[fpc-pascal] How to inline CompareFunc to Sort method in generic abstract class

[Flávio Etrusco]

Em seg., 14 de nov. de 2022 15:26, Vojtěch Čihák via fpc-pascal <
fpc-pascal at lists.freepascal.org> escreveu:

> Hi,
>
> I wrote a generic abstract class - a list based on dynamic array (i.e.
> array of T;) and this class can be specialized elsewhere with any type
> (records or classes).
> Part of the class is sorting. There are more ways how to deliver *compare
> function* to sorting method. I can pass it as a parameter or I can define
> it as: function Compare(A, B: T): Integer; virtual; abstract;. But this way
> the function cannot be inlined.
>
> Question: Is there a way how to *inline* compare function to sorting
> method in this general purpose generic abstract class?
>
> Thanks.
>
> PS: The gain is 6-7%.
>

Hi,

What do you mean by "be inlined"? The 'inline' directive instructs the
compiler (or is it the linker? 😬) to try copying the whole function
inline, also avoiding the call (stack) setup; you can't do this for this
for a general purpose method.
I'm curious how you got that 6% figure, it seems rather large. Is this
comparing the parameter vs virtual method approach or comparing a fully
inline (no indirect call of any kind) sort function to some other option?
Are you passing the variables by reference?

Best regards,
Flávio
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