QObject):
-    finished = pyqtSignal(np.ndarray)
+    """Computes one displayable image for (angle, channel).
+
+    For CH1/Velocity (FFT-derived) channels, the FFT is run *unmasked*
+    (dc_threshold_mv=-1e9 → every pixel is computed) so the result is
+    reusable across threshold/grating/colormap changes without re-running
+    the FFT — those are then pure post-processing on the cached array.
+    The DC4 image needed to apply that mask at display time is computed
+    alongside it (cheap: a per-waveform mean, no FFT) and emitted with it
+    so the caller can cache both.
+
+    Emits a plain ``np.ndarray`` (already in display units) for DC
+    channels, or a ``(raw_freq_mhz, dc4_mv)`` tuple for CH1/Velocity.
+    """
+    finished = pyqtSignal(object)
     error    = pyqtSignal(str)
 
     def __init__(self, sras: SrasFile, angle_idx: int,
-                 ch_idx: int, dc_threshold_mv: float,
+                 ch_idx: int,
-                 grating_um: float = 25,
                  apply_bg_sub: bool = True,
                  n_fft: int | None = None):
         super().__init__()
         self._sras         = sras
         self._angle        = angle_idx
         self._ch           = ch_idx
-        self._threshold    = dc_threshold_mv
-        self._grating_um   = grating_um
         self._apply_bg_sub = apply_bg_sub
         self._n_fft        = n_fft
 
     def run(self):
         try:
-            if self._ch == CH1_IDX:
+            if self._ch in (CH1_IDX, VELOCITY_MODE_IDX):
-                img = compute_rf_image(self._sras, self._angle, self._threshold,
+                raw_freq_mhz = compute_rf_image(
-                                       self._apply_bg_sub, n_fft=self._n_fft)
+                    self._sras, self._angle, dc_threshold_mv=-1e9,
-            elif self._ch == VELOCITY_MODE_IDX:
+                    apply_bg_sub=self._apply_bg_sub, n_fft=self._n_fft)
-                # velocity (m/s) = freq (MHz) × grating (µm)  [units cancel to m/s]
+                dc4_adc = compute_dc_image(self._sras, self._angle, CH4_IDX)
-                img = compute_rf_image(self._sras, self._angle, self._threshold,
+                dc4_mv  = adc_to_mv(dc4_adc,
-                                       self._apply_bg_sub, n_fft=self._n_fft)
+                                    self._sras.ch_ymult_mv[CH4_IDX],
-                img = img * self._grating_um
+                                    self._sras.ch_yoff_adc[CH4_IDX],
+                                    self._sras.ch_yzero_mv[CH4_IDX])
+                self.finished.emit((raw_freq_mhz, dc4_mv))
             else:
                 # DC channels: convert ADC counts → mV
                 adc_img = compute_dc_image(self._sras, self._angle, self._ch)
@@ -747,7 +759,51 @@ class ComputeWorker(QObject):
                                 self._sras.ch_ymult_mv[self._ch],
                                 self._sras.ch_yoff_adc[self._ch],
                                 self._sras.ch_yzero_mv[self._ch])
-            self.finished.emit(img)
+                self.finished.emit(img)
+        except Exception as exc:
+            self.error.emit(str(exc))
+
+
+class DcPrecomputeWorker(QObject):
+    """Computes CH3/CH4 DC images for every angle in the background.
+
+    DC images are cheap (a per-waveform mean, no FFT) compared to the
+    CH1/Velocity FFT, so precomputing them for the whole file right after
+    load makes switching angles instant while on a DC channel, and also
+    means the FFT masking step (which needs a DC4 image) rarely has to
+    wait on anything. Emits one ``angle_done`` signal per angle as it
+    completes rather than waiting for the whole file, so the cache fills
+    in progressively.
+    """
+    angle_done = pyqtSignal(int, np.ndarray, np.ndarray)   # angle_idx, dc3_mv, dc4_mv
+    finished   = pyqtSignal()
+    error      = pyqtSignal(str)
+
+    def __init__(self, sras: SrasFile):
+        super().__init__()
+        self._sras = sras
+        self._stop = False
+
+    def stop(self):
+        self._stop = True
+
+    def run(self):
+        try:
+            for a in range(self._sras.n_angles):
+                if self._stop:
+                    break
+                dc3_mv = adc_to_mv(
+                    compute_dc_image(self._sras, a, CH3_IDX),
+                    self._sras.ch_ymult_mv[CH3_IDX],
+                    self._sras.ch_yoff_adc[CH3_IDX],
+                    self._sras.ch_yzero_mv[CH3_IDX])
+                dc4_mv = adc_to_mv(
+                    compute_dc_image(self._sras, a, CH4_IDX),
+                    self._sras.ch_ymult_mv[CH4_IDX],
+                    self._sras.ch_yoff_adc[CH4_IDX],
+                    self._sras.ch_yzero_mv[CH4_IDX])
+                self.angle_done.emit(a, dc3_mv, dc4_mv)
+            self.finished.emit()
         except Exception as exc:
             self.error.emit(str(exc))
 
