Math Functions Benchmark: stdlib vs native
This benchmark compares the performance and precision of stdlib math
functions against native JavaScript math operations.
Why use stdlib?
While JavaScript provides built-in math operations through the Math
object, stdlib offers several advantages for scientific and numerical
computing:
-
Improved floating-point precision: Stdlib
implements algorithms that minimize floating-point errors and
provide more accurate results
-
Optimized performance: Specialized implementations
for complex mathematical operations offer better performance in
certain scenarios
-
Cross-platform consistency: Guaranteed identical
behavior across different JavaScript environments
-
Extended functionality:Adds new math functions and tools not found in the standard Math object.
Benchmark Results
Conclusions
-
Performance varies by operation: stdlib is faster
for basic operations (abs, floor, round, hypot) with up to 10.93%
improvement, but slower for complex operations like exp (153.41%
slower)
-
High precision maintained: Maximum difference
between stdlib and native results is 4.441e-16, with many operations
showing zero difference
-
Trade-off considerations: Choose stdlib when
precision is critical or using basic operations, native Math for
performance-sensitive complex calculations
Looking at the benchmark, stdlib performs worse on complex operations
- exp is 189.85% slower, while basic operations see minor gains like
sqrt at 6.23% faster. Precision differences are minimal at 4.441e-16
max. WASM could speed up stdlib's complex math by running closer to
native speed, though we'd need benchmarks to confirm. For now, use
native Math for performance-critical complex calculations, stdlib when
you need cross-platform consistency.
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