WebAssembly is a portable, validated binary instruction format for a stack-based virtual machine. It is not raw native machine code in the browser. Browser and runtime engines validate the module, compile or interpret it, and execute it inside a sandbox.
- It exists to give languages such as C, C++, Rust, Go, AssemblyScript, and custom compilers a compact web-compatible compilation target.
- It complements JavaScript rather than replacing it. JavaScript still orchestrates loading, imports, DOM access, browser APIs, and UI.
- It is useful for codecs, games, simulation, image processing, CAD, crypto primitives, runtimes, parsers, and numerically heavy code.
- It is a poor fit for small DOM-heavy UI code, business forms, and tasks dominated by JS/WASM boundary calls.