Let's dive into the world of MeasureThat.net and explore what's being tested in this benchmark.

What is being tested?

The provided JSON represents a benchmark that compares two approaches to check if an array is empty:

1. Lodash _.isEmpty(): This is a function from the Lodash library, which provides a utility function for checking if a value (in this case, an array) is empty.
2. Native JavaScript .isArray and length methods: These are built-in methods in JavaScript that can be used to check if an array is empty.

Options being compared

The benchmark compares the performance of these two approaches:

• Lodash _.isEmpty()
• Native JavaScript .isArray and length methods

Pros and Cons of each approach:

1. Lodash _.isEmpty()
   • Pros:
     • Convenient and readable code
     • Can handle other types of empty values (e.g., null, undefined) in addition to arrays
   • Cons:
     • Adds extra overhead due to the use of a library function
     • May have slower performance compared to native methods
2. Native JavaScript .isArray and length methods
   • Pros:
     • Fast and efficient, as it's a built-in method in JavaScript
     • No external library dependencies or overhead
   • Cons:
     • Can be less readable than using a utility function like Lodash
     • May not handle other types of empty values out-of-the-box

Library: Lodash

Lodash is a popular JavaScript utility library that provides a collection of functions for tasks such as array manipulation, string manipulation, and more. The _.isEmpty() function checks if a value (in this case, an array) is empty by checking its length.

Special JS feature/syntax: None mentioned in the provided benchmark

There are no special JavaScript features or syntax being used in this benchmark.

Benchmark preparation code

The script preparation code creates an empty array emptyArray using the native JavaScript way: var emptyArray = [];

The HTML preparation code includes the Lodash library via a CDN, allowing the test to use its functions.

Test cases

There are two individual test cases:

1. The first test case checks if the _.isEmpty() function returns true when passed an empty array.
2. The second test case checks if the native .isArray and length methods return true when passed an empty array.

Latest benchmark result

The provided JSON shows the results of running the benchmark on a Chrome 90 browser on a Windows desktop:

• Lodash _.isEmpty() returns a higher number of executions per second (3748436.5) compared to the native approach.
• Native JavaScript .isArray and length methods return a lower number of executions per second (3723715.0).

Other alternatives

If you're interested in exploring alternative approaches, here are a few options:

1. Using Array.prototype.every() instead of Lodash's _.isEmpty(): This method returns true if all elements in the array pass a test provided by the function.
2. Using a different utility library, such as Underscore.js or Ramda, which provide similar functionality to Lodash.

Keep in mind that each alternative may have its own trade-offs and performance characteristics.