SharedArrayBuffer & Atomics for WASM

When building high-performance applications with WebAssembly (WASM), you often need to share data between different parts of your program, especially across multiple threads (Web Workers).

Directly sharing memory can lead to problems like race conditions, where multiple threads try to access and modify the same data at the same time, causing unpredictable results.

This lesson introduces SharedArrayBuffer and atomic operations, essential tools for safe and efficient data sharing in multithreaded WASM applications.

A SharedArrayBuffer is a special type of data buffer in JavaScript that can be shared between the main thread and Web Workers.

• Unlike a regular ArrayBuffer, which can only be transferred (copied) to a worker, a SharedArrayBuffer provides a shared memory space.
• This means all threads accessing it see the same data at the same time, without needing to copy it back and forth.
• It's the foundation for enabling true multithreading with WASM in web environments.