Summary
The advent of containers marked an inflection point for computing in the 21st century. In 2024, the arrival of WebAssembly components represents a new inflection. The next paradigm shift is already underway.
Components are WebAssembly binaries conforming to an additional specification called the Component Model. Components bring all the same benefits of ordinary Wasm modules, but they are also interoperable and composable with other components.
Components are an entirely new paradigm that unlocks entirely new models of computing. The last couple of years have built to a convergence moment in which key pieces have fallen into place. The most important of these is the release of WASI 0.2 and the Component Model in January 2024.
Around the world, teams are already unlocking new possibilities with components. The common interfaces of WASI make component development cycles incredibly rapid, and components themselves incredibly flexible. The tooling is there for developers to not just build with WebAssembly, but to be more productive, more effective, and more innovative.
From here, the next wave of cloud native computing will only become more transformative. Teams will take components to places that we can’t predict.
