diff --git a/library/core/src/array/mod.rs b/library/core/src/array/mod.rs index 6cca2e6358b63..4a2cf15277441 100644 --- a/library/core/src/array/mod.rs +++ b/library/core/src/array/mod.rs @@ -516,20 +516,47 @@ impl [T; N] { /// /// # Note on performance and stack usage /// - /// Unfortunately, usages of this method are currently not always optimized - /// as well as they could be. This mainly concerns large arrays, as mapping - /// over small arrays seem to be optimized just fine. Also note that in - /// debug mode (i.e. without any optimizations), this method can use a lot - /// of stack space (a few times the size of the array or more). - /// - /// Therefore, in performance-critical code, try to avoid using this method - /// on large arrays or check the emitted code. Also try to avoid chained - /// maps (e.g. `arr.map(...).map(...)`). - /// - /// In many cases, you can instead use [`Iterator::map`] by calling `.iter()` - /// or `.into_iter()` on your array. `[T; N]::map` is only necessary if you - /// really need a new array of the same size as the result. Rust's lazy - /// iterators tend to get optimized very well. + /// Note that this method is *eager*. It evaluates `f` all `N` times before + /// returning the new array. + /// + /// That means that `arr.map(f).map(g)` is, in general, *not* equivalent to + /// `array.map(|x| g(f(x)))`, as the former calls `f` 4 times then `g` 4 times, + /// whereas the latter interleaves the calls (`fgfgfgfg`). + /// + /// A consequence of this is that it can have fairly-high stack usage, especially + /// in debug mode or for long arrays. The backend may be able to optimize it + /// away, but especially for complicated mappings it might not be able to. + /// + /// If you're doing a one-step `map` and really want an array as the result, + /// then absolutely use this method. Its implementation uses a bunch of tricks + /// to help the optimizer handle it well. Particularly for simple arrays, + /// like `[u8; 3]` or `[f32; 4]`, there's nothing to be concerned about. + /// + /// However, if you don't actually need an *array* of the results specifically, + /// just to process them, then you likely want [`Iterator::map`] instead. + /// + /// For example, rather than doing an array-to-array map of all the elements + /// in the array up-front and only iterating after that completes, + /// + /// ``` + /// # let my_array = [1, 2, 3]; + /// # let f = |x: i32| x + 1; + /// for x in my_array.map(f) { + /// // ... + /// } + /// ``` + /// + /// It's often better to use an iterator along the lines of + /// + /// ``` + /// # let my_array = [1, 2, 3]; + /// # let f = |x: i32| x + 1; + /// for x in my_array.into_iter().map(f) { + /// // ... + /// } + /// ``` + /// + /// as that's more likely to avoid large temporaries. /// /// /// # Examples