Let's dive into the world of JavaScript microbenchmarks!

Benchmark Overview

The provided JSON represents a benchmark test between two approaches: using Ramda, a functional programming library for JavaScript, and a native implementation without any libraries.

Script Preparation Code

The script preparation code is a simple array creation:

var array = [...Array(100)];
array.fill(1);
array.fill(Math.random() * 100.1, 2, 5, 7);

This creates an array of length 100, fills the first element with the value 1, and then randomly fills a sub-array from index 2 to 6 with values between 0 and 100.

Html Preparation Code

The HTML preparation code includes a script tag that loads Ramda version 0.28:

<script src="//cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/ramda/0.28.0/ramda.min.js"></script>

This library provides a functional programming API, allowing users to write expressive and concise code.

Test Cases

There are two test cases:

1. Ramda: The benchmark definition uses Ramda's R.pipe function to apply three transformations to the input array:
   • R.map(R.dec): Decrement each element in the array by 1.
   • R.filter(R.lt(0)): Filter out elements less than 0 from the resulting array.
2. Native: The benchmark definition uses a native implementation of the same transformation:

array.map(i => i - 1).filter(i => i > 0)

This code maps each element in the array to its decremented value and then filters out elements less than or equal to 0.

Pros and Cons

Ramda Approach:

Pros:

• Expressive and concise code using a functional programming API.
• Eliminates side effects, making it easier to reason about the code.

Cons:

• Requires an external library (Ramda), which may introduce overhead.
• May be slower due to the additional indirection caused by the library call.

Native Approach:

Pros:

• No external libraries or dependencies, reducing overhead and potential performance issues.
• Directly operates on native JavaScript data structures.

Cons:

• Code can become verbose and less expressive.
• More difficult to reason about side effects and code behavior.

Other Considerations

Both approaches have their trade-offs. The Ramda approach provides a more concise and expressive way of writing functional programming code, but requires an external library. The native approach is more lightweight and straightforward, but may require more boilerplate code and be less readable.

Alternative Libraries or Implementations

If you prefer to use alternative libraries or implementations for the native approach, some options include:

• Lodash: A popular utility library that provides similar functionality to Ramda.
• Array.prototype methods (e.g., map, filter): Can be used directly on arrays without creating a separate function.

Keep in mind that each alternative may have its own trade-offs and performance characteristics.