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WebGPU Shading Language
Shading language for WebGPU From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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WebGPU Shading Language (WGSL) is a high-level shading language with a syntax inspired by Rust.[1] It was initially developed by the W3C GPU for the Web Community Group to provide developers with a modern, safe, and portable shading language for the WebGPU API.[2] WGSL is designed to be compiled to SPIR-V or other intermediate representations, enabling execution across different graphics hardware while maintaining security and portability requirements essential for web applications.[1]
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Background
Traditional web graphics programming relied on WebGL, which used GLSL ES for shader programming. However, as web applications became more sophisticated and demanded better performance, the need for a more modern graphics API became apparent.[3] WebGPU was developed to address these needs, providing access to modern GPU features while maintaining the security and portability requirements of the web platform.[2]
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Shader types
Summarize
Perspective
WGSL supports multiple shader stages:[1]
Vertex shaders
Process individual vertices, transforming positions and computing per-vertex data for rasterization.[1]
Vertex shader example
/* Transforms incoming positions by an MVP matrix and
passes per-vertex color through to the fragment stage. */
struct VertexInput {
@location(0) position : vec3<f32>,
@location(1) color : vec3<f32>,
};
struct VertexOutput {
@builtin(position) clip_position : vec4<f32>,
@location(0) color : vec3<f32>,
};
@group(0) @binding(0)
var<uniform> mvp : mat4x4<f32>;
@vertex
fn main(v_in : VertexInput) -> VertexOutput {
var v_out : VertexOutput;
v_out.clip_position = mvp * vec4<f32>(v_in.position, 1.0);
v_out.color = v_in.color;
return v_out;
}
Fragment shaders
Execute for each fragment, computing final color values and depth information.[1]
Fragment shader example
/* Receives interpolated color and
writes it to the framebuffer. */
@fragment
fn main(@location(0) color : vec3f) -> @location(0) vec4f {
return vec4<f32>(color, 1.0); // add opaque alpha
}
Compute shaders
Perform general-purpose parallel computations on the GPU, supporting various algorithms beyond traditional graphics rendering.[1]
Compute shader example
/* Doubles every element in an input buffer and
stores the result in an output buffer. */
struct Params {
element_count : u32,
};
@group(0) @binding(0)
var<storage, read> in_data : array<f32>;
@group(0) @binding(1)
var<storage, read_write> out_data : array<f32>;
@group(0) @binding(2) var<uniform> params : Params;
@compute @workgroup_size(64)
fn main(@builtin(global_invocation_id) gid : vec3<u32>) {
let idx : u32 = gid.x;
if (idx >= params.element_count) {
return;
}
out_data[idx] = in_data[idx] * 2.0;
}
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See also
- WebGPU, the graphics API that uses WGSL
- SPIR-V, intermediate shader representation
- W3C, the organization developing WebGPU and WGSL
Other shading languages
- GLSL, shading language for OpenGL
- HLSL, Microsoft's shading language for Direct3D
- Metal Shading Language, Apple's shading language for Metal
- Cg, NVIDIA's C-based shading language
- Open Shading Language, offline rendering shading language
References
External links
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