WebAssembly (Wasm) and its use in modern software development: #1
Introduction to WebAssembly
- What is WebAssembly?
- Why was it created?
- How does it work?
- Key features and benefits of WebAssembly
WebAssembly (Wasm) is a binary format meant to run in a sandboxed environment at speeds close to native code. Because of this, more and more people are using it to put applications on the web and the server side. In the last few years, software developers have also started to use containers more often. Containers are a lightweight and portable way to deploy applications.
This blog series will discuss the benefits of running Wasm in containers and how this can improve your development and deployment process.
Why was WebAssembly created and how it’s going to help containers?
WebAssembly was created to address some of the limitations of JavaScript, which is the primary programming language used on the web. JavaScript is a high-level, interpreted language that runs in web browsers and is used for a wide range of tasks, from building web applications to implementing complex business logic.
However, JavaScript has some limitations, including a poor performance for computationally intensive tasks, security vulnerabilities, and lack of portability. WebAssembly was created to address these limitations by providing a faster, more efficient, and more secure way to run code on the web.
When WebAssembly is used in containers, it provides several benefits that make it an attractive option for modern software development.
Containers are made to be portable, which means that they can be moved easily from one place to another. When combined with Wasm, containers make a powerful platform for building and deploying applications that can run on any system that supports Wasm.
Wasm modules also run in a sandboxed environment that keeps them separate from the system underneath. This adds another layer of security.
Containerisation technologies like Docker and Kubernetes can be used to further separate and secure Wasm modules when they are used in containers.
How does WebAssembly work?
WebAssembly is designed to be a low-level, efficient format that programming languages can use to compile their code into a binary format that can be executed in a virtual machine. The WebAssembly virtual machine is designed to be platform-independent, which means it can run on any system that supports WebAssembly.
WebAssembly code is designed to be small and compact, which makes it faster to download and execute in a web browser or other environment. It’s also designed to be secure, with features like memory isolation and sandboxing that prevent malicious code from accessing sensitive resources on the system.
Key features and benefits of WebAssembly
Some of the most essential things about WebAssembly and its benefits are: WebAssembly is designed to be faster and more efficient than JavaScript, especially for tasks that require a lot of computation.
Portability: WebAssembly is made to work on any system that supports WebAssembly, so it can be used anywhere.
Security: Web assembly is made to be safe. Features like memory isolation and sandboxing keep malicious code from getting to sensitive system resources.
Flexibility: WebAssembly can be used to compile code from a wide range of programming languages. This gives developers more freedom to choose the tools and languages they use to build web applications.
Interoperability: Web assembly can be used with JavaScript and other web technologies. This makes it easy to add to existing web apps and frameworks.
WebAssembly is a powerful technology that makes running code on the web faster, more efficient, and safer. It has a lot of features and benefits that make it a good choice for web developers, and its popularity is likely to keep growing in the years to come.
