Efficient Data Exchange between WebAssembly Modules

Lucas Silva, José Metrôlho and Fernando Ribeiro ()
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Lucas Silva: Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, 6000-081 Castelo Branco, Portugal
José Metrôlho: Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, 6000-081 Castelo Branco, Portugal
Fernando Ribeiro: Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, 6000-081 Castelo Branco, Portugal

Future Internet, 2024, vol. 16, issue 9, 1-31

Abstract: In the past two decades, there has been a noticeable decoupling of machines and operating systems. In this context, WebAssembly has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional virtual machines. Originally designed for execution in web browsers, it has expanded to executing code in restricted and secure environments, and it stands out for its rapid startup, small footprint, and portability. However, WebAssembly presents significant challenges in data transfer and the management of interactions with the module. Its specification requires each module to have its own memory, resulting in a “share-nothing” architecture. This restriction, combined with the limitations of importing and exporting functions that only handle numerical values, and the absence of an application binary interface (ABI) for sharing more complex data structures, leads to efficiency problems; these are exacerbated by the variety of programming languages that can be compiled and executed in the same environment. To address this inefficiency, the Karmem was designed and developed. It includes a new interface description language (IDL) aimed at facilitating the definition of data, functions, and relationships between modules. Additionally, a proprietary protocol—an optimized ABI for efficient data reading and minimal decoding cost—was created. A code generator capable of producing code for various programming languages was also conceived, ensuring harmonious interaction with the ABI and the foreign function interface. Finally, the compact runtime of Karmem, built atop a WebAssembly runtime, enables communication between modules and shared memory. Results of the experiments conducted show that Karmem represents an innovation in data communication for WASM in multiple environments and demonstrates the ability to overcome challenges of efficiency and interoperability.

Keywords: Data-Oriented Design; inter-process communication; performance optimization; serialization; WebAssembly (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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