Benchmark: Date.now() vs adding constant

Script Preparation code:

let time = 1620011656317;

Tests:

now()
time = Date.now();
Constant addition
time += 16.666666666666668;

Rendered benchmark preparation results:

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Previous results

Test case name	Result
now()
Constant addition

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Latest run results:

Run details: (Test run date: 3 years ago)

User agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:88.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/88.0

Browser/OS: Firefox 88 on Linux

View result in a separate tab

Test name	Executions per second
now()	7226253.0 Ops/sec
Constant addition	41034696.0 Ops/sec

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

LLMs can make mistakes. Check important info.

Measuring the performance of JavaScript microbenchmarks is a fascinating topic.

**What's being tested?**

The provided JSON represents a benchmark that compares two approaches to measure the elapsed time:

1. **Using `Date.now()`**: This approach uses the built-in `Date` object's `now()` method to get the current timestamp.
2. **Adding a constant**: In this approach, a fixed value (16.666666666666668) is added to the initial timestamp using simple arithmetic.

**Comparison of approaches**

The pros and cons of these two approaches are as follows:

*   **`Date.now()`**: The benefits include:
    *   Simplicity: Using `Date.now()` is straightforward and easy to understand.
    *   Native performance: This approach uses native JavaScript functions, which can be optimized by the browser's engine.
    However, there are some potential drawbacks:
    *   Potential precision issues: Depending on the system clock resolution, `Date.now()` might not provide precise timing measurements.
*   **Adding a constant**: The advantages include:
    *   Precise timing: By adding a fixed value to the initial timestamp, you can accurately measure the elapsed time.
    However, there are some potential drawbacks:
    *   Increased complexity: This approach requires manual addition of the constant, which can make it more difficult to read and maintain.

**Library usage**

None of the provided test cases uses any external libraries. The `Date` object is a built-in JavaScript API.

**Special JavaScript features or syntax**

This benchmark does not use any special JavaScript features or syntax beyond what's required for basic function definitions (e.g., `let`, `function`, and arithmetic operators).

Related benchmarks:

Date.now() vs adding constant (version: 0)

Comparing performance of: now() vs Constant addition

Created: 3 years ago by: Guest

Jump to the latest result

now()

Constant addition

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):