@@ -1421,8 +1477,6 @@ class SrasViewerWindow(QMainWindow):
         self._compute_thread: QThread | None = None
         self._pending_angle: int = 0
         self._pending_ch: int = 0
-        self._pending_threshold: float = 50.0   # mV
-        self._pending_grating_um: float = 25  # µm
         self._pending_bg_sub: bool = True
         self._progress_dlg: QProgressDialog | None = None
 
@@ -1432,6 +1486,19 @@ class SrasViewerWindow(QMainWindow):
 
         self._preprocess_thread: QThread | None = None
 
+        # Display-only settings (colormap, threshold, grating) no longer
+        # trigger a recompute — they're applied to cached data on redraw.
+        # DC images (CH3/CH4) are cheap and precomputed for every angle in
+        # the background right after load; CH1/Velocity FFT images are
+        # computed lazily (with a progress popup) the first time an angle
+        # is viewed in that mode, cached unmasked, and re-masked/re-scaled
+        # for free afterward.
+        self._dc_cache: dict[tuple[int, int], np.ndarray] = {}
+        self._fft_cache: dict[tuple[int, bool, int | None], np.ndarray] = {}
+        self._dc_precompute_thread: QThread | None = None
+        self._dc_precompute_worker: DcPrecomputeWorker | None = None
+        self._dc_generation: int = 0
+
         self._build_ui()
 
         if initial_path:
@@ -1484,6 +1551,11 @@ class SrasViewerWindow(QMainWindow):
         self.lbl_frame_warn.setWordWrap(True)
         self.lbl_frame_warn.setStyleSheet("color: #e07000; font-size: 11px;")
         il.addWidget(self.lbl_frame_warn)
+        # Background DC-precompute progress (hidden until a file is loaded)
+        self.lbl_dc_precompute = QLabel("")
+        self.lbl_dc_precompute.setWordWrap(True)
+        self.lbl_dc_precompute.setStyleSheet("color: #4a90d9; font-size: 11px;")
+        il.addWidget(self.lbl_dc_precompute)
         panel_layout.addWidget(grp_info)
 
         # View settings
@@ -1632,7 +1704,7 @@ class SrasViewerWindow(QMainWindow):
         self.combo_cmap.addItems(CMAPS)
         self.combo_cmap.setCurrentText("gray")
         self.combo_cmap.setEnabled(False)
-        self.combo_cmap.currentIndexChanged.connect(self._on_view_changed)
+        self.combo_cmap.currentIndexChanged.connect(self._on_cmap_changed)
         cmr.addWidget(self.combo_cmap)
         dl.addLayout(cmr)
 
@@ -1777,6 +1849,12 @@ class SrasViewerWindow(QMainWindow):
         self._sras = sras
         self._current_image = None
 
+        # Caches (and any in-flight DC precompute) belong to the previous
+        # file's geometry — discard and start fresh.
+        self._dc_cache = {}
+        self._fft_cache = {}
+        self.lbl_dc_precompute.setText("")
+
         # A ROI from the previous file no longer matches the new scan's
         # geometry, so discard it on every load.
         self.image_canvas.clear_roi()
@@ -1788,11 +1866,23 @@ class SrasViewerWindow(QMainWindow):
         self.spin_angle.setValue(0)
         self.spin_angle.blockSignals(False)
 
+        # DC channels are cheap and give an instant, fluid overview of a
+        # scan; CH1/Velocity require an FFT per pixel that can take minutes
+        # on a large scan, so don't default to it.
+        self.combo_channel.blockSignals(True)
+        self.combo_channel.setCurrentIndex(CH4_IDX)
+        self.combo_channel.blockSignals(False)
+
         self._update_controls_enabled(True)
         # Refresh the ADC-count label now that we have file calibration
         self._on_threshold_changed()
         self._on_view_changed()
 
