What is WebAssembly and How It Works?
Wasm, officially called WebAssembly, is an optimized code format and API for the web. It significantly enhances performance, making it a strong competitor in the WebAssembly vs JavaScript debate. Released as a W3C standard in 2017, Wasm has gained widespread browser support, enabling high-performance applications like video editing, 3D games, VR, P2P services, and simulations.
Beyond browsers, Wasm is also used in mobile, edge computing, and blockchain serverless environments, improving execution speed and efficiency in microservices architecture.
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Wasm Execution vs JavaScript: Performance and Integration
A Wasm-compiled .wasm file contains low-level bytecode, executed near CPU-native speed by a VM. This makes it highly effective for Java Serverless Microservices, AWS microservices, and other microservices design patterns. Browsers support both WebAssembly vs JavaScript in a complementary way:
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HTML pages call JavaScript, which executes within the browser's VM.
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If JavaScript loads a WebAssembly module, it fetches and executes it via the WebAssembly API.
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WebAssembly-generated content modifies the DOM through JavaScript.
With tools like KrakenD, developers integrate Wasm with microservices in Java, enabling efficient API gateways. The performance boost also benefits microservices testing and the shift from microservices vs monolithic architectures.
Importance of Benchmarking for WebAssembly Performance
To begin with, because wasm files are binary instructions, they can be substantially smaller and thus download a lot faster than JavaScript files with comparable functionality. Above all, before a browser can transform Javascript files to bytecode accessible by its internal virtual machine, they must be thoroughly processed and verified.
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Instead, .wasm files can be checked and assembled in a single pass, allowing for "Streaming Compilation": a browser can begin compiling and executing them as soon as it downloads them, precisely like streaming movies.
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However, not all WebAssembly applications would be faster – or smaller – than identical JavaScript applications that experts have painstakingly optimised.
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Points like these make it a very interesting topic for having a practical example to see which one is better and by how much.
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There has been a lot of benchmarking done by various parties in this regard, and have produced some remarkable results.
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There has been a lot of benchmarking to evaluate how well wasm works. Consider the benchmarking of the K-means clustering algorithm.
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K-means clustering is a vector quantization method that seeks to partition n observations into k clusters. Each observation belongs to the cluster with the nearest mean (cluster centres or cluster centroid), which serves as the cluster's prototype.
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As evident, with an increase in the k value (iterations), the performance of wasm proves to be better (4X than the JS counterpart).
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Comparing JavaScript and WebAssembly with Algorithm Benchmarks
So, to have a benchmark between JavaScript and WebAssembly on performance metrics. Let us build a simple application.
Main points to keep in mind:
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Keep it simple
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Use as many standard modules as possible to make it equivalent.
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Have similar implementations
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Benchmark on the same criteria
So, we begin by choosing an Algorithm to use for computation in our application. I have decided on the Quicksort algorithm.
Here is a look at the interface. Here the process is simple:
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Drag/Drop or select a CSV dataset (samples are provided alongside for download).
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Start the processing using the Event.
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Process 1: Parsing the CSV file (common for both javascript and Rust-Wasm)
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Process 2 : QuickSort the array of data.
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Process 3 : visualize the sorted data onto the page.
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Key Benchmarking Outcomes for Wasm Efficiency
Below are the benchmarks obtained during the testing:
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As visible from these results, WebAssembly does not have any significant magic to offer with a lesser number of records, but as the count of the data increases, the Power of WebAssembly starts to outshine every other star ( javascript).
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At merely reaching 1000 records, the WebAssembly overtakes javascript and just keeps on exponentially outperforming ever on. I would like to pin here that for 100k records, while Javascript took around 39 seconds to complete, Web-Assembly was done in merely 2 seconds. This goes to show the true potential of WASM.
Real-World Use Cases of WebAssembly Applications
WebAssembly has a wide range of applications, significantly improving performance across various domains. Its ability to execute code at near-native speeds makes it a powerful tool for both browser-based and server-side workloads.
Inside the browser
Wasm enhances execution speeds for multiple languages like C, C++, Rust, and Go, enabling:
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Optimized web performance for existing toolkits
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Image and video editing within the browser
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High-end gaming with near-native execution speeds
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CAD applications for design and modeling
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Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) experiences
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Local web servers for offline applications
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VPN implementations for enhanced security
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Enterprise applications such as database management systems
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Remote desktop solutions powered by WebAssembly
Outside the Browser
Beyond web browsers, WebAssembly supports:
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Server-side applications leveraging blockchain serverless computing
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Microservices architecture, including AWS microservices and Java Serverless Microservices
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Mainframe computing with WebAssembly as the backend and JavaScript for UI
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Microservices in Java, enabling efficient execution of complex workloads
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Reusing existing codebases by compiling them to WebAssembly
With tools like KrakenD, WebAssembly seamlessly integrates into microservices design patterns, offering an alternative to microservices vs monolithic approaches while improving Microservices Testing.
WebAssembly’s Future and Evolving Industry Adoption
The World Wide Web relies on JavaScript. Replacing it is a massive undertaking that will take decades. Furthermore, it is supported by a large community that is constantly working to enhance it. Yes, it is a reality that JavaScript has some drawbacks, but this cannot be the reason to abandon all technologies.
So, while WebAssembly will not be replacing JavaScript, it does not rule out the possibility of WASM's continued existence. Rather, it will become increasingly popular because WASM allows the web to perform complex computations like image processing or games. WASM can be used to create a fully functional web version of 3D games that can be played in a browser at 60 frames per second and higher and much more.
It is a fact that javascript is the glue that wasm needs to be useful in the first place, and due to the whole Web practically running javascript, it will be a hard and long run for WebAssembly to be able to replace it completely.
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