Re:What Happened to WebAssembly
by codelikeawolf on Monday January 12, 2026 @11:13AM
(#46590424)
Ah, my bad. I apologize if I came off as too aggressive. I know these comment threads can get heated.
As far as the comp/transpiling thing, I was referring to something like ScalaJS, ClojureScript, Kotlin/JS, etc. I'll admit that the JS output isn't always pretty, but it's still JS. I think that compiling to a Wasm module is different than transpiling, because Wasm is more of a black box.
I think it's fine to ship a `.wasm` file that does some kind of computation and complements the app. But I think shipping a `.wasm` file that builds your UI is like using a drill to install a nail: technically, you could do it, but it's harder, slower, and you'll probably end up damaging something or hurting yourself.
And yes, I do meant that my listed have gotten better, just like JS/TS.
As for why not comp/transpiling to JS? it is my impression that WASM was born out of that ( Compiled to subset of js (asm.js)) and it's an evolution of compiling to JS.