xmath-usage

Use xmath to perform in-place math mutations on pre-allocated scratch buffers, eliminating per-frame heap allocations in Defold Lua. This reduces garbage collection pressure and stabilizes frame times during performance-critical update loops.

Set up scratch buffers by pre-allocating vector, quaternion, and matrix variables at module scope or within init(). Reuse these pre-allocated variables across update loops to perform in-place xmath operations without triggering heap allocations.

xmath functions do not return values because they mutate the first argument in place to avoid heap allocations. You chain operations by using separate scratch variables for each step rather than nesting function calls.

Yes, you use xmath alongside vmath in Defold. Allocate scratch objects using vmath, then perform in-place zero-allocation operations for vector3, vector4, quat, and matrix types via xmath in your hot paths.

The limitation of zero-allocation math patterns is that xmath functions do not return values, preventing nested call chaining. You must manually manage pre-allocated scratch buffers and write results into the first argument explicitly.