Glossary¶

Quick reference for terms used throughout Unity Helpers documentation.

Core Concepts¶

Attribute¶

A dynamic numeric value with a base and calculated current value
Current value applies all active modifications from effects
Used in the Effects System for stats like Health, Speed, Defense
See: Effects System

Buffering Pattern¶

Reusing pre-allocated collections (List, arrays) to minimize GC allocations
Pass a buffer to API methods that clear and fill it with results
Critical for performance in hot paths (per-frame queries)
See: Buffering Pattern

Immutable Tree¶

Spatial data structure that cannot be modified after creation
Must be rebuilt when underlying data changes
Provides consistent query performance but requires full reconstruction
Examples: QuadTree2D, KdTree2D, RTree2D
See: Spatial Trees

Odin Compatibility¶

Automatic integration with Odin Inspector when installed
Base classes switch from MonoBehaviour → SerializedMonoBehaviour
Enables serialization of dictionaries, polymorphic fields, etc.
No code changes required - works automatically via #if ODIN_INSPECTOR
See: Singletons - Odin Compatibility

Pooled Buffers¶

Reusable memory allocations managed by Buffers<T> or WallstopArrayPool<T>
Reduces GC pressure by recycling collections instead of allocating new ones
Use with using statements for automatic cleanup
See: Buffering Pattern

Relational Components¶

Attributes that auto-wire component references via hierarchy traversal
Includes: [SiblingComponent], [ParentComponent], [ChildComponent]
Eliminates manual GetComponent calls
See: Relational Components

Seedable Random¶

Random number generator that accepts a seed value for deterministic output
Same seed = same sequence of random numbers
Essential for replay systems, networked games, procedural generation
See: Random Performance

Data Structures¶

Binary Heap¶

Array-backed binary tree maintaining min/max heap property
O(log n) push/pop, O(1) peek
Used for priority queues, pathfinding, event scheduling
See: Data Structures - Heap

Cyclic Buffer (Ring Buffer)¶

Fixed-capacity circular array with wrapping head/tail pointers
O(1) enqueue/dequeue at both ends
Overwrites oldest data when full
See: Data Structures - Cyclic Buffer

Disjoint Set (Union-Find)¶

Data structure tracking partitions of elements into sets
Near O(1) union/find operations with path compression
Used for connectivity, clustering, MST algorithms
See: Data Structures - Disjoint Set

KdTree (K-Dimensional Tree)¶

Binary tree partitioning space along alternating axes
Excellent for nearest neighbor queries on points
Balanced variant: consistent query time; Unbalanced: faster builds
See: 2D Spatial Trees

QuadTree¶

Tree recursively splitting 2D space into four quadrants
General-purpose spatial structure for points
Good for range queries, broad-phase collision detection
See: 2D Spatial Trees

RTree¶

Tree grouping items by minimum bounding rectangles (MBRs)
Optimized for objects with size/bounds
Excellent for bounds intersection queries
See: 2D Spatial Trees

Sparse Set¶

Two arrays (sparse + dense) enabling O(1) membership checks
O(1) insert/remove/contains with cache-friendly dense iteration
Requires contiguous ID space for indices
See: Data Structures - Sparse Set

Spatial Hash¶

Grid-based spatial structure with fixed cell size
Excellent for many moving objects uniformly distributed
O(1) insertion with fast approximate queries
See: README - When to Use Spatial Trees

Trie (Prefix Tree)¶

Tree keyed by characters for efficient prefix lookups
O(m) search where m = key length
Used for autocomplete, spell-checking, dictionary queries
See: Data Structures - Trie

Editor & Tools¶

Attribute Metadata Cache¶

Pre-generated metadata for Effects System attributes
Eliminates runtime reflection overhead
Powers editor dropdowns for attribute names
Auto-generated on editor load
See: Editor Tools - Attribute Metadata Cache

Property Drawer¶

Custom inspector rendering for serialized fields
Examples: [WShowIf], [StringInList], [WReadOnly]
Improves editor workflows with conditional display, validation, etc.
See: Property Drawers

ScriptableObject Singleton¶

Global settings/data singleton backed by a Resources asset
Auto-created by editor tool with [ScriptableSingletonPath] attribute
Accessed via T.Instance pattern
See: Singletons

