Let's dive into the world of JavaScript microbenchmarks on MeasureThat.net.

Benchmark Overview

The benchmark measures the performance difference between two approaches: using the native String constructor and using Lodash's toString() method to convert values to strings. The test creates an array with various types of values (numbers, strings, undefined, null, boolean, arrays, objects, and a function) and benchmarks how long it takes for each approach to map these values to strings.

Options Compared

Two options are compared:

1. Native String constructor: This method uses the native JavaScript String constructor to convert each value in the array to a string. The native implementation is typically optimized for performance.
2. Lodash's toString() method: This method uses Lodash, a popular utility library, to convert each value in the array to a string. Lodash provides a flexible and robust way to perform various string-related operations.

Pros and Cons

Here are some pros and cons of each approach:

• Native String constructor:
  • Pros: Fastest execution time (typically ~10-20% faster than Lodash)
  • Cons: Requires JavaScript version support (may not work in older browsers or environments)
• Lodash's toString() method:
  • Pros: More flexible and feature-rich (e.g., supports custom string conversion functions, can handle complex data structures)
  • Cons: Slower execution time (~10-20% slower than native implementation)

Library Used

The benchmark uses Lodash version 4. For those unfamiliar with Lodash, it's a popular utility library that provides various functional programming helpers, including string manipulation functions.

Special JS Features or Syntax

This benchmark does not use any special JavaScript features or syntax, such as async/await, Promises, or modern JavaScript syntax (e.g., arrow functions, template literals).

Other Alternatives

If you're interested in exploring other alternatives, here are a few options:

• Built-in String methods: Some browsers and engines have built-in string conversion methods (e.g., toString(), valueOf()), which might be faster than Lodash's implementation.
• V8's Stringify() method: V8, the JavaScript engine used by Google Chrome, has a custom Stringify() method that can convert objects to strings more efficiently. However, this is not widely supported outside of V8 and Chrome.

Overall, the benchmark provides a useful comparison between using the native String constructor and Lodash's toString() method for converting values to strings in JavaScript.