What is WebAssembly?
WebAssembly (Wasm) was originally designed to run high-performance compiled code (like C, C++, and Rust) inside web browsers alongside JavaScript. However, engineers quickly realized that Wasm’s lightweight, sandboxed execution model was perfect for server-side environments—especially edge computing.
Wasm vs. Containers
While Docker containers are the standard for server deployments, they are relatively heavy. A container requires an entire operating system file structure and takes seconds to boot. A WebAssembly module starts in microseconds, consumes negligible memory, and provides secure isolation at the process level.
// Simple Rust function compiled to Wasm for the server
#[no_mangle]
pub extern "C" fn add(a: i32, b: i32) -> i32 {
a + b
}