Podcast: WebAssembly on the JVM: Feature Evolution, Performance, and the Transition to Endive

InfoQ Podcast: WebAssembly on the JVM: Feature Evolution, Performance, and the Transition to Endive

InfoQ editor Olimpiu Pop welcomed Andrea Peruffo, a seasoned software developer with a focus on the JVM and WebAssembly. Peruffo explained the evolution of WebAssembly beyond the browser and its expanding role on the server-side JVM.

WebAssembly, born for front-end applications to provide near-native speed, can be reutilized on the backend. Peruffo had successfully implemented databases, programming languages like CPython, Rust, and C libraries, and protobuf within the JVM using WebAssembly. This approach offered safety, portability, and ease of use compared to Java Native Interface (JNI).

The WebAssembly Standard and WASI emerged from the latest updates, with the core specification now complete. WASI, the WebAssembly System Interface, provides a set of system calls for running WebAssembly modules on the server. The completion of the WASI core specification enables a wider range of languages to run on the platform, such as garbage collection and multi-memory support.

Peruffo's project, Chicory, reached version 1.0 after two to three years in development. Chicory is a WebAssembly runtime for the JVM, built under the Bytecode Alliance, transitioning from the Chicory runtime. The shift to Endive under the Bytecode Alliance signifies a move towards foundation-governed development, ensuring long-term stability and neutrality within the JVM ecosystem.