bestpractices.mdx

title	description	mode
Best Practices	Learn the best practices for writing code in LUA	wide

Tables and Arrays

When working with structured data, use tables with named keys for better performance, readability, and maintainability Arrays are good for lists of simple values, but tables are better for complex structured data

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These are just examples to demonstrate faster data retrieval using tables versus arrays
Arrays have their own purpose and aren't inherently bad; they just have different use cases

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Choosing Between Tables and Arrays

Tables are faster than arrays for data lookups because they use a hash map internally, providing constant time lookups, making them much more efficient, especially for larger datasets
Arrays are slower in lookups due to linear time complexity , as they require looping through each element until the value is found

for i loops are generally faster than ipairs or pairs only arrays work with ipairs or for i loops

local job = "police"
local table = {police = true, doctor = true}
local hasJob = table[job]

-- the larger the array the slower it gets
local array = {"police", "doctor"}
local job = "police"
local hasJob = false

for i = 1, #array do
  if array[i] == job then
    hasJob = true
    break
  end
end

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Efficient Data Structuring

When working with structured data, use named keys in tables to improve readability, clarity, and performance
Named keys allow for easier understanding of what each field represents, and they also enable faster lookups

Arrays with indexed values are harder to read and maintain, and lookups are slower, especially as the size of the data grows.

local table = {
  {grade = 0, job = "police"}, 
  {grade = 0, job = "doctor"}  
}

local job = "police"
local hasJob = false
for i = 1, #table do
  if table[i].job == job then
    hasJob = true
    break
  end
end

local array = {
  { 0, "police"},
  { 0,  "doctor"} 
}
local job = "police"
local hasJob = false

for i = 1, #array do
  for j = 1, #array[i] do
    if array[i][j] == job then
      hasJob = true
      break
    end
  end
   if hasJob then break end
end