NativeCollections 1.5.0

NativeCollections

Introduction

• It is fully based on unmanaged memory, allowing developers to manipulate memory with lower overhead and more control, while offering a wide range of container types.
• The library provides extensive support for Span<T> and unsafe operations, making it suitable for scenarios with strict performance and memory behavior requirements.

Features

• ✅ GC-Free Allocation: Most container data is allocated using unmanaged memory, without relying on the CLR garbage collector.
• ✅ High Performance: Compact structures, memory alignment, zero boxing, and support for high-performance algorithms.
• ✅ Span Support: Most containers support Span<T> / ReadOnlySpan<T>, enabling in-place modification and zero-copy data passing.
• ✅ Thread-Safe Containers: Includes several concurrent container variants suitable for multithreaded environments.
• ✅ Easy Integration: Uses standard C#, making it easy to replace existing containers.

Why?

Most containers in the standard library cannot be used in unmanaged environments, and many lack support for Span<T> or ReadOnlySpan<T>.

For example:

• List<T> does not allow fast access via Span<T> or ReadOnlySpan<T>, which limits both performance and development efficiency.
• In older versions of .NET, Dictionary<TKey, TValue> does not expose direct references to values, requiring operations to be performed on copies instead. This adds unnecessary overhead in performance-critical scenarios.
• In many cases, types like string are overkill when only a ReadOnlySpan<char> is needed. By using NativeString, it’s possible to avoid frequent string allocations and reduce GC pressure significantly.

How to use?

• All containers are value types or wrap unmanaged pointers. Please avoid using them before proper initialization to prevent undefined behavior.
• Most containers require calling Dispose() after use to free unmanaged resources properly.
• Usage of most containers is very similar to the standard library counterparts, with added convenience methods like converting to Span<T> or ReadOnlySpan<T>.
• For short-lived containers, you can take advantage of the using statement to automatically call Dispose().
• For StackallocCollection series, you can use the stackalloc syntax. Alternatively, you can provide any fixed buffer from outside, such as unmanaged memory or fixed managed memory.
• For NativeCollection series, they act as wrappers around the UnsafeCollection series and additionally store a handle pointer for managing the underlying resource.
• For UnsafeCollection series, they do not store a handle pointer themselves and are implemented directly as structs, providing a more lightweight but less managed usage.
• You can use NativeMemoryAllocator.Custom to override:
  • public static void* Alloc(uint byteCount)
  • public static void* AllocZeroed(uint byteCount)
  • public static void Free(void* ptr)
• You can use NativeHashCode.Custom to override:
  • public static int GetHashCode(ReadOnlySpan<byte> buffer).
• You can use NativeString.Custom to override:
  • public static int GetHashCode(ReadOnlySpan<char> buffer).

Project status

This project is actively under development. Welcome your suggestions and feedback.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Some implemented types

1. BitArray
2. ConcurrentDictionary<TKey, TValue>
3. ConcurrentHashSet<T>
4. ConcurrentQueue<T>
5. ConcurrentStack<T>
6. Deque<T>
7. Dictionary<TKey, TValue>
8. HashSet<T>
9. List<T>
10. MemoryStream
11. OrderedDictionary<TKey, TValue>
12. OrderedHashSet<T>
13. PriorityQueue<TKey, TValue>
14. Queue<T>
15. SortedDictionary<TKey, TValue>
16. SortedList<TKey, TValue>
17. SortedSet<T>
18. SparseSet<T>
19. Stack<T>
20. String
21. StringBuilder<T>