# Artchitecture: CosmWasm
wasmd: Implements the
x/wasmmodule.cosmwasm-std: The standard library for building CosmWasm smart contracts. Code in this package is compiled into the smart contract.
cosmwasm-vm (Rust Crate): [Repo (opens new window)] : This is an abstraction layer around the wasmer VM to expose just what we need to run cosmwasm contracts in a high-level manner. This is intended both for efficient writing of unit tests, as well as a public API to run contracts in eg. wasmvm. As such it includes all glue code needed for typical actions, like fs caching.
CosmWasm/wasmvm (GitHub): Go bindings to the running cosmwasm contracts with wasmer. This repo contains both Rust and Go code. The Rust code is compiled into a library (shared .dll/.dylib/.so or static .a) to be linked via cgo and wrapped with a pleasant Go API. The full build step involves compiling Rust -> C library, and linking that library to the Go code. For ergonomics of the user, we will include pre-compiled libraries to easily link with, and Go developers should just be able to import this directly.
# Layers of Abstraction in the system
- Wasmer VM / Runtime (Rust): A high-performance WebAssembly (Wasm) runtime written in Rust and the foundational layer upon which higher-level abstractions are built. Wasmer interprets and executes WebAssembly bytecode, which ensures the safe execution of smart contracts.
- CosmWasm VM (Rust): This is an abstraction layer around the wasmer VM to expose just what we need to run cosmwasm contracts. It ismeant to enable efficient writing of unit tests and expose a public API to run contracts.
- wasmvm (Rust + Golang): Abstraction layer or wrapper around around the CosmWasm
VM (Rust). The
wasmvmtool is what enables one to compile, initialize, and invoke CosmWasm smart contracts from Golang applications. x/wasm: A Cosmos-SDK module specifically meant to process transaction messages for CosmWasm smart contracts. From the app's perspective, this is the interface for the WasmVM, Wasmer, and CosmWasm smart contracts.wasmd: A specific example chain that uses thex/wasmmodule and the minimal subset of default modules from the Cosmos-SDK. Thewasmdchain serves as a great example on how to integrate CosmWasm into the chain.