Performance Tips

LiteDto is designed for maximum performance, but there are still ways to optimize your usage.

Performance Benchmarks

Here are the actual benchmark results from our comprehensive tests:

Implementation	From Array	To Array	Complex Data
LiteDto	3.247μs	6.447μs	3.226μs
LiteDto #[UltraFast]	2.642μs	4.728μs	2.598μs
SimpleDto #[UltraFast]	5.708μs	37.787μs	5.742μs
SimpleDto Normal	6.299μs	38.534μs	6.321μs

Average: LiteDto is 3.3x faster than SimpleDto Normal.

Optimization Tips

1. Avoid ConverterMode When Not Needed

ConverterMode adds ~0.5μs overhead due to format detection and parsing.

// ❌ Slower: ConverterMode when only using arrays
#[ConverterMode]
class UserDto extends LiteDto
{
    public function __construct(
        public readonly string $name,
        public readonly int $age,
    ) {}
}

$user = UserDto::from(['name' => 'John', 'age' => 30]);  // ~2.8μs

// ✅ Faster: No ConverterMode for array-only usage
class UserDto extends LiteDto
{
    public function __construct(
        public readonly string $name,
        public readonly int $age,
    ) {}
}

$user = UserDto::from(['name' => 'John', 'age' => 30]);  // ~2.3μs

Rule: Only use #[ConverterMode] when you need to accept JSON, XML or other formats.

2. Minimize Nested DTOs

Each nested DTO adds overhead for reflection and instantiation.

// ❌ Slower: Deep nesting
class CountryDto extends LiteDto { /* ... */ }
class CityDto extends LiteDto {
    public function __construct(
        public readonly string $name,
        public readonly CountryDto $country,
    ) {}
}
class AddressDto extends LiteDto {
    public function __construct(
        public readonly string $street,
        public readonly CityDto $city,
    ) {}
}
class UserDto extends LiteDto {
    public function __construct(
        public readonly string $name,
        public readonly AddressDto $address,
    ) {}
}

// ✅ Faster: Flatten when possible
class UserDto extends LiteDto {
    public function __construct(
        public readonly string $name,
        public readonly string $street,
        public readonly string $city,
        public readonly string $country,
    ) {}
}

Rule: Only use nested DTOs when the structure truly benefits from it.

3. Use Readonly Properties

LiteDto requires readonly properties for immutability and performance.

// ✅ Correct: Readonly properties
class UserDto extends LiteDto
{
    public function __construct(
        public readonly string $name,
        public readonly int $age,
    ) {}
}

// ❌ Wrong: Non-readonly properties (won't work)
class UserDto extends LiteDto
{
    public function __construct(
        public string $name,  // Missing readonly
        public int $age,
    ) {}
}

4. Minimize Attribute Usage

Each attribute adds a small overhead for reflection and processing.

// ❌ Slower: Many attributes
class UserDto extends LiteDto
{
    public function __construct(
        #[From('user_name'), To('full_name'), ConvertEmptyToNull]
        public readonly ?string $name,

        #[From('user_age'), To('age_years')]
        public readonly int $age,
    ) {}
}

// ✅ Faster: Only necessary attributes
class UserDto extends LiteDto
{
    public function __construct(
        public readonly string $name,
        public readonly int $age,
    ) {}
}

Rule: Only use attributes when you need the functionality.

5. Batch Operations

When creating many DTOs, consider batching:

// ❌ Slower: Creating DTOs one by one in a loop
$users = [];
foreach ($apiData as $userData) {
    $users[] = UserDto::from($userData);
}

// ✅ Faster: Use array_map for better performance
$users = array_map(
    fn($userData) => UserDto::from($userData),
    $apiData
);

6. Cache DTO Instances

If you’re using the same DTO multiple times, cache it:

// ❌ Slower: Creating same DTO multiple times
for ($i = 0; $i < 1000; $i++) {
    $config = ConfigDto::from($configData);
    // Use $config
}

// ✅ Faster: Create once, reuse
$config = ConfigDto::from($configData);
for ($i = 0; $i < 1000; $i++) {
    // Use $config
}

Performance Comparison

LiteDto vs SimpleDto

Feature	LiteDto	LiteDto #[UltraFast]	SimpleDto Normal	SimpleDto #[UltraFast]
Performance	~4.3μs	~3.3μs	~17.1μs	~16.4μs
Validation	✅	✅	✅	❌
Type Casting	✅	✅	✅	❌
Property Mapping	✅	✅	✅	✅
Nested DTOs	✅	✅	✅	✅
Collections	✅	✅	✅	✅
Hidden Properties	✅	✅	✅	✅
Converter Support	✅ (optional)	✅ (optional)	✅	❌

When to use LiteDto:

• You need maximum performance (~5x faster than SimpleDto)
• You want validation and type casting with minimal overhead
• You want simple, clean code

When to use SimpleDto:

• You need advanced validation rules (RequiredIf, RequiredWith, etc.)
• You need computed properties or lazy loading
• You need framework-specific features (Laravel, Symfony)

LiteDto vs Other Dtos

Metric	LiteDto	LiteDto #[UltraFast]	Other Dtos
Performance	~4.3μs	~3.3μs	N/A
Property Mapping	✅	✅	✅
Hidden Properties	✅	✅	✅
Nested DTOs	✅	✅	✅
Collections	✅	✅	✅
Converter Support	✅ (optional)	✅ (optional)	❌
ConvertEmptyToNull	✅	✅	❌

Why choose LiteDto?

• No build step required
• More features (Converter, ConvertEmptyToNull)
• Better developer experience
• Competitive performance with other Dto libraries

Real-World Performance

API Endpoint Example

// 1000 requests/second
// LiteDto: ~2.3ms total overhead
// SimpleDto: ~18.5ms total overhead
// Savings: ~16.2ms per 1000 requests

Route::post('/users', function (Request $request) {
    $user = UserDto::from($request->all());  // ~2.3μs

    // Save to database
    User::create($user->toArray());

    return response()->json($user);
});

Batch Processing Example

// Processing 10,000 records
// LiteDto: ~23ms total
// SimpleDto: ~185ms total
// Savings: ~162ms per 10,000 records

$users = array_map(
    fn($data) => UserDto::from($data),
    $csvData  // 10,000 rows
);

Profiling Your DTOs

Use PHPBench to profile your DTOs:

use PhpBench\Attributes\Revs;
use PhpBench\Attributes\Iterations;

class MyDtoBench
{
    #[Revs(1000)]
    #[Iterations(5)]
    public function benchMyDto(): void
    {
        MyDto::from([
            'name' => 'John',
            'age' => 30,
        ]);
    }
}

Run benchmarks:

vendor/bin/phpbench run benchmarks/MyDtoBench.php --report=default

Next Steps

• Attributes Reference - Learn about all attributes
• Creating LiteDtos - Best practices
• Benchmarks - See all performance comparisons