Which to prefer in simple cases, `map!` or `broadcast!`

General Usage
1

In a simple case, such as

v = collect(1:10)
sqrs = similar(v)
map!(abs2, sqrs, v)

would it be better to use broadcast!? I am using the ! form (instead of a .= assignment) because this expression could be part of a larger expression. My guess is that broadcast! could be preferred if there was a chance that it could be fused with other operations.

2

I would agree with your guess.

3

My understanding is that broadcast is for AbstractArrays and that map is for general collections. So, roughly speaking, if your collection has a well-defined order, use broadcast. In other cases (e.g. Set or Dict), use map.

So, in your case I would agree: broadcast.

4

map! and broadcast! are indeed basically the same for these one-argument cases. They only way you’ll see a difference is if a type specifically specialized one but not the other — and then it can only ever be a difference in performance. Broadcasting does have the big advantage of fusion.

You’re more likely to see a difference between the non-bang map and broadcast since they have a very different system of allocating the resulting array: the former uses similar for AbstractArrays whereas the latter uses broadcast styles.

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