WASM Overhead research RE JSON Transformations

Languages to compile to WASM:

• Minimal size (< 10KB): AssemblyScript - 8.2KB gzipped
• Balance (< 100KB): Porffor - 75.1KB gzipped (9.1x larger than smallest)
• Full JS compatibility: QuickJS - 265.5KB gzipped (32.3x larger, Wasmer/Extism compatible)
• Avoid: Go+Goja - 3.6MB gzipped (445.7x larger than AssemblyScript)

Size Comparison

Data location: results/size-comparison.csv

Implementation	Raw WASM	Gzipped	Compression	Overhead vs Smallest
AssemblyScript	18.4KB	8.2KB	55.5%	Baseline
Porffor	512.9KB	75.1KB	85.3%	9.1x
QuickJS	633.1KB	265.5KB	58.0%	32.3x
Go Basic	2,791KB	835KB	70.1%	101.8x
Go + Goja	15,571KB	3,657KB	76.5%	445.7x

Note: TinyGo builds failed during benchmarking but typically produce ~128KB gzipped binaries

WebAssembly Cold-Start times

Implementation	Cold Start (ms)
AssemblyScript	0.28
Porffor	Compilation fails
QuickJS	1.16
Go Basic	~2-3
Go + Goja	~5-10

JavaScript Feature Support

Feature	AssemblyScript	Porffor	QuickJS	Javy	Go+Goja
ES5	Partial	✅	✅	✅	✅
ES6+	Partial	Partial	✅	✅	✅
async/await	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅
eval()	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅
Regex	Limited	✅	✅	✅	✅
JSON	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
TypeScript	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌

Extism Runtime Overhead

Data location: results/engine-overhead.csv

Language	SDK Size	Dependencies	Total Overhead	Architecture
Go	N/A	Pure Go	0	Native wazero
Rust	72KB	Static	Embedded	Static link
JavaScript	2.12MB	None	2.12MB	V8 native
Python	11KB	libextism	5.7MB	FFI
Java	N/A	JNA+libextism	7.0MB	FFI