Creating WebAssembly with Elixir Using Orb

Patrick Smith introduced Orb, a library designed for authoring WebAssembly (Wasm) modules using Elixir's features such as macros, composable modules, and the Hex package manager. Wasm allows code to run universally on many platforms such as browsers, servers, and mobile devices. Orb emphasizes utilizing Elixir to produce Wasm modules that are portable and integrate seamlessly with technologies like Phoenix LiveView. Patrick provides examples to showcase Orb's syntax, which resembles Elixir and Ruby, and demonstrates how to define and use functions, globals (Wasm’s equivalent of state), and control flow. He highlights the importance of performance and compactness, pointing out the small size of Wasm modules produced by Orb. Patrick also reveals that Orb isn't tied to a specific runtime, enabling developers to use the modules created in various environments and platforms. Orb's simplicity and Elixir's capabilities facilitate easy creation, composition, and reuse of Wasm modules, which can even be published to the Hex package manager. One of Orb's goals is to create a standard library for common web tasks, like string building and URL encoding. Patrick also explores innovative concepts, including state machines within Wasm and dynamic on-the-fly compilation using Elixir at compile time while benefiting from Wasm at runtime. The presentation concludes with an encouragement to follow the project's progress via social media.