Hi, I have an expression such as
y = x :* k
in my Mata code, where x is vector and k is a vector or a scalar
depending on context. I am now wondering whether it is reasonable to
avoid using the colon operator in cases where k is a scalar and, e.g.,
code
if (length(k)==1) y = x * k
else y = x :* k
I did some speed tests and they are indicating that using the second
solution will be considerably faster in case of k being scalar. Here is
an example:
. mata: x = uniform(10000,1)
r; t=0.00 15:08:55
. mata: for (i=1;i<=10000;i++) y = x*1
r; t=2.20 15:08:57
. mata: for (i=1;i<=10000;i++) y = x:*1
r; t=4.80 15:09:02
Can anyone confirm these results? Is it true that the colon operator
significantly slows down computations if used in situations where it is
not really needed or is this just an artifact produced by my local
machine?
ben
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