## 3 WebAssembly and IoT
### Why WebAssembly for IoT? Wasm offers features and benefits that are notably impactful in the IoT ecosystem. These facets, outlined below, enhance its applicability across a range of IoT devices, ranging from low-power sensors to more complex edge computing systems. * **Performance Efficiency** Wasm, designed as a low-level binary format, delivers near-native performance, an essential consideration for IoT devices as they are often constrained by limited resources. The fast downloading, efficient parsing, and swift execution times offered by Wasm contribute to reduced latency, a significant requirement in real-time IoT applications. The IoT landscape is characterized by a multitude of interconnected devices, and these are often constrained by computational resources while needing to perform tasks efficiently and quickly. Wasm's performance efficiency presents a significant advantage in this context. * **Near-Native Speed*
* At its core, Wasm is a low-level binary format designed to be decoded and executed at near-native speed. Unlike traditional web scripting languages such as JavaScript, which are parsed and executed at runtime, Wasm is a compiled binary, allowing it to run much faster. This speed is of paramount importance in IoT environments where real-time processing is often required. * **Resource Optimization*
* Wasm's binary format is designed to be both small in size and fast to parse, leading to a reduction in the required amount of resources. This makes it particularly suitable for IoT devices, which often have limited memory and processing power. Reduced binary size means less storage space and quicker download times, while faster parsing leads to improved execution speed, both of which are crucial to the performance optimization of IoT applications. * **Concurrent and Parallel Processing*
* Wasm is designed to support concurrent and parallel processing. It enables multi-threading capabilities using Web Workers in the web environment. This means that Wasm can execute instructions on multiple cores simultaneously, making it even more efficient for computationally intensive tasks. This feature can be highly beneficial for IoT environments in which tasks need to be performed in parallel, and can improve the overall performance of the system. * **Stream Compilation and Tiered Compilation*
* Wasm benefits from stream compilation, meaning it can be compiled and optimized while being downloaded. This leads to faster startup times, and becomes crucial in IoT scenarios, where quick application startup can be critical. In addition, modern Wasm engines use tiered compilation, a technique where the code is first compiled and optimized for speed, then re-optimized during execution for improved overall performance. * **Optimized Execution Environment*
* Wasm runs within a highly optimized execution environment which is designed to utilize the capabilities of modern CPUs to the fullest extent. It can take advantage of common hardware capabilities and processor features, further boosting execution speed. This is particularly useful for IoT devices, where the computational capabilities of the device need to be used efficiently. * Wasm's platform-agnostic nature adds flexibility to IoT development, enabling the same code to run across multiple devices and platforms. This universal compatibility eliminates the need for platform-specific adaptations, reducing development time and effort, which is critical in fast-evolving IoT ecosystems. Wasm's design as a platform-agnostic bytecode provides a high degree of portability and flexibility, particularly beneficial in the diverse landscape of IoT. This section delves into the aspects that make Wasm's portability and flexibility a critical advantage for IoT applications. * **Platform-Agnostic Nature*
* Wasm is designed to be platform-agnostic. It can be run on any device with a compliant Wasm runtime, irrespective of the underlying hardware or operating system.