Measuring JavaScript performance is crucial for optimizing code, and MeasureThat.net provides an excellent platform for doing so.

Overview of the Benchmark

The provided benchmark compares the performance of different ways to invoke functions in JavaScript:

1. Direct Call: test1("World", "Hello");
2. Bind: test2.bind("World", "Hello")();
3. Call: test3.call("World", "Hello");
4. Apply: test4.apply("World", ["Hello"]);
5. Method Call (string prototype extension): "World".test5("Hello")

Each test case is a separate benchmark, and the results are displayed for each browser, device platform, operating system, and execution rate.

Options Compared

The five options compared in this benchmark all aim to achieve a similar goal: invoking a function with specific arguments. However, they differ in how they approach this:

1. Direct Call: Simply calls the function test1 with the provided arguments.
2. Bind: Creates a new function by binding the this context and argument values to test2.
3. Call: Passes the this context and argument values as separate arguments to test3.
4. Apply: Passes the this context and argument values as an array to test4.
5. Method Call (string prototype extension): Invokes a method on a string object, using the dot notation.

Pros and Cons

Here's a brief summary of each approach:

1. Direct Call:
   • Pros: Simple, intuitive.
   • Cons: May not work as expected when this is not the global object or an object property.
2. Bind:
   • Pros: Preserves the original function's context and argument values.
   • Cons: Creates a new function, which can be memory-intensive for large benchmarks.
3. Call:
   • Pros: Passes arguments explicitly, making it easier to debug.
   • Cons: Requires more code than direct call or method call.
4. Apply:
   • Pros: Passes this context and argument values as an array, which can be useful in certain situations.
   • Cons: May not work as expected when dealing with non-array arguments or a large number of arguments.
5. Method Call (string prototype extension):
   • Pros: Elegant, concise syntax.
   • Cons: Only works on string objects and may not be suitable for other types of objects.

Library/Features Used

In the provided benchmark, no specific JavaScript library is used. However, MeasureThat.net's custom JavaScript execution engine might have some internal optimizations or features that affect the results.

Special JS Features/Syntax

This benchmark does not use any special JavaScript features or syntax beyond what's standard in modern JavaScript engines (ES6+).

Alternatives

If you're interested in exploring alternative methods for invoking functions, here are a few options:

1. Arrow Functions: Can be used to create concise and memory-efficient function invocations.
2. Lambda Expressions: Similar to arrow functions but with a more functional programming style.
3. Function constructors: Allow creating new functions with specific properties (e.g., function Foo(name) { return name; };)
4. Object methods: Invoking methods on objects, like the test5 method on strings.

Each of these alternatives has its own trade-offs and use cases. For the purpose of benchmarking performance-critical code, direct calls or bound/called methods might still be the most suitable choices.