Chapter 1 - What Is WebAssembly?

WebAssembly is a binary format for representating isolated executable code. It was developed for web browsers as an alternative to JavaScript with some distinct advantages:

• Because its a low level bytecode, it's able to perform math quickly and manage memory more concisely.
• WebAssembly was built with existing compilers in mind, allowing native languages like C/C++ and Rust to compile to it as a target.
• Built with isolation in mind, allowing fine grain access control.
• WebAssembly was built rather host agnostic, allowing some people to use WebAssembly outside of browsers too!

WebAssembly is often called WASM