C# Assign Variables Optimization

Learn about how the number of locals in an assignment affects runtime speed.

Assign optimization. A variable stores the result of an expression. This is called assignment. The concept of assignment in languages introduces the complexity of time.Arithmetic Optimization Optimization

General performance tip. It is usually best to avoid local variables for less expensive operations like addition. But careful testing is always required.Benchmark

Example. Instead of assigning locals to the results of computations, you can put the method invocations directly into the final expression. This reduces intermediate memory locations.

Info: A method that uses assignment to store the results of internal method calls can be rewritten as an expression-based method.

UseExpression: This method places the result of the Value1 and Value2 methods onto the evaluation stack for processing.

UseLocals: This places the results into local variable slots and then into the evaluation stack. It uses several local variable slots.

C# program that tests assignment and variables using System; class Program { static int _field = 5; static int Value1() { // This method just returns an integer. return _field * 2; } static int Value2() { // This method also returns an integer. return _field * 3; } static int UseExpression() { // This method uses an expression-based statement. // ... No temporary variables are needed here. return Value1() + Value2() + Value1() + Value2(); } static int UseLocals() { // This method uses four variables to store intermediate values. // ... These require storage locations. int value1 = Value1(); int value2 = Value2(); int value3 = Value1(); int value4 = Value2(); return value1 + value2 + value3 + value4; } static void Main() { // Test the methods. Console.WriteLine(UseExpression()); Console.WriteLine(UseLocals()); } } Output 50 50

Benchmark. The methods specified in the first program, UseExpression and UseLocals, were tested. This benchmark tells us whether avoiding local variables is a realistic optimization.

Version 1: This code calls the UseExpression method. It avoids local variables, and computes a value.

Version 2: This version of the code uses the same logic as UseExpression, but uses several local variables to perform the computation.

Result: It is faster to avoid local variables. Even in these small methods, avoiding locals and assignments tends to be faster.

C# program that benchmarks assignment optimization using System; using System.Diagnostics; class Program { static int _field = 5; static int Value1() { return _field * 2; } static int Value2() { return _field * 3; } static int UseExpression() { return Value1() + Value2() + Value1() + Value2(); } static int UseLocals() { int value1 = Value1(); int value2 = Value2(); int value3 = Value1(); int value4 = Value2(); return value1 + value2 + value3 + value4; } const int _max = 10000000; static void Main() { // Version 1: use expression logic. var s1 = Stopwatch.StartNew(); for (int i = 0; i < _max; i++) { if (UseExpression() == 0) { return; } } s1.Stop(); // Version 2: use local variable logic. var s2 = Stopwatch.StartNew(); for (int i = 0; i < _max; i++) { if (UseLocals() == 0) { return; } } s2.Stop(); Console.WriteLine(((double)(s1.Elapsed.TotalMilliseconds * 1000000) / _max).ToString("0.00 ns")); Console.WriteLine(((double)(s2.Elapsed.TotalMilliseconds * 1000000) / _max).ToString("0.00 ns")); } } Output 2.01 ns UseExpression 2.47 ns UseLocals

Research, assignment. Let us research assignment and expressions. This idea is described in the programming textbook Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs.

Info: Assignment introduces the complexity of time into programs. A program can only be understood at a certain point.

Summary. We explored the concept of assignment and expressions. A C# program can be optimized by reducing local variables. This can speed up certain programs.

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