What's better in regards to performance? type[,] or type[][]?
arrays, c#, performance
Solution
Of course, if all else fails... test it! Following gives (in "Release", at the console):
Size 1000, Repeat 1000
int[,] set: 3460
int[,] get: 4036 (chk=1304808064)
int[][] set: 2441
int[][] get: 1283 (chk=1304808064)
So a jagged array is quicker, at least in this test. Interesting! However, it is a relatively small factor, so I would still stick with whichever describes my requirement better. Except for some specific (high CPU/processing) scenarios, readability / maintainability should trump a small performance gain. Up to you, though.
Note that this test assumes you access the array much more often than you create it, so I have not included timings for creation, where I would expect rectangular to be slightly quicker unless memory is highly fragmented.
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
static class Program
{
static void Main()
{
Console.WriteLine("First is just for JIT...");
Test(10,10);
Console.WriteLine("Real numbers...");
Test(1000,1000);
Console.ReadLine();
}
static void Test(int size, int repeat)
{
Console.WriteLine("Size {0}, Repeat {1}", size, repeat);
int[,] rect = new int[size, size];
int[][] jagged = new int[size][];
for (int i = 0; i < size; i++)
{ // don't count this in the metrics...
jagged[i] = new int[size];
}
Stopwatch watch = Stopwatch.StartNew();
for (int cycle = 0; cycle < repeat; cycle++)
{
for (int i = 0; i < size; i++)
{
for (int j = 0; j < size; j++)
{
rect[i, j] = i * j;
}
}
}
watch.Stop();
Console.WriteLine("\tint[,] set: " + watch.ElapsedMilliseconds);
int sum = 0;
watch = Stopwatch.StartNew();
for (int cycle = 0; cycle < repeat; cycle++)
{
for (int i = 0; i < size; i++)
{
for (int j = 0; j < size; j++)
{
sum += rect[i, j];
}
}
}
watch.Stop();
Console.WriteLine("\tint[,] get: {0} (chk={1})", watch.ElapsedMilliseconds, sum);
watch = Stopwatch.StartNew();
for (int cycle = 0; cycle < repeat; cycle++)
{
for (int i = 0; i < size; i++)
{
for (int j = 0; j < size; j++)
{
jagged[i][j] = i * j;
}
}
}
watch.Stop();
Console.WriteLine("\tint[][] set: " + watch.ElapsedMilliseconds);
sum = 0;
watch = Stopwatch.StartNew();
for (int cycle = 0; cycle < repeat; cycle++)
{
for (int i = 0; i < size; i++)
{
for (int j = 0; j < size; j++)
{
sum += jagged[i][j];
}
}
}
watch.Stop();
Console.WriteLine("\tint[][] get: {0} (chk={1})", watch.ElapsedMilliseconds, sum);
}
}
Problem
Is it more performant to have a bidimensional array (`type[,]`) or an array of arrays (`type[][]`) in C#? Particularly for initial allocation and item access