I'm curious if people have a good story for why WASI will succeed where Java failed

My main one is that WASI has benefitted from an additional 31 years of accumulated industry-wide experience compared to when Java was first released.

	▲	pjmlp 26 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		So where has the experience gone in the support of C and C++ for WASM?

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Panzerschrek 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Programs written in Java require installation of a middleware called Java runtime. It adds extra friction for end-users. And even if one has Java runtime installed, a newer version may be necessary for a recently-published application.

With WASM it may be the same, unless al major OS vendors integrate a WASM runtime so that it doesn't need to be installed separately.

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tpm 10 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

> It adds extra friction for end-users

It doesn't have to, the program can bundle its own jre as its often the case, and then you also don't have to worry about jre compatibility. Downside is then you have many jres installed and of course you can't trust their sandboxing.

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pjmlp 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It is exactly the same for WASM outside of the browser, and Java has Android as counter part to built in runtime.

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auggierose 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Yes, but inside the browser is a freaking big use case.

	▲	pjmlp 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Not really, I don't need COM / CORBA on the browser.

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bzzzt 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> Programs written in Java require installation of a middleware called Java runtime. It's possible to link or embed a Java runtime in an existing application.

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fla 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

My main one is: distribution & access. If major browsers implement the WASI runtime then using and distributing a WASI app will be way simpler than the Java equivalent ever was.