Replace core.async’s internal LinkedList queue with ArrayDeque?

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 08:02:18 +0000

Hi! While reading the channel implementation I noticed the internal queue is a java.util.LinkedList:
https://github.com/clojure/core.async/blob/master/src/main/clojure/clojure/core/async/impl/channels.clj

The common JVM guidance these days is to prefer java.util.ArrayDeque for FIFO/LIFO queues due to better locality and lower GC overhead. For example, the JDK docs state: “This class is likely to be faster than Stack when used as a stack, and faster than LinkedList when used as a queue.”
https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/util/ArrayDeque.html
Related SO discussion: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6163166/why-is-arraydeque-better-than-linkedlist

A few questions for the maintainers:

Was LinkedList originally chosen for a specific reason (e.g., very old JDK compatibility)?
Are there behaviors in channels that specifically rely on LinkedList (e.g., allowing null, I believe channels disallow nil anyway, or particular iterator characteristics), or would ArrayDeque be a drop-in replacement for the add/remove-from-ends operations used?
If we provide a small PR and benchmark showing an improvement (lower allocations / better throughput under contention), would such a change be considered?
Since ArrayDeque is available on Java 8+, and current Clojure/core.async baselines target that or newer, is there any remaining compatibility concern?

Context: there was an older conversation in Clojurians (#clojure) that suggested ArrayDeque could reduce GC pressure under load and that the original choice may have been influenced by older JDKs:
https://clojurians.slack.com/archives/C03S1KBA2/p1526551888000376

If this sounds reasonable, I’m happy to run the core.async test suite, add JMH-style benchmarks focused on channel put/take hot paths, and submit a PR.

Thanks!

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Replace core.async’s internal LinkedList queue with ArrayDeque?