Benchmark Overview

The provided benchmark compares the performance of two approaches: switch statements and object literals in JavaScript.

What is being tested?

In this benchmark, the script preparation code generates a random string str with 3 possible characters ('a', 'b', or 'c'). The script then uses either a switch statement or an object literal to determine which function to call based on the last character of the string.

Options being compared

The two options being compared are:

1. Switch Statement: A traditional switch statement is used to check the value of str against a set of predefined cases.
2. Object Literal: An object literal is used to define a mapping between the characters in str and the corresponding functions to call.

Pros and Cons

• Switch Statement:
  • Pros: Can be more readable and maintainable, especially for complex logic.
  • Cons: May have slower execution due to the overhead of string comparison and case lookup.
• Object Literal:
  • Pros: Can be more concise and efficient, especially for simple mappings.
  • Cons: May require more memory to store the object literal, and can be less readable for complex logic.

Library and Purpose

In this benchmark, there is no specific library being used. However, it's worth noting that some JavaScript engines may optimize certain features or syntax, such as switch statements with long chains of cases.

Special JS feature or syntax

There are no special JS features or syntaxes being used in this benchmark other than the standard switch statement and object literals.

Other alternatives

Other alternatives to these approaches could include:

• Using a lookupTable array to store the functions to call based on the character values
• Using a regular expression to match the last character of the string against a pattern
• Using a function pointer or a closure to encapsulate the logic

However, it's worth noting that these alternatives may not provide significant performance improvements over the switch statement and object literal approaches.

Benchmark Preparation Code

The provided script preparation code is:

var str = 'abcdef';
str = str.charAt(Math.floor(Math.random() * 3));

This code generates a random string str with 3 possible characters ('a', 'b', or 'c') and assigns it to the variable after generating a new random index.

Individual Test Cases

The two individual test cases are:

• Switch: Uses a traditional switch statement to determine which function to call based on the last character of the string.

switch (str) {
  case 'a':
    console.log('A');
    break;
  case 'b':
    console.log('B');
    break;
  case 'c':
    console.log('C');
    break;
  case 'd':
    console.log('D');
    break;
  case 'e':
    console.log('E');
    break;
  case 'f':
    console.log('F');
    break;
}

• Object Literal: Uses an object literal to define a mapping between the characters in str and the corresponding functions to call.

var objLiteral = {
  a: function() { console.log('A'); },
  b: function() { console.log('B'); },
  c: function() { console.log('C'); },
  d: function() { console.log('D'); },
  e: function() { console.log('E'); },
  f: function() { console.log('F'); }
}
objLiteral[str]();