Benchmark: max vs if condition

Script Preparation code:

var max = 999, newMax = 0,
    count = 0;

Tests:

test1 Uses IF
for(let i = 0; i < 1000; i++){ if (i > max ){ newMax = i; } } return newMax;
test2 Uses Math.max
for(let i = 0; i < 1000; i++){ newMax = Math.max(max, i); } return newMax;

Rendered benchmark preparation results:

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Previous results

Test case name	Result
test1 Uses IF
test2 Uses Math.max

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

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

LLMs can make mistakes. Check important info.

Let's break down what's being tested in this benchmark.

The provided JSON represents two test cases: `test1` and `test2`. Both tests aim to measure the performance of JavaScript code that finds the maximum value in an array of numbers.

**Test Case 1: Using IF Condition**

In this test case, a simple for loop is used to iterate over the array. Inside the loop, if the current element `i` is greater than the initial maximum value `max`, then `newMax` is updated with the new maximum value. The loop continues until all elements have been processed.

**Test Case 2: Using Math.max Function**

In this test case, another for loop is used to iterate over the array. However, instead of implementing the logic manually, the built-in `Math.max` function is used to find the maximum value in the array. This function takes two arguments and returns the larger of the two.

**Comparison of Approaches:**

1. **IF Condition:** Using an if condition inside a loop can lead to:
	* Additional overhead due to conditional branches.
	* Potential performance hits if the condition is not optimized.
	* Code readability might suffer, as the logic is tightly coupled with the loop iteration.
2. **Math.max Function:** Using `Math.max` provides:
	* Built-in optimization and caching for frequently used functions.
	* Simplified code, making it easier to understand and maintain.
	* Avoidance of potential performance issues related to conditional branches.

**Pros and Cons:**

- IF Condition Approach:
  - Pros:
    * Can be more straightforward to implement if the maximum value is only needed once.
  - Cons:
    - May lead to performance overhead due to conditional branches.
    - Code readability can suffer due to tightly coupled logic.
- Math.max Function Approach:
  - Pros:
    * Utilizes built-in optimization and caching.
    * Simplifies code, making it easier to understand and maintain.
  - Cons:
    - Requires familiarity with the `Math.max` function.
    - May not be as intuitive for beginners.

**Other Considerations:**

- **Libraries:** The test case does not explicitly use any external libraries. However, some JavaScript engines might have built-in optimizations or features that could affect performance, such as just-in-time (JIT) compilation or dynamic recompilation.
- **JS Features/Syntax:** There are no special JS features or syntaxes being used in these tests. The code is written in standard JavaScript and leverages the `Math.max` function.

**Alternatives:**

If you're interested in exploring other approaches, consider the following alternatives:

1. **Array.prototype.reduce():** This method can be used to find the maximum value in an array by reducing it with a callback function that returns the maximum of two values.
2. **Native JavaScript Optimizations:** Some modern browsers have native optimizations for certain operations, like `Math.max`. However, these optimizations are typically dependent on the specific engine and version being used.

For this benchmark, both approaches (using IF condition and `Math.max`) aim to demonstrate performance differences in finding the maximum value in an array. The test cases can be used as a starting point for exploring JavaScript optimization techniques and code performance.

Latest run results:

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

User agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/129.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 Edg/129.0.0.0

Browser/OS: Chrome 129 on Windows

View result in a separate tab

Test name	Executions per second
test1 Uses IF	21430.2 Ops/sec
test2 Uses Math.max	5254.6 Ops/sec

Related benchmarks:

max vs if condition (version: 0)

Comparing performance of: test1 Uses IF vs test2 Uses Math.max

Created: one month ago by: Guest

Jump to the latest result

test1 Uses IF

test2 Uses Math.max

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):