Welcome to the introduction to WebAssembly! As a seasoned web developer, you're likely always seeking ways to enhance the performance and functionality of your web applications. Enter WebAssembly (often abbreviated as wasm), an innovative technology that can help you achieve those goals.

WebAssembly is a binary instruction format for a stack-based virtual machine. It's not a programming language you write, but rather a compiled target for languages like C, C++, Rust, and others. This opens up the web platform to a variety of languages, and it supercharges application performance by leveraging hardware capabilities, offering a quick and efficient format that promotes fast loading of web pages.

WebAssembly is designed as a portable target for the compilation of high-level languages, enabling deployment on the web for client and server applications. It is safe: code execution is secured within a sandboxed environment and each wasm module is strictly isolated from each other. It's also part of the open web stack, integrated fully with existing web technologies, and not meant to replace JavaScript but to complement it—working in tandem with JavaScript to take advantage of each's unique strengths.

Over the next few sections, we'll delve into the basics of WebAssembly, the process of compiling C++ into it, understanding WebAssembly Text Format (WAT), and how to call WebAssembly Functions from JavaScript. Buckle up, you're about to experience the power of WebAssembly!

xxxxxxxxxx

/* No C++ code example for this intro section */

WebAssembly, often abbreviated as wasm, is quite innovative in its structure and functionality, setting a new standard for delivering code on the web. It is not a conventional programming language that developers write, but a binary instruction format for a stack-based virtual machine.

To understand WebAssembly, you should familiarize yourself with a few key concepts:

1. Modules: A WebAssembly binary is structured as a module that contains definitions for functions, tables, and memory. The module represents a high-level description of your program.

2. Functions: High-level code in languages like C++, Rust, etc., is broken down into functions in WebAssembly. Each function performs a specific task.

3. Linear memory: WebAssembly uses a continuous, resizable array of bytes, termed as 'linear memory.' This memory forms the main interface for any data exchange between your WebAssembly modules and JavaScript.

4. Stack Machine: WebAssembly is a stack machine. It means most of its instructions pop their operands from the top of the stack, process them, and then push the results back to the top of the stack.

5. Portability and Security: WebAssembly modules maintain portability and run safely across different platforms. They execute within a secure sandbox environment isolating them from each other and the host system.

In the following example, we define a simple arithmetic function in C++ and compile it to WebAssembly:

xxxxxxxxxx

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

​

int main() {

  int base_num = 20;

  int add_num = 15;

  cout << "The sum is: " << base_num + add_num << endl;

  return 0;

}

When it comes to creating WebAssembly modules, we usually start with a higher level language like C++. The compilation process involves a few steps which are managed by tools provided by the WebAssembly ecosystem. Most prominently, we have the Emscripten SDK, which is a complete compiler toolchain that allows us to compile C++ code into wasm modules.

Let's demonstrate this process with a simple C++ program that prints out a welcome message. Consider the following code snippet:

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3int main() {
4  cout << "Welcome to WebAssembly!";
5  return 0;
6}

The above C++ program can be compiled into a wasm module using Emscripten. To run this program in a web environment, we would also need some JavaScript to load and execute the compiled wasm module. We will delve into this JavaScript-WebAssembly interoperation in a subsequent section of this tutorial. For now, it's key to understand how familiar languages like C++ can be utilized to create performant, secure wasm modules for the web.

Remember the significant performance improvement we are targeting with the use of WebAssembly in our web applications. The above code is the initial step—the creation of wasm modules from higher level languages.

xxxxxxxxxx

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main() {

  cout << "Welcome to WebAssembly!";

  return 0;

}

WebAssembly code is typically written and read in two formats: wasm which is a binary format and the WebAssembly Text (WAT) format. WAT, similar to assembly language for conventional machines, offers a human-readable version of WebAssembly binary code.

