Hashugar (Hash Sugar)
Nested OpenStruct alternative optimized for speed especially for many short-lived objects (e.g. results from db).
Usage
$ gem install hashugar
hashugar = {:a => 1, 'b' => {:c => 2, :d => [3, 4, {:e => 5}]}}.to_hashugar
hashugar.a # => 1
hashugar.b.c # => 2
hashugar.b.d.last.e # => 5How fast is it?
Let's compare to the competitors - OpenStruct, Hashr
$ rake bench
Ruby 2.1.3 benchmark
OpenStruct create small hash and access once
110766.3 (±4.7%) i/s - 557010 in 5.039303s
Hashr create small hash and access once
147007.1 (±2.6%) i/s - 742596 in 5.054958s
Hashugar create small hash and access once
427133.4 (±2.7%) i/s - 2157935 in 5.055919s
OpenStruct create big hash and access once
2018.7 (±7.8%) i/s - 10050 in 5.005609s
Hashr create big hash and access once
5021.0 (±4.5%) i/s - 25143 in 5.016474s
Hashugar create big hash and access once
14542.7 (±31.7%) i/s - 65232 in 5.113105s
OpenStruct create small hash and access ten times
100424.9 (±5.0%) i/s - 509004 in 5.080745s
Hashr create small hash and access ten times
86539.9 (±3.7%) i/s - 433116 in 5.011856s
Hashugar create small hash and access ten times
166080.6 (±2.6%) i/s - 844704 in 5.089568s
OpenStruct create small hash and access fifty times
70585.2 (±5.0%) i/s - 356460 in 5.062517s
Hashr create small hash and access fifty times
32565.7 (±2.4%) i/s - 164788 in 5.063123s
Hashugar create small hash and access fifty times
46460.1 (±4.0%) i/s - 233677 in 5.038378s
OpenStruct create small hash and access hundred times
51480.7 (±4.1%) i/s - 261131 in 5.081082s
Hashr create small hash and access hundred times
18201.2 (±2.3%) i/s - 91443 in 5.026730s
Hashugar create small hash and access hundred times
24413.4 (±2.0%) i/s - 124185 in 5.088771s
Why is it so fast?
OpenStruct defines a method using metaprogramming on first access, but this is a slow operation. Hashr is converting whole hash on initialization which is slower when you don't need to access all keys and nested keys. Hashugar uses method_missing, which is slower in the long run, but faster for short-lived objects, it's also lazy so there is no precomputation/conversion step.