WebAssembly (Wasm): When (and When Not) to Use It
Dec 20, 2024
WebAssembly (Wasm) is often mischaracterized as a speed boost for web applications. The reality is more nuanced. Wasm isn’t about making your typical web app faster.
The true power of WebAssembly lies in its ability to bring existing libraries from other languages into web applications.
Take PDF generation as an example. Instead of reinventing complex font rendering and layout algorithms in JavaScript, we can use battle-tested C++ libraries.
MuPDF.js, a powerful PDF library written in C, is now available in JavaScript through WebAssembly. This is exactly what WebAssembly was designed for — bringing mature, complex libraries to the web platform.
