Slot access - SBCL 1.0.31 User Manual
Description: SBCL 1.0.31 User Manual

Next: Dynamic-extent allocation, Up: Efficiency

### 6.1 Slot access

#### 6.1.1 Structure object slot access

Structure slot accessors are efficient only if the compiler is able to open code them: compiling a call to a structure slot accessor before the structure is defined, declaring one `notinline`, or passing it as a functional argument to another function causes severe perfomance degradation.

#### 6.1.2 Standard object slot access

The most efficient way to access a slot of a `standard-object` is by using `slot-value` with a constant slot name argument inside a `defmethod` body, where the variable holding the instance is a specializer parameter of the method and is never assigned to. The cost is roughly 1.6 times that of an open coded structure slot accessor.

Second most efficient way is to use a CLOS slot accessor, or `slot-value` with a constant slot name argument, but in circumstances other than specified above. This may be up to 3 times as slow as the method described above.

Example:

         (defclass foo () ((bar)))

         ;; Fast: specializer and never assigned to
         (defmethod quux ((foo foo) new)
           (let ((old (slot-value foo 'bar)))
             (setf (slot-value foo 'bar) new)
             old))

         ;; Slow: not a specializer
         (defmethod quux ((foo foo) new)
           (let* ((temp foo)
                  (old (slot-value temp 'bar)))
             (setf (slot-value temp 'bar) new)
             old))

         ;; Slow: assignment to FOO
         (defmethod quux ((foo foo) new)
           (let ((old (slot-value foo 'bar)))
             (setf (slot-value foo 'bar) new)
             (setf foo new)
             old))

Note that when profiling code such as this, the first few calls to the generic function are not representative, as the dispatch mechanism is lazily set up during those calls.