Benchmark: sqrt vs pow vs **

Script Preparation code:

var numbers = Array.from(Array(10000), (_,x) => (Math.random()*x));

Tests:

sqrt
numbers.forEach(x => Math.sqrt(x));
pow
numbers.forEach(x => Math.pow(x,0.5));
**
numbers.forEach(x => x ** 0.5);

Rendered benchmark preparation results:

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Previous results

Test case name	Result
sqrt
pow
**

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Latest run results:

Run details: (Test run date: 21 days ago)

User agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 10; K) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/131.0.0.0 Mobile Safari/537.36

Browser/OS: Chrome Mobile 131 on Android

View result in a separate tab

Test name	Executions per second
sqrt	6176.9 Ops/sec
pow	11148.5 Ops/sec
**	13767.3 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 benchmark and its various components.

**Benchmark Definition**

The provided JSON defines a benchmark with three test cases:

1. `sqrt`: Uses the `Math.sqrt` function to calculate the square root of an array of numbers.
2. `pow`: Uses the `Math.pow` function to raise an array of numbers to the power of 0.5 (i.e., square root).
3. `**`: Uses the exponentiation operator (`x ** y`) to calculate the same result as `pow`.

**Options Compared**

The three test cases compare the performance of different methods for calculating the square root:

* `Math.sqrt`: A built-in function in JavaScript that calculates the square root of a number.
* `Math.pow`: A built-in function in JavaScript that raises a number to a power. In this case, it's used to calculate the square root by raising the input value to the power of 0.5.
* Exponentiation operator (`x ** y`): This is a binary exponentiation method, which calculates `x` raised to the power of `y`. It's faster than using `Math.pow` because it avoids the overhead of function calls.

**Pros and Cons**

Here are some pros and cons for each approach:

* `Math.sqrt`:
	+ Pros: Simple, efficient, and well-documented.
	+ Cons: May be slower than binary exponentiation for large values due to branch prediction and cache usage.
* `Math.pow`:
	+ Pros: Well-established and widely supported.
	+ Cons: Can be slower than binary exponentiation due to function call overhead.
* Exponentiation operator (`x ** y`):
	+ Pros: Fast, efficient, and modern.
	+ Cons: May not be supported by older browsers or JavaScript engines.

**Library Usage**

None of the test cases uses any external libraries.

**Special JS Features or Syntax**

The benchmark utilizes a few special JavaScript features:

* Array methods (e.g., `Array.from`, `forEach`): These are part of the ECMAScript standard and provide concise ways to work with arrays.
* Binary exponentiation (`x ** y`): This is a binary operation that's supported by most modern JavaScript engines.

**Other Alternatives**

If you're looking for alternative methods to calculate square roots, some options include:

* Using `Math.hypot` (available in ECMAScript 2019 and later): This function calculates the Euclidean distance between two points and can be used to calculate square roots.
* Implementing a manual binary exponentiation algorithm: While this approach is generally faster than using `Math.sqrt`, it requires more code and expertise.

Keep in mind that these alternatives might not be supported by older browsers or JavaScript engines, so consider your target audience and requirements when choosing an implementation method.

Related benchmarks:

sqrt vs pow vs ** (version: 0)

Comparing performance of: sqrt vs pow vs **

Created: 10 months ago by: Guest

Jump to the latest result

sqrt

pow

**

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):