+        # Precompute DC images for every angle in the background so
+        # switching angles while viewing a DC channel is instant, and the
+        # FFT masking step rarely has to wait on a DC4 image either.
+        self._start_dc_precompute()
+
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------
     # Scan info panel
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -1877,13 +1967,19 @@ class SrasViewerWindow(QMainWindow):
         self._on_view_changed()
 
     def _on_bg_sub_toggled(self):
+        # Background subtraction changes the FFT input, so it genuinely
+        # invalidates the cached raw FFT (the cache key includes it) —
+        # _refresh_display() will recompute only if there's no cache hit
+        # for the new bg-sub state.
         if self._sras is not None:
             if self.combo_channel.currentIndex() in CH1_DERIVED_MODES:
-                self._start_compute()
+                self._refresh_display()
 
     def _on_grating_changed(self):
+        # Grating is a pure post-multiply on the cached frequency image —
+        # never needs a recompute.
         if self._sras is not None and self.combo_channel.currentIndex() == VELOCITY_MODE_IDX:
-            self._start_compute()
+            self._refresh_display()
 
     def _on_export_csv(self):
         if self._current_image is None or self._sras is None:
@@ -2029,8 +2125,10 @@ class SrasViewerWindow(QMainWindow):
         else:
             ymult, yoff, yzero = _FALLBACK_YMULT_MV, _FALLBACK_YOFF_ADC, 0.0
         self.lbl_threshold_adc.setText(f"≈ {mv_to_adc(mv, ymult, yoff, yzero):.1f} ADC counts")
+        # Threshold is applied as a mask against the cached raw FFT + DC4
+        # image, not baked into the compute — never needs a recompute.
         if self._sras is not None and self.combo_channel.currentIndex() in CH1_DERIVED_MODES:
-            self._start_compute()
+            self._refresh_display()
 
     def _on_autoscale_toggled(self, checked: bool):
         manual = not checked
@@ -2043,18 +2141,82 @@ class SrasViewerWindow(QMainWindow):
         if not self.chk_auto.isChecked() and self._current_image is not None:
             self._redraw_image(self._current_image)
 
+    def _on_cmap_changed(self):
+        # Colormap is purely how the existing image is rendered — never
+        # needs a recompute.
+        if self._current_image is not None:
+            self._redraw_image(self._current_image)
+
     def _on_view_changed(self):
         if self._sras is None:
             return
         idx = self.spin_angle.value()
         self.lbl_angle_deg.setText(f"({self._sras.angles_deg[idx]:.1f}°)")
         self._update_scan_info_labels()
-        self._start_compute()
+        self._refresh_display()
 
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------
     # Computation
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+    def _current_n_fft(self) -> int | None:
+        pad_factor = self._fft_pad_factor
+        if pad_factor <= 1 or self._sras is None:
+            return None
+        return self._sras.samples_per_frame * pad_factor
+
+    def _apply_threshold_and_scale(self, raw_freq_mhz: np.ndarray,
+                                    dc4_mv: np.ndarray, ch_idx: int) -> np.ndarray:
+        """Mask a raw (unmasked) FFT peak-frequency image against the
+        current DC threshold, and scale to velocity if needed. Both are
+        cheap array ops — never worth a recompute on their own."""
+        img = raw_freq_mhz.copy()
+        img[dc4_mv < self.spin_threshold_mv.value()] = 0.0
+        if ch_idx == VELOCITY_MODE_IDX:
+            img = img * self.spin_grating_um.value()
+        return img
+
+    def _refresh_display(self):
+        """Show the image for the current angle/channel, using cached data
+        whenever possible and only falling back to a background compute
+        (with progress popup) when genuinely nothing is cached yet for
+        these settings."""
+        if self._sras is None:
+            return
+        angle_idx = self.spin_angle.value()
+        ch_idx    = self.combo_channel.currentIndex()
+
+        if ch_idx in (CH3_IDX, CH4_IDX):
+            cached = self._dc_cache.get((angle_idx, ch_idx))
+            if cached is not None:
+                self._show_image_now(cached, angle_idx, ch_idx)
+                return
+        elif ch_idx in (CH1_IDX, VELOCITY_MODE_IDX):
+            apply_bg_sub = self.chk_bg_sub.isChecked()
+            key = (angle_idx, apply_bg_sub, self._current_n_fft())
+            raw = self._fft_cache.get(key)
+            dc4 = self._dc_cache.get((angle_idx, CH4_IDX))
+            if raw is not None and dc4 is not None:
+                img = self._apply_threshold_and_scale(raw, dc4, ch_idx)
+                self._show_image_now(img, angle_idx, ch_idx)
+                return
+
+        # Nothing cached for these settings — need a real compute.
+        self._start_compute()
+
+    def _show_image_now(self, img: np.ndarray, angle_idx: int, ch_idx: int):
+        """Display an already-available image with no compute involved."""
+        self._current_image = img
+        self._current_angle = angle_idx
+        self._current_ch    = ch_idx
+        self.btn_export_csv.setEnabled(ch_idx in CH1_DERIVED_MODES)
+        self._redraw_image(img)
+        self._update_roi_ui()
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Background compute (only reached on a genuine cache miss)
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+
     def _start_compute(self):
         if self._sras is None:
             return
@@ -2063,17 +2225,12 @@ class SrasViewerWindow(QMainWindow):
 
