December 2021
Intermediate to advanced
332 pages
8h 36m
English
Content preview from WebAssembly: The Definitive Guide
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Chapter 6. Applied WebAssembly: Legacy Code in the Browser
No matter where you go, there you are.
Buckaroo Banzai
It is time we look more closely at the process of invoking C/C++ code in the browser. Most code in these languages was never intended to run in the browser in a downloaded form. But as the leader of the Hong Kong Cavaliers tells us in the quotation at the beginning of this chapter, occasionally you will find yourself somewhere unexpected and new, but it is still just you there.1
We are interested in invoking C/C++ code in the browser for a variety of reasons. Replacing JavaScript is not one of them. At least not for most people. Instead, we have an enormous base of legacy code out there written in languages such as C and C++. A lot of it is very useful and it would be great to have access to it within our web applications. Some of it may be tying organizations to legacy systems. Being able to distribute this code via the browser would be a big step forward!
Additionally, there are simply some problems that are not well suited to be written in JavaScript. Having the option of writing that portion of your application in another language without requiring a separate runtime is very compelling. And, as our final use case demonstrates, there is real value in having trusted code from trusted sources providing provenance for sensitive and tricky software such as encryption algorithms. Being able to simply recompile existing code from people you know who know what they are ...
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O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.Julian F.
I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.Addison B.
I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.Amir M.
I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.