Patterns & Techniques¶

Douglas-Peucker Algorithm¶

Polyline simplification algorithm that reduces vertex count
Preserves shape within epsilon tolerance
Used by LineHelper.Simplify and SimplifyPrecise
See: Math & Extensions - Geometry

Effects Pipeline¶

Data-driven gameplay modification system
Flow: Author AttributeEffect → Apply to GameObject → Modifications + Tags + Cosmetics
Handles stacking, duration, removal automatically
See: Effects System

Handle (Effect Handle)¶

Opaque identifier for a specific effect application instance
Used to remove one stack of an effect
Only returned for Duration/Infinite effects (Instant returns null)
See: Effects System

Positive Modulo¶

Modulo operation that always returns non-negative results
Essential for array indices and angle normalization
Use WallMath.PositiveMod instead of % operator
See: Math & Extensions - Numeric Helpers

Tag Handler¶

Component managing string tags with reference counting
Multiple sources can apply same tag; removed when count reaches 0
Used for categorical states (Stunned, Poisoned, Invulnerable)
See: Effects System

Serialization¶

Protobuf (Protocol Buffers)¶

Compact binary serialization format from Google
Forward/backward compatible with schema evolution
Requires [ProtoContract] and [ProtoMember(n)] annotations
See: Serialization - Protobuf

System.Text.Json¶

Modern .NET JSON serialization library
Unity Helpers provides custom converters for Unity types
Profiles: Normal, Pretty, Fast, FastPOCO
See: Serialization - JSON

Unity Converters¶

Custom JSON converters for Unity engine types
Supports: Vector⅔/4, Vector2Int/3Int, Color/Color32/ColorBlock, Quaternion, Matrix4x4, Pose, Plane, SphericalHarmonicsL2, Bounds/BoundsInt, Rect/RectInt/RectOffset, RangeInt, Ray/Ray2D/RaycastHit, BoundingSphere, Resolution, RenderTextureDescriptor, LayerMask, Hash128, Scene, AnimationCurve, Gradient, Touch, GameObject, ParticleSystem.MinMaxCurve, ParticleSystem.MinMaxGradient, System.Type
Automatically included in Unity Helpers JSON options
See: Serialization

Performance Terms¶

Amortized Complexity¶

Average complexity over many operations
Example: Deque push is O(1) amortized (occasional O(n) resize)
Smooths out occasional expensive operations

Big-O Notation¶

Describes algorithm scaling behavior
O(1) = constant time, O(log n) = logarithmic, O(n) = linear, O(n²) = quadratic
Smaller is better; focus on dominant term

Cache-Friendly¶

Data layout that maximizes CPU cache hits
Contiguous memory access patterns (arrays) are cache-friendly
Random memory jumps (linked lists) are cache-unfriendly

GC Pressure¶

Frequency and volume of garbage collection required
High pressure = frequent allocations = more GC pauses
Reduce with object pooling, reusable buffers, value types

Hot Path¶

Code executed very frequently (per-frame, per-update)
Performance critical; avoid allocations and expensive operations
Profile to identify actual hot paths

IL2CPP¶

Unity's ahead-of-time (AOT) compiler for mobile/console
Reflection is expensive; metadata caching becomes critical
Some reflection patterns may not work; prefer cached delegates

Abbreviations¶

AABB¶

Axis-Aligned Bounding Box

AOT¶

Ahead-Of-Time (compilation)

DTO¶

Data Transfer Object (simple data container for serialization)

FIFO¶

First-In-First-Out (queue behavior)

GC¶

Garbage Collector/Garbage Collection

HDRP¶

High Definition Render Pipeline

kNN¶

k-Nearest Neighbors

LIFO¶

Last-In-First-Out (stack behavior)

MBR¶

Minimum Bounding Rectangle

MST¶

Minimum Spanning Tree

POCO¶

Plain Old CLR Object (simple class with no framework dependencies)

PPU¶

Pixels Per Unit (sprite import setting)

PRNG¶

Pseudo-Random Number Generator

RNG¶

Random Number Generator

URP¶

Universal Render Pipeline