Docker vs WebAssembly

Overview

Docker

Stacks194.4K

Followers143.9K

Votes3.9K

WebAssembly

Stacks225

Followers218

Votes0

GitHub Stars8.2K

Forks818

Docker vs WebAssembly: What are the differences?

Introduction

Docker and WebAssembly are two distinct technologies that serve different purposes in the world of web development. While Docker is a containerization platform, WebAssembly is a binary instruction format for a stack-based virtual machine. Below are the key differences between Docker and WebAssembly.

Isolation and Portability: Docker provides a lightweight, isolated environment that allows applications to run consistently across different platforms. It encapsulates the dependencies and configurations, making it easier for developers to package and deploy applications. On the other hand, WebAssembly is focused on running executable code directly in web browsers, providing a portable environment for executing code across different architectures and platforms.
Execution Environment: Docker runs applications within containers, which are isolated runtime environments that share the host operating system kernel. It provides a way to package an application and its dependencies into a single unit. WebAssembly, however, runs code in a sandboxed execution environment within web browsers. It executes the code using a virtual machine specifically designed for WebAssembly, which maintains a secure separation from the rest of the browser environment.
Supported Programming Languages: Docker is language-agnostic and can be used to package applications written in any programming language. It provides a standardized way to create reproducible environments regardless of the programming language used. In contrast, WebAssembly supports multiple programming languages, including C/C++, Rust, and AssemblyScript. It allows developers to compile code written in these languages into WebAssembly modules that can be executed in web browsers.
Resource Utilization: Docker containers have a higher resource overhead compared to WebAssembly modules. Containers include an operating system kernel, libraries, and other dependencies, which can increase their size and memory footprint. WebAssembly, on the other hand, is designed to be lightweight and portable, providing a more efficient use of resources. It achieves this by running code directly on the web browser's virtual machine, without the need for additional dependencies.
Deployment Scope: Docker is commonly used for deploying and managing complex applications in various environments, including on-premises servers, cloud platforms, and even IoT devices. It provides a scalable and flexible way to deploy applications with the ability to scale horizontally or vertically. In contrast, WebAssembly is primarily used for running code within web browsers. It allows developers to enhance web applications by executing performance-critical code directly in the browser, without the need for server-side processing.
Security Model: Docker provides security mechanisms such as access control, resource isolation, and permission settings. It allows users to define fine-grained access controls and limit the resources available to containers. WebAssembly, on the other hand, operates within a more restricted security model within web browsers. It enforces a sandboxed execution environment that prevents untrusted code from accessing critical system resources, improving overall security for web applications.

In summary, Docker focuses on containerization and provides a way to package and deploy applications across different platforms, while WebAssembly is designed for running code within web browsers, allowing for enhanced web application performance and portability.

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Advice on Docker, WebAssembly

Florian

IT DevOp at Agitos GmbH

Oct 22, 2019

Decided

lxd/lxc and Docker aren't congruent so this comparison needs a more detailed look; but in short I can say: the lxd-integrated administration of storage including zfs with its snapshot capabilities as well as the system container (multi-process) approach of lxc vs. the limited single-process container approach of Docker is the main reason I chose lxd over Docker.

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Detailed Comparison

Docker	WebAssembly
The Docker Platform is the industry-leading container platform for continuous, high-velocity innovation, enabling organizations to seamlessly build and share any application — from legacy to what comes next — and securely run them anywhere	It is an open standard that defines a portable binary code format for executable programs, and a corresponding textual assembly language, as well as interfaces for facilitating interactions between such programs and their host environment.
Integrated developer tools; open, portable images; shareable, reusable apps; framework-aware builds; standardized templates; multi-environment support; remote registry management; simple setup for Docker and Kubernetes; certified Kubernetes; application templates; enterprise controls; secure software supply chain; industry-leading container runtime; image scanning; access controls; image signing; caching and mirroring; image lifecycle; policy-based image promotion	Efficient and fast; Safe; Open and debuggable; Part of the open web platform
Statistics
GitHub Stars -	GitHub Stars 8.2K
GitHub Forks -	GitHub Forks 818
Stacks 194.4K	Stacks 225
Followers 143.9K	Followers 218
Votes 3.9K	Votes 0
Pros & Cons
Pros 824 Rapid integration and build up 692 Isolation 521 Open source 505 Testability and reproducibility 461 Lightweight Cons 8 New versions == broken features 6 Documentation not always in sync 6 Unreliable networking 4 Not Secure 4 Moves quickly	Cons 2 Security issues
Integrations
Java Docker Compose VirtualBox Linux Amazon EC2 Container Service Docker Swarm boot2docker Kubernetes Docker Machine Vagrant	Rust C++ C lang

What are some alternatives to Docker, WebAssembly?

