Best way to code indicator output when using custom class as output

[adamus]

I have a requirement for an indicator which identifies swing points, i.e. higher highs or lower lows on a bar chart. Coding it visually is done, and I now need to expose the list of swing points so I can access them in another indicator or strategy.

The output is a dictionary of objects of my custom class, keyed by bar number.

If I set up my strategy to work like this:

public class PermaCodeSwingState : Indicator
{
    PermaCodeSwing swingIndy;
    
    protected override void Initialize() 
    {
        Overlay = true;
        CalculateOnBarClose = true;
        Add(PermaCodeSwing(2, 2, 20, 0.00001));
        swingIndy = PermaCodeSwing(2, 2, 20, 0.00001);    
    }
    
    protected override void OnBarUpdate()
    {
        swingIndy.Update();
        if (CurrentBars[0] < BarsRequired)
        {                
            return;
        }
        
    }

I have to include that Update() call because otherwise the indicator doesn't update. This is the relevant part of the indie code, showing just instantiation of the SwingPoint for a swing high, and putting it in the dictionary:

private Dictionary<int, SwingPoint> swingHighs 
    = new Dictionary<int, SwingPoint>(), swingLows = new Dictionary<int, SwingPoint>();
public class SwingPoint
{
    public int before, after;
    public IBar bar;
    public int barNum;
    public IBar creationBar;
    public int creationBarNum;
    public DateTime creationTime;
    public SwingPoint(int newBefore, int newAfter, int swingBarNum, IBar swingBar, 
        int cb, IBar currentIBar)
    {
        this.before = newBefore;
        this.after = newAfter;
        this.bar = swingBar;
        this.barNum = swingBarNum;
        this.creationBar = currentIBar;
        this.creationBarNum = cb;
    }
}
protected override void OnBarUpdate()
{
    if (isSwingHigh) 
    {
        SwingPoint swingPoint = new SwingPoint(before, after, 
            CurrentBar - swingBar, Bars.Get(CurrentBar - swingBar), 
            CurrentBar, Bars.Get(CurrentBar));
        swingHighs.Add(CurrentBar - swingBar, swingPoint);
    }
}

public Dictionary<int, SwingPoint> SwingHighs 
{
    get { return swingHighs; }
}

My question is whether this way of doing it is going to be a performance killer compared to another way, maybe subclassing IDataSeries. I have an old recollection of discussing IDataSeries but I can't find any reference to subclassing it now online.

Additionally I'm worried at this point that writing the swing points algorithm into a seperate indicator will also incur unnecessary overhead compared to writing it as a simple function in an NinjaTrader.Indicator partial class. Please advise.

Thanks.

[NinjaTrader_Matthew]

An Dataseries interface would be more resource intensive as it is synced with each bar on the chart.

If you only have a handful of swing points, a dictionary or list would be more efficient and easier to access these values.

I have no advice on writing a new indicator or using a function. This would ultimately depend on how you're using it. They should both process the same amount of resources.