Do fewer conditions (to check on) make the physics_process faster?

a-ga-met-hat-do-es

Hello forum folks,

This is probably a beginner question. It is about code optimization.

I have a function that I only sometimes want to be called. This is done now through a long line of code. It is an IF statement with about 8 conditions in the physics_process.

My question: Is it faster to have an IF statement with just one bool to be checked? This bool will only allow access to check up on another IF statement (with the other 7 conditions) when there is a reason to so (which is not so often). Wouldn't this save the computer a lot of calculations within the physics_process as long as this bool remains false?

If this is not the case, I think I'd prefer to use the long 8 conditions IF statement.

Megalomaniak

Might a match instead serve you better in this instance? Maybe. Up to you to determine. But I'd consider it.

https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/scripting/gdscript/gdscript_basics.html#match

a-ga-met-hat-do-es

Thank you.

Today I did some testing after I found this information:

https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/performance/cpu_optimization.html?highlight=OS.get_ticks_usec()#manually-timing-functions

Inspired by the code in this document I did a few timing tests to measure the processing time of just an IF statement. I stored the time I measured in a variable and added a new measuring every next physics loop to it for 10000 times (to make the tests more solid).

After a few tests for each my conclusions are that it does indeed make a little bit of a difference. The IF with the 8 conditions needs at least 1,5 times as much time to process. The IF statement that is checking just one bool is indeed easier on the physics process.

Thanks again, I will definitely study that match as well.

cybereality

Yes, every statement that is processed adds processing time, even a single if. Whether this is significant depends on what you are doing. In most cases, the time is negligible, but if you have a lot of sloppy code then it will add up eventually. But really what you want is no if statements. Use signals and event driven coding.

a-ga-met-hat-do-es

Yes it seems like a no brainer that it is important how the program exactly interacts with the physics process. I just didn't never thought about breaking up the conditions in several nested if statements could make the program less heavy to run.

But ok signals and event driven coding, thank you, I will take a look into those as well then.