Benchmark Overview

MeasureThat.net is a website that allows users to create and run JavaScript microbenchmarks. The provided benchmark compares the speed of comparing numbers vs comparing strings in JavaScript.

Test Cases

The test cases are individual comparisons using different data types: numbers (short and long) and strings (short and long). Each test case uses a specific comparison operator (== or ||) to evaluate whether two values are equal.

Options Compared

The benchmark compares the following options:

1. Short Number Comparison: Comparing two short integers (16-bit signed).
2. Long Number Comparison: Comparing two long integers (32-bit signed).
3. Short String Comparison: Comparing two short strings.
4. Long String Comparison: Comparing two long strings.

Pros and Cons

• Faster Operations: Comparing numbers is generally faster than comparing strings, as it involves simple arithmetic operations versus string comparisons that require searching for matches.
• Less CPU Usage: Comparing numbers requires less CPU usage compared to comparing strings, especially for longer strings.
• More Robust Results: Number comparisons are more robust and less prone to edge cases like null or undefined values.

However, there are also some potential drawbacks:

• Less Accurate Results: String comparisons can produce different results due to factors like Unicode encoding and character set differences.
• More Variable Performance: String comparison performance can be affected by the specific characters used in the strings being compared.

Libraries Used

None of the provided benchmark test cases use any external libraries. However, it's worth noting that some JavaScript engines might have built-in optimizations or features that could affect the results of these comparisons.

Special JS Features or Syntax

The benchmark does not explicitly mention any special JavaScript features or syntax being used beyond the basic comparison operators (== and ||).