Benchmark: crypto.getRandomValues vs Math.random()

Tests:

crypto.getRandomValues()
crypto.getRandomValues(new Uint32Array(1))[0]
Math.random()
Math.random()

Rendered benchmark preparation results:

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Previous results

Test case name	Result
crypto.getRandomValues()
Math.random()

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Latest run results:

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

User agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/130.0.0.0 Safari/537.36

Browser/OS: Chrome 130 on Windows

View result in a separate tab

Test name	Executions per second
crypto.getRandomValues()	389808.4 Ops/sec
Math.random()	5357820.5 Ops/sec

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 and explain what is being tested.

**Overview**

The test measures the performance difference between two approaches: `crypto.getRandomValues()` and `Math.random()`. The goal is to determine which method provides better randomness and consistency for generating random numbers in JavaScript.

**Options Compared**

* `crypto.getRandomValues()` vs `Math.random()`: These are the two approaches being compared. `crypto.getRandomValues()` is a system-provided function that generates cryptographically secure pseudo-random numbers, while `Math.random()` uses an algorithm-based approach to generate pseudo-random numbers.

**Pros and Cons of Each Approach**

* **`crypto.getRandomValues()`**: Pros:
	+ Provides cryptographically secure random numbers, suitable for applications requiring high security.
	+ Can be used for generating truly unpredictable numbers.
* Cons:
	+ May have performance overhead due to its security-focused nature.
* `Math.random()`: Pros:
	+ Fast and efficient, making it suitable for high-performance applications.
	+ Easy to use and integrate into existing codebases.
* Cons:
	+ Generates pseudo-random numbers that may not be suitable for cryptographic purposes or applications requiring extremely high randomness.

**Library and Its Purpose**

The `crypto` module is a built-in JavaScript library that provides various functions for cryptography, random number generation, and more. In this case, the `getRandomValues()` function is used to generate cryptographically secure pseudo-random numbers. The purpose of this function is to provide a reliable way to generate truly unpredictable random numbers suitable for security-critical applications.

**Special JS Feature or Syntax**

None mentioned in this specific benchmark.

**Other Considerations**

* Performance: The test measures the execution rate (executions per second) of each approach, indicating which one performs better.
* Security: As mentioned earlier, `crypto.getRandomValues()` provides cryptographically secure random numbers, making it more suitable for security-critical applications. `Math.random()`, on the other hand, generates pseudo-random numbers that may not be sufficient for such use cases.

**Alternatives**

Other alternatives for generating random numbers in JavaScript include:

* The `web crypto API` (Web Cryptography API): A more modern and secure way of generating cryptographically secure random numbers.
* External libraries like `random-js`, `randkit`, or `crypto-random-filler`: These libraries provide additional features, such as seeded random number generators, for applications requiring high-quality randomness.

Keep in mind that the choice of approach depends on the specific use case, performance requirements, and security concerns.

Related benchmarks:

crypto.getRandomValues vs Math.random() (version: 0)

Comparing performance of: crypto.getRandomValues() vs Math.random()

Created: 3 years ago by: Guest

Jump to the latest result

crypto.getRandomValues()

Math.random()

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

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