How Much Does .NET Reflection Slow Down My Code?

.NET Reflection: Performance Loss Analysis

The use of reflection in .NET programming is often criticized for its potential performance issues. Although it is generally recommended to avoid using reflection, in some cases its use may be unavoidable. This article explores the performance costs associated with reflection and provides insights based on empirical measurements.

In his insightful talk "Performance of Everyday Things", Jeff Richter conducts empirical tests to determine the performance impact of using reflection. His results show that calling methods via reflection is approximately 1000 times slower than calling methods directly.

These findings highlight the huge performance overhead introduced by reflection. Richter suggested a practical strategy to mitigate this overhead: just use reflection to identify the required methods and then assign them to the delegate. Subsequent calls to the method should be made through delegation rather than reflection.

Based on these observations, it is clear that reflection should be used with caution in performance-critical scenarios. If possible, it is recommended to explore alternatives that do not rely on reflection to ensure optimal performance. However, in some cases where the use of reflection cannot be avoided, implementing the delegate-based strategy outlined by Richter can help minimize the performance penalty.

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