When should I write the keyword 'inline' for a function/method?

Question

When should I write the keyword `inline` for a function/method in C++? After seeing some answers, some related questions: - When should I **not** write the keyword 'inline' for a function/method in C++? - When will the compiler not know when to make a function/method 'inline'? - Does it matter if an application is **multithreaded** when one writes 'inline' for a function/method?

Answer 1

We can use Inline function as per our needs. Some useful recommendation are mentioned below-

1. We can use the inline function when performance is needed.
2. We can use the inline function over macros.
3. We prefer to use the inline keyword outside the class with the function definition to hide implementation details of the function.

It really saves the compilation time. But it is to be only used when the involved functions are specific and short. For complex and large functions like one with loops, many errors may occur like cache misses. Now we dont want that to happen ,do we?

The main advantage of inline function is removal of function call . Since the time needed for the transfer of control is ignored thus the compilation becomes efficient and effective. Mostly it depends on compiler weather to use a function as inline or not.