Benchmark: Symbol vs Number comparison

Script Preparation code:

n1 = 1
n2 = 2
s1 = Symbol.for('ala ma kotb')
s2 = Symbol.for('ala ma kota')

Tests:

Number === Number
n1 === n2
Symbol === Symbol
s1 === s2
Number == Number
n1 == n2
Symbol == Symbol
s1 == s2

Rendered benchmark preparation results:

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Previous results

Test case name	Result
Number === Number
Symbol === Symbol
Number == Number
Symbol == Symbol

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Latest run results:

Run details: (Test run date: 4 years ago)

User agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/87.0.4280.88 Safari/537.36 Edg/87.0.664.66

Browser/OS: Chrome 87 on Windows

View result in a separate tab

Test name	Executions per second
Number === Number	569020.1 Ops/sec
Symbol === Symbol	465195.3 Ops/sec
Number == Number	542802.7 Ops/sec
Symbol == Symbol	517216.1 Ops/sec

Autogenerated LLM Summary (model llama3.2:3b, generated 2 months ago):

LLMs can make mistakes. Check important info.

**Overview of the Benchmark**

The provided JSON represents a JavaScript microbenchmark test case created on MeasureThat.net. The benchmark compares the performance of different equality operators: `===` (strict equality), `==` (loose equality), and their equivalents for symbols (`===`, `==`). The goal is to determine whether comparing numbers or symbols is slower.

**Comparison Operators**

The benchmark defines four test cases, each comparing two specific values:

1. **Number Equality**: `n1 === n2`
	* Pros: This test case compares the performance of strict equality operators on numbers, which is essential for precise calculations.
	* Cons: This test case might not accurately represent real-world scenarios where loose equality (`==`) is used instead.
2. **Symbol Equality**: `s1 === s2`
	* Pros: This test case evaluates the performance of symbol comparisons, which can be useful in certain situations, such as when working with symbols as keys in objects or as property names.
	* Cons: Symbol comparisons might not be as common as number comparisons, making this test less representative of real-world usage.
3. **Number Loose Equality**: `n1 == n2`
	* Pros: This test case compares the performance of loose equality operators on numbers, which is commonly used in JavaScript for simple value comparisons.
	* Cons: Like the first test case, it might not accurately represent real-world scenarios where strict equality (`===`) is preferred.
4. **Symbol Loose Equality**: `s1 == s2`
	* Pros: This test case evaluates the performance of loose equality operators on symbols, which can be useful in certain situations, such as when working with strings or other non-symbol values.
	* Cons: As mentioned earlier, symbol comparisons might not be as common as number comparisons.

**Libraries and Special Features**

There are no specific libraries used in this benchmark. However, the use of symbols (`Symbol.for`) is highlighted, which can introduce additional complexity in JavaScript compared to traditional string or integer values.

**Other Considerations**

1. **Browser Consistency**: The benchmark uses Chrome 87 as the test browser, which might not represent all possible browsers or versions.
2. **Device Platform and Operating System**: The test runs on a Windows desktop device, which may affect performance compared to other platforms (e.g., mobile devices).
3. **Precision and Accuracy**: The benchmark's results should be considered in the context of the specific use case and requirements.

**Alternatives**

If you wanted to create a similar benchmark, you could consider:

1. Using different browsers or browser versions.
2. Testing with various device platforms (e.g., mobile devices, macOS).
3. Adding more test cases, such as comparisons involving strings, booleans, or other data types.
4. Evaluating the performance of algorithms or functions that use these equality operators.

By exploring alternative scenarios and test cases, you can gain a deeper understanding of how different equality operators and libraries affect JavaScript performance in various contexts.

Related benchmarks:

Symbol vs Number comparison (version: 0)

Is comparing symbols slower than comparing numbers?

Comparing performance of: Number === Number vs Symbol === Symbol vs Number == Number vs Symbol == Symbol

Created: 4 years ago by: Guest

Jump to the latest result

Number === Number

Symbol === Symbol

Number == Number

Symbol == Symbol

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Experimental features:

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Autogenerated LLM Summary (model llama3.2:3b, generated 2 months ago):