Problem
I need a collection with non-duplicate values minimising memory allocation during access operations. I am prepared to compromise with a slight decrease of performance to make up for the improved "garbage generation".
Solutions Considered (including discarded ones for reference)
- Extend ArrayList to include a check on add(E e) for duplicates and do nothing if value exists. (this may include other methods too)
- Use HashSet (discarded) - iteration of elements causes instantiation of a new Iterator which defeats the requirement of minimal memory allocation during access.
- Convert HashSet to ArrayList (discarded) - creates more memory allocaiton than HashSet iteration.
Question
Is the extention of ArrayList to reject duplicate values a sensible way to achieve non-duplicate collection with minimal memory allocation? Are there alternative methods I should consider?
Notes
Most advised solutions to eliminate duplicates in ArrayList I have seen refer to using HashSet or other object instantiation which defeat my minimal memory allocation requirement. The only implementation I can think of is a basic "for iteration" of the ArrayList checking equality of the added value against each existing element.
Class NonDuplicateList extends ArrayList{
@Override
boolean add(E e){
for(int i = 0; i < this.size(); i++){
if(this.get(i).equals(e)
return false;
}
return super.add(e);
}
}
For completion this question is being posted on gamedev stackexchange as the game dev community is more sensitive to the subjects of memory allocation and garbage collection impact, so hopefully I won't get comments along the lines of iterator allocation memory allocation is insignificant :-)
