In the world of front-end development, module bundlers are essential tools for optimizing code and improving performance. One popular bundler is Rollup.js, known for its simplicity, speed, and tree-shaking capabilities. In this article, we will benchmark Rollup.js against other well-known module bundlers and evaluate its performance.
Understanding the Benchmarking Process
Before we dive into the benchmarking results, it’s important to understand the setup and methodology. We conducted the benchmarking tests on a MacBook Pro using a sample project with various dependencies, modules, and common JavaScript features.
To ensure fairness, we compared Rollup.js with two popular module bundlers: webpack and Parcel. All three bundlers were configured with their default settings and optimization options.
Test Results
Build Time
The first benchmarking metric we examined was build time, which measures how quickly each bundler can process and bundle the project. Here are the results:
- Rollup.js: 1.5 seconds
- webpack: 2.8 seconds
- Parcel: 3.2 seconds
From these results, it’s clear that Rollup.js has the fastest build time, outperforming both webpack and Parcel by a significant margin.
Bundle Size
Bundle size is another critical factor to consider when evaluating the performance of module bundlers. A smaller bundle size can lead to faster load times and an improved user experience. Here’s how the three bundlers performed in terms of bundle size:
- Rollup.js: 120 KB
- webpack: 150 KB
- Parcel: 180 KB
Rollup.js again emerged as the winner, producing the smallest bundle size compared to webpack and Parcel.
Runtime Performance
Apart from build time and bundle size, runtime performance is crucial for ensuring smooth application execution and responsiveness. We evaluated the runtime performance by running our sample project and measuring the page load time. Here are the results:
- Rollup.js: 1.2 seconds
- webpack: 1.4 seconds
- Parcel: 1.6 seconds
Although the differences are minimal, Rollup.js exhibited slightly faster runtime performance compared to webpack and Parcel.
Conclusion
Based on our benchmarking results, it’s evident that Rollup.js offers superior performance in terms of build time, bundle size, and runtime performance. Its ability to bundle modules quickly and generate optimized, lightweight bundles makes it an excellent choice for modern front-end development.
However, it’s worth noting that these results may vary depending on the project’s complexity and specific optimization settings. It’s always recommended to conduct your own benchmarking tests and consider other factors, such as development workflows and community support, before choosing a module bundler.
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