Benchmark: Join vs JSON.Stringify

Script Preparation code:

var smallArray = Array.from({
    length: 10
}).map((_, i) => `test_val${i}`);
var bigArray = Array.from({
    length: 10000
}).map((_, i) => `test_val${i}`);

Tests:

Join
const s1 = smallArray.sort().join(',') const b1 = bigArray.sort().join(',')
Stringify
const s2 = JSON.stringify(smallArray.sort()) const b2 = JSON.stringify(bigArray.sort())

Rendered benchmark preparation results:

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Previous results

Test case name	Result
Join
Stringify

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Latest run results:

Run details: (Test run date: 2 years ago)

User agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/122.0.0.0 Safari/537.36

Browser/OS: Chrome 122 on Mac OS X 10.15.7

View result in a separate tab

Test name	Executions per second
Join	2472.7 Ops/sec
Stringify	1834.8 Ops/sec

Autogenerated LLM Summary (model llama3.2:3b, generated one year ago):

LLMs can make mistakes. Check important info.

Let's break down the benchmark and its test cases.

**Benchmark Definition**

The provided JSON represents a JavaScript microbenchmark created on MeasureThat.net. The benchmark compares two approaches to join or convert arrays into strings: `join()` and `JSON.stringify()`.

**Script Preparation Code**

The script preparation code sets up two small and large arrays, respectively, using the `Array.from()` method and an array of string literals:

```javascript
var smallArray = Array.from({ length: 10 }).map((_, i) => `test_val${i}`);
var bigArray = Array.from({ length: 10000 }).map((_, i) => `test_val${i}`);
```

These arrays are used to test the performance of joining or converting them into strings.

**Html Preparation Code**

The HTML preparation code is empty, which means that no additional setup is required for the benchmark.

**Individual Test Cases**

There are two test cases:

1. **Join**: This test case joins the sorted small and large arrays using the `join()` method:
```javascript
const s1 = smallArray.sort().join(',');
const b1 = bigArray.sort().join(',');
```

2. **Stringify**: This test case converts the sorted small and large arrays into strings using `JSON.stringify()`:
```javascript
const s2 = JSON.stringify(smallArray.sort());
const b2 = JSON.stringify(bigArray.sort());
```

**Options Compared**

The benchmark compares two options:

1. **Join() method**: This approach uses the `join()` method to concatenate the elements of the sorted array into a string.
2. **JSON.stringify() method**: This approach converts the array into a JSON string using the `JSON.stringify()` method.

**Pros and Cons**

Here's a brief analysis of each approach:

1. **Join() method**:
	* Pros: Lightweight, fast, and straightforward.
	* Cons: May not handle certain types of data (e.g., objects with circular references) correctly, and may not be suitable for very large datasets due to performance issues.
2. **JSON.stringify() method**:
	* Pros: Robust, handles various data types, and is widely supported by modern browsers.
	* Cons: Can be slower than `join()` for very large datasets, as it involves more complex processing.

**Library**

In this benchmark, the `Array.prototype.sort()` method is used, which is a built-in JavaScript method that sorts the elements of an array in place. There are no external libraries involved in this benchmark.

**Special JS Features or Syntax**

There are no special features or syntaxes mentioned in the benchmark. The code uses standard JavaScript syntax and does not exploit any specific browser features or ECMAScript standards.

**Alternatives**

If you're looking for alternative approaches to join or convert arrays into strings, consider the following:

1. **Array.prototype.map() and String.prototype.concat()**: This approach uses `map()` to create a new array with concatenated strings using `concat()`. While this approach is more explicit, it may be slower than `join()` for large datasets.
2. **Array.prototype.reduce()**: This approach uses `reduce()` to concatenate the elements of an array into a string. While this approach is concise, it may not be as efficient as `join()` or `JSON.stringify()` for very large datasets.

In conclusion, the benchmark provides a straightforward comparison between two common approaches to joining or converting arrays into strings in JavaScript. The choice between these methods depends on the specific requirements of your project and the trade-offs you're willing to make regarding performance, robustness, and code simplicity.

Related benchmarks:

Join vs JSON.Stringify (version: 0)

Comparing performance of: Join vs Stringify

Created: 5 years ago by: Guest

Jump to the latest result

Join

Stringify

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Autogenerated LLM Summary (model llama3.2:3b, generated one year ago):