Benchmark: querySelector vs getElementsByClassName fixed?

HTML Preparation code:

<div class="test"></div>

Tests:

querySelector
document.querySelector(".test")
getElementsByClassName
document.getElementsByClassName("test")

Rendered benchmark preparation results:

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Previous results

Test case name	Result
querySelector
getElementsByClassName

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Latest run results:

Run details: (Test run date: 8 months ago)

User agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:124.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/124.0

Browser/OS: Firefox 124 on Windows

View result in a separate tab

Test name	Executions per second
querySelector	4703525.5 Ops/sec
getElementsByClassName	9596058.0 Ops/sec

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

LLMs can make mistakes. Check important info.

Let's break down the provided benchmark and its test cases to understand what's being tested.

**Benchmark Definition JSON**

The benchmark definition is represented by the following JSON:

```
{
  "Name": "querySelector vs getElementsByClassName fixed?",
  "Description": null,
  "Script Preparation Code": null,
  "Html Preparation Code": "<div class=\"test\"></div>"
}
```

This benchmark is testing the performance difference between two DOM query methods: `document.querySelector()` and `document.getElementsByClassName()`. The `Html Preparation Code` specifies a simple HTML element (`<div class="test"></div>`) that will be used as the target for the queries.

**Test Cases**

The individual test cases are defined in the following JSON:

```
[
  {
    "Benchmark Definition": "document.querySelector(\".test\")",
    "Test Name": "querySelector"
  },
  {
    "Benchmark Definition": "document.getElementsByClassName(\"test\")",
    "Test Name": "getElementsByClassName"
  }
]
```

Each test case is defined by a `Benchmark Definition` (a JavaScript expression that uses the target HTML element) and a corresponding `Test Name`.

**Library and Purpose**

Both test cases use the DOM API, which is part of the browser's core functionality. The DOM API provides methods for interacting with an HTML document, such as querying elements.

**JavaScript Features and Syntax**

Neither of the test cases explicitly uses any special JavaScript features or syntax beyond the standard DOM API methods.

**Comparison Options**

The two comparison options are:

1. `document.querySelector()`: This method returns a single element that matches the specified selector (in this case, `.test`).
2. `document.getElementsByClassName()` : This method returns a live HTMLCollection of all elements with the specified class name (in this case, `test`).

**Pros and Cons**

Here's a brief overview of each option:

* `document.querySelector()`: Pros:
	+ Faster performance, as it only searches for one element.
	+ Can be more efficient when dealing with small sets of elements.
	+ Returns a single result, which can be useful in certain scenarios.
*   Cons:
	+ May not find all matching elements if there are multiple elements with the same class name.
*   `document.getElementsByClassName()` : Pros:
	+ Finds all matching elements, which can be useful when dealing with large sets of elements.
	+ Returns a live HTMLCollection, allowing for further iteration and manipulation.
	+ Can handle elements with different class names, not just the exact match.
*   Cons:
	+ May be slower performance due to the need to search multiple elements.
	+ Returns all matching elements, which can lead to more complex code.

**Other Considerations**

The choice between `document.querySelector()` and `document.getElementsByClassName()` depends on the specific use case. If you're dealing with a small set of elements and want a faster, more efficient solution, `querySelector` might be a better choice. However, if you need to find multiple elements or handle different class names, `getElementsByClassName` is likely a better option.

**Alternative Approaches**

Other alternatives for querying DOM elements include:

*   Using CSS selectors (e.g., `.test`)
*   Using regular expressions (e.g., `/test/`)
*   Using query libraries like jQuery

Keep in mind that each alternative has its own trade-offs and may not offer the same performance or functionality as `document.querySelector()` or `document.getElementsByClassName()`.

Related benchmarks:

querySelector vs getElementsByClassName fixed? (version: 0)

Comparing performance of: querySelector vs getElementsByClassName

Created: 8 months ago by: Guest

Jump to the latest result

querySelector

getElementsByClassName

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Experimental features:

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

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