What is the impact of immutable types on performance in programming?

What is the impact of immutable types on performance in programming?

Immutable types can lead to performance overhead due to the need for creating new instances instead of modifying existing ones.

Are there specific scenarios where using immutable types is beneficial despite the performance cost?

Yes, in scenarios like multi-threading, immutable types can enhance safety and reduce bugs, which can outweigh performance costs.

How do immutable types affect memory usage?

Immutable types can increase memory usage since each modification creates a new instance, but they can also enable optimizations like sharing.

Can you give examples of programming languages that use immutable types?

Languages like Haskell, Scala, and even JavaScript (with const) support immutable types, promoting functional programming practices.

What are the trade-offs between mutable and immutable types?

The trade-offs include performance vs. safety, ease of debugging, and memory usage, with immutable types often leading to safer code.