HTTP Compression Test

A Node.js tool to compare different HTTP compression algorithms (gzip, deflate, and Brotli) in terms of compression ratio, processing time, and data savings.

Features

• Tests three compression algorithms: gzip, deflate, and Brotli (br)
• Measures compression ratio, processing time, and data savings
• Uses Express server for realistic testing environment
• Generates human-readable results
• Includes configurable test data size
• Provides detailed performance metrics

Prerequisites

• Node.js (version 14 or higher)
• npm (Node Package Manager)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/compression-test.git
cd compression-test

1. Install dependencies:

npm install

This will install the required packages:

• express
• compression
• axios

Usage

Run the test suite:

node index.js

The script will:

1. Generate test data (default 5.3 MB)
2. Test each compression algorithm
3. Display results in a formatted table

Sample Results

Here are the results from a test run with 5.3 MB of text data:

Testing different compression algorithms...

Testing gzip compression:
Original content size: 5.3 MB

Testing deflate compression:
Original content size: 5.3 MB

Testing br compression:
Original content size: 5.3 MB

Final Results:
┌─────────┬───────────┬──────────────┬────────────────┬──────────────────┬────────────┬─────────────┐
│ (index) │ algorithm │ originalSize │ compressedSize │ compressionRatio │ timeTaken  │ savingsInMB │
├─────────┼───────────┼──────────────┼────────────────┼──────────────────┼────────────┼─────────────┤
│    0    │  'gzip'   │   '5.3 MB'   │   '2.03 MB'    │     '61.66%'     │ '252.01ms' │  '3.27 MB'  │
│    1    │ 'deflate' │   '5.3 MB'   │   '2.03 MB'    │     '61.66%'     │ '241.10ms' │  '3.27 MB'  │
│    2    │   'br'    │   '5.3 MB'   │   '1.89 MB'    │     '64.26%'     │ '95.31ms'  │  '3.40 MB'  │

Configuration

You can modify the test parameters in index.js:

// Change test data size (in bytes)
const generateTestData = (size = 5 * 1024 * 1024) => {
  // ...
};

// Modify compression settings
app.use(compression({
  level: 6,              // Compression level (0-9)
  threshold: 0,          // Minimum size for compression
  memLevel: 8,          // Memory usage level
  filter: () => true    // Compression filter
}));

API Reference

Main Functions

testCompression(algorithm, testData)

Tests a specific compression algorithm with the provided test data.

Parameters:

• algorithm: String - 'gzip', 'deflate', or 'br'
• testData: String - The data to compress

Returns: Promise with test results object:

{
  algorithm: string,        // Compression algorithm used
  originalSize: string,     // Original size with units
  compressedSize: string,  // Compressed size with units
  compressionRatio: string, // Compression percentage
  timeTaken: string,       // Processing time in ms
  savingsInMB: string      // Data saved in MB
}

generateTestData(size)

Generates test data of specified size.

Parameters:

• size: Number - Size in bytes (default: 5MB)

Returns: String - Generated test data

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE.md file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Express.js team for the compression middleware
• Node.js community for zlib implementation
• Google for the Brotli compression algorithm

Support

If you have any questions or need help with the code, please open an issue in the GitHub repository.

Article

How to test HTTP compression performance