Commits on Jul 31, 2024

1. Return errors as records, not resources …

   This change migrates the `error` type to return as a record instead of a
   resource. The previous logic behind WebAssembly#64, IIRC, is that users that may
   not wish to copy the potentially-large `data` string across the
   canonical ABI would not have to--they could call the `data` method on
   the resource if they really needed it.
   
   Technical complexity during implementation is making me reconsider this
   decision. While implementing this in Wasmtime, I realized that after an
   error happens, the current "error as resource" scheme results in a
   multi-step failure algorithm:
   - construct the internal host error
   - register the host error in the resource table--this may fail!
   - return the host error as a resource
   
   This complexity does not mean necessarily that the spec _must_ be
   changed; I believe there is a way to "make it work." But if users end up
   troubleshooting a resource failure that happens during a wasi-nn
   failure, we risk making things a bit too complex for them. And, if
   indeed the original argument for using resources was avoiding
   performance overhead, there is a case to be made that in failure modes
   performance is not the most critical for users.
   
   I'll open this seeking feedback, not to merge immediately.

   

   abrown committed Jul 31, 2024
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