This document briefly explains why `re-frame-trace` gives you an option to ignore unchanged layer 2 subscriptions. ### Background The `re-frame` docs [make a distinction](https://github.com/Day8/re-frame/blob/master/docs/SubscriptionInfographic.md) between `layer 2` and `layer 3` subscriptions: - `layer 2` subscriptions extract data directly from `app-db` and should be trivial in nature. There should be no computation in them beyond what is necessary to extract a value from `app-db` - `layer 3` subscriptions take values from `layer 2` nodes as inputs, and compute a materialised view of those values. Just to repeat: they never directly extract values from `app-db`. They create new values where necessary, and because of it they to do more serious CPU work. So we never want to run a `layer 3` subscriptions unless it is necessary. This structure delivers efficiency. You see, **all** (currently instantiated) `layer 2` subscriptions will run **every** time `app-db` changes in any way. All of them. Every time. And `app-db` changes on almost every event, so we want them to be computationally trivial. If the value of a `layer 2` subscription tests `=` to its previous value, then the further propagation of values through the signal graph will be pruned. The more computationally intensive `layer 3` subscriptions, and ultimately the views, will only recompute if and when there has been a change in their data inputs. We don't want your app recomputing views only to find that nothing has changed. Inefficient. ### Back To Tracing Because `layer 2` subs run on every single modification of `app-db`, and because very often nothing has changed, their trace can be a bit noisy. Yes, it happened, but it just isn't that interesting. So `re-frame-trace` gives you the option of filtering out trace for the `layer 2` subscriptions where the value "this time" is the same as the value "last time". On the other hand, if a `layer 2` subscription runs and its value is different to last time, that's potentially fascinating and you'll want to be told all about it. :-) ### Why do I sometimes see "Layer ?" when viewing a subscription? To determine whether a subscription is a layer 2 or layer 3, re-frame-trace looks at the input signals to a subscription. If one of the input signals is app-db then the subscription is a layer 2 sub, otherwise it is a layer 3. If a subscription hasn't run yet, then we can't know if it is a layer 2 or 3. In almost all cases, a subscription will be created (by `(subscribe [:my-sub])`) and run (by dereferencing the subscription) within the same epoch, providing the layer level. If you see "Layer ?" this means that a subscription was created but not used. This may indicate a bug in your application, although there are cases where this is ok. In most cases, after a few more epochs, that subscription will have run, and we know it's layer level, and can use it for any subscriptions shown on any future (and past) epochs.