HACKER Q&A
📣 tomrod

What are the wasm use cases that you're excited about?


I've been trying to understand wasm. In my non-expert understanding it gives a compiler for web code. I don't understand how that is different from what we see today. So, trying a different approach. What use cases are you using/looking at wasm for, and why is that the better solution?

  👤 sargstuff Accepted Answer ✓
Slightly different WASM observation:

Traditionally, compiling an application impiled the compiler needed to know specifics of underlying hardware

and/or OS specifics (MS windows, Apple OS, etc). One thing that WASM does is remove the 'have to target

each specific hardware/OS with it's own application' by bundling the 'generic hardware/OS' as part of the

application in a ready to go, one package deal. No 'need to upgrade your OS and/or add software packages> to be able to run. So, security wise, the program doesn't need to know about anything

outside/beyond the WASM package. It does mean the application is significantly larger than just the application

less surrounding environment.

Where this is most obvious to the end user is when a application makes use of a graphical

user interface. With WASM, instead of 3 different OS looks (Apple, MS word, Unix X11), the WASM application

would have same look across all of the 3 aformentioned OS'es. Hopefuly, the application gives the user an option

to 'customize the look & feel'.

👤 mikewarot
WASM offers the ability to run random untrusted, insecure, code sourced from any janky site on the internet in a safe manner.

All previous efforts at providing this functionality have leaked for various reasons, usually because of the addition of "client access" features.

I hope they can resist efforts to make it "easier" in the long run, or we'll have to ride this merry-go-round again.