This week I learned that attr_reader is more performant than a simple getter method.
Here’s a gist from five years ago where Aaron Patterson explains:
https://gist.github.com/pjb3/629716
I ran that same benchmarking script today on Ruby 2.2.3. The gap has narrowed, but still exists:
ruby-2.2.3
Rehearsal -----------------------------------------------
method 0.070000 0.000000 0.070000 ( 0.074840)
attr_reader 0.050000 0.000000 0.050000 ( 0.052603)
-------------------------------------- total: 0.120000sec
user system total real
method 0.070000 0.000000 0.070000 ( 0.072229)
attr_reader 0.050000 0.000000 0.050000 ( 0.053374)
I like attr_reader because it’s a Ruby convention and is one line instead of three. Now, I also like its performance relative to a getter.
h/t Josh Davey