Pre-initialize arrays when final size is known

MAXScript FAQ > How To Make It Faster > Pre-initialize arrays when final size is known

When adding elements to an array using the append method, a copy of the original array is being created in memory before the new array is created. When the size of an array is known before the array is actually used, it is a good practice to pre-initialize the array in memory by assigning the last element of the array to some temporary value. This will create an array of the desired size in memory and will let you simply assign values to any element of the array using indexed access without the memory overhead of the append method.

FOR EXAMPLE, INSTEAD OF USING SOMETHING LIKE

MyArray = #()--creates an empty array
for i = 1 to 100 do
  append MyArray (random 1 100)--append each element

YOU CAN USE

MyArray = #()
MyArray[100] = 0--initialize a 100 elements array in memory
for i = 1 to 100 do
  MyArray[i] = random 1 100--assign to predefined array

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