performant

English

Etymology

From French performant.

Adjective

performant (comparative more performant, superlative most performant)

1. (chiefly computing slang) Capable of or characterized by an adequate or excellent level of performance or efficiency.

   Synonyms: effective, efficient, fast, high-performing, responsive, successful

   • 1977, J. Rose & C. Bilciu, editors, Modern trends in cybernetics and systems‎^[1], page 735:

     The program ALGOLOG is highly performant: it generated 259 linear subproblems, instead of 2²³.

   • 2003, Rod Johnson, Expert One-on-One J2EE Design and Development‎^[2], page 5:

     There are strong arguments that some features of J2EE, such as entity beans, can never be as performant in many situations as some alternatives.

   • 2013, Thomas Valentine, Jon Reid, JavaScript Programmer's Reference, Apress (→ISBN), page 117:

     Yahoo uses YUI in their products, and as a result it is highly performant and well-tested.

   • 2014, Den Odell, Pro JavaScript Development: Coding, Capabilities, and Tooling, Apress (→ISBN), page 423:

     […] we can run a plethora of tools against our code to check its quality in advance, there really is no substitute for running that code within a web browser to ensure not only that it runs correctly but also that it is performant and memory-efficient.

2. Of or relating to performance.
   • 1990, Jean Alter, A Sociosemiotic Theory of Theatre, page 61:

     As a rule, however, the performant function, when it is supported by truly impressive circus performances, tends to monopolize the audience's attention.

Usage notes

In computing jargon, something performant is not necessarily efficient or optimal; it is “good enough” in a sense that performance levels meet or exceed the expectations of end users.

Related terms

• performance

See also

• performative

Noun

performant (plural performants)

1. Someone who performs something, such as a ritual.

   Synonym: performer

   • 1979, Krishan Kumar, The Pailibos‎^[3], page 169:

     If a performant happens to be on unfriendly terms with any one in the village, the performant does everything to get him reconciled long before the preparation is taken in hand.

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French

Verb

performant

1. present participle of performer

Adjective

performant (feminine singular performante, masculine plural performants, feminine plural performantes)

1. efficient, effective, performant

Further reading

• “performant” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).