Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
WebAssembly Unleashed goes hands-on with a topic that shows up every time polished architectures collide with real production: programmability. Coming to you from F5's AppWorld 2026, hosts Joel Moses and Oscar Spencer are joined by WorldTech IT's Austin Geraci and Josh Brooks to talk about what actually happens when customers need traffic behavior that “shouldn’t exist,” but still has to work reliably at scale.
The conversation moves from the reality of messy APIs and legacy constraints to the practical value of a programmable data plane. Austin and Josh share examples ranging from deterministic routing based on fields buried inside JSON payloads to deeply unglamorous but essential protocol surgery, including binary-level LDAP manipulation and SAML/OAuth edge cases that break whenever an upstream system refuses to behave. The common thread is clear: when the app team can’t change the app, the network and security layers become the integration surface.
They also dig into why language choice still matters, even in the age of AI-assisted coding. Tooling ecosystems, native support for things like JSON parsing, and access to third-party libraries can turn “weeks of custom glue” into something maintainable. That’s where WebAssembly enters the picture: portable components and familiar languages that can run close to the traffic without forcing teams into legacy scripting or vendor-specific dialects.
If you’re building AI-enabled applications, modernizing older systems, or trying to keep pace with constantly changing APIs, this episode makes the case that programmable middleware isn’t optional. It’s how you avoid waiting on feature releases, adapt safely, and turn a good fit into a production-ready one.
Chapters:
00:00 Welcome to WebAssembly Unleashed on the floor at AppWorld 2026
01:06 Meet WorldTech IT: “Engineering-first” reseller model
02:59 What can you do with programmability?
04:05 Blockchain API “surgery”: Routing by JSON payload contents
05:03 When do customers realize they need programmability? (80/20)
07:05 Craziest iRules: Futurama quotes, Easter eggs, LDAP binary rewrites
08:03 The real pain: Tcl limits + modern JSON everywhere
08:54 What languages do teams want to use?
12:15 “If iRules had jq…” and why WebAssembly changes the game
13:13 Vibe coding vs language ecosystems (and AI as a pleaser)
15:10 A programmable middleware layer is table stakes for AI apps
16:59 Why Wasm helps: Meet engineers where they are (not Tcl)
For more from F5's Office of the CTO visit the following sites:
Blogs - f5.com/company/octo
Reports - f5.com/services/resources/reports
Meet Your Hosts:
Joel Moses | linkedin.com/in/joelmoses | community.f5.com/users/joel_moses/398372
Oscar Spencer | twitter.com/oscar_spen | linkedin.com/in/oscarspen
Matthew Yacobucci | linkedin.com/in/matthew-yacobucci-323b4b2
⬇️⬇️⬇️ JOIN THE COMMUNITY! ⬇️⬇️⬇️
DevCentral is an online community of technical peers dedicated to learning, exchanging ideas, and solving problems - together.
Find all our platform links ⬇️ and follow our Community Evangelists! 👋
➡️ DEVCENTRAL: community.f5.com
➡️ YOUTUBE: youtube.com/devcentral
➡️ LINKEDIN: linkedin.com/showcase/f5-devcentral
➡️ TWITTER: twitter.com/devcentral
Your Community Evangelists:
👋 Jason Rahm: linkedin.com/in/jrahm | twitter.com/jasonrahm
👋 Buu Lam: linkedin.com/in/buulam | twitter.com/buulam
👋 Aubrey King: linkedin.com/in/aubreyking | twitter.com/aubreykingf5
👋 Chase Abbott: linkedin.com/in/chaseabbott1
WebAssembly Unleashed goes hands-on with a topic that shows up every time polished architectures collide with real production: programmability. Coming to you from F5's AppWorld 2026, hosts Joel Moses and Oscar Spencer are joined by WorldTech IT's Austin Geraci and Josh Brooks to talk about what actually happens when customers need traffic behavior that “shouldn’t exist,” but still has to work reliably at scale.
The conversation moves from the reality of messy APIs and legacy constraints to the practical value of a programmable data plane. Austin and Josh share examples ranging from deterministic routing based on fields buried inside JSON payloads to deeply unglamorous but essential protocol surgery, including binary-level LDAP manipulation and SAML/OAuth edge cases that break whenever an upstream system refuses to behave. The common thread is clear: when the app team can’t change the app, the network and security layers become the integration surface.
They also dig into why language choice still matters, even in the age of AI-assisted coding. Tooling ecosystems, native support for things like JSON parsing, and access to third-party libraries can turn “weeks of custom glue” into something maintainable. That’s where WebAssembly enters the picture: portable components and familiar languages that can run close to the traffic without forcing teams into legacy scripting or vendor-specific dialects.
If you’re building AI-enabled applications, modernizing older systems, or trying to keep pace with constantly changing APIs, this episode makes the case that programmable middleware isn’t optional. It’s how you avoid waiting on feature releases, adapt safely, and turn a good fit into a production-ready one.
Chapters:
00:00 Welcome to WebAssembly Unleashed on the floor at AppWorld 2026
01:06 Meet WorldTech IT: “Engineering-first” reseller model
02:59 What can you do with programmability?
04:05 Blockchain API “surgery”: Routing by JSON payload contents
05:03 When do customers realize they need programmability? (80/20)
07:05 Craziest iRules: Futurama quotes, Easter eggs, LDAP binary rewrites
08:03 The real pain: Tcl limits + modern JSON everywhere
08:54 What languages do teams want to use?
12:15 “If iRules had jq…” and why WebAssembly changes the game
13:13 Vibe coding vs language ecosystems (and AI as a pleaser)
15:10 A programmable middleware layer is table stakes for AI apps
16:59 Why Wasm helps: Meet engineers where they are (not Tcl)
For more from F5's Office of the CTO visit the following sites:
Blogs - f5.com/company/octo
Reports - f5.com/services/resources/reports
Meet Your Hosts:
Joel Moses | linkedin.com/in/joelmoses | community.f5.com/users/joel_moses/398372
Oscar Spencer | twitter.com/oscar_spen | linkedin.com/in/oscarspen
Matthew Yacobucci | linkedin.com/in/matthew-yacobucci-323b4b2
⬇️⬇️⬇️ JOIN THE COMMUNITY! ⬇️⬇️⬇️
DevCentral is an online community of technical peers dedicated to learning, exchanging ideas, and solving problems - together.
Find all our platform links ⬇️ and follow our Community Evangelists! 👋
➡️ DEVCENTRAL: community.f5.com
➡️ YOUTUBE: youtube.com/devcentral
➡️ LINKEDIN: linkedin.com/showcase/f5-devcentral
➡️ TWITTER: twitter.com/devcentral
Your Community Evangelists:
👋 Jason Rahm: linkedin.com/in/jrahm | twitter.com/jasonrahm
👋 Buu Lam: linkedin.com/in/buulam | twitter.com/buulam
👋 Aubrey King: linkedin.com/in/aubreyking | twitter.com/aubreykingf5
👋 Chase Abbott: linkedin.com/in/chaseabbott1
