You know what would be cool? A built in way for your browser to automatically download and run local-first software as a docker container, in the background without user confirmation.
The problem with that idea is docker isn’t as secure as wasm is. That’s one big difference: wasm is designed for security in ways that docker is not.
The other big difference is that wasm is in-process, which theoretically should reduce overhead of switching between multiple separate running softwares.
That wouldn't be cross-platform. Browsers couldn't even ship SQL because it would inevitably tie them to sqlite, specifically, forever. They definitely can't ship something that requires a whole Linux kernel.
But you are changing the goalposts. Browser's couldn't ship SQL (the JavaScript feature called WebSQL) because it would tie the web ecosystem to the future of sqlite, which is a specific cathedral-type project.
The problem with that idea is docker isn’t as secure as wasm is. That’s one big difference: wasm is designed for security in ways that docker is not.
The other big difference is that wasm is in-process, which theoretically should reduce overhead of switching between multiple separate running softwares.