The Path to Components - WebAssembly System Interface Evolution

Explore the evolution of WebAssembly System Interface (WASI) and the emergence of a new component model in this keynote address from KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe. Delve into the challenges faced by the WASI standardization effort since its inception in 2019, and discover how the development of a foundational "component model" layer aims to address these issues. Learn about the improved design that offers a more lightweight, composable, and declarative unit of code, along with new Wit and World syntax for defining WASI and other component interfaces. Gain insights into the original problems encountered, proposed solutions, and examples of next-iteration WASI interfaces in action. Understand the paths for incremental adoption and the potential impact on the future of WebAssembly outside the browser. Cover topics such as MVP, portable interfaces, system interfaces, POSIX, parametric linking, complex data types, file describing, resource and handle types, low-level concurrency, future streams, components, developer experience, worlds, virtualization, and the current status of these developments.