Near native performance with microsecond startup times
WebAssembly (WASM) offers a genuine path to Serverless computing, offering near-native performance, microsecond startup times, security through sandboxed execution, and interoperability with existing web technologies like JavaScript.
At nakame we have been working with WebAssembly (WASM) since the latter half of 2022. This work progressed to include WebAssembly System (aka Standard) Interface (WASI) [1] Preview 1, and since the latter half of 2023, with the emerging Preview 2. Our focus is specifically WASM beyond the browser.
WebAssembly System Interface (WASI) extends the functionality of WebAssembly (WASM) beyond the browser, providing a standardized API for WebAssembly applications to interact with the operating system. This allows WebAssembly to be used effectively for server-side applications, offering secure and efficient execution environments similar to those in web browsers. By leveraging WASI, developers can create applications that run on servers with near-native performance, portability across different operating systems, and secure, sandboxed execution.
WASI’s modular and portable design ensures that WebAssembly applications can easily adapt to various server environments, enabling unified development experiences across client and server platforms. This includes tasks such as file I/O, network communication, and other system-level interactions essential for server-side applications. With WASI-compatible runtimes developers can deploy powerful, secure, and portable WebAssembly applications on servers, unlocking new possibilities for server-side computing, IoT devices, and edge computing environments.