Benchmark: Try/finally performance impact

Script Preparation code:

function function_with_try_finally(array) {
    try {
        array.push(Math.random() * 1000000)
        array.push(Math.random() * 1000000)
        // Simulating some workload
        let sum = 0
        for (let i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
            for (let j = 0; j < i; j++) {
                sum += j * j
            }
        }
        // Randomly deciding whether to exit early
        if (Math.random() < 0.3) {
            return sum
        }
        // More workload
        for (let i = 0; i < 1000; i++) {
            for (let j = 0; j < 10; j++) {
                sum += j * j
            }
        }
        // Another random exit point
        if (Math.random() < 0.6) {
            return sum
        }
        if (array.length < 500) {
            function_with_try_finally(array)
            return 0
        }
    } finally {
        // Cleanup action: array.pop()
        array.pop()
    }
    return -1
}

function function_with_explicit_cleanup(array) {
    array.push(Math.random() * 1000000)
    array.push(Math.random() * 1000000)
    // Simulating some workload
    let sum = 0
    for (let i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
        for (let j = 0; j < i; j++) {
            sum += j * j
        }
    }
    // Randomly deciding whether to exit early
    if (Math.random() < 0.3) {
        array.pop()
        return sum
    }
    // More workload
    for (let i = 0; i < 1000; i++) {
        for (let j = 0; j < 10; j++) {
            sum += j * j
        }
    }
    // Another random exit point
    if (Math.random() < 0.6) {
        array.pop()
        return sum
    }
    if (array.length < 500) {
        function_with_try_finally(array)
        array.pop()
        return 0
    }
    // Cleanup action: array.pop()
    array.pop()
    return -1
}

Tests:

Try finally
function_with_try_finally([])
Without try finally
function_with_explicit_cleanup([])

Rendered benchmark preparation results:

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Previous results

Test case name	Result
Try finally
Without try finally

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; rv:138.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/138.0

Browser/OS: Firefox 138 on Windows

View result in a separate tab

Test name	Executions per second
Try finally	110344.9 Ops/sec
Without try finally	110362.8 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 explain the benchmark and its options.

**Benchmark Overview**

The provided benchmark measures the performance impact of using a `try-finally` block versus an explicit cleanup approach in JavaScript. The benchmark consists of two test cases:

1. `function_with_try_finally(array)`: This function uses a `try-finally` block to perform some work and then clean up.
2. `function_with_explicit_cleanup(array)`: This function performs the same work as the previous one, but instead of using a `try-finally` block, it explicitly calls its own cleanup function.

**Options Compared**

The two options being compared are:

1. **Try-finally**: This approach uses a `try` block to enclose the code that may throw an exception, and a `finally` block to execute cleanup code regardless of whether an exception was thrown.
2. **Explicit Cleanup**: This approach explicitly calls its own cleanup function after completing the work.

**Pros and Cons**

* **Try-finally**:
	+ Pros: It provides a clear separation between the code that performs the work and the cleanup code, making it easier to understand and maintain.
	+ Cons: In some cases, the `try` block may not be necessary if the code is free from exceptions or errors. Additionally, the `finally` block may execute unnecessarily if no exception is thrown.
* **Explicit Cleanup**:
	+ Pros: It gives more control over when the cleanup code is executed and can be optimized for specific use cases where exceptions are rare.
	+ Cons: The explicit cleanup approach requires manual management of the cleanup code, which can lead to errors or inconsistencies.

**Library Usage**

There is no explicit library usage in these benchmark definitions. However, JavaScript engines like V8 (used by Chrome) and SpiderMonkey (used by Firefox) have built-in optimization techniques that can affect performance, such as just-in-time compilation and garbage collection.

**Special JS Features/Syntax**

The benchmark does not explicitly use any special JavaScript features or syntax, but it is worth noting that modern browsers often enable experimental features like `try`-catch with a `throw` clause to provide better error handling. The `finally` block used in the `function_with_try_finally` example also takes advantage of the language's built-in exception handling mechanism.

**Alternatives**

Other alternatives for implementing cleanup code include:

1. **Using a `Promise`**: Instead of using a `try-finally` block or explicit cleanup, you can use `Promise` to handle cleanup code and exceptions.
2. **Using an asynchronous function with a `finally` block**: Asynchronous functions like `async/await` can provide a more modern alternative to traditional `try-finally` blocks for cleanup code.

In conclusion, the benchmark compares the performance of two approaches to implementing cleanup code in JavaScript: using a `try-finally` block versus an explicit cleanup approach. The choice between these options depends on the specific use case and requirements of the application.

Related benchmarks:

Try/finally performance impact (version: 0)

Comparing performance of: Try finally vs Without try finally

Created: 2 years ago by: Guest

Jump to the latest result

Try finally

Without try finally

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

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