gistfile1.sh

#!/bin/bash

set -e

(
  echo -n -e '\xc3\x96'
  dd if=/dev/zero bs=1048576 count=100
) > big-file

echo

node -e "
  var fs = require('fs')

  console.time('Node read')
  for (var i = 0; i < 1; i++) {
    fs.readFileSync('big-file')
  }
  console.timeEnd('Node read')

  console.time('Node read and decode')
  for (i = 0; i < 1; i++) {
    fs.readFileSync('big-file', { encoding: 'utf8' })
  }
  console.timeEnd('Node read and decode')
"

echo -n 'Ruby read and decode: '

ruby -e "
  start = Time.now
  File.read('big-file', encoding: 'utf-8')
  puts '%ims' % ((Time.now - start) * 1000)
"

rm big-file