You might be tempted to use all sorts of clever techniques to optimize the code. However, this optimization comes at a penalty.
Rob Pike provides these comments on program complexity, https://www.lysator.liu.se/c/pikestyle.html, Notes on Programming in C.
"Most programs are too complicated - that is, more complex than they need to be to solve their problems efficiently . . . But programs are often complicated at the microscopic level . . ."
The following are also condensed from Mr. Pike's 1989 Notes on Programming in C
Rule 1. Don't guess at optimization
- Prove the bottleneck location, then put in a speed hack.
Rule 2. Measure before tuning for speed
- Be judicious. Only tune for speed if absolutely necessary.
Rule 3. Use simple algorithms
- Fancy algorithms are slow.
Rule 4. Use simple data structures.
Pike believes that these data structures are almost always enough:
- array
- linked list
- hash table
- binary tree
Rule 5. Data structures are central to programming; algorithms are not.