Loading...
Loading...
Design .NET types for performance. Seal classes, use readonly structs, prefer static pure functions, avoid premature enumeration, and choose the right collection types.
npx skill4agent add aaronontheweb/dotnet-skills type-design-performance// 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
}readonly// 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; }
}| 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 |
// 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);// 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
}
}// 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
}// 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)));ValueTaskTask// 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);
}.Result.GetAwaiter().GetResult()Span<T>Memory<T>byte[]// 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);
}// 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);
}// 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!
}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
}| Scenario | Return Type |
|---|---|
| API boundary | |
| Static lookup data | |
| Internal building | |
| Single item or none | |
| Zero or more, lazy | |
| Pattern | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Devirtualization, clear API |
| No defensive copies, value semantics |
| Static pure functions | No vtable, testable, thread-safe |
Defer | Single materialization |
| Avoid Task allocation |
| Stack allocation, no copying |
| Immutable API contract |
| Fastest lookup for static data |
// 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