Benchmark: Replace vs Set - MeasureThat.net

HTML Preparation code:

<div><svg id="target" class="target"></svg></div>

Script Preparation code:

const target = document.getElementById('target');

var div = document.createElement('DIV');

div.innerHTML = `<svg id="target" class="something new"></svg>`;

var replacement = div.firstChild;

Tests:

Set Attribute
var i = 1000; while (i--) { target.setAttribute('class', 'something new') }
Replace Element
var i = 1000; while (i--) { target.parentNode.replaceChild(replacement, target); }

Rendered benchmark preparation results:

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Previous results

Test case name	Result
Set Attribute
Replace Element

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Latest run results:

No previous run results

This benchmark does not have any results yet. Be the first one to run it!

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

LLMs can make mistakes. Check important info.

I'd be happy to explain the JavaScript microbenchmark on MeasureThat.net.

**Benchmark Overview**

The benchmark compares two approaches: setting an attribute (`Set Attribute`) and replacing an element using `replaceChild` ((`Replace Element`). The goal is to determine which approach is faster.

**Test Cases**

There are two test cases:

1. **Set Attribute**: The script sets the `class` attribute of the `target` element 1000 times in a loop.
```javascript
var i = 1000;
while (i--) {
    target.setAttribute('class', 'something new');
}
```
2. **Replace Element**: The script replaces the `target` element with a new child element (`replacement`) 1000 times in a loop.
```javascript
var i = 1000;
while (i--) {
    target.parentNode.replaceChild(replacement, target);
}
```
**Library Usage**

The benchmark uses the `DOM` library to interact with the DOM. Specifically, it uses `document.getElementById`, `createElement`, `setAttribute`, and `replaceChild`.

**Special JS Feature/Syntax**

There is no special JavaScript feature or syntax used in this benchmark.

**Benchmark Results**

The latest results show that:

* The **Set Attribute** test runs at an average of 829 executions per second (executionsPerSecond).
* The **Replace Element** test runs at an average of 451 executions per second (executionsPerSecond).

**Pros and Cons of Each Approach**

1. **Set Attribute**:
	* Pros: Typically faster, as it only updates a single property.
	* Cons: May not be suitable for updating multiple attributes or nested properties.
2. **Replace Element**:
	* Pros: Suitable for replacing elements with new content or styles.
	* Cons: Can be slower, especially when dealing with large DOM trees.

**Other Alternatives**

In addition to the two approaches mentioned above, other alternatives for setting or replacing element properties include:

* Using a CSS style sheet to update styles (e.g., `target.style.class = 'something new'`).
* Using a library like jQuery to simplify DOM manipulation.
* Using a more modern approach like using a MutationObserver to observe changes to the DOM.

It's worth noting that the choice of approach depends on the specific use case and performance requirements.

Related benchmarks:

Replace vs Set (version: 1)

Hydra Test

Comparing performance of: Set Attribute vs Replace Element

Created: 5 years ago by: Registered User

Jump to the latest result

Set Attribute

Replace Element

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

No previous run results

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