JavaScript

JavaScript is most known as the scripting language for Web pages, but used in many non-browser environments as well such as node.js or Apache CouchDB. It is a prototype-based, multi-paradigm scripting language that is dynamic,and supports object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles.

Python

Python is a general purpose programming language created by Guido Van Rossum. Python is most praised for its elegant syntax and readable code, if you are just beginning your programming career python suits you best.

PHP

Fast, flexible and pragmatic, PHP powers everything from your blog to the most popular websites in the world.

Ruby

Ruby is a language of careful balance. Its creator, Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto, blended parts of his favorite languages (Perl, Smalltalk, Eiffel, Ada, and Lisp) to form a new language that balanced functional programming with imperative programming.

Java

Java is a programming language and computing platform first released by Sun Microsystems in 1995. There are lots of applications and websites that will not work unless you have Java installed, and more are created every day. Java is fast, secure, and reliable. From laptops to datacenters, game consoles to scientific supercomputers, cell phones to the Internet, Java is everywhere!

Golang

Go is expressive, concise, clean, and efficient. Its concurrency mechanisms make it easy to write programs that get the most out of multicore and networked machines, while its novel type system enables flexible and modular program construction. Go compiles quickly to machine code yet has the convenience of garbage collection and the power of run-time reflection. It's a fast, statically typed, compiled language that feels like a dynamically typed, interpreted language.

HTML5

HTML5 is a core technology markup language of the Internet used for structuring and presenting content for the World Wide Web. As of October 2014 this is the final and complete fifth revision of the HTML standard of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The previous version, HTML 4, was standardised in 1997.

C#

C# (pronounced "See Sharp") is a simple, modern, object-oriented, and type-safe programming language. C# has its roots in the C family of languages and will be immediately familiar to C, C++, Java, and JavaScript programmers.

Scala

Scala is an acronym for “Scalable Language”. This means that Scala grows with you. You can play with it by typing one-line expressions and observing the results. But you can also rely on it for large mission critical systems, as many companies, including Twitter, LinkedIn, or Intel do. To some, Scala feels like a scripting language. Its syntax is concise and low ceremony; its types get out of the way because the compiler can infer them.

Elixir

Elixir leverages the Erlang VM, known for running low-latency, distributed and fault-tolerant systems, while also being successfully used in web development and the embedded software domain.

Related Comparisons

Docker vs WebAssembly: What are the differences?

Introduction

Isolation and Portability: Docker provides a lightweight, isolated environment that allows applications to run consistently across different platforms. It encapsulates the dependencies and configurations, making it easier for developers to package and deploy applications. On the other hand, WebAssembly is focused on running executable code directly in web browsers, providing a portable environment for executing code across different architectures and platforms.
Execution Environment: Docker runs applications within containers, which are isolated runtime environments that share the host operating system kernel. It provides a way to package an application and its dependencies into a single unit. WebAssembly, however, runs code in a sandboxed execution environment within web browsers. It executes the code using a virtual machine specifically designed for WebAssembly, which maintains a secure separation from the rest of the browser environment.
Supported Programming Languages: Docker is language-agnostic and can be used to package applications written in any programming language. It provides a standardized way to create reproducible environments regardless of the programming language used. In contrast, WebAssembly supports multiple programming languages, including C/C++, Rust, and AssemblyScript. It allows developers to compile code written in these languages into WebAssembly modules that can be executed in web browsers.
Resource Utilization: Docker containers have a higher resource overhead compared to WebAssembly modules. Containers include an operating system kernel, libraries, and other dependencies, which can increase their size and memory footprint. WebAssembly, on the other hand, is designed to be lightweight and portable, providing a more efficient use of resources. It achieves this by running code directly on the web browser's virtual machine, without the need for additional dependencies.
Deployment Scope: Docker is commonly used for deploying and managing complex applications in various environments, including on-premises servers, cloud platforms, and even IoT devices. It provides a scalable and flexible way to deploy applications with the ability to scale horizontally or vertically. In contrast, WebAssembly is primarily used for running code within web browsers. It allows developers to enhance web applications by executing performance-critical code directly in the browser, without the need for server-side processing.
Security Model: Docker provides security mechanisms such as access control, resource isolation, and permission settings. It allows users to define fine-grained access controls and limit the resources available to containers. WebAssembly, on the other hand, operates within a more restricted security model within web browsers. It enforces a sandboxed execution environment that prevents untrusted code from accessing critical system resources, improving overall security for web applications.

Docker vs WebAssembly

Overview

Docker vs WebAssembly: What are the differences?