Show HN: SSVM – Speed up your Node.js apps with Rust and WebAssembly

5 points

6 years ago

Raw performance (the lack of) is always a contentious point for JavaScript, especially in our post-Moore era of computing. Node.js gets around this issue through extensive of use of native libraries and modules written in C, including the V8 JS engine itself.

But as application developers, how do YOU create high performance functions? Write in C and run as a NAPI module? Write in Rust and run as a V8 wasm? Well, there is another (better and faster) way now!

The SSVM is a fully featured WebAssembly VM that is optimized for server-side applications.

https://www.secondstate.io/ssvm/

You can write functions in Rust, compile to WebAssembly and run in SSVM, and access it as if they are JS functions in Node.js. Easy as pie. Give it a try (https://www.secondstate.io/articles/getting-started-with-rust-function/)!

By rewriting computationally intensive functions from JavaScript to Rust, developers could achieve 10x to 100x times performance (https://www.secondstate.io/articles/performance-rust-wasm/) gain in terms of startup and/or execution speed.

BTW, Why not just use v8? For starters, SSVM runs much faster than V8 (https://www.secondstate.io/articles/ssvm-performance/) and it also supports more server-friendly extensions than just WASI.

Any issued and feedback are welcome. Checkout the GitHub link: https://github.com/second-state/SSVM