Benchmark Overview

The provided benchmark is designed to compare the performance of two approaches: comparing numbers versus strings for equality checks.

Test Case Analysis

There are two test cases:

1. Comparison Check - number: This test case creates five variables a, b, c, d, and e with values 37, 38, 39, 40, and 40 respectively. It then calculates the equality checks for each pair of variables using the single equals operator (===). The purpose is to determine which approach (number comparison or string comparison) is faster.
2. Comparison Check - string: Similar to the previous test case, but with string values "ArrowLeft", "ArrowUp", "ArrowRight", and "ArrowDown". Again, the equality checks are performed using the single equals operator.

Library Usage

None of the benchmark definitions use any external libraries.

Special JavaScript Features or Syntax

The only special feature used is the === operator for comparison, which is a standard operator in JavaScript. There's no mention of advanced features like async/await, Promises, or modern syntax (e.g., arrow functions).

Approach Comparison

There are two main approaches being compared:

1. Number Comparison: The benchmark compares the performance of using numbers for equality checks. This approach is expected to be faster because numbers can be directly compared without any additional processing.
2. String Comparison: The other approach compares the performance of using strings for equality checks. Strings, on the other hand, require more processing because JavaScript needs to check each character individually.

Pros and Cons

• Number Comparison Pros:
  • Faster execution times due to direct comparison
  • Less processing required for equality checks
• Number Comparison Cons:
  • May not work as expected if numbers are non-numeric (e.g., NaN, Infinity)
• String Comparison Pros:
  • Works with any type of string value
  • Can be useful in certain scenarios where string comparison is necessary
• String Comparison Cons:
  • Slower execution times due to additional processing required for character-by-character comparisons

Other Alternatives

If the === operator is not suitable, other comparison operators like ==, !==, <, >, etc. can be used.

For string comparison specifically, JavaScript provides built-in methods like localeCompare() or using regular expressions to compare strings.

Keep in mind that the choice of comparison approach depends on the specific use case and requirements.

Benchmark Results

The latest benchmark results show:

• For the "Comparison Check - string" test case:
  • Chrome 99 on Desktop, Windows: 710040448 executions per second
• For the "Comparison Check - number" test case:
  • Chrome 99 on Desktop, Windows: 711751296 executions per second

The results suggest that comparing numbers is indeed faster than comparing strings.