Rust + WebAssembly

Introduction

Rust and WebAssembly together unlock the potential for building performant, memory-safe browser applications. This post explores how Rust compilation to WebAssembly solves common bottlenecks in web development.

Why Use Rust with WebAssembly

• Safety: Rust's strict memory model prevents common security issues in web applications.
• Performance: Near-native speed execution in the browser for compute-intensive workloads.
• Interoperability: Seamless integration with JavaScript and modern web APIs.

How It Works

Rust code is compiled to a WASM binary using wasm-pack or wasm32-unknown-unknown targets. This binary then runs in a browser using minimal JavaScript glue code.

// example.rs
#[wasm_bindgen]
pub fn add(a: i32, b: i32) -> i32 {
    a + b
}
        

Use Cases

Getting Started

Overcoming Challenges

Debugging tools and browser compatibility remain challenges. However, tools like wasm-gc and improved dev environments are rapidly addressing these issues.

        // Example of memory-safe WASM bindings
        #[wasm_bindgen]
        impl MathFunctions {
            pub fn multiply(&self, a: i32, b: i32) -> i32 {
                a * b
            }
        }