mirror of
https://github.com/bspeice/speice.io
synced 2024-11-14 14:08:09 -05:00
Revert
This commit is contained in:
parent
891dce905f
commit
2d47b1e45c
@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ The first issue
|
||||
[I ran into](https://www.reddit.com/r/rust/comments/98lpun/unable_to_load_wasm_for_electron_application/)
|
||||
while attempting to bundle everything via `webpack` is a detail in the WASM spec:
|
||||
|
||||
> This function accepts a Response object, or a promise for one, and ... **[if it] does not match
|
||||
> This function accepts a Response object, or a promise for one, and ... **[if > it] does not match
|
||||
> the `application/wasm` MIME type**, the returned promise will be rejected with a TypeError;
|
||||
>
|
||||
> [WebAssembly - Additional Web Embedding API](https://webassembly.org/docs/web/#additional-web-embedding-api)
|
||||
|
||||
@ -1,113 +0,0 @@
|
||||
---
|
||||
layout: post
|
||||
title: "More Isomorphic Desktop Apps with Rust"
|
||||
description: "They suck less now."
|
||||
category:
|
||||
tags: [rust, javascript, webassembly]
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
In honor of Webpack 5.0 being released and dramatically easing integration of WebAssembly, it's time
|
||||
to revisit previous work done to use Electron as a backend for Rust GUI applications.
|
||||
|
||||
Structure:
|
||||
|
||||
- Why did I want to do this?: Potential to use Electron+WASM as Rust GUI; not truly native, but at
|
||||
least experimenting with.
|
||||
- Problems: Hard to use ecosystem, crates don't compile, MIME types, async loading
|
||||
- What changed?: Webpack makes WASM loading asynchronous and easy in v5, Chrome now sets MIME type
|
||||
- Demonstration and screenshots
|
||||
- Closing thoughts: is it worth it?
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
I wasn't expecting to write this, but it's 2020 and we could all use a win. When last I addressed
|
||||
using WASM + Electron to write desktop applications in Rust, there were ultimately too many issues
|
||||
to recommend this combination as feasible. Since then, there's been a lot of progress, and after
|
||||
finding out [the biggest problem] has been addressed, I decided it was time to take another look at
|
||||
where things stand.
|
||||
|
||||
# Loading local WASM blobs
|
||||
|
||||
Previously, the most significant issue was trying to actually load WASM blobs in Electron. This
|
||||
problem was the result of a combination of factors:
|
||||
|
||||
1. When using streaming WASM blobs
|
||||
([`WebAssembly.instantiateStreaming()`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/WebAssembly/instantiateStreaming)),
|
||||
the blob must be returned with a `Content-Type` header of `application/wasm`.
|
||||
- If the full WASM blob is loaded into memory first, the MIME type restriction does not apply.
|
||||
2. When Chrome loads `file://` URLs, the `Content-Type` is unset.
|
||||
3. Webpack prioritizes streaming WASM whenever available, and if it fails, has no graceful fallback.
|
||||
4. When building Rust WASM binaries using `wasm-bindgen`, webpack is used to generate JS bindings
|
||||
for the WASM blob.
|
||||
|
||||
Putting all this together:
|
||||
|
||||
- Electron loads the JS created by `wasm-bindgen`/webpack
|
||||
- This JS file calls attempts to load the WASM blob, which just so happens to be located on disk
|
||||
- Because the MIME type isn't set, loading fails
|
||||
|
||||
This was a well-known issue;
|
||||
[emscripten](https://github.com/emscripten-core/emscripten/blob/8914c5cd5e4ac35a806430e8c77c88cd8c65b234/src/preamble.js#L2295)
|
||||
even included a graceful fallback for this scneario. It was possible to tweak the JS created by
|
||||
`wasm-bindgen` to load WASM, but using `sed` to edit generated code will eventually lead to madness.
