Let's dive into the world of MeasureThat.net and explore what's being tested in this benchmark.

Benchmark Overview

The benchmark is comparing two approaches to formatting a fixed-point number: using regular expressions (Regex) versus the toFixed() method.

Options Compared

There are two options being compared:

1. Regex: Using regular expressions to extract the integer part from a floating-point number. In this case, the pattern /^-?\\d+(?:\\.\\d{0,2})?/ is used to match the desired format.
2. toFixed(): Using the toFixed() method to explicitly format the number with two decimal places.

Pros and Cons of Each Approach

1. Regex:
   • Pros: Can be flexible and powerful for complex formatting tasks.
   • Cons: May have a higher overhead due to the complexity of regular expressions, which can lead to slower performance.
   • Additional considerations: Regular expressions can be prone to errors if not used correctly, and may not handle all edge cases.
2. toFixed():
   • Pros: Generally faster and more efficient than using regex, as it's a built-in method optimized for this specific task.
   • Cons: May not provide the same level of flexibility as regex, limiting its use to simple formatting tasks.

Library Usage

There is no explicit library usage in the benchmark definitions. However, it's worth noting that toFixed() is a standard JavaScript method provided by most browsers, whereas regular expressions may require additional libraries or configuration.

Special JavaScript Features/Syntax

This benchmark does not explicitly use any special JavaScript features or syntax, such as async/await, Promises, or modern JavaScript features like arrow functions. The focus is on the simple formatting task at hand.

Other Alternatives

If you're looking for alternatives to this approach, consider:

1. Using a dedicated library like lodash or moment.js for complex formatting tasks.
2. Utilizing browser-specific APIs, such as Number.prototype.toExponential() or Number.prototype.toPrecision(), which may provide faster performance for certain use cases.

Benchmark Preparation Code

The benchmark preparation code is minimal, as it only includes the JavaScript code being tested:

var x = 12.030303;
x.toString().match(/^-?\\d+(?:\\.\\d{0,2})?/)[0];

or

var x = 12.030303;
x.toFixed(2);

Latest Benchmark Result

The latest benchmark results show the performance of each approach:

In this case, the Regex approach is significantly faster than the toFixed() method.