Evaluating Language Performance when Handling Extensive String Constructions

To investigate how different programming languages handle building large strings, I created nearly identical programs for each language. Each program constructs a string through a series of iterations, with each iteration appending a character representing the iteration number. The entire text is then saved to a file in one go.

Notes

• To accelerate the string building process, I utilized the string building feature available in each language or its equivalent. (In the C language, custom functions were implemented to simulate this feature.)
• Only the time taken to generate the string is measured.
• No initial capacity value was set for the string building.
• The generated file is saved in a single batch without being divided into multiple chunks.
• To ensure a fair comparison, I avoided using any optimization tricks or advanced features that could enhance the programs' performance, relying solely on the default language features.
• The programs were created with the assistance of AI.

Please note that this is not a professional benchmarking test, but rather a humble attempt to explore the patterns of each language's capabilities and performance.

Languages Tested

• Rust, rustc 1.77.1
• Nim, 2.0.4
• Julia, 1.10.3
• Crystal, 1.12.1, LLVM: 18.1.1
• D, gdc (crosstool-NG 1.20.0 - 20150413-2.066.1-f378f9ab41) 4.9.2
• Go, 1.22.2
• V, 0.4.6
• Free Pascal, 3.2.2
• C, clang 18.1.1
• C++, clang 18.1.1
• OCaml, 4.14.2
• F#, 8.0: Dotnet 8.0.100
• C#, 12.0: Dotnet 8.0.100
• Red, 0.6.5
• Python, 3.12.3
• Dart, SDK 3.1.0
• Java, OPENJDK VERSION "11.0.16.1"
• Perl 5, version 40, subversion 0 (v5.40.0)

Test Environment

All tests are conducted on a computer with the following specifications:

• Processor: 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-12500H 2.50 GHz
• Memory: 16.0 GB
• OS: Windows 11 Pro

Edit: Other Rust version added.

Edit2:

• Perl added
• Removed the first Rust version and corrected the results for Rust and C++

Edit3: Minor but effective changes to Crystal code and its results. Thanks to zw963 Billy.Zheng (https://github.com/zw963/langs_string_build_test/blob/main/src/cr_strbld.cr)

Results

The results are organized by iteration count and text size, with language performance metrics provided under each category.

50,000,000 iterations, 513 MB text size

Language	Time
Rust	00:00:814
Crystal	00:00:823
Java	00:00:870
C#	00:01:45
F#	00:01:51
Nim	00:01:99
Perl	00:02:14
C++	00:02:10
C	00:02:20
Go	00:03:70
D	00:04:13
Python	00:04:16
Free Pascal	00:04:52
Dart	00:06:10
V	00:06:20
Julia	00:07:89
OCaml	00:08:33
RED	00:16:93

100,000,000 iterations, 1.01 GB text size

Language	Time	Notes
Rust	00:01:625
Crystal	00:01:662
Java	00:01:770	Failed to save
C#	00:02:89	Failed to save
Nim	00:03:89
C++	00:04:14
C	00:04:41
Perl	00:04:497
Go	00:07:51
D	00:08:34
Python	00:08:62
Free Pascal	00:09:08
V	00:13:30
Dart	00:13:68
Julia	00:15:47
OCaml	00:17:09
F#		Failed
RED		Failed

200,000,000 iterations, 2.13 GB text size

Language	Time	Notes
Rust	00:03:289
C++	00:08:318	Failed to save
Nim	00:08:37	Failed to save
Perl	00:09:105
C	00:09:92
Python	00:19:27
D	00:22:28
Go	00:25:51
Julia	00:31:27
OCaml	00:35:42
Dart	00:40:70
Java		Failed
C#		Failed
Crystal		Failed
Free Pascal		Failed
V		Failed

500,000,000 iterations, 5.48 GB text size

Language	Time	Notes
Rust	0:08:131
C++	00:20:338	Failed to save
C	00:19:198	Failed to save
Nim	00:20:57	Failed to save
Perl	00:23:482
Python	00:42:80
D	01:05:4
Go	01:07:53
Julia	01:16:79
OCaml	01:30:925
Dart	03:36:484

1000,000,000 iterations, 11.0 GB text size

Language	Time	Notes
Rust	00:27:184
C	00:41:41	Failed to save
C++	00:51:93	Failed to save
Nim	01:15:164	Failed to save
Python	01:41:46
Perl	01:29:107
Julia	02:58:553
Go	05:24:528
D		Failed
OCaml		Failed
Dart		Failed

1500,000,000 iterations, 17.1 GB text size

Language	Time	Notes
Rust	01:58:878
C	02:14:134	Failed to save
C++	02:26:846	Failed to save
Nim	02:29:30	Failed to save
Perl	03:46:818
Python	04:23:69	Failed to save
Julia	06:43:273
Go	13:25:161

2000,000,000 iterations, 23.1 GB text size

Language	Time	Notes
Rust	02:18:98
C	02:30:15	Failed to save
C++	02:41:351	Failed to save
Nim	04:44:49	Failed to save
Perl	09:34:90
Julia	10:14:19
Go		Failed
Python		Failed

2500,000,000 iterations, 29.2 GB text size

Language	Time	Notes
Rust	02:22:671
C++	03:07:973	Failed to save
Nim	04:46:262	Failed to save
C		Failed
Julia		Failed
Perl		Failed

3000,000,000 iterations

Language	Notes
Rust	Failed
C++	Failed
Nim	Failed