Which is better (or faster), a C++ for loop or the foreach operator provided by Qt? For example, the following condition
QList<QString> listofstrings;
Which is better?
foreach(QString str, listofstrings)
{
//code
}
or
int count = listofstrings.count();
QString str = QString();
for(int i=0;i<count;i++)
{
str = listofstrings.at(i);
//Code
}
It really doesn't matter in most cases.
The large number of questions on StackOverflow regarding whether this method or that method is faster, belie the fact that, in the vast majority of cases, code spends most of its time sitting around waiting for users to do something.
If you are really concerned, profile it for yourself and act on what you find.
But I think you'll most likely find that only in the most intense data-processing-heavy work does this question matter. The difference may well be only a couple of seconds and even then, only when processing huge numbers of elements.
Get your code working first. Then get it working fast (and only if you find an actual performance issue).
Time spent optimising before you've finished the functionality and can properly profile, is mostly wasted time.
First off, I'd just like to say I agree with Pax, and that the speed probably doesn't enter into it. foreach wins hands down based on readability, and that's enough in 98% of cases.
But of course the Qt guys have looked into it and actually done some profiling: http://blog.qt.io/blog/2009/01/23/iterating-efficiently/
The main lesson to take away from that is: use const references in read only loops as it avoids the creation of temporary instances. It also make the purpose of the loop more explicit, regardless of the looping method you use.