What is being tested:

MeasureThat.net is testing two ways to get the current time in JavaScript: Date.now() and new Date().getTime(). The benchmark aims to determine which method is faster.

Options compared:

There are two options being compared:

1. Date.now(): This function returns the number of milliseconds since the Unix Epoch (January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC) as an integer.
2. new Date().getTime(): This expression creates a new Date object and returns the timestamp (number of milliseconds since the Unix Epoch) of that date in milliseconds.

Pros and Cons of each approach:

• Date.now():
  • Pros: Simple, efficient, and widely supported.
  • Cons: Returns the number of milliseconds since the Unix Epoch, which may not be what you want if you need to compare times in a specific context (e.g., relative to midnight).
• new Date().getTime():
  • Pros: Returns the timestamp of a specific date object, allowing for more flexibility when comparing times.
  • Cons: Less efficient and less widely supported than Date.now().

Library used:

None explicitly mentioned in the benchmark definition or test cases. However, it's likely that MeasureThat.net is using a JavaScript engine or browser implementation that provides these functions.

Special JS feature/syntax:

The benchmark uses no special JavaScript features or syntax beyond what is standard for JavaScript. No ES6+ features, async/await, or other advanced constructs are used.

Other alternatives:

If you need to compare times in JavaScript, other options might include:

1. performance.now(): This function returns the number of milliseconds since the performance measure started.
2. Date.prototype.getTime(): Some older browsers (e.g., Internet Explorer) may support this method for getting the timestamp.
3. Intl.DateTimeFormat().resolvedOptions().timeZone: This property is not well-supported across browsers and requires access to the local timezone.

In general, Date.now() remains a popular choice due to its simplicity and widespread support, but the best approach depends on your specific use case and requirements.