WebAssembly Beyond the Browser: A 2021 Progress Report
Sixteen months after my first Wasm post, here's what's actually moved. WASI is still early, but edge computing and plugin systems are turning into real use cases.
Serverless
Definition
Serverless coverage in this archive spans 6 posts from Mar 2016 to Jul 2021 and deals with structural tradeoffs: coupling, failure boundaries, and long-term change cost. The strongest adjacent threads are architecture, cloud, and aws. Recurring title motifs include serverless, doesn, webassembly, and browser.
What the archive argues
- Most pieces recommend choosing the simplest architecture that can be operated confidently.
- Early posts lean on serverless and doesn, while newer posts lean on serverless and containers as constraints shifted.
- This topic repeatedly intersects with architecture, cloud, and aws, so design choices here rarely stand alone.
Execution checklist
- Define failure domains and data boundaries before introducing additional services or protocols.
- Start with the newest post to calibrate current constraints, then backtrack to older entries for first principles.
- When boundary questions appear, cross-read architecture and cloud before committing implementation details.
Common failure modes
- Breaking systems into many parts without clear ownership of cross-service behavior.
- Choosing architecture for trend alignment rather than workload constraints.
- Applying guidance from 2016 to 2021 without revisiting assumptions as context changed.
Suggested reading path
- Start here (current state): WebAssembly Beyond the Browser: A 2021 Progress Report
- Then read (operating middle): Serverless: What Works, What Doesn’t, and What Will Bite You
- Finish with (foundational context): AWS Lambda: When Serverless Makes Sense (And When It Doesn’t)
Related posts
- WebAssembly Beyond the Browser: A 2021 Progress Report
- Most Teams Should Just Use Postgres
- Serverless vs Containers: Where the Math Stops Working
- Serverless: What Works, What Doesn’t, and What Will Bite You
- Serverless Patterns That Actually Work in Production
- AWS Lambda: When Serverless Makes Sense (And When It Doesn’t)
References
Most Teams Should Just Use Postgres
Serverless databases are solving problems most teams don't have. Here's why Postgres with a connection pooler is still the right answer.
Serverless vs Containers: Where the Math Stops Working
Serverless is great until it isn't. A comparison of serverless and containers at different traffic scales, with actual numbers on where the economics flip.
Serverless: What Works, What Doesn't, and What Will Bite You
Real patterns and antipatterns from running serverless at the fintech startup. Where Lambda shines, where it hurts, and how to tell the difference before it's too late.
Serverless Patterns That Actually Work in Production
Most serverless tutorials teach you the wrong thing. Here's what matters when you're running it for real.
AWS Lambda: When Serverless Makes Sense (And When It Doesn't)
Lambda is a sharp tool for specific jobs. The problem is everyone wants to use it for everything.