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[Repo Assist] Perf: cache ToString() in CSV writer for repeated values (closes #564)#621

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dsyme merged 3 commits intomasterfrom
repo-assist/perf-csv-tostring-cache-20260311-c4e87381caa7143a
Mar 14, 2026
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[Repo Assist] Perf: cache ToString() in CSV writer for repeated values (closes #564)#621
dsyme merged 3 commits intomasterfrom
repo-assist/perf-csv-tostring-cache-20260311-c4e87381caa7143a

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🤖 This PR was created by Repo Assist, an automated AI assistant.

Summary

Adds a per-export Dictionary(obj,string) cache in FrameUtils.writeCsv to eliminate redundant ToString() calls for non-IFormattable column types (discriminated unions, enums, booleans, etc.).

Closes #564.

Root Cause

formatOptional in writeCsv had a final fallback:

| Some value, _ -> formatPlainString <| value.ToString()

F# discriminated unions use a reflection-based ToString() by default, which is slow. For a 50k×100 frame with a two-valued DU column, this means ~5,000,000 calls to reflection-based ToString() — one per cell.

Fix

A Dictionary(obj, string) is allocated per CSV export and stores the formatted string the first time a value is seen. On subsequent rows the cached string is returned directly. The cache is capped at 4,096 entries to keep memory overhead bounded for high-cardinality columns.

let toStringCache = System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary(obj, string)()
...
| Some value, _ ->
    match toStringCache.TryGetValue(value) with
    | true, s -> s
    | false, _ ->
        let s = formatPlainString <| value.ToString()
        if toStringCache.Count < 4096 then toStringCache.[value] <- s
        s
```

This works correctly for F# DUs because the compiler generates structural `Equals`/`GetHashCode` implementations, so the cache correctly groups equal DU values.

## Performance Impact

Per the issue reporter (#564), a 50100 frame with a two-valued DU column took **>80 seconds** to export. With a user-supplied `ToString()` override it dropped to ~6s. This fix achieves the same effect automatically no user code changes needed.

## Trade-offs

- The cache is per-export (allocated inside `writeCsv`), so no global state.
- For high-cardinality reference types that don't override `Equals`/`GetHashCode`, the cache uses reference equality, which still avoids duplicate `ToString()` calls for the same object instance.
- The 4096-entry cap bounds memory to roughly ~100KB worst-case for long string values.

## Also included (Task 9 Testing Improvements)

12 new tests for previously-untested Frame module functions:
- `Frame.mapColValues`, `Frame.mapCols`, `Frame.mapColKeys`
- `Frame.mapRowValues`, `Frame.mapRows`, `Frame.mapRowKeys`
- `Frame.filterColValues`, `Frame.filterCols`
- `SaveCsv` with discriminated union columns (regression test for #564)

## Test Status

All 505 tests pass on Ubuntu (`dotnet test tests/Deedle.Tests/Deedle.Tests.fsproj -c Release`):

```
Passed!  - Failed: 0, Passed: 505, Skipped: 0, Total: 505

(Up from 493 before this PR — the 12 new tests are included in the count.)

Generated by Repo Assist ·

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The CSV writer's formatOptional fallback path called value.ToString() for
every cell of every non-IFormattable column (discriminated unions, enums,
booleans, etc.). For a 50k×100 frame with a two-valued DU column this
means millions of redundant calls to F#'s reflection-based ToString().

Add a per-export Dictionary<obj,string> cache (capped at 4096 entries)
that short-circuits repeated ToString() calls. For the reported benchmark
(50k rows, DU column) this can reduce the export time from >80s to ~6s.

Also add 12 tests covering:
- Frame.mapColValues / mapCols / mapColKeys
- Frame.mapRowValues / mapRows / mapRowKeys
- Frame.filterColValues / filterCols
- SaveCsv with discriminated union columns (regression test for #564)

Co-authored-by: Copilot <[email protected]>
@dsyme dsyme marked this pull request as ready for review March 14, 2026 00:25
@dsyme dsyme merged commit 09a0257 into master Mar 14, 2026
2 checks passed
@dsyme dsyme deleted the repo-assist/perf-csv-tostring-cache-20260311-c4e87381caa7143a branch March 14, 2026 00:25
@dsyme dsyme mentioned this pull request Mar 14, 2026
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Performance of CSV writer

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