|
||||
|
||||
I'm unable to figure out when exactly it changed, but requesting WASM blobs from `file://` URLs in
|
||||
Chrome now sets the MIME type, and thus the blob is loaded correctly. Additionally, recent changes
|
||||
to be released in Webpack 5 (specifically the `asyncWebAssembly` and `importAsync`
|
||||
[experiments](https://webpack.js.org/configuration/experiments/)) enable loading WASM without a
|
||||
separate launcher script.
|
||||
|
||||
# The evolution of Rust
|
||||
|
||||
Rust as a language has also made a great deal of progress since late 2018. Previously, some
|
||||
widely-used crates (like `stdweb`) required a `nightly` Rust compiler to function. Now, nearly
|
||||
everything compiles on `stable`. In addition, now that Rust supports `async/await`, it's much easier
|
||||
to interact with Javascript. It's still necessary to use some crates like `wasm_bindgen` to assist
|
||||
the interaction, but Rust can now make use of the same asynchronous paradigms that have proven to be
|
||||
incredibly effective in Javascript.
|
||||
|
||||
There's also been great progress on some crates to interact directly with the browser; `web-sys` and
|
||||
`js-sys` enable easier interoperation with the browser, where previously users didn't have these
|
||||
options available.
|
||||
|
||||
The tooling and documentation has improved as well. `wasm-pack` has proven itself as a reliable "one
|
||||
stop shop" tool for managing WASM projects. While using `wasm-bindgen` and `webpack` directly are
|
||||
still necessary for building Electron apps (due to Webpack v5 not yet released), this should change
|
||||
in the near future as well.
|
||||
|
||||
# New examples
|
||||
|
||||
(need to put some screenshots and link to the new examples here)
|
||||
|
||||
# Outstanding issues
|
||||
|
||||
While I haven't been directly involved in any of the progress made to improve Rust + WASM, it's
|
||||
incredibly encouraging to see just how far everything has come. Seeing where the ecosystem stands
|
||||
now, I think using Electron + Rust to build desktop applications is _feasible_. Not necessarily a
|
||||
_good_ idea, not that it offers any specific benefit over using Javascript/Typescript, just that
|
||||
it's now _feasible_.
|
||||
|
||||
Looking forward, the things I think could be beneficial to address are:
|
||||
|
||||
Put another way, these are the things that would be necessary for me to consider moving away from
|
||||
Typescript:
|
||||
|
||||
- Template/starter project examples
|
||||
- Being able to `yarn create` a project and have it already set up with two-way JS to Rust
|
||||
bindings would go a long way towards reducing the currently painful setup using either
|
||||
`wasm-bindgen` or `wasm-pack`.
|
||||
- Comparisons to Typescript and Neon
|
||||
- Is there a development or performance benefit that comes from using Rust instead of Typescript?
|
||||
Took some time to learn Typescript since the last post, and while it's possible that WASM might
|
||||
execute faster, I'm not sure that Rust offers enough of a benefit to justify the significantly
|
||||
more complex setup. It would be useful to port an existing (small) application to Rust so that
|
||||
other developers can see a representative example of each and make a decision for themselves.
|
||||
- Instead of embedding Rust in Electron by way of WASM, [Neon] can be used to develop extensions
|
||||
that run natively and are "glued" to Electron via Javascript. Further investigation to clarify
|
||||
the pros/cons of each approach would be helpful; are there situations in which WASM offers
|
||||
benefits over Neon? Vice-versa? Both WASM and Neon already require more complex setups than
|
||||
typical JS/TS setups. Using Rust stdlib instead of Node API's for system access is nice, being
|
||||
forced into loose coupling is nice, but maybe the penalty associated with
|
||||
bundling/distribution/etc. only makes sense for projects as large as Rust-analyzer, etc.
|
||||
- Automatically generate bindings from TS definition files. Alternately, something like the JS
|
||||
"@types" as a group to supervise maintenance of TS to Rust bindings?
|
||||
Loading…
Reference in New Issue
Block a user