Performance Patterns

When to Use

Apply performance optimizations when plugins perform expensive operations like external API calls, complex calculations, or repeated database queries. Cache results, batch operations, and avoid N+1 queries.

Decision

Operation Type	Optimization	When to Apply
External API calls	Cache results	API call takes >100ms
Complex calculations	Cache computed values	Calculation used multiple times
Entity loading	Use entity loader service	Loading multiple entities
Repeated token access	Store in variable	Same token accessed 3+ times
Database queries	Batch operations	Processing >10 items

Pattern

use Drupal\Core\Cache\CacheBackendInterface;

class MyAction extends ConfigurableActionBase {

  protected CacheBackendInterface $cache;

  public static function create(ContainerInterface $container, array $configuration, $plugin_id, $plugin_definition): static {
    $instance = parent::create($container, $configuration, $plugin_id, $plugin_definition);
    $instance->cache = $container->get('cache.default');
    return $instance;
  }

  public function execute(): void {
    // Cache expensive API calls
    $cache_key = 'my_module:api_result:' . md5(serialize($this->configuration));

    if ($cached = $this->cache->get($cache_key)) {
      $result = $cached->data;
    } else {
      $result = $this->callExpensiveApi();

      // Cache for 1 hour
      $this->cache->set($cache_key, $result, time() + 3600, ['my_module_api']);
    }

    $this->tokenService->addTokenData($this->configuration['result_token'], $result);
  }

  /**
   * Batch entity loading to avoid N+1 queries.
   */
  protected function batchLoadEntities(array $ids): array {
    // Bad: Loading one by one in loop
    // foreach ($ids as $id) { $entity = Entity::load($id); }

    // Good: Batch load all at once
    return $this->entityTypeManager
      ->getStorage('node')
      ->loadMultiple($ids);
  }

  /**
   * Store frequently accessed tokens in variables.
   */
  protected function processItems(): void {
    // Bad: Accessing token in loop
    // foreach ($items as $item) {
    //   $config = $this->tokenService->getTokenData('config');
    // }

    // Good: Access once, use many times
    $config = $this->tokenService->getTokenData('config');
    foreach ($items as $item) {
      $this->processWithConfig($item, $config);
    }
  }
}

Common Mistakes

Wrong: No cache invalidation → Right: Stale data persists indefinitely (use cache tags)
Wrong: Caching user-specific data in shared cache → Right: Privacy/security issue
Wrong: Loading entities in loops → Right: N+1 query problem (use loadMultiple)
Wrong: Not setting cache expiration → Right: Memory bloat over time
Wrong: Premature optimization → Right: Profile first, then optimize hot paths
Wrong: Caching in development → Right: Can't see changes (clear cache or disable caching)

Performance Patterns

When to Use

Decision

Pattern

Common Mistakes

See Also