Benchmark: Date comparison number and conversion

Script Preparation code:

var size = 10000
var arr = []
const now = +new Date()
for (let i = 0; i < size; i++) {
    arr.push({
      createdAt: new Date(now+1000*i).toISOString() 
    })
}

Tests:

Sort on string
const result = arr.sort((a, b) => a.createdAt < b.createdAt)
Convert to date, then sort
const result = arr.sort((a, b) => new Date(a.createdAt) < new Date(b.createdAt))
Convert to number, then sort
const result = arr.sort((a, b) => +new Date(a.createdAt) < +new Date(b.createdAt))

Rendered benchmark preparation results:

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Previous results

Test case name	Result
Sort on string
Convert to date, then sort
Convert to number, then sort

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Latest run results:

Run details: (Test run date: one year ago)

User agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.15; rv:109.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/110.0

Browser/OS: Firefox 110 on Mac OS X 10.15

View result in a separate tab

Test name	Executions per second
Sort on string	1157.7 Ops/sec
Convert to date, then sort	226.7 Ops/sec
Convert to number, then sort	214.2 Ops/sec

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

LLMs can make mistakes. Check important info.

Let's break down the provided benchmark and explain what is being tested.

**Benchmark Overview**

The provided benchmark measures the performance of JavaScript sorting algorithms on an array of objects with string `createdAt` properties. The test consists of three individual test cases:

1. Sorting on string (i.e., comparing strings directly)
2. Converting to date, then sorting
3. Converting to number, then sorting

**Options Compared**

The benchmark compares the performance of these three approaches:

* **Sorting on string**: This approach sorts the array based on the `createdAt` property as a string.
* **Converting to date, then sorting**: This approach converts each `createdAt` property to a Date object and then sorts the array based on the converted dates.
* **Converting to number, then sorting**: This approach converts each `createdAt` property to a number (using the `+` operator) and then sorts the array based on the converted numbers.

**Pros and Cons of Each Approach**

1. **Sorting on string**:
	* Pros: Simple and straightforward, no additional conversion steps required.
	* Cons: May lead to slower performance due to comparing strings instead of numerical values.
2. **Converting to date, then sorting**:
	* Pros: Can take advantage of JavaScript's built-in Date comparison functionality, potentially leading to faster performance.
	* Cons: Requires an extra step of conversion, which can introduce additional overhead.
3. **Converting to number, then sorting**:
	* Pros: Can leverage the speed of numerical comparisons and avoid string comparison.
	* Cons: May lose precision or rounding errors due to the `+` operator conversion.

**Library/Functions Used**

The benchmark uses JavaScript's built-in functions:

1. `new Date()`: Creates a new Date object.
2. `sort()`: Sorts an array of elements based on a compare function.

No external libraries are required for this benchmark.

**Special JS Feature/Syntax**

None of the test cases explicitly utilize any special JavaScript features or syntax, such as async/await, Promises, or Web APIs like fetch or WebSocket.

**Alternative Approaches**

If you'd like to explore alternative approaches, consider the following:

1. **Using a more efficient sorting algorithm**: For example, Quicksort, Merge Sort, or Heap Sort might offer better performance for larger datasets.
2. **Caching or memoization**: If the same subset of data is being sorted multiple times, consider caching the results to avoid redundant computations.
3. **Native array methods with custom comparators**: JavaScript's native array methods (e.g., `Array.prototype.sort()`) can be used with custom comparators to optimize performance for specific use cases.

Keep in mind that these alternative approaches may introduce additional complexity or dependencies, and it's essential to weigh the benefits against the potential trade-offs.

Related benchmarks:

Date comparison number and conversion (version: 0)

Comparing performance of: Sort on string vs Convert to date, then sort vs Convert to number, then sort

Created: one year ago by: Registered User

Jump to the latest result

Sort on string

Convert to date, then sort

Convert to number, then sort

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Experimental features:

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

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