WebAssembly High-Level Goals

  1. Define a portable, size- and load-time-efficient binary format to serve as a compilation target which can be compiled to execute at native speed by taking advantage of common hardware capabilities available on a wide range of platforms, including mobile and IoT.
  2. Specify and implement incrementally:
    • develop new features as independent proposals;
    • maintain layering, with a core spec focused on pure sandboxed computation, with host interactions factored out into higher specification layers;
    • preserve backwards compatibility;
    • prioritize new features according to feedback and experience; and
    • avoid biasing towards any one programming language family.
  3. Design to execute within and integrate well with the existing Web platform:
    • maintain the versionless, feature-tested and backwards-compatible evolution story of the Web;
    • execute in the same semantic universe as JavaScript;
    • allow synchronous calls to and from JavaScript;
    • enforce the same-origin and permissions security policies;
    • access browser functionality through the same Web APIs that are accessible to JavaScript; and
    • define a human-editable text format that is convertible to and from the binary format, supporting View Source functionality.
  4. Design to support non-browser embeddings as well.
  5. Make a great platform:
Documentation