         angle_idx    = self.spin_angle.value()
         ch_idx       = self.combo_channel.currentIndex()
-        threshold_mv = self.spin_threshold_mv.value()
-        grating_um   = self.spin_grating_um.value()
         apply_bg_sub = self.chk_bg_sub.isChecked()
         pad_factor   = self._fft_pad_factor
-        n_fft        = (self._sras.samples_per_frame * pad_factor
+        n_fft        = self._current_n_fft()
-                        if pad_factor > 1 else None)
 
         self._pending_angle           = angle_idx
         self._pending_ch              = ch_idx
-        self._pending_threshold       = threshold_mv
-        self._pending_grating_um      = grating_um
         self._pending_bg_sub          = apply_bg_sub
         self._pending_fft_pad_factor  = pad_factor
 
@@ -2085,8 +2242,7 @@ class SrasViewerWindow(QMainWindow):
         # running) that second thread's QThread object — which aborts the
         # process. Assigning immediately closes that window.
         self._compute_worker = ComputeWorker(
-            self._sras, angle_idx, ch_idx, threshold_mv, grating_um, apply_bg_sub,
+            self._sras, angle_idx, ch_idx, apply_bg_sub, n_fft=n_fft,
-            n_fft=n_fft,
         )
         self._compute_thread = QThread()
         self._compute_worker.moveToThread(self._compute_thread)
@@ -2098,8 +2254,16 @@ class SrasViewerWindow(QMainWindow):
         self._compute_worker.finished.connect(self._compute_thread.quit)
         self._compute_thread.finished.connect(self._on_compute_thread_finished)
 
-        self.statusBar().showMessage("Computing image…")
+        if ch_idx in (CH1_IDX, VELOCITY_MODE_IDX):
-        self._show_progress("Computing image…")
+            self.statusBar().showMessage("Computing FFT…")
+            self._show_progress(
+                f"Computing FFT for angle {angle_idx}…\n"
+                "This can take a while on a large scan — result is cached "
+                "so revisiting this angle/mode will be instant."
+            )
+        else:
+            self.statusBar().showMessage("Computing DC image…")
+            self._show_progress(f"Computing DC image for angle {angle_idx}…")
 
         self._compute_thread.start()
 
@@ -2114,25 +2278,95 @@ class SrasViewerWindow(QMainWindow):
         self._compute_thread = None
         angle_idx    = self.spin_angle.value()
         ch_idx       = self.combo_channel.currentIndex()
-        threshold_mv = self.spin_threshold_mv.value()
-        grating_um   = self.spin_grating_um.value()
         apply_bg_sub = self.chk_bg_sub.isChecked()
-        if (angle_idx, ch_idx, threshold_mv, grating_um, apply_bg_sub,
+        if (angle_idx, ch_idx, apply_bg_sub, self._fft_pad_factor) != (
-                self._fft_pad_factor) != (
                 self._pending_angle, self._pending_ch,
-                self._pending_threshold, self._pending_grating_um,
+                self._pending_bg_sub, self._pending_fft_pad_factor):
-                self._pending_bg_sub,
+            # Settings changed while this compute was running — re-dispatch
-                self._pending_fft_pad_factor):
+            # through the cache-aware path in case that now-current
-            self._start_compute()
+            # combination happens to already be cached.
+            self._refresh_display()
 
