"switch / case" command performance
Author
what is faster? a "switch/case" table, or a list of "if/else if" list?
I ask because I have to place a lot of comparisons in a very critical loop.
thanks in advance
If you're testing a variable against many constants a swith case is likely to be faster, as well as it being cleaner code.
[edited by - Monder on May 26, 2004 7:19:43 AM]
[edited by - Monder on May 26, 2004 7:19:43 AM]
Switch statements are often compiled into a series of if/else. There is, however, one great optimization some compilers can do in some cases, the jump table.
if they are based on the type of an object your design is probably wrong.
move the type specific behaviour into the class and use a virtual function.
i know, i''m off at a tangent.
move the type specific behaviour into the class and use a virtual function.
i know, i''m off at a tangent.
Author
ok, "switching" to a "switch/case" architecture.
which would be the conditions in which the compiler would use a jump table instead of a if/else tree?
maybe, the use of enumerated values in the case params?
I *really* doubt that either way is going to make anything vaguely approaching a noticable difference in a real app. Write your code so it''s clear and worry about irrelevant optimizations once you can profile working code.
quote:Original post by vicviper
ok, "switching" to a "switch/case" architecture.
which would be the conditions in which the compiler would use a jump table instead of a if/else tree?
maybe, the use of enumerated values in the case params?
If the size of the range of your constants (max - min) is within a certain boundary, and you have more than just a couple of cases that would warrant a jump table, then the compiler usually goes ahead and makes one. But it''s compiler-specific, and you really can''t be guaranteed of anything.
quote:Original post by Anon Mike
Write your code so it''s clear and worry about irrelevant optimizations once you can profile working code.
In some cases you can avoid using either switch-case or if(-else) by using data instead of code. If you have seen the source code of Dungeon Crawl you can see why avoiding switch-cases can be a good thing
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