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0 pointsswsieber8y ago0 comments

I was under the impression that WASM does not have one.

0 comments

Wasm doesn't have one yet, but it's a future extension to to spec.

You can, of course, compile your GC in today, and it will work. Wasm's integrated support will mean re-using the existing GC, which means smaller code size.

Side note: most people thought this would be a precursor to DOM support, but the new "host bindings" proposal opens up DOM support without needing GC support, and many people believe that now the former will land before the latter.

k__8y ago

Are GC implementations transparent for the languages?

Can Go simply run with the WASM GC or does it need some specific type of GC?

steveklabnik8y ago

"the WASM GC" only exists as a proposal, and proposals can change before they land. I don't know enough about it to say, and even if I did, it might be invalid by the time things are actually accepted.

See https://github.com/WebAssembly/gc for the current proposal.

1 more reply

pjmlp8y ago

No if you care about performance.

To go the extra mile in GC performance, the compiler and GC implementation have to collaborate, taking advantage of language specific features.

dragonwriter8y ago

IIRC, WASM doesn't have one and, more importantly, has an architecture which makes implementing one on top of WASM efficiently difficult.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

steveklabnik8y ago

Wasm doesn't have one yet, but it's a future extension to to spec.

You can, of course, compile your GC in today, and it will work. Wasm's integrated support will mean re-using the existing GC, which means smaller code size.

k__8y ago

Are GC implementations transparent for the languages?

Can Go simply run with the WASM GC or does it need some specific type of GC?

steveklabnik8y ago

See https://github.com/WebAssembly/gc for the current proposal.

1 more reply

pjmlp8y ago

No if you care about performance.

To go the extra mile in GC performance, the compiler and GC implementation have to collaborate, taking advantage of language specific features.

dragonwriter8y ago

IIRC, WASM doesn't have one and, more importantly, has an architecture which makes implementing one on top of WASM efficiently difficult.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse