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

Core Principles

Seal your types - Unless explicitly designed for inheritance

Prefer readonly structs - For small, immutable value types

Prefer static pure functions - Better performance and testability

Defer enumeration - Don't materialize until you need to

Return immutable collections - From API boundaries

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

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

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>

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

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

Resources

Performance Best Practices: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/standard/performance/

Span 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

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