What is being tested?

MeasureThat.net is testing the performance of different data types (Float32, Float64, and Array) in JavaScript for common operations:

1. Setting values using set()
2. Iterating over elements and setting values
3. Creating a new array by iterating over existing arrays

Options compared

The benchmark compares three options:

1. Array: An indexed array of primitive numbers (Float32 or Float64)
2. Float32Array: A typed array optimized for 32-bit floating-point numbers
3. Float64Array: A typed array optimized for 64-bit floating-point numbers

Pros and Cons

Here's a brief overview of the pros and cons of each option:

1. Array:
   • Pros: Simple, widely supported, and familiar to developers.
   • Cons: Less efficient than typed arrays due to the overhead of boxing/unboxing primitive values.
2. Float32Array:
   • Pros: Optimized for 32-bit floating-point numbers, can lead to better performance in some cases.
   • Cons: Requires explicit type declaration, may not be supported by all browsers or environments.
3. Float64Array:
   • Pros: Optimized for 64-bit floating-point numbers, provides a good balance between simplicity and performance.
   • Cons: Still requires explicit type declaration, may have slightly higher overhead compared to Float32Array.

Libraries and special JS features

None of the test cases use libraries or special JavaScript features that would impact their behavior. The focus is solely on comparing the performance of different data types.

Other alternatives

If you wanted to add more options to the benchmark, you could consider:

• BigInt: A new type in ECMAScript 2020 for representing integers with arbitrary precision.
• Int32Array and Int64Array: Typed arrays optimized for 32-bit and 64-bit integers, respectively.
• Buffer: An array-like object that provides a more efficient way to store binary data.

Keep in mind that adding new options would require updating the benchmark script and ensuring compatibility with various browsers and environments.