Benchmark: Math.min vs if/else vs ternary operator for Int

Script Preparation code:

this.numberA = Math.floor(Math.random() * 2147483648);
this.numberB = Math.floor(Math.random() * 2147483648);

Tests:

Math.min
return Math.min(this.numberA, this.numberB);
if
if (this.numberA < this.numberB) return this.numberA; else return this.numberB;
ternary
return (this.numberA < this.numberB) ? this.numberA : this.numberB

Rendered benchmark preparation results:

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Previous results

Test case name	Result
Math.min
if
ternary

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) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/92.0.4515.159 Safari/537.36

Browser/OS: Chrome 92 on Linux

View result in a separate tab

Test name	Executions per second
Math.min	8107021.0 Ops/sec
if	875170368.0 Ops/sec
ternary	841869056.0 Ops/sec

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

LLMs can make mistakes. Check important info.

Let's dive into the explanation of the provided benchmark.

**Benchmark Overview**

The benchmark compares three different approaches to return the smaller of two numbers:

1. `Math.min()`
2. `if-else` statement
3. Ternary operator (`?:`)

**Test Case Breakdown**

Each test case represents a single approach, and they are designed to measure the execution time of each.

* **`Math.min()`**: This is a built-in JavaScript function that returns the smaller of two numbers.
	+ Pros: Short and concise, easy to implement. It's also a widely used and well-understood function in JavaScript.
	+ Cons: May not be optimized for performance, especially for large numbers or complex operations.
* **`if-else` statement**: This is a basic conditional statement that checks if the first number is smaller than the second number and returns one of them accordingly.
	+ Pros: Easy to understand and implement, can be optimized for specific use cases. It's also a fundamental concept in programming.
	+ Cons: Can be slower than `Math.min()` due to the overhead of conditional checking and branching.
* **Ternary operator (`?:`)**: This is an alternative way to express conditional logic using a single statement. In this case, it checks if `numberA` is smaller than `numberB` and returns one of them accordingly.
	+ Pros: Concise and expressive, can be faster than traditional `if-else` statements due to less branching overhead.
	+ Cons: May not be as widely understood or supported in older browsers or versions of JavaScript.

**Library Usage**

In the benchmark preparation code, the `Math.random()` function is used to generate random numbers for `numberA` and `numberB`. This library provides a way to generate pseudo-random numbers, which is useful for testing and simulation purposes.

**Special JS Feature/Syntax**

None of the test cases use any special JavaScript features or syntax beyond what's commonly available in modern browsers. However, it's worth noting that the benchmark doesn't explicitly measure the performance impact of different browsers, operating systems, or hardware configurations, which could be an interesting extension to explore.

**Other Alternatives**

If you wanted to compare these approaches with other alternatives, here are some possibilities:

* **Using a mathematical formula**: Instead of using a built-in function like `Math.min()`, you could use a simple mathematical formula to calculate the smaller number. This approach would eliminate any overhead associated with calling a function.
* **Using a loop**: You could use a loop to compare each element in one array against every element in another array, which could be slower than the direct comparison methods used here.
* **Using a different data structure**: Depending on your specific use case, you might want to explore using other data structures like an array or object to store and compare numbers.

Keep in mind that these alternatives would likely introduce significant changes to the benchmark's design and scope.

Related benchmarks:

Math.min vs if/else vs ternary operator for Int (version: 0)

Quickest operation to return smaller of 2 numbers

Comparing performance of: Math.min vs if vs ternary

Created: 3 years ago by: Guest

Jump to the latest result

Math.min

if

ternary

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):