woutervanranst/type-design-performance

Type Design for Performance

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Designing new types and APIs
• Reviewing code for performance issues
• Choosing between class, struct, and record
• Working with collections and enumerables

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Core Principles

1. Seal your types - Unless explicitly designed for inheritance
2. Prefer readonly structs - For small, immutable value types
3. Prefer static pure functions - Better performance and testability
4. Defer enumeration - Don't materialize until you need to
5. Return immutable collections - From API boundaries

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Seal Classes by Default

Sealing classes enables JIT devirtualization and communicates API intent.

// DO: Seal classes not designed for inheritance
public sealed class OrderProcessor
{
    public void Process(Order order) { }
}

// DO: Seal records (they're classes)
public sealed record OrderCreated(OrderId Id, CustomerId CustomerId);

// DON'T: Leave unsealed without reason
public class OrderProcessor  // Can be subclassed - intentional?
{
    public virtual void Process(Order order) { }  // Virtual = slower
}

Benefits:

• JIT can devirtualize method calls
• Communicates "this is not an extension point"
• Prevents accidental breaking changes

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Readonly Structs for Value Types

Structs should be readonly when immutable. This prevents defensive copies.

// DO: Readonly struct for immutable value types
public readonly record struct OrderId(Guid Value)
{
    public static OrderId New() => new(Guid.NewGuid());
    public override string ToString() => Value.ToString();
}

// DO: Readonly struct for small, short-lived data
public readonly struct Money
{
    public decimal Amount { get; }
    public string Currency { get; }

    public Money(decimal amount, string currency)
    {
        Amount = amount;
        Currency = currency;
    }
}

// DON'T: Mutable struct (causes defensive copies)
public struct Point  // Not readonly!
{
    public int X { get; set; }  // Mutable!
    public int Y { get; set; }
}

When to Use Structs

| Use Struct When | Use Class When | |-----------------|----------------| | Small (≤16 bytes typically) | Larger objects | | Short-lived | Long-lived | | Frequently allocated | Shared references needed | | Value semantics required | Identity semantics required | | Immutable | Mutable state |

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Prefer Static Pure Functions

Static methods with no side effects are faster and more testable.

// DO: Static pure function
public static class OrderCalculator
{
    public static Money CalculateTotal(IReadOnlyList<OrderItem> items)
    {
        var total = items.Sum(i => i.Price * i.Quantity);
        return new Money(total, "USD");
    }
}

// Usage - predictable, testable
var total = OrderCalculator.CalculateTotal(items);

Benefits:

• No vtable lookup (faster)
• No hidden state
• Easier to test (pure input → output)
• Thread-safe by design
• Forces explicit dependencies

// DON'T: Instance method hiding dependencies
public class OrderCalculator
{
    private readonly ITaxService _taxService;  // Hidden dependency
    private readonly IDiscountService _discountService;  // Hidden dependency

    public Money CalculateTotal(IReadOnlyList<OrderItem> items)
    {
        // What does this actually depend on?
    }
}

// BETTER: Explicit dependencies via parameters
public static class OrderCalculator
{
    public static Money CalculateTotal(
        IReadOnlyList<OrderItem> items,
        decimal taxRate,
        decimal discountPercent)
    {
        // All inputs visible
    }
}

Don't go overboard - Use instance methods when you genuinely need state or polymorphism.

---

Defer Enumeration

Don't materialize enumerables until necessary. Avoid excessive LINQ chains.

// BAD: Premature materialization
public IReadOnlyList<Order> GetActiveOrders()
{
    return _orders
        .Where(o => o.IsActive)
        .ToList()  // Materialized!
        .OrderBy(o => o.CreatedAt)  // Another iteration
        .ToList();  // Materialized again!
}

// GOOD: Defer until the end
public IReadOnlyList<Order> GetActiveOrders()
{
    return _orders
        .Where(o => o.IsActive)
        .OrderBy(o => o.CreatedAt)
        .ToList();  // Single materialization
}

// GOOD: Return IEnumerable if caller might not need all items
public IEnumerable<Order> GetActiveOrders()
{
    return _orders
        .Where(o => o.IsActive)
        .OrderBy(o => o.CreatedAt);
    // Caller decides when to materialize
}

Async Enumeration

Be careful with async and IEnumerable:

// BAD: Async in LINQ - hidden allocations
var results = orders
    .Select(async o => await ProcessOrderAsync(o))  // Task per item!
    .ToList();
await Task.WhenAll(results);

// GOOD: Use IAsyncEnumerable for streaming
public async IAsyncEnumerable<OrderResult> ProcessOrdersAsync(
    IEnumerable<Order> orders,
    [EnumeratorCancellation] CancellationToken ct = default)
{
    foreach (var order in orders)
    {
        ct.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
        yield return await ProcessOrderAsync(order, ct);
    }
}

// GOOD: Batch processing for parallelism
var results = await Task.WhenAll(
    orders.Select(o => ProcessOrderAsync(o)));

---

ValueTask vs Task

Use ValueTask for hot paths that often complete synchronously. For real I/O, just use Task.

