WebAssembly
| Paradigm | Expression-oriented |
|---|---|
| Typing discipline | Static |
| Platform | Platform independent |
| License | Apache License |
| Filename extensions | .wast, .wasm |
| Website |
webassembly |
| Influenced by | |
| asm.js, PNaCl | |
WebAssembly or wasm is an experimental efficient low-level programming language for in-browser client-side scripting, which is currently in development. Its initial aim is to support compilation from C and C++,[1] though other source languages are also intended to be supported.
Design
WebAssembly is a portable stack machine[2] which is designed to be faster to parse than JavaScript, as well as faster to execute.[1]
History
WebAssembly was first announced on 17 June 2015[3] and on 15 March 2016 was demonstrated executing Unity's Angry Bots in Firefox,[4] Chromium, Google Chrome,[5] and Microsoft Edge.[6]
Development
The initial implementation of WebAssembly support in browsers will be based on asm.js[7] and PNaCl.[8] After the minimum viable product (MVP) release, there are plans to support garbage collection[9] which would make WebAssembly a compilation target for garbage collected programming languages like Java and C#. The team working on WebAssembly includes people from Mozilla, Microsoft, Google and Apple.[8]
See also
References
- 1 2 "WebAssembly High-Level Goals". GitHub / WebAssembly / design. 11 December 2015.
- ↑ "Design Rationale". GitHub / WebAssembly / design. 1 October 2016.
- ↑ "Launch bug". GitHub / WebAssembly / design. 11 June 2015.
- ↑ Wagner, Luke (14 March 2016). "A WebAssembly Milestone: Experimental Support in Multiple Browsers". Mozilla Hacks.
- ↑ Thompson, Seth (15 March 2016). "Experimental support for WebAssembly in V8". V8 Blog.
- ↑ Zhu, Limin (15 March 2016). "Previewing WebAssembly experiments in Microsoft Edge". Microsoft Edge dev blog.
- ↑ "WebAssembly: a binary format for the web". ②ality – JavaScript and more. 18 June 2015.
- 1 2 Bright, Peter (18 June 2015). "The Web is getting its bytecode: WebAssembly". Ars Technica. Condé Nast.
- ↑ "WebAssembly/design". GitHub. Retrieved 28 December 2015.