Benchmark: Lodash.isEqual vs JSON.stringify Equality Comparison for Array With Strings And Objects

HTML Preparation code:

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/lodash@4.17.4/lodash.min.js"></script>

Script Preparation code:

window.foo = ['cat', 'dog', 'bird', {}, {a: 4, b: false, c: 'string', d: null}];
window.bar = ['cat', 'dog', 'bird', {}, {a: 4, b: false, c: 'string', d: null}];

Tests:

_.isEqual
_.isEqual(window.foo, window.bar)
JSON.stringify
JSON.stringify(window.foo) === JSON.stringify(window.bar);

Rendered benchmark preparation results:

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Previous results

Test case name	Result
_.isEqual
JSON.stringify

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Latest run results:

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

LLMs can make mistakes. Check important info.

Let's break down the provided benchmark definition and test cases.

**Benchmark Definition:**

The benchmark tests two approaches for comparing equality between two arrays, `window.foo` and `window.bar`, which contain both primitive values (strings) and objects.

**Options being compared:**

1. **Lodash's isEqual function**: A utility function from the Lodash library that performs a deep comparison of two objects or arrays.
2. **JSON.stringify with equality check**: Using the `===` operator to compare the stringified representations of the two arrays, which is equivalent to performing a deep equality check.

**Pros and Cons:**

1. **Lodash's isEqual function:**
	* Pros:
		+ Highly customizable (e.g., options for handling circular references).
		+ Provides a clear, well-documented API.
	* Cons:
		+ Adds overhead due to the need to import the Lodash library.
		+ May be slower due to the additional function call and argument processing.
2. **JSON.stringify with equality check:**
	* Pros:
		+ No added overhead (no extra function calls or imports).
		+ Fast, since it only relies on primitive type comparisons.
	* Cons:
		+ Less readable and less maintainable than a custom implementation.
		+ May not handle edge cases correctly (e.g., circular references).

**Library:**

In the provided benchmark definition, Lodash is used as a library to provide the `isEqual` function. The library's purpose is to simplify common programming tasks by providing a collection of reusable functions.

**Special JS feature/syntax:**

None mentioned in this specific benchmark.

**Other alternatives:**

For this particular use case, you could also consider using other libraries or custom implementations that offer deep equality checking, such as:

* **JSON5** (formerly JSON5.js): A superset of JSON with additional features like support for nested objects and arrays.
* **structuredClone**: A newer JavaScript feature introduced in ECMAScript 2020, which provides a more efficient and flexible way to perform deep cloning and equality checks.

However, these alternatives might not be suitable for all use cases, and the choice ultimately depends on the specific requirements of your project.

Related benchmarks:

Lodash.isEqual vs JSON.stringify Equality Comparison for Array With Strings And Objects (version: 0)

Test on isEqual performance

Comparing performance of: _.isEqual vs JSON.stringify

Created: 4 years ago by: Guest

Jump to the latest result

_.isEqual

JSON.stringify

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):