-    def _on_compute_done(self, img: np.ndarray):
+    def _on_compute_done(self, result):
         self._close_progress()
-        self._current_image = img
+        angle_idx = self._pending_angle
-        self._current_angle = self._pending_angle
+        ch_idx    = self._pending_ch
-        self._current_ch    = self._pending_ch
+
-        self.btn_export_csv.setEnabled(self._pending_ch in CH1_DERIVED_MODES)
+        if ch_idx in (CH1_IDX, VELOCITY_MODE_IDX):
-        self._redraw_image(img)
+            raw_freq_mhz, dc4_mv = result
-        self._update_roi_ui()
+            key = (angle_idx, self._pending_bg_sub, self._current_n_fft())
+            self._fft_cache[key] = raw_freq_mhz
+            self._dc_cache[(angle_idx, CH4_IDX)] = dc4_mv
+            img = self._apply_threshold_and_scale(raw_freq_mhz, dc4_mv, ch_idx)
+        else:
+            img = result
+            self._dc_cache[(angle_idx, ch_idx)] = img
+
+        self._show_image_now(img, angle_idx, ch_idx)
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Background DC precompute (all angles, so switching is fluid)
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    def _start_dc_precompute(self):
+        if self._sras is None:
+            return
+        self._dc_generation += 1
+        generation = self._dc_generation
+        n_angles   = self._sras.n_angles
+
+        worker = DcPrecomputeWorker(self._sras)
+        thread = QThread()
+        worker.moveToThread(thread)
+        thread.started.connect(worker.run)
+        worker.angle_done.connect(
+            lambda a, dc3, dc4, g=generation: self._on_dc_precompute_angle_done(
+                g, a, dc3, dc4, n_angles)
+        )
+        worker.error.connect(
+            lambda msg: self.statusBar().showMessage(f"DC precompute error: {msg}", 5000)
+        )
+        worker.finished.connect(thread.quit)
+        worker.error.connect(thread.quit)
+        thread.finished.connect(lambda: self._on_dc_precompute_thread_finished(thread))
+
+        # See _start_compute for why the thread/worker are claimed on self
+        # before .start() rather than after.
+        self._dc_precompute_worker = worker
+        self._dc_precompute_thread = thread
+        thread.start()
+
+    def _on_dc_precompute_angle_done(self, generation: int, angle_idx: int,
+                                      dc3_mv: np.ndarray, dc4_mv: np.ndarray,
+                                      n_angles: int):
+        if generation != self._dc_generation:
+            return   # stale result from a previously-loaded file — discard
+        self._dc_cache[(angle_idx, CH3_IDX)] = dc3_mv
+        self._dc_cache[(angle_idx, CH4_IDX)] = dc4_mv
+        done = sum(1 for a in range(n_angles) if (a, CH4_IDX) in self._dc_cache)
+        if done < n_angles:
+            self.lbl_dc_precompute.setText(
+                f"Precomputing DC images: {done}/{n_angles} angles ready…")
+        else:
+            self.lbl_dc_precompute.setText("DC images ready for all angles.")
+        # If we just finished the angle/channel the user is currently
+        # looking at and it wasn't shown yet (e.g. they switched here
+        # before precompute caught up and are still waiting), show it now.
+        if (self._sras is not None and angle_idx == self.spin_angle.value()
+                and self._compute_thread is None
+                and self.combo_channel.currentIndex() in (CH3_IDX, CH4_IDX)
+                and (self._current_angle != angle_idx
+                     or self._current_ch != self.combo_channel.currentIndex())):
+            self._refresh_display()
+
+    def _on_dc_precompute_thread_finished(self, thread: QThread):
+        # See the comment in _on_compute_thread_finished: wait() before
+        # releasing the reference to avoid destroying a QThread whose OS
+        # thread hasn't fully joined yet.
+        thread.wait()
+        if self._dc_precompute_thread is thread:
+            self._dc_precompute_thread = None
+            self._dc_precompute_worker = None
 
     def _redraw_image(self, img: np.ndarray):
         s = self._sras
@@ -2323,14 +2557,20 @@ class SrasViewerWindow(QMainWindow):
         if dlg.exec() == QDialog.DialogCode.Accepted:
             _fft_backend = dlg.get_backend()
             self._fft_pad_factor = dlg.get_pad_factor()
+            # Pad factor changes the FFT bin count, so it genuinely
+            # invalidates the cached raw FFT (part of the cache key) —
+            # _refresh_display() will recompute only on a cache miss.
             if self._sras is not None and self.combo_channel.currentIndex() in (
                     CH1_IDX, VELOCITY_MODE_IDX):
-                self._start_compute()
+                self._refresh_display()
 
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------
 
     def closeEvent(self, event):
-        for attr in ("_load_thread", "_compute_thread", "_preprocess_thread"):
+        if self._dc_precompute_worker is not None:
+            self._dc_precompute_worker.stop()
+        for attr in ("_load_thread", "_compute_thread", "_preprocess_thread",
+                     "_dc_precompute_thread"):
             t = getattr(self, attr, None)
             if t is not None:
                 t.quit()