Posit (formerly RStudio) today released a first version of an R package that brings WebAssembly (Wasm) to R.
Aimed at developers, the WebR package (available at https://docs.r-wasm.org/webr/latest/) “is an open source version of the R interpreter compiled for WebAssembly, along with support [JavaScript] TypeScript Library,” Posit’s George Stagg wrote in a blog post this morning.
“Absolute game changer of a #RStats pack,” said Bruno Rodrigues, author of the Chronicler R pack, in a post on Mastodon.
The project includes a webR kernel for the JupyterLite Wasm project for Jupyter notebooks. That means JupyterLite users can now run R code in addition to Python in their notebooks. You can see that implemented at: https://jupyter.r-wasm.org/lab/index.html
The creators of WebR envision package developers using the web console in the online documentation, so that those interested in a package can try it out without having to install it locally or run the installation in the cloud.
Furthermore, it could have a number of uses in education and training. And, Stagg wrote, it offers the potential for a version of the Shiny Web framework for R that would not require an R server. The new Shiny for Python no longer requires a server.
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