Introduction to WebAssembly Modules

Overview

WebAssembly is a low-level assembly-like code that’s designed for efficient execution and compact representation. WebAssembly runs at a near-native speed in all JavaScript engines (including modern desktop, mobile browsers, and Node.js). Compact representation enables the generated binary to be as small as possible in size.

Note: The main goal of WebAssembly is to enable high-performance applications.

Each WebAssembly file is an efficient, optimal, and self-sufficient module called a WebAssembly module (WASM). WASM is safe, that is, the binary runs in a memory-safe and sandboxed environment. WASM does not have permission to access anything outside of that sandbox. Moreover, WASM is language-, hardware-, and platform-independent.

WebAssembly is a virtual instruction set architecture (ISA). The WebAssembly specifications define the following: