gl-cross

A high-performance 3D cross product library for JavaScript/TypeScript, supporting ESM, CommonJS, and IIFE formats. Optimized for both regular arrays and Float64Arrayand Float32Array with zero memory allocation in critical paths.

Features

• Dual APIs: cross (for regular arrays) and cross64 (for Float64Array)and cross32 (for Float32Array).
• Zero Allocation: Reuses output vectors to avoid garbage collection.
• Multi-Format Support: ESM, CommonJS, and IIFE (global variable: crossproduct).
• Type Safety: Strict TypeScript types (included in distribution).

Installation

via npm

npm install gl-cross

via CDN (IIFE)

<script src="https://unpkg.com/gl-cross@latest/dist/index.global.js"></script>
<!-- Exposes global variable: crossproduct -->

Usage

1. ESM (ES Modules)

// Import both functions
import { cross, cross64,cross32 } from 'gl-cross';

// Regular array usage
const outArray: [number, number, number] = [0, 0, 0];
cross(outArray, [1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6]);
console.log(outArray); // [-3, 6, -3]

// Float64Array usage (high performance)
const out64 = new Float64Array(3);
cross64(out64, new Float64Array([1, 2, 3]), new Float64Array([4, 5, 6]));
console.log(Array.from(out64)); // [-3, 6, -3]

// Float32Array usage (high performance)
const out32 = new Float32Array(3);
cross64(out64, new Float32Array([1, 2, 3]), new Float32Array([4, 5, 6]));
console.log(Array.from(out32)); // [-3, 6, -3]

2. CommonJS

const { cross, cross64 } = require('gl-cross');

// Regular array example
const out = [0, 0, 0];
cross(out, [1, 0, 0], [0, 1, 0]);
console.log(out); // [0, 0, 1]

3. IIFE (Global Variable)

<script src="https://unpkg.com/gl-cross@latest/dist/index.global.js"></script>
<script>
  // Use via global variable "glcross"
  const out = [0, 0, 0];
  glcross.cross(out, [3, 4, 5], [6, 7, 8]);
  console.log(out); // [4*8 - 5*7, 5*6 - 3*8, 3*7 - 4*6] → [-3, 6, -3]
</script>

API

cross(out, a, b)

Computes the cross product of two 3D arrays.

• Parameters:
  • out: [number, number, number] — Output array (will be overwritten, required).
  • a: [number, number, number] — First input vector.
  • b: [number, number, number] — Second input vector.
• Returns: The out array (same reference as input).

cross64(out, a, b)

Computes the cross product of two 3D Float64Array vectors (optimized for performance).

• Parameters:
  • out: Float64Array — Output buffer (length 3, will be overwritten, required).
  • a: Float64Array — First input vector (length 3).
  • b: Float64Array — Second input vector (length 3).
• Returns: The out buffer (same reference as input).

cross32(out, a, b)

Computes the cross product of two 3D Float32Array vectors (optimized for performance).

• Parameters:
  • out: Float32Array — Output buffer (length 3, will be overwritten, required).
  • a: Float32Array — First input vector (length 3).
  • b: Float32Array — Second input vector (length 3).
• Returns: The out buffer (same reference as input).

Module Formats

• ESM: dist/esm/index.js (for modern bundlers like Webpack, Rollup).
• CommonJS: dist/cjs/index.js (for Node.js).
• IIFE: dist/iife/gl-cross.js (global variable: crossproduct).
  Minified version: dist/iife/gl-cross.min.js.

Performance

• Operations per Second: ~180 million (for cross64 in Node.js 20+).
• Memory Efficiency: cross64 uses 50% less memory than array-based approaches (24 bytes per vector vs. ~48 bytes).
• GC Friendly: No temporary allocations when reusing out vectors.