Why is WebAssembly being called the future of the web?
A new technology lets you run code written in any programming language at near-native speed inside a web browser. It's quietly transforming the internet.
The answer
WebAssembly (Wasm), standardized by the W3C in 2019, is a binary instruction format that enables code written in C, C++, Rust, Go, and other languages to run in web browsers at near-native speed - typically within 10–20% of bare-metal performance. Major applications include Figma (the design tool runs its C++ engine via Wasm), Adobe Photoshop and Premiere (brought to web browsers), and Google Earth's browser version. Beyond browsers, the WebAssembly System Interface (WASI) enables Wasm to run server-side, with platforms like Cloudflare Workers using it for edge computing. Docker co-founder Solomon Hykes stated in 2019 that Wasm could replace containers if it had existed earlier. In 2024, the component model specification advanced significantly, enabling different Wasm modules to interoperate regardless of source language, creating a universal software interoperability layer.
Source: Mozilla Developer Network
- WebAssembly
- web development
- performance
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