WebAssembly, or WASM, has evolved from a low-level compilation target for C and C++ into a leading technology in modern computing. It powers browser applications, edge computing platforms, embedded systems, and supports a growing ecosystem of languages targeting a portable and secure execution model.
Andreas Rossberg, a programming languages researcher and former member of the V8 team at Google, played a significant role in shaping WebAssembly from its early concepts to its latest releases. He contributed to the development of the groundbreaking 3.0 specification, which introduces garbage collection, richer reference types, and advances multi-language interoperability.
In this episode, Andreas joins Kevin Ball to discuss the history of WebAssembly, design constraints that influenced its initial creation, key developments in versions 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0, and future prospects for WebAssembly.
Kevin Ball, also known as KBall, is the vice president of engineering at Mento and an independent coach for engineers and engineering leaders. He co-founded and served as CTO for two companies, established the San Diego JavaScript meetup, and organizes the AI inaction discussion group through Latent Space.
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