Benchmark: div by 3 vs mul 0.333

Tests:

Division (/ 3)
function testDivision(iterations) { let x = 123456; for (let i = 0; i < iterations; i++) { x = x / 3; } } testDivision(100000000);
Multiplication (* 0.33333)
function testMultiplication(iterations) { let x = 123456; for (let i = 0; i < iterations; i++) { x = x * 0.33333; } } testMultiplication(100000000);

Rendered benchmark preparation results:

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Previous results

Test case name	Result
Division (/ 3)
Multiplication (* 0.33333)

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Latest run results:

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

User agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 10; K) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/134.0.0.0 Mobile Safari/537.36

Browser/OS: Chrome Mobile 134 on Android

View result in a separate tab

Test name	Executions per second
Division (/ 3)	2.8 Ops/sec
Multiplication (* 0.33333)	6.6 Ops/sec

Autogenerated LLM Summary (model gpt-4o-mini, generated one month ago):

LLMs can make mistakes. Check important info.

The benchmark you've provided compares two mathematical operations in JavaScript: division (using the `/` operator) and multiplication (using the `*` operator with a constant). The goal is to determine which operation performs better under a repeated execution scenario. Here’s the breakdown:

### Benchmark Overview

- **Name**: "div by 3 vs mul 0.333"
- **Test Cases**: There are two main test cases:
  1. **Division**: Repeatedly dividing a number by 3.
  2. **Multiplication**: Repeatedly multiplying a number by approximately 0.33333 (which is equal to 1/3).

### Detailed Test Cases

1. **Division (/ 3)**:
   - **Code**:
     ```javascript
     function testDivision(iterations) {
         let x = 123456;
         for (let i = 0; i < iterations; i++) {
             x = x / 3;
         }
     }
     testDivision(100000000);
     ```
   - **Operation Being Tested**: Divides a number (123456) by 3 for a total of 100 million iterations.

2. **Multiplication (* 0.33333)**:
   - **Code**:
     ```javascript
     function testMultiplication(iterations) {
         let x = 123456;
         for (let i = 0; i < iterations; i++) {
             x = x * 0.33333;
         }
     }
     testMultiplication(100000000);
     ```
   - **Operation Being Tested**: Multiplies the same number (123456) by approximately 0.33333 for a total of 100 million iterations.

### Comparison of Operations

- **Performance Results**:
  - **Multiplication**: 11.84 executions per second
  - **Division**: 3.65 executions per second

### Pros and Cons

#### Division (`/ 3`):
- **Pros**:
  - Intuitive operation for many developers; easy to understand.
  
- **Cons**:
  - Slower compared to multiplication in this particular benchmark. Division is generally more computationally intensive than multiplication in JavaScript and many programming languages due to the underlying algorithms used by the CPU.

#### Multiplication (`* 0.33333`):
- **Pros**:
  - Faster operation in this benchmark, as shown by a higher number of executions per second.
  - Multiplying by a constant is usually optimized well in JavaScript engines.
  
- **Cons**:
  - Potentially less intuitive for those who are not familiar with approximating fractions with decimals, especially if dealing with larger numerical data types or mathematical contexts.

### Considerations and Alternatives

1. **Precision**: The chosen constant (0.33333) is an approximation of one-third. In applications where precision is critical, using floating-point values can introduce rounding errors. Consider using `1/3` directly if the engine handles it correctly but be aware of potential differences in execution speed.

2. **Alternative Approaches**:
   - Instead of using a fixed decimal for multiplication, consider performance implications in context. For example, leveraging libraries for arbitrary precision calculations (like Decimal.js) may be necessary in financial applications.
   - Other operations for benchmarking could include different mathematical functions (like exponentiation or modulus), especially if performance is known to differ significantly.
  
### Conclusion

This benchmark illustrates the performance differences between division and multiplication in JavaScript. It highlights that while division may be conceptually straightforward, multiplication (especially involving constants) can often yield better performance in computational-heavy scenarios. As always, choose the operation that balances performance with the needs for precision and clarity in the codebase.

Related benchmarks:

div by 3 vs mul 0.333 (version: 1)

Comparing performance of: Division (/ 3) vs Multiplication (* 0.33333)

Created: one month ago by: Registered User

Jump to the latest result

Division (/ 3)

Multiplication (* 0.33333)

Suite status: <idle, ready to run>

Experimental features:

Fastest: N/A

Slowest: N/A

Autogenerated LLM Summary (model gpt-4o-mini, generated one month ago):