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I think because it's very easy to see it as something familiar. People are always skeptical about new stuff plus that familiar thing was shit so this must be sh

I think because it's very easy to see it as something familiar. People are always skeptical about new stuff plus that familiar thing was shit so this must be shit too. So no critical thinking leads to lame jokes and "OMG NO JAVA" style comments.

arendtio 8y ago
Well, the concept is arguably very close to what Java was marketed for. So I think it is quite natural to respond with some kind of Java association. Nevertheless, I think this is a very interesting project.
- afiori 8y ago
  It is close in the wording but very different in almost every other sense. wasm pushes for many indipendent implementation, it is meant to be very minimal and importantly it is made to be embeddable. In a sense it is closer to lua than Java.
  - runako 8y ago
    At the risk of jumping into this, Java was intended to be small (small enough to run on processors that were below PC-class in the 1990s) and embeddable. https://www.javaworld.com/article/2073700/mobile-java/mobile-java-java-everywhere-is-for-world-domination.html https://www.javaworld.com/article/2073700/mobile-java/mobile... The idea of Java running on devices goes back AFAICR to the very beginning of the language. I remember the "Java everywhere" slogan and initiatives to put Java into every device. Java Card was a version of Java designed to run on smart cards. If memory serves, these were all design goals of the Java platform in the early 90s. (Remarkably, this was all well before Linux really took off, before the Internet was ubiquitous, and when the most sophisticated electronics most households owned was a VHS player.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_Card https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_Card
    - afiori 8y ago
      There is indeed a risk that Wasm will end up bloated and fail at its main purpose. Supporters hope that the web process will prevent excessive features. Actually the dual presence JS/wams will reduce the pressure on JS to be a strong compilation target. I agree that (almost) no single aspect of wasm is new, but it has a lot of good points.
  - jayd16 8y ago
    Java also attempted to be all those things.
    - afiori 8y ago
      (this will be slightly a rant) So what? Java failed, for good reason, wasm has essentially solved all the reason why Java failed. Almost everything of success used old ideas. It is like saying the Wright brothers that Da Vinci already failed building flying machines; pretending that engines were not a relevant difference.
      - jayd16 8y ago
        That's different than your previous comment. Wasm might certainly be better than Java but in terms of what you listed Java had very similar goals.
  - pjmlp 8y ago
    A Java subset runs on almost every SIM card, credit card chip and Intel ME out there. So no, it isn't closer to lua than Java.
    - afiori 8y ago
      But that is basically useless for almost everyone.
      - pjmlp 8y ago
        It is available to anyone that can get their hands on pile of blank cards and the respective SDK. With 5 minutes Google search effort: https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/java-chip-card.html https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/java-chip-card.html https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/embedded/javacard/downloads/index.html https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/embedded/javacard/do... https://javacardforum.com/ https://javacardforum.com/
        afiori 8y ago
        Yes, but that is the definition of a nice. Also I suspect that Java cards use a stripped down version of Java.
        pjmlp 8y ago
        I explicitly said subset on my comment. WASM on its current form also only allows for a stripped down version of many languages.

arendtio 8y ago

Well, the concept is arguably very close to what Java was marketed for. So I think it is quite natural to respond with some kind of Java association. Nevertheless, I think this is a very interesting project.

afiori 8y ago
It is close in the wording but very different in almost every other sense. wasm pushes for many indipendent implementation, it is meant to be very minimal and importantly it is made to be embeddable. In a sense it is closer to lua than Java.
- runako 8y ago
  At the risk of jumping into this, Java was intended to be small (small enough to run on processors that were below PC-class in the 1990s) and embeddable. https://www.javaworld.com/article/2073700/mobile-java/mobile-java-java-everywhere-is-for-world-domination.html https://www.javaworld.com/article/2073700/mobile-java/mobile... The idea of Java running on devices goes back AFAICR to the very beginning of the language. I remember the "Java everywhere" slogan and initiatives to put Java into every device. Java Card was a version of Java designed to run on smart cards. If memory serves, these were all design goals of the Java platform in the early 90s. (Remarkably, this was all well before Linux really took off, before the Internet was ubiquitous, and when the most sophisticated electronics most households owned was a VHS player.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_Card https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_Card
  - afiori 8y ago
    There is indeed a risk that Wasm will end up bloated and fail at its main purpose. Supporters hope that the web process will prevent excessive features. Actually the dual presence JS/wams will reduce the pressure on JS to be a strong compilation target. I agree that (almost) no single aspect of wasm is new, but it has a lot of good points.
- jayd16 8y ago
  Java also attempted to be all those things.
  - afiori 8y ago
    (this will be slightly a rant) So what? Java failed, for good reason, wasm has essentially solved all the reason why Java failed. Almost everything of success used old ideas. It is like saying the Wright brothers that Da Vinci already failed building flying machines; pretending that engines were not a relevant difference.
    - jayd16 8y ago
      That's different than your previous comment. Wasm might certainly be better than Java but in terms of what you listed Java had very similar goals.
- pjmlp 8y ago
  A Java subset runs on almost every SIM card, credit card chip and Intel ME out there. So no, it isn't closer to lua than Java.
  - afiori 8y ago
    But that is basically useless for almost everyone.
    - pjmlp 8y ago
      It is available to anyone that can get their hands on pile of blank cards and the respective SDK. With 5 minutes Google search effort: https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/java-chip-card.html https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/java-chip-card.html https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/embedded/javacard/downloads/index.html https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/embedded/javacard/do... https://javacardforum.com/ https://javacardforum.com/
      - afiori 8y ago
        Yes, but that is the definition of a nice. Also I suspect that Java cards use a stripped down version of Java.
        pjmlp 8y ago
        I explicitly said subset on my comment. WASM on its current form also only allows for a stripped down version of many languages.