The Digital Press

WebAssembly (Wasm) does not have direct DOM access but integrates with web APIs through JavaScript glue code, enabling production use despite some overhead. While future enhancements could reduce this indirection, current tooling and evolving proposals focus on practical performance improvements rather than eliminating JavaScript dependencies entirely.

Why it matters: Wasm enables high-performance web apps by offloading core logic, but seamless DOM access remains tied to JavaScript glue code.

The big picture: Wasm's design prioritizes clean bytecode and interoperability with JavaScript, evolving incrementally with community and browser input.

The stakes: Direct DOM access in Wasm requires major design and implementation efforts, and existing glue code overhead is often not the main bottleneck.

Commenters say: Developers appreciate Wasm's capabilities but find the glue code between Wasm and JavaScript cumbersome; progress is noted but full direct DOM support feels distant.