Rust Iceberg Client Outpaces Python by Up to 4x in REST Catalog Benchmark
A developer benchmarked two Apache Iceberg REST catalog clients — the Rust client (iceberg-catalog-rest 0.10.1) and the Python client (pyiceberg 0.12.0) — across identical operations on the same tables. Tests were run against a local Apache Polaris instance in Docker, as well as Google BigLake and Microsoft OneLake over the internet. On four lightweight read operations, the Rust client was 1.90x to 4.29x faster than pyiceberg, while the gap narrowed to 1.14x–1.38x on heavier table-level calls where the server does more processing. However, the Rust client supports only 13 of 25 tested catalog endpoints, compared to 21 for pyiceberg, making feature coverage a key consideration alongside speed. The benchmark focused solely on performance and did not validate the correctness of responses from either client.
This is an AI-generated summary. ShortSingh links to the original source for the complete article.

Discussion (0)
Log in to join the discussion and vote.
Log in