I think not making WASM a first class concern in a proxy or server is missing out, more so in those platforms where extensibility isn't trivial. Apache will remain running in current setups but having limited extensibility is something concerning these days as systems are getting more and more complex. Writing an apache module isn't something you do every day and it probably takes quite some time, writing a wasm app following certain ABI is something you can do in minutes, hence supporting mod_wasm as a first class concern could be a good point in the sustainability of an ecosystem when it comes to moving forward out of the status quo.
On 2022/11/14 06:37:34 Jesús González wrote: > Hi everyone, > > > > I’m Jesús González, and I am part of VMware’s Wasm Labs: > wasmlabs.dev<https://wasmlabs.dev/>, a group focused on creating open source > tools for WebAssembly. > > We have created mod_wasm, an Apache module for running WebAssembly binaries > inside httpd, and we would like to contribute it upstream. Please see below > for more details. We would love to get your feedback and understand what > improvements would be needed (if any) before it could be considered for > contribution to the project. > > > > > > The details: > > > > WebAssembly<https://webassembly.org/> (Wasm) is a new binary instruction > format that is open, portable, efficient, secure, and polyglot. It originated > in the browser but is increasingly used in server applications, in particular > NGINX, Apache APISIX, Istio provide Wasm-based plugin support (i.e.: > https://apisix.apache.org/docs/apisix/wasm/). > > > > mod_wasm is a way to run WebAssembly modules inside Apache Server. This is > similar to how mod_php embeds a PHP runtime to run PHP code. This enables any > language that supports WebAssembly (including C++, Rust, Go but also Python, > PHP, Ruby) to run with mod_wasm and take advantage of the extra level of > security and sandboxing. To learn more about mod_wasm you can check out the > following resources: > > * An overview article<https://wasmlabs.dev/articles/apache-mod-wasm/> for > the original release. > * We presented mod_wasm at ApacheCon this year and here are the > slides<https://apachecon.com/acna2022/slides/01_Gonz%c3%a1lez_mod-wasm_Bringing_WebAssembly.pdf> > and the source code: https://github.com/vmware-labs/mod_wasm. > * CNCF Talk on mod_wasm showcasing how to run WordPress: > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXe8kulUscQ > > > > In terms of mod_wasm architecture, the module is split into two parts: > > * mod_wasm.so is the extension module for Apache and it’s written in C. > * An external dependency: libwasm_runtime.so, which is written in Rust > and needs to be installed into the system. > > > > We modelled this after mod_tls, a module that is part of httpd and also has a > Rust dependency. > > You can take a look at the architecture diagram and instructions on how to > build the module here: > https://github.com/vmware-labs/mod_wasm#%EF%B8%8F-building-mod_wasm > > > > In terms of the actual contribution, please find a patch attached. We tried > to follow all existing conventions in terms of autoconf/automake, providing > module documentation, etc. Please let us know anything that you see missing > or could be improved. In particular, we do not know yet if it is better to > keep the Rust code separate, as an external dependency (like mod_tls does) or > in the Apache source code repository. > > > > In summary, we believe mod_wasm is a worthy addition to httpd and it will > allow us to catch up to some of the other web servers already supporting > Wasm, like NGINX. We were encouraged by Rich Bowen, Jim Jagielski and > Jean-Frederic Clere to submit it for contribution upstream and we are looking > forward to your feedback. > > > > Cheers! > > Jesús > > > > >
