Benchmark: setPrototypeOf test [

HTML Preparation code:

<!--your preparation HTML code goes here-->

Script Preparation code:

let obj = {__proto__: null,a:3,*[Symbol.iterator](){yield this.a; yield this.a;}, method(){return ''}, get getter(){return this.a}, set setter(val){this.a=val}}

Tests:

Reflect
for(let i = 300; i--;) { Reflect.setPrototypeOf(obj, Reflect.getPrototypeOf(obj)) obj.method() obj.setter = obj.getter; [...obj] }
Object
for(let i = 300; i--;) { Object.setPrototypeOf(obj, Object.getPrototypeOf(obj)) obj.method() obj.setter = obj.getter; [...obj] }
__proto__
for(let i = 300; i--;) { obj.__proto__ = obj.__proto__ obj.method() obj.setter = obj.getter; [...obj] }

Rendered benchmark preparation results:

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Previous results

Test case name	Result
Reflect
Object
__proto__

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Latest run results:

Run details: (Test run date: 3 months 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
Reflect	6554.9 Ops/sec
Object	6469.4 Ops/sec
__proto__	6665.7 Ops/sec

Autogenerated LLM Summary (model gpt-4o-mini, generated 3 months ago):

LLMs can make mistakes. Check important info.

The provided JSON defines a JavaScript benchmark that evaluates different methods for setting an object's prototype. The benchmark consists of three test cases, each employing a different approach to achieve the same task: invoking a method, manipulating a property, and iterating over the object.

### Benchmark Overview

#### Benchmark Preparation Code
The benchmark begins by preparing an object with the following characteristics:
- The object has no inherited properties (its `__proto__` is set to `null`).
- It has a property `a` initialized to `3`.
- It includes an iterator method defined using the `Symbol.iterator`, allowing the usage of the spread operator (`[...]`) for iteration.
- It has a method defined that returns an empty string.
- A getter (`getter`) and setter (`setter`) for property `a`.

#### Individual Test Cases
1. **Reflect.setPrototypeOf**
   - **Test Name:** "Reflect"
   - This test uses `Reflect.setPrototypeOf()`, a function from the Reflect API designed to set the prototype of an object. It calls the method on the object, assigns the getter to the setter, and iterates over the object to invoke the iterator.
   
2. **Object.setPrototypeOf**
   - **Test Name:** "Object"
   - This test directly calls `Object.setPrototypeOf()`, another method for setting the prototype of an object. The rest of the operations performed are the same as the first test.

3. **Using `__proto__`**
   - **Test Name:** "__proto__"
   - Here, the prototype is set using the `__proto__` property, which is an accessor property available on all standard JavaScript objects that directly accesses their prototype.

### Performance Results
The benchmark results show the number of executions per second for each method on a specific device and browser combination:
- `__proto__`: 6665.71 executions/second (fastest).
- `Reflect`: 6554.90 executions/second.
- `Object`: 6469.37 executions/second.

### Pros and Cons

#### `Reflect.setPrototypeOf`
- **Pros:** 
  - Part of the Reflect API, which provides methods that offer better semantic clarity and some degree of abstraction. 
- **Cons:** 
  - Slightly slower compared to using `__proto__`, likely due to additional overhead as it's part of a broader set of functions.

#### `Object.setPrototypeOf`
- **Pros:** 
  - Similar to Reflect, it is methodically clear and semantically correct for setting prototypes.
- **Cons:** 
  - It has the same performance drawbacks as Reflect, being generally slower than using `__proto__`.

#### Using `__proto__`
- **Pros:** 
  - Direct access. It can be faster for prototyping-related tasks due to minimal abstraction.
- **Cons:** 
  - Considered less formal and potentially less safe, as using `__proto__` can lead to confusion or problematic behaviors in some scenarios. It's not recommended for modern JavaScript due to potential performance and design issues.

### Other Considerations
- **Browser Compatibility:** While all methods are widely supported in modern browsers, some older implementations may not recognize `Reflect`. Developers should ensure compatibility for their target browsers.
- **Performance Implications:** Depending on the environment, performance differences may vary. Benchmarking in a controlled environment like this is crucial for performance-critical applications.
- **Maintainability vs. Performance:** Choosing the best approach should balance performance needs against code readability and maintainability. For instance, while `__proto__` may be faster, it can lead to less maintainable code.

### Alternatives
- Using Object-oriented design patterns or classes in ES6 could be alternatives to manually manipulating prototypes if object inheritance is required.
- `Object.create()` provides a way to create an object with a specific prototype, which could be a more declarative approach than altering the prototype after the object’s creation.

Overall, the benchmark illustrates the nuances of prototype manipulation in JavaScript and the importance of choosing the right method based on project requirements, including performance, maintainability, and clarity.

Related benchmarks:

setPrototypeOf test [ (version: 1)

Comparing performance of: Reflect vs Object vs proto

Created: 3 months ago by: Guest

Jump to the latest result

Reflect

Object

proto

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Experimental features:

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Autogenerated LLM Summary (model gpt-4o-mini, generated 3 months ago):

setPrototypeOf test [ (version: 1)

Comparing performance of: Reflect vs Object vs __proto__

Created: 3 months ago by: Guest

Jump to the latest result

Reflect

Object

__proto__

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Experimental features:

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Autogenerated LLM Summary (model gpt-4o-mini, generated 3 months ago):

Comparing performance of: Reflect vs Object vs proto

proto