this post was submitted on 07 Aug 2023
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Programming

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What's stopping WebAssembly from effectively replacing JavaScript? (programming.dev)
submitted 1 year ago by popcar2@programming.dev to c/programming@programming.dev
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I've been wondering about this for a while and haven't really found a great answer for it. From what I understand, WASM is:

  • Faster than JavaScript

  • Has a smaller file size

  • Can be compiled to from pretty much any programming language

  • Can be used outside of the browser easier thanks to WASI

So why aren't most websites starting to try replacing (most) JS with WASM now that it's supported by every major browser? The most compelling argument I heard is that WASM can't manipulate the DOM and a lot of people don't want to deal with gluing JS code to it, but aside from that, is there something I'm missing?

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[–] companero@hexbear.net 3 points 1 year ago

Faster than JavaScript

JS is usually fast enough.

Has a smaller file size

It really depends. If you aren't careful, your Wasm blob can end up ballooning in size. If you start pulling in libraries and doing things like parsing JSON, your binary can get big, quick.

Wasm adds an extra layer of complexity that needs to be justified. In most cases, it's just not worth it.