Wasm Deep Dive - A Glance Behind the Scenes

How does WebAssembly guarantee security without OS-level virtualization? This talk demystifies its stack-based VM and isolated linear memory.

#1about 6 minutes

Defining WebAssembly as a portable compilation target

WebAssembly is a binary instruction format for a stack-based virtual machine that allows code from languages like Rust and C++ to run in the browser and on the server.

#2about 11 minutes

Building and running a simple Wasm module

A simple function is written in WebAssembly Text (WAT), compiled to a binary Wasm file using wat2wasm, and then executed from a JavaScript host.

#3about 14 minutes

A deep dive into the stack-based virtual machine

An Advent of Code example demonstrates how all operations, from memory loads to arithmetic and comparisons, use the stack to pass arguments and receive results.

#4about 11 minutes

Wasm's sandboxed memory and host communication model

WebAssembly modules operate on a dedicated linear memory block for security, and they communicate with the host environment through defined imports and exports.

#5about 6 minutes

Extending Wasm capabilities with WASI and WASIX

The WebAssembly System Interface (WASI) provides a standard API for modules to access system resources like file I/O and networking, which are not available in core Wasm.

#6about 10 minutes

Answering common questions about WebAssembly

The Q&A covers practical topics including when to use Wasm over JavaScript, the WebAssembly Component Model (WIT), and approaches to debugging and profiling.