Let's dive into the world of JavaScript microbenchmarks!

What is tested on MeasureThat.net?

MeasureThat.net is a website that allows users to create and run JavaScript microbenchmarks to compare the performance of different approaches in creating new DOM elements.

In this specific benchmark, three test cases are compared:

1. createElement: This approach creates a new DOM element using the document.createElement() method.
2. deep cloneNode: This approach clones an existing DOM node using the cloneNode(true) method to create a deep copy of the node.
3. cloneNode: This approach also clones an existing DOM node, but without the true parameter in cloneNode(), which only creates a shallow copy.

Options compared

The three test cases compare different approaches to creating new DOM elements:

• createElement: Creates a new element from scratch using document.createElement().
• deep cloneNode: Clones an existing node and returns a deep copy of it.
• cloneNode: Clones an existing node, but only creates a shallow copy.

Pros and Cons

Here's a brief summary of the pros and cons of each approach:

1. createElement:
   • Pros: Fastest performance, as it doesn't require cloning an existing element.
   • Cons: Requires more memory, as a new element is created from scratch.
2. deep cloneNode:
   • Pros: Creates a deep copy of the node, which can be useful for certain use cases (e.g., preserving complex node structures).
   • Cons: Slower performance due to the cloning process.
3. cloneNode:
   • Pros: Faster performance than deep cloneNode, as it only creates a shallow copy.
   • Cons: May not preserve complex node structures or attributes.

Library and purpose

None of these approaches rely on any specific JavaScript library. They are built-in DOM methods that are available in most browsers.

Special JS feature or syntax

There is no special JS feature or syntax used in this benchmark. The focus is solely on comparing the performance of different approaches to creating new DOM elements.

Other alternatives

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

• Using Element.prototype.slice() to create a new element: This approach creates a new element by slicing an existing one.
• Using a library like jQuery's $().html() method: This approach clones an existing element and replaces its contents with new ones.

Keep in mind that these alternatives may have different performance characteristics compared to the approaches tested on MeasureThat.net.