OpenEuphoria

call_func is expensive

• Posted by _tom (admin) Aug 01, 2017
• 1914 views

Using call_func to select the desired "compare" function in a sorting algorithm looks very expensive.

Basic sorting algorithms an be used for a variety of uses if you choose the correct "compare" function.

-- compare "if" vs "call_func" 
 
atom t = time() 
integer void  
 
integer count = 1_000_000 
 
puts(1, "compare inside an `if` branch\n\n" ) 
-- use "if" to select a suitable compare function 
 
 
 
t = time() 
for i=1 to count do 
    if 1 then 
        void = compare( 4, 3) 
    end if 
end for 
? time() - t 
 
 
function kustom( object left, object right ) 
    return compare( left, right ) 
end function 
integer rid = routine_id( "kustom" ) 
 
 
 
puts(1, "\ncall_func inside an 'if` branch\n\n" ) 
-- use "call_func" to select a suitable compare function 
 
t = time() 
for i=1 to count do 
    if 1 then 
        void = call_func( rid, {4, 3} ) 
    end if 
end for 
? time() - t 

Some results I get; comparative time in seconds.

The application for call_func would be to select sorting direction (up, down); sort (numbers) or collate (alphanumeric); user custom sort.

It looks like a sort API requires separate functions for each category of sorting--if we wish to maintain the idea that Euphoria is "fast." Is the expense of one "sort" function worth it?

_tom