Benchmark: JS search vs indexOf

Script Preparation code:

var arr = "";
var i = 0;

while (i <= 1E3) arr += `${i++}` ;

Tests:

String.search
const item = arr.search("500");
String.indexOf
const index = arr.indexOf("500");

Rendered benchmark preparation results:

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Previous results

Test case name	Result
String.search
String.indexOf

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Latest run results:

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

User agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/133.0.0.0 Safari/537.36

Browser/OS: Chrome 133 on Windows

View result in a separate tab

Test name	Executions per second
String.search	1859460.5 Ops/sec
String.indexOf	172036000.0 Ops/sec

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

LLMs can make mistakes. Check important info.

Let's break down the benchmark and explain what's being tested.

**Overview**

The benchmark is comparing two string searching methods in JavaScript: `search()` and `indexOf()`. Both methods are used to find the index of a specified substring within a larger string.

**Options Compared**

The benchmark is testing two options:

1. **`arr.search("500")`**: This method returns the index of the first occurrence of the substring "500" in the array `arr`.
2. **`arr.indexOf("500")`**: This method also returns the index of the first occurrence of the substring "500" in the array `arr`. However, unlike `search()`, `indexOf()` returns -1 if the substring is not found.

**Pros and Cons**

* **`search()`**: Pros:
	+ Faster execution time for strings with many occurrences of the target substring.
	+ Can be more efficient for large datasets.
* Cons:
	+ May return an index before all occurrences have been processed, leading to incorrect results if subsequent searches are performed on the same string.
* **`indexOf()`**: Pros:
	+ Returns -1 immediately if the substring is not found, avoiding unnecessary further processing.
	+ Can be more predictable and easier to use in certain situations.
* Cons:
	+ May be slower for strings with many occurrences of the target substring.

**Library Usage**

In this benchmark, none of the libraries are explicitly mentioned. However, it's worth noting that both `search()` and `indexOf()` methods rely on the V8 JavaScript engine, which is used by Chrome and other browsers.

**Special JS Features/Syntax**

There are no special features or syntax mentioned in this benchmark.

**Other Considerations**

When choosing between `search()` and `indexOf()`, consider the specific requirements of your use case. If you need to perform multiple searches on the same string, `search()` might be a better choice due to its potential for faster execution times. However, if you prioritize predictability and avoid unnecessary processing, `indexOf()` might be a better option.

**Alternative Approaches**

Other alternatives for string searching in JavaScript include:

1. **Regular expressions**: Using regular expressions can provide more flexibility and power for complex searches.
2. **Substring slicing**: Using array slicing to extract substrings can be an alternative to searching methods.
3. **Native APIs**: Some browsers provide native APIs, like `TextSearch()` (only available in Safari), which offer optimized performance for certain use cases.

Keep in mind that the choice of approach depends on your specific requirements and the trade-offs you're willing to make between execution time, predictability, and flexibility.

Related benchmarks:

JS search vs indexOf (version: 0)

JS string: search vs indexOf

Comparing performance of: String.search vs String.indexOf

Created: 2 years ago by: Guest

Jump to the latest result

String.search

String.indexOf

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):