Effect of Language Runtime on Web Server Performance

Reid Long

ABSTRACT

A common debate among developers is programming language
preference. Is Java better than C#? Are functional languages
inherently superior to imperative languages? These and related
questions are regularly thrown around in conversations by
developers. Perhaps even more concerning is that the opinions and
preferences expressed by the developers are usually only accompanied
by anecdotal evidence to substantiate the opinions.  This paper
intends to clarify the debate by providing an empirical analysis of
performance of a simple web server implemented in several programing
languages. The analysis will help determine the extent that
programing language choices can impact system performance. In order to
provide useful results, this paper will analyze a diverse set of
languages including a classic systems language (C), a functional
language (OCaml), and a modern language (Swift). This paper will show
that language runtime has a substantial and measurable impact on
system performance in a web server.