2.7KB Zig WASM Globe: Developer Creates Live Visualization of 300 Cloudflare Edge Locations

The Project

A developer has created an interactive globe visualization using only 2.7 kilobytes of WebAssembly compiled from Zig, showing real-time execution across 300+ Cloudflare edge locations. The project appeared on Hacker News with 11 points.

Technical Details

Size Breakdown

• 2.7 KB total WebAssembly binary
• Written in Zig (a systems programming language known for performance and safety)
• Compiled to WASM (WebAssembly) for browser execution
• Renders a 3D rotating globe with real-time data points

How It Works

• Each visitor lights up their geographic location on the globe
• 36 cities tracked so far
• Runs on Cloudflare's edge network (fittingly, given the 300 edge locations visualized)
• Demonstrates Zig + WASM for ultra-lightweight web graphics

Why This Matters

Performance Demonstration

• 2.7 KB is smaller than most PNG images used as icons
• Proves that compelling 3D graphics don't require multi-megabyte JavaScript bundles
• Challenges the assumption that WebGL applications must be heavy

Zig + WASM

This project showcases a growing trend:

• Zig is gaining traction as a C alternative, especially for systems programming
• WASM enables near-native performance in browsers without JavaScript
• The combination delivers performance impossible to match with pure JS

Cloudflare Edge

The project runs on Cloudflare Workers, demonstrating:

• Edge computing for real-time global applications
• Sub-millisecond cold starts with WASM
• Geographic distribution of compute resources

The Philosophy

This represents a backlash against web bloat:

• Less is more: 2.7 KB vs. typical 2-3 MB JavaScript applications
• Performance by subtraction: Rather than adding features, remove unnecessary overhead
• Native code on the web: WASM as the path to fast, lightweight web apps

Try It

The live demo is available at mcpaas.live/globe.

Source: Hacker News