In this chapter, we discussed the elements of WebAssembly and their relationship. The structure of the Core Specification was used to describe the mapping of the text and binary formats to a common abstract syntax. We highlighted aspects of the text format (Wat) that can be useful in the context of debugging and development, as well as why s-expressions are an excellent fit for the textual representation of the abstract syntax. We also reviewed details pertaining to the binary format and the various elements that make up a module. The methods and objects within the JavaScript and Web APIs were defined with descriptions of their roles with regard to WebAssembly interaction. Finally, a simple example of the relationship between source code, Wat, and JavaScript was presented using the WasmFiddle tool.
In Chapter 3, Setting Up a Development Environment, we'll install the development tooling we'll use to work effectively with WebAssembly.