For example, if we have the following C++ code:

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3int main() {
4  cout << "Welcome to WebAssembly!";
5  return 0;
6}

This could be compiled down into a WAT representation that looks something like this:

1(module
2  (import "env" "putchar" (func $putchar (param i32)))
3  (func $main (export "main") (param) (result i32)
4    i32.const 0
5  )
6
7  (func $writeString (param i32)
8    get_local 0
9    call $putchar
10    drop
11  )
12)

The key takeaway here is that WAT is a representation of the binary code that can be written and read by humans. However, it's not as convenient to write as higher-level languages. WAT is more like a tool that aids in understanding, debugging, and optimizing WebAssembly applications.

Usually, we use WAT when we want a clear view of what our higher-level language code (like C++ or Rust) compiles down into, it helps to understand the instructions and structure of the code.

xxxxxxxxxx

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main() {

  cout << "Welcome to WebAssembly!";

  return 0;

}

As a web developer with a decent amount of experience in JavaScript, one of the most crucial aspects of utilizing WebAssembly(Wasm) in your web applications is knowing how to 'call' Wasm functions from JavaScript. This ability fosters a seamless integration of performant Wasm modules into an existing JavaScript codebase.

For instance, imagine building a web application that performs complex computations, such as a real-time sports statistics dashboard. Performance is critical in such applications, and dropping in a Wasm module for heavy lifting would be perfect. But how do you make it all work together? That's where interfacing JavaScript to WebAssembly comes in.

Let's consider that we have already compiled our C++ code into a Wasm module. We'll use a simple addition function as an example:

1#include <emscripten/emscripten.h>
2
3extern "C" {
4  int EMSCRIPTEN_KEEPALIVE add(int a, int b) {
5    return a + b;
6  }
7}

This compiled Wasm file(add.wasm) exports a function add(). To use it in JavaScript, we first need to fetch and instantiate the Wasm module. Here's how:

1const runWasm = async () => {
2  const response = await fetch('add.wasm');
3  const buffer = await response.arrayBuffer();
4  const { instance } = await WebAssembly.instantiate(buffer);
5  console.log('Addition result: ', instance.exports.add(5, 3));
6};
7runWasm();

In this JavaScript code snippet, we fetch the Wasm binary module add.wasm over the network, then instantiate it into an instance. The instance exposes the exported WebAssembly functions, in this case add(), which we can then call just like any other JavaScript function within our application.

xxxxxxxxxx

#include <emscripten/emscripten.h>

​

using namespace std;

​

extern "C" {

  int EMSCRIPTEN_KEEPALIVE add(int a, int b) {

    return a + b;

  }

}

Like any other software, WebAssembly modules might not work as expected, and in such cases, debugging becomes crucial. Fortunately, modern web development tools come with support for debugging WebAssembly code and provide some neat functionalities. Let's dive in and understand the primary ways of debugging wasm modules.

Inspecting wasm Text Format (WAT):

WebAssembly being a binary format, it's quite hard to examine its content. However, thanks to the WebAssembly text format (WAT), we can obtain a text representation of the binary wasm and inspect the content. Tools like wabt provide an option to convert from wasm to WAT.

Browser DevTools:

The DevTools of modern web browsers like Chrome and Firefox allow developers to view and debug the WebAssembly code. Open up DevTools, go to the 'Sources' tab, and you can see the loaded wasm modules under the 'Filesystem' sidebar. Here, you can set breakpoints, step through the code, examine local and global variables, much like debugging JavaScript. Stick to good debug practices such as small incremental changes and isolating issues.

Use of console.log in JavaScript Calls:

The interaction of JavaScript and wasm helps in debugging. For instance, adding a console.log() statement before and after a wasm function call in your JavaScript can help trace execution and test if the bindings are working as expected.

As the WebAssembly ecosystem is still relatively new, the debugging features and methodologies are somewhat in flux and are expected to become user-friendly and powerful over time, much like the evolution of JavaScript debugging. Make sure to follow good coding standards and practices to reduce debugging time and harness the power and performance benefits of WebAssembly.

xxxxxxxxxx

#include <iostream>

​

using namespace std;

​

// Let's add a bug, we obviously need a *= b, not a = b * b;

​

int multiplyNumbers(int a, int b) {

  a = b * b;

  return a;

}

​

int main() {

  cout << "Multiplication result: " << multiplyNumbers(3, 5) << endl;

  return 0;

}

Performance is arguably the most significant advantage that WebAssembly offers. The main principle here is running code at near-native speed by taking advantage of common hardware capabilities available on a wide range of platforms. WebAssembly achieves this with its binary format that provides smaller download sizes than typical JavaScript files, leading to faster load times.

Let's take a common performance-critical task - image manipulation. If you were to implement an image blurring algorithm purely in JavaScript, it might be satisfactory for small images. However, as the image size increases, you'll start to see the JavaScript engine struggle with the load, leading to slow performance and high CPU usage. Implementing the same functionality in C++ compiled to wasm can result in significant performance gains.

1#include <emscripten/bind.h>
2using namespace std;
3
4void blurImage(int* imageData, int width, int height) {
5  // replace with your C++ logic here
6}
7
8EMSCRIPTEN_BINDINGS(my_module) {
9  emscripten::function("blurImage", &blurImage);
10}

This code would define a blurImage function that you can call from your JavaScript code to blur an image.

When compiled to wasm and loaded into a browser, this function will run at near-native speed, thanks to the efficient wasm binary format, the optimization capabilities of wasm-compatible browsers, and the raw performance of C++.

WebAssembly doesn't aim to replace JavaScript but to work alongside it, providing performance optimizations where necessary. As WebAssembly continues to evolve, we can expect even more impressive performance feats.

xxxxxxxxxx

#include <emscripten/bind.h>

using namespace std;

​

void blurImage(int* imageData, int width, int height) {

  // replace with your C++ logic here

}

​

EMSCRIPTEN_BINDINGS(my_module) {

  emscripten::function("blurImage", &blurImage);

}

In this final part of the course, we bring together all the concepts we have learnt about WebAssembly (Wasm) and grasp the true power it holds for web application development. WebAssembly creates the bridge we need to run performant, low-level languages in a secure and optimized way on web clients. Whether it's implementing computationally complex algorithms, working with graphics, or enabling better computational performance, Wasm takes web applications a notch higher.

The key points to remember about WebAssembly are:

1. WebAssembly is a binary instruction format built as a virtual compile target for the execution of high-level languages on the web, allowing code to run at near-native speed.

2. WebAssembly provides an efficient binary format that speeds up web applications by allowing them to run at near native speed. Its high-performance potential is fairly vital for performance-critical web applications.

3. It is safe and secure, running inside a sandboxed execution environment, providing better performance than JavaScript, especially for computational-heavy operations.

4. WebAssembly is language, platform, and hardware independent. It doesn't aim to replace JavaScript but to work alongside it, unlocking potent performance where it matters.

5. We can call WebAssembly functions from JavaScript, making WebAssembly a powerful tool to enhance JavaScript applications.

WebAssembly is increasingly being used in modern web development due to its performance advantages and support for languages other than JavaScript. As you integrate WebAssembly into your toolkit, you're adding the capability to create high-performance web applications with the languages you're used to in systems programming. While there's a steep learning curve, especially when interacting with JavaScript and handling memory manually, the performance gain is often worth the extra complexity for performance-critical applications.

This is the power of WebAssembly. It bridges the web and system programming, pushes the boundaries of what can be done in a browser, and opens the door to a multitude of possibilities.

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3int main() {
4  cout << "Bravo! You've mastered WebAssembly!";
5  return 0;
6}

The journey of mastering WebAssembly does not stop here. Performance improvements, new language support, threads, and more capabilities are being added to WebAssembly by the day, which boasts of an active, growing community. So, keep exploring, keep learning!

xxxxxxxxxx

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main() {

  cout << "Bravo! You've mastered WebAssembly!";

  return 0;

}