As far as I understand, currently there are 3 variants of Compose for Web Browser. 1. Compose for HTML - uses

js

target, renders DOM elements (like React). 2. Compose for Web - uses

js

target, renders via canvas. 3. Compose for WASM - uses

wasm

target, renders via canvas. It would be really nice if Compose folks could mention all variants on various landing pages and READMEs. For instance, the main README says nothing about the variant #2. And the landing page mentions something called "Web" but redirects to the variant #3. WDYT?

I suspect its because #2 is not likely to live for long once WASM support is farther along. With a canvas based approach in the browser, what reason would there be to choose #2 over #3?

I might be a bit unfamiliar with WASM, but are we able to use the usual JavaScript APIs available in the Browser? Like for example Web History API? Either way, it would be very useful to outline all options and maybe state their statuses.

To your first question, my understanding is yes: https://kotlinlang.org/docs/wasm-js-interop.html

And will there be a WASM version of 1? This would make a lot of sense if you also have 3.

Well, leveraging the existing JavaScript ecosystem is crucial. If I understand it correctly, with the classic

js

target it's super easy and native. We can import and use any existing JS library, or freely use the APIs like

document

,

window

, etc. If with WASM we can do the same, then the only concern for me is its adoption by browsers.

You can use existing JS libraries with K/Wasm, but it's a bit harder than with K/JS target (there is no

dynamic

type in K/Wasm). You might be interested in a project I'm working on - https://github.com/rjaros/kilua. It's similar to Compose HTML and supports both JS and WASM targets with the same application code. It's still an early phase and no artifacts are published, but it already has all the main features of Compose HTML.

We mentioned web targets in FAQ. I can add the following to that: • Compose for Web is a part of Compose Multiplatform, with a goal to share UI, using web canvas • JS and Wasm have different setups and ecosystems, but currently, we consider them as implementation details of Compose for Web. We are actively working on the Wasm target, but it’s still in its early stages. This is why we maintain the JS target in some samples to showcase Compose for Web. The current plan is to replace Compose for Web on Kotlin/JS by Compose for Web on Kotlin/Wasm as it reaches the same level of functionality and is available on Maven. It is not set in stone until Compose for Web reaches Beta - the further direction depends on user feedback and the Wasm target maturity. • Compose HTML is considered as a side library of Compose Multiplatform, to build DOM applications using Compose concepts. We plan to support it, though the current focus is on Compose for Web on Wasm. • There is an idea to support Compose HTML on Kotlin/Wasm, but it is just an idea for now, it is far from any plans

Thanks for taking care of this! Yeah, more information would be nice to add.

This is a super useful clarification!