What are the downsides of lazy evaluation in programming?

What are the downsides of lazy evaluation in programming?

Lazy evaluation can lead to increased memory usage and delayed errors, making debugging more challenging.

Can you explain how it affects performance?

Sure! While it can improve performance by avoiding unnecessary computations, it may also cause performance hits due to deferred execution.

Are there specific scenarios where lazy evaluation is particularly problematic?

Yes, in scenarios with large data structures or when working with infinite lists, it can lead to excessive memory consumption.

How does it compare to eager evaluation?

Eager evaluation computes values immediately, which can be more predictable but may waste resources on unnecessary calculations.

What are some best practices to mitigate the downsides?

Using strict evaluation in critical paths and profiling your code can help identify and mitigate the downsides of lazy evaluation.