Programming WebAssembly with Rust

WebAssembly fulfills the long-awaited promise of web technologies: fast code, type-safe at compile time, execution in the browser, on embedded devices, or anywhere else. Rust delivers the power of C in a language that strictly enforces type safety. Combine both languages and you can write for the web like never before! Learn how to integrate with JavaScript, run code on platforms other than the browser, and take a step into IoT. Discover the easy way to build cross-platform applications without sacrificing power, and change the way you write code for the web.

WebAssembly is more than just a revolutionary new technology. It’s reshaping how we build applications for the web and beyond. Where technologies like ActiveX and Flash have failed, you can now write code in whatever language you prefer and compile to WebAssembly for fast, type-safe code that runs in the browser, on mobile devices, embedded devices, and more. Combining WebAssembly’s portable, high-performance modules with Rust’s safety and power is a perfect development combination.

Learn how WebAssembly’s stack machine architecture works, install low-level wasm tools, and discover the dark art of writing raw wast code. Build on that foundation and learn how to compile WebAssembly modules from Rust by implementing the logic for a checkers game. Create wasm modules in Rust to interoperate with JavaScript in many compelling ways. Apply your new skills to the world of non-web hosts, and create everything from an app running on a Raspberry Pi that controls a lighting system, to a fully-functioning online multiplayer game engine where developers upload their own arena-bound WebAssembly combat modules.

Get started with WebAssembly today, and change the way you think about the web.

What You Need:

You’ll need a Linux, Mac, or Windows workstation with an Internet connection. You’ll need an up-to-date web browser that supports WebAssembly. To work with the sample code, you can use your favorite text editor or IDE. The book will guide you through installing the Rust and WebAssembly tools needed for each chapter.

Table of Contents

Part I-Building a Foundation

1. WebAssembly Fundamentals

2. Building WebAssembly Checkers

Part II-Interacting with JavaScript

3. Wading into WebAssembly with Rust

4. Integrating WebAssembly with JavaScript

5. Advanced JavaScript Integration with Yew

Part Ill-Working with Non-Web Hosts

6. Hosting Modules Outside the Browser

7. Exploring t he Internet of WebAssembly Things

8. Building WARoS—The WebAssembly Robot System

A1 . WebAssembly and Serverless

A2. Securing WebAssembly Modules

About the Author

Kevin Hoffman got his start programming at the age of 10 with a Commodore VIC-20, a cassette drive, and a hand-altered floppy disc drive from a Commodore 64. He has worked in dozens of industries from gaming to waste management, from drones to biometric security, and finance. He has written or co-written over 20 technology books and looks forward to someday completing his fantasy trilogy – the Sigilord Chronicles.