Call By Name vs Call By Reference

Developers should learn call by name when working with languages that support lazy evaluation or need to delay computation until necessary, such as in Scala for implementing custom control structures or avoiding unnecessary evaluations meets developers should learn and use call by reference when they need functions to modify the original arguments, such as when implementing in-place algorithms, swapping variables, or updating large data structures without performance overhead from copying. Here's our take.

Call By Name

Nice Pick

Developers should learn call by name when working with languages that support lazy evaluation or need to delay computation until necessary, such as in Scala for implementing custom control structures or avoiding unnecessary evaluations

Pros

• It is useful in scenarios where arguments might be expensive to compute or have side effects that should only occur if the parameter is actually used, improving performance and enabling more expressive programming patterns like short-circuiting in logical operators
• Related to: scala, lambda-calculus

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Call By Reference

Developers should learn and use call by reference when they need functions to modify the original arguments, such as when implementing in-place algorithms, swapping variables, or updating large data structures without performance overhead from copying

Pros

• It is particularly useful in systems programming, performance-critical applications, and scenarios where memory efficiency is a priority, as it avoids duplicating data
• Related to: call-by-value, pointers

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

Use Call By Name if: You want it is useful in scenarios where arguments might be expensive to compute or have side effects that should only occur if the parameter is actually used, improving performance and enabling more expressive programming patterns like short-circuiting in logical operators and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.

Use Call By Reference if: You prioritize it is particularly useful in systems programming, performance-critical applications, and scenarios where memory efficiency is a priority, as it avoids duplicating data over what Call By Name offers.

The Bottom Line

Call By Name wins

Developers should learn call by name when working with languages that support lazy evaluation or need to delay computation until necessary, such as in Scala for implementing custom control structures or avoiding unnecessary evaluations