An introduction to WebAssembly components

Containers have become the standardized interface between software and the platform you run. Having that interface helps increase productivity in getting new software deployed. However, a container is fairly low-level interface, where processing architectures, and operating systems are part of it.

WebAssembly is a platform neutral compilation target. With the component model, the interface between your platform and software is no longer tied to operating systems, and processing architectures, but can include a much higher-level abstraction, e.g., an HTTP request/response platform.

This is not too different from working with a platform like AWS Lambda, but because of WebAssembly components, you get to choose freely between the programming language you want to use. This is one of many use-cases WebAssembly components will give you, as a software developer, or platform provider.