// DO: ValueTask for cached/synchronous paths
public ValueTask<User?> GetUserAsync(UserId id)
{
    if (_cache.TryGetValue(id, out var user))
    {
        return ValueTask.FromResult<User?>(user);  // No allocation
    }

    return new ValueTask<User?>(FetchUserAsync(id));
}

// DO: Task for real I/O (simpler, no footguns)
public Task<Order> CreateOrderAsync(CreateOrderCommand cmd)
{
    // This always hits the database
    return _repository.CreateAsync(cmd);
}

ValueTask rules:

• Never await a ValueTask more than once
• Never use .Result or .GetAwaiter().GetResult() before completion
• If in doubt, use Task

---

Span and Memory for Bytes

Use Span<T> and Memory<T> instead of byte[] for low-level operations.

// DO: Accept Span for synchronous operations
public static int ParseInt(ReadOnlySpan<char> text)
{
    return int.Parse(text);
}

// DO: Accept Memory for async operations
public async Task WriteAsync(ReadOnlyMemory<byte> data)
{
    await _stream.WriteAsync(data);
}

// DON'T: Force array allocation
public static int ParseInt(string text)  // String allocated
{
    return int.Parse(text);
}

Common Span Patterns

// Slice without allocation
ReadOnlySpan<char> span = "Hello, World!".AsSpan();
var hello = span[..5];  // No allocation

// Stack allocation for small buffers
Span<byte> buffer = stackalloc byte[256];

// Use ArrayPool for larger buffers
var buffer = ArrayPool<byte>.Shared.Rent(4096);
try
{
    // Use buffer...
}
finally
{
    ArrayPool<byte>.Shared.Return(buffer);
}

---

Collection Return Types

Return Immutable Collections from APIs

// DO: Return immutable collection
public IReadOnlyList<Order> GetOrders()
{
    return _orders.ToList();  // Caller can't modify internal state
}

// DO: Use frozen collections for static data (.NET 8+)
private static readonly FrozenDictionary<string, Handler> _handlers =
    new Dictionary<string, Handler>
    {
        ["create"] = new CreateHandler(),
        ["update"] = new UpdateHandler(),
    }.ToFrozenDictionary();

// DON'T: Return mutable collection
public List<Order> GetOrders()
{
    return _orders;  // Caller can modify!
}

Internal Mutation is Fine

public IReadOnlyList<OrderItem> BuildOrderItems(Cart cart)
{
    var items = new List<OrderItem>();  // Mutable internally

    foreach (var cartItem in cart.Items)
    {
        items.Add(CreateOrderItem(cartItem));
    }

    return items;  // Return as IReadOnlyList
}

Collection Guidelines

| Scenario | Return Type | |----------|-------------| | API boundary | IReadOnlyList<T>, IReadOnlyCollection<T> | | Static lookup data | FrozenDictionary<K,V>, FrozenSet<T> | | Internal building | List<T>, then return as readonly | | Single item or none | T? (nullable) | | Zero or more, lazy | IEnumerable<T> |

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Quick Reference

| Pattern | Benefit | |---------|---------| | sealed class | Devirtualization, clear API | | readonly record struct | No defensive copies, value semantics | | Static pure functions | No vtable, testable, thread-safe | | Defer .ToList() | Single materialization | | ValueTask for hot paths | Avoid Task allocation | | Span<T> for bytes | Stack allocation, no copying | | IReadOnlyList<T> return | Immutable API contract | | FrozenDictionary | Fastest lookup for static data |

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Anti-Patterns

// DON'T: Unsealed class without reason
public class OrderService { }  // Seal it!

// DON'T: Mutable struct
public struct Point { public int X; public int Y; }  // Make readonly

// DON'T: Instance method that could be static
public int Add(int a, int b) => a + b;  // Make static

// DON'T: Multiple ToList() calls
items.Where(...).ToList().OrderBy(...).ToList();  // One ToList at end

// DON'T: Return List<T> from public API
public List<Order> GetOrders();  // Return IReadOnlyList<T>

// DON'T: ValueTask for always-async operations
public ValueTask<Order> CreateOrderAsync();  // Just use Task

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Resources

• Performance Best Practices: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/standard/performance/
• Span<T> Guidance: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/standard/memory-and-spans/
• Frozen Collections: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.collections.frozen