WebAssembly (Wasm): When (and When Not) to Use It

WebAssembly (Wasm) often gets 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.

This simple example shows what WebAssembly does well. We’re using existing PDF handling code written in C through a straightforward JavaScript interface. No need to write complex PDF parsing in JavaScript - we can use MuPDF’s proven code that already handles fonts, layout, and PDF structures.

We import it like any other module and use it without thinking about the C code running underneath. It works the same way whether we’re in Node.js or a browser since WebAssembly runs in both environments.

PDF files can be tricky to work with. They have their own rules about fonts, graphics, and text encoding. Rather than tackle all that complexity in JavaScript, we’re using code that’s already solved these problems. That’s really what WebAssembly is about - bringing existing tools to JavaScript in a way that feels natural to use.

When to Use WebAssembly

WebAssembly shines in bringing proven C/C++ or Rust libraries to the web. Think image processing, scientific computing, or complex file format handling. Our PDF example shows this perfectly - instead of writing PDF parsing from scratch in JavaScript, we’re using a mature C library that already handles these complexities.

Video and audio processing benefit from WebAssembly too. Codecs written in C++ can handle media streams efficiently. Game engines like Unity use WebAssembly to run their C++ code in browsers, often compiled using tools like Emscripten.

Complex data processing libraries, once limited to native applications, now run smoothly in web environments, though you’ll need to consider the overhead of data transfer between JavaScript and WebAssembly.

Cryptography is another sweet spot. Many cryptographic libraries are written in low-level languages for performance and security. WebAssembly lets us use these trusted implementations directly in web applications without reimplementing sensitive algorithms.

Machine learning is interesting - while Python code isn’t directly compiled to WebAssembly, frameworks like TensorFlow.js use WebAssembly under the hood for performance-critical operations. The ML models themselves are typically converted to a format that can run through a WebAssembly-compatible runtime, with the core inference engine written in C++ and compiled to WebAssembly.

When Not to Use WebAssembly

Adding WebAssembly to your typical web app won’t magically make it faster. If your site feels slow, it’s probably because of network requests, image loading, or DOM updates. WebAssembly won’t help with any of that. JavaScript is already good at handling API calls, DOM manipulation, and business logic.

Take a moment to think about what your code actually does. Most web applications spend their time waiting for data or updating the screen. If you’re not doing heavy computation or using existing libraries from other languages, WebAssembly might just add unnecessary complexity.

The sweet spot for WebAssembly is quite specific - when you need to use battle-tested libraries from other languages or handle computationally intensive tasks. For most everyday web development, plain JavaScript is still the right tool for the job.

Remember though - WebAssembly isn’t about raw speed improvements. It’s about bringing existing tools and capabilities to the web platform in a way that feels natural to JavaScript developers. When you have a solid library in another language that solves a complex problem, WebAssembly offers a bridge to bring that solution to the web.