Benchmark: if vs ternary vs multiplication

Script Preparation code:

this.n = Math.floor(Math.random() * 10000);

Tests:

if
if(this.n%2) { return 3*this.n+1; } else { return this.n/2; }
ternary
return (this.n%2)?3*this.n+1:this.n/2;
multiply
return (this.n%2)*(3*this.n+1)+(!(this.n%2))*this.n/2;
multiply const
const n2=this.n%2; return n2*(3*this.n+1)+!n2*this.n/2;

Rendered benchmark preparation results:

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Previous results

Test case name	Result
if
ternary
multiply
multiply const

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Latest run results:

Run details: (Test run date: 29 days ago)

User agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; CrOS x86_64 14541.0.0) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/126.0.0.0 Safari/537.36

Browser/OS: Chrome 126 on Chrome OS 14541.0.0

View result in a separate tab

Test name	Executions per second
if	4880684.0 Ops/sec
ternary	4838282.5 Ops/sec
multiply	2511325.0 Ops/sec
multiply const	4467896.5 Ops/sec

Autogenerated LLM Summary (model llama3.2:3b, generated 6 months ago):

LLMs can make mistakes. Check important info.

Let's dive into the world of JavaScript microbenchmarks.

**What is tested?**

The provided JSON represents a benchmark that tests three different approaches to evaluate an expression: `if`, `ternary` (also known as conditional operator), and `multiplication`. The expressions are:

1. `if(this.n%2){ return 3*this.n+1; } else { return this.n/2; }`
2. `return (this.n%2)?3*this.n+1:this.n/2;` (ternary operator)
3. `(this.n%2)*(3*this.n+1)+(!(this.n%2))*this.n/2;` (multiplication approach with a separate variable)
4. `const n2=this.n%2;return n2*(3*this.n+1)+!n2*this.n/2;` (another multiplication approach with a separate constant variable)

**Options compared**

The benchmark compares the performance of three approaches to evaluate an expression: `if`, `ternary`, and two multiplication approaches. The options are:

* **If**: uses an explicit `if-else` statement
* **Ternary**: uses a conditional operator (`?`) with two possible values
* **Multiplication (const)**: uses a separate variable to store the condition result, then multiplies the value using that variable
* **Multiplication (without const)**: uses the bitwise NOT operator (!) to invert the condition result, and then multiplies the value

**Pros and cons of each approach**

1. **If**: Pros - easy to read and understand, can be used in many situations. Cons - may incur a performance penalty due to the branching.
2. **Ternary**: Pros - concise and efficient, eliminates the need for an `if-else` statement. Cons - less readable than `if-else`, and some older JavaScript engines might not support it.
3. **Multiplication (const)**: Pros - can be more efficient than the other approaches since it avoids branching, but may require additional memory to store the condition variable. Cons - requires an extra variable, which can increase memory usage.
4. **Multiplication (without const)**: Pros - similar to `multiplication (const)`, but without the need for an extra variable. Cons - still requires the bitwise NOT operator, which might be slower than other approaches.

**Other considerations**

* The use of bitwise operators like `!` can lead to performance issues due to their complexity.
* Modern JavaScript engines often have optimizations that make some approaches faster or more efficient than others.

**Library used (if any)**

None, this benchmark does not rely on a specific library.

**Special JS feature or syntax**

The ternary operator (`?`) is a special feature in JavaScript that allows for concise conditional expressions. The bitwise NOT operator (`!`) can be used to invert a boolean value. Both are widely supported in modern JavaScript engines.

Now, let's talk about the benchmark results...

**Benchmark results analysis**

The provided benchmark results show the executions per second (EPS) for each test case on a Chrome Mobile 116 device running Android 10. The results suggest that:

* The `ternary` approach is the fastest, followed closely by the `multiplication (const)` and then the `if` approaches.
* The `multiplication (without const)` approach is slower than all other options.

Please note that these results are specific to this particular test case and may not generalize across different scenarios or environments.

Related benchmarks:

if vs ternary vs multiplication (version: 0)

Comparing performance of: if vs ternary vs multiply vs multiply const

Created: 3 years ago by: Guest

Jump to the latest result

if

ternary

multiply

multiply const

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Experimental features:

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Autogenerated LLM Summary (model llama3.2:3b, generated 6 months ago):