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WASM Procedures: Introduction

WASM Procedures: Introduction

Part of: WASM Procedures User Guide

What are WASM Procedures?

HeliosDB WASM Procedures revolutionize database stored procedures by leveraging WebAssembly (WASM) technology to enable:

  • Polyglot Programming: Write procedures in 4 languages (Rust, JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, Go)
  • High Performance: 10x faster execution than traditional interpreted procedures
  • Complete Isolation: 100% sandboxed execution with capability-based security
  • Universal Compatibility: Run the same WASM module across any platform

Why Polyglot Procedures?

Traditional database systems lock you into a single procedural language (PL/SQL, PL/pgSQL, T-SQL). HeliosDB breaks this limitation:

  • Choose the Right Tool: Use Rust for high-performance computation, Python for data science, JavaScript for JSON processing, Go for concurrent operations
  • Leverage Existing Code: Compile existing libraries to WASM and use them directly
  • Team Flexibility: Different teams can use their preferred languages
  • Future-Proof: WASM is a W3C standard supported by all major platforms

Key Benefits

1. Performance: Sub-10ms Execution

Traditional PL/pgSQL:     ~50-100ms per call
WASM Procedure (Rust):    ~5-8ms per call
WASM Procedure (JS):      ~8-12ms per call
WASM Procedure (Python):  ~10-15ms per call
WASM Procedure (Go):      ~6-10ms per call

Why so fast?

  • JIT compilation to native code
  • Zero-copy memory access
  • Instance pooling and reuse
  • AOT compilation support

2. Security: Capability-Based Isolation

Every WASM procedure runs in a sandboxed environment with:

  • 13 Capability Types: Fine-grained permission control
  • Resource Limits: CPU, memory, fuel metering
  • System Call Filtering: Block dangerous operations
  • Network Isolation: Optional network access

3. Portability: Write Once, Run Anywhere

WASM procedures are:

  • Platform-independent (Linux, Windows, macOS)
  • Architecture-agnostic (x86, ARM, RISC-V)
  • Version-independent (binary compatibility)

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