Benchmark: Function vs Eval vs Getter

Script Preparation code:

var fun = function(i) {
	return i;
};

var evalCode = 'i;';

Object.defineProperty(window, 'getterBenchmark', {
	get value() {
		return 'hi';
	}
});

Tests:

Function
for(let i = 0; i < 5; i++) { fun(i); };
Eval
for(let i = 0; i < 5; i++) { eval(evalCode); };
Getter
for(let i = 0; i < 5; i++) { getterBenchmark; };

Rendered benchmark preparation results:

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Previous results

Test case name	Result
Function
Eval
Getter

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Latest run results:

Run details: (Test run date: one year ago)

User agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/130.0.0.0 Safari/537.36

Browser/OS: Chrome 130 on Mac OS X 10.15.7

View result in a separate tab

Function

8.6M/s

Getter

4.7M/s

Eval

1.2M/s

View exact numbers

Test name	Executions per second
✓ Function	8,632,218 Ops/sec
Getter	4,701,928 Ops/sec
Eval	1,245,728 Ops/sec

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

LLMs can make mistakes. Check important info.

I'd be happy to help you understand the benchmark.

**Benchmark Overview**

The benchmark compares the speed of three approaches: functions, `eval` expressions, and getters (also known as accessed properties). The test is designed to measure the execution time of each approach on a specific script and HTML setup.

**Script Preparation Code**

The provided script preparation code defines:

1. A function named `fun` that takes an argument `i` and returns its value.
2. An `eval` expression that evaluates the string `'i;'`, effectively returning the value of the variable `i`.
3. A getter property named `getterBenchmark` on the global object (`window`). The getter function returns the string `'hi'`.

**Html Preparation Code**

There is no HTML preparation code provided.

**Individual Test Cases**

Each test case consists of a benchmark definition and a test name:

1. **Function**: This test case defines a loop that calls the `fun` function five times, passing the argument `i`.
2. **Eval**: This test case defines a loop that evaluates the `evalCode` expression three times, effectively calling the `fun` function three times.
3. **Getter**: This test case simply calls the getter property `getterBenchmark` five times.

**Approach Comparison**

The benchmark compares the speed of each approach:

* Functions: The `fun` function is defined explicitly, which can lead to better optimization and caching.
* `eval`: `eval` expressions can be slow because they involve parsing and executing arbitrary code at runtime. However, modern engines often optimize `eval` usage.
* Getters: Accessing properties through getters can be faster than calling functions or using `eval`, as the browser can cache and reuse the getter function.

**Pros and Cons**

* Functions:
	+ Pros: Better optimization, caching, and performance.
	+ Cons: May require more memory to store the function.
* `eval`:
	+ Pros: Can be useful for dynamic code evaluation or executing user-supplied code.
	+ Cons: Generally slower than functions and getters due to parsing and execution overhead.
* Getters:
	+ Pros: Faster than functions and `eval`, with potential caching benefits.
	+ Cons: May require more memory to store the getter property.

**Library**

None of the test cases use any external libraries. The script preparation code defines the three approaches independently, while the HTML preparation code is not provided.

**Special JS Features or Syntax**

There are no special JavaScript features or syntax used in this benchmark.

**Other Alternatives**

If you were to rewrite this benchmark, you might consider using alternative approaches:

* Use a loop instead of `for` loops for more control over iteration.
* Add error handling and boundary checking to test edge cases.
* Compare additional functions or algorithms to gain further insights into performance differences.
* Measure the impact of caching, memoization, or other optimization techniques on each approach.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions or need further clarification!

Function vs Eval vs Getter (version: 0)

Compares the speed of functions, evals and Getters.

Comparing performance of: `Function vs Eval vs Getter`

Created: 4 years ago by: Registered User

Go to the latest result

Function

Eval

Getter

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

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

Function vs Eval vs Getter (version: 0)

Compares the speed of functions, evals and Getters.

Comparing performance of: Function vs Eval vs Getter

Created: 4 years ago by: Registered User

Go to the latest result

Function

Eval

Getter

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

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

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