Portable, secure and lightweight: Wasm runtimes and use-cases
Wey Wey Web - Málaga | November 2023
Natalia Venditto
microfrontend.dev - @anfibiacreativa
Image credit DALL-E3
What makes JavaScript that popular?
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The JavaScript ecosystem is like the Universe...
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...hosting 16M developers worldwide.
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From 1.9 billion websites, 98% use JavaScript.
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const = 49%;
const = 63%;
pythonDevsWorldwide
javaScriptDevsWorldwide
Natalia Venditto
aka anfibiacreativa
Principal JavaScript DX Lead Microsoft Azure
Google Developer Expert for Angular and Web Technologies (Runtime Performance)
Author of https://microfrontend.dev
2021 Microsoft Most Valuable Professional
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Script
PARSER
INTERPRETER
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const = [ , ,...{} ]
javaScriptEngines
High performance.
At low level, we perform better.
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8" attention span
just a little patience!
8
(function() {
let patience = 8;
function runOutofPatience() {
patience--;
if (patience <= 0) {
clearInterval(secondGone);
console.log("This site is slow. Bye.");
} else {
console.log(`I got this ${patience} left`);
}
}
const secondGone = setInterval(runOutofPatience, 1000);
})();
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Runtime
CLIENT
Clientside Rendering
¿Where?
¿When?
We don't know the system capacity or
connection capabilities, of the user at any time, which can impact latency and code execution at runtime.
Metaframeworks
Frameworks that are built on top of other JavaScript frameworks or libraries, typically offering additional capabilities, like static generation, server side rendering, progressive hydration, etc.
microfrontend.dev - @anfibiacreativa
Runtime
SERVER
Serverside Rendering (SSR)
Typically implement aggressive server-side caching techniques and selective progressive hydration for dynamic areas of content in the HTML.
¿Where?
¿When?
Composable micro-frontends.
Combining or composing statically generated pages or server-side rendered HTML snippets, with dynamic and serialized elements, like state and other computed data.
Can run on the JavaScript main thread or a worker, also with Wasm.
microfrontend.dev - @anfibiacreativa
Local stack.
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Use case.
Pagefind, a Wasm search component.
microfrontend.dev - @anfibiacreativa
WebAssembly
Designed as a portable binary target, fully sand-boxed...it is a web platform standard.
microfrontend.dev - @anfibiacreativa
binary instructions format.
microfrontend.dev - @anfibiacreativa
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microfrontend.dev - @anfibiacreativa
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TOOLCHAIN
Wasm
Wasm imported to JavaScript
Program
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TOOLCHAIN
Wasm
Wasm imported to JavaScript
Program
microfrontend.dev - @anfibiacreativa
Imports/Exports
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(module
(import 'env' 'println'func $println (param i32)))
(func $hello_world (export 'hello_world')
(block $block
(call $println
(i32.const 0))
))
(memory 1)
(data (i32.const 0)'Hello, Wey Wey Web for UI Lovers') ))
fetch("hello_world.wasm")
.then(response => response.arrayBuffer())
.then(bytes => {
const wasmModule = WebAssembly.compile(bytes);
const instance = new WebAssembly.Instance(wasmModule, {
env: {
println: console.log
}
});
instance.exports.hello_world();
});
fetch/instaciate
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fetch("hello_world.wasm")
.then(response => response.arrayBuffer())
.then(bytes => {
const wasmModule = WebAssembly.compile(bytes);
const instance = new WebAssembly.Instance(wasmModule, {
env: {
println: console.log
}
});
instance.exports.hello_world();
});
Portability.
Parity between execution contexts.
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Even in the lightbulbs.
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TOOLCHAIN
Wasm
Wasm imported to JavaScript
Program
ADDITIONAL INTERFACES
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Wasm
Wasm imported to JavaScript
Program
microfrontend.dev - @anfibiacreativa
ADDITIONAL INTERFACES
WASI
Modular system inteface built for WebAssembly, outside of the browser, fully compatible with POSIX systems.
It is a standard IN PREVIEW.
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WebAssembly System Interface
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It is run in specific runtimes, like Wasmtime.
Isomorphism
Isomorphic apps allow the execution of the same code, in different environments.
JavaScript enables both isomorphism and trisomorphism, leveraging browser and remote workers.
microfrontend.dev - @anfibiacreativa
Demo
...shared memories, that can be transfered between the Window and the worker with postMessage()
...[].
Composable micro-frontends.
Composable user interfaces of this type, are built or composed remotely, typically in a worker running at the edge of the network (mostly on CDN PoPs very close to the end-user).
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Remote stack.
Security.
Fully type-checked, sand-boxed and memory-safe, within bounds.
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Memory Isolation
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No Direct Pointers (Linear memory)
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Limited Direct Interaction with Host
Trade-offs?
Sure.
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MORE LAYERS TO DEBUG.
STANDARDS ARE IN PREVIEW.
TOOLCHAINS ARE NOT AVAILABLE OR HAVE PARITY BETWEEN LANGUAGES.
There are more layers to debug to understand the source of an issue.
This new technologies are in preview and hence unstable and prone to change API defs.
Not all the interfaces are available for every
language.
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Development
Specification
Setup
Design
Integration
Delivery
Operations
DEVELOPMENT
DESIGN
DEPLOYMENT
DEV
OPS
ARQ
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Thank you!
@anfibiacreativa - https://www.microfrontend.dev
Bytecode Alliance Javy
WebAssembly.org
Microfrontend.dev
Bjorn3 WASI shim
Wasmtime
Demo
Learn more
Wasm Runtimes: Portable, secure and lightweight
By Natalia Venditto
Wasm Runtimes: Portable, secure and lightweight
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