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0 pointspjmlp11mo ago0 comments

Yes they did, it is called Metal Compute, and everyone using Apple devices has to use it.

Vulkan you say?

It is only relevant on GNU/Linux and Android, because Google is pushing it, and still most folks still keep using OpenGL ES, no one else cares about it, and already turned into the same spaghetti mess as OpenGL, to the point that there was a roadmap talk at Vulkanised 2025 on how to sort things out.

NVidia and AMD keep designing their cards with Microsoft for DirectX first, and Vulkan, eventually.

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jms5511mo ago

> NVidia and AMD keep designing their cards with Microsoft for DirectX first, and Vulkan, eventually.

Not really. For instance NVIDIA released day 1 Vulkan extensions for their new raytracing and neural net tech (VK_NV_cluster_acceleration_structure, VK_NV_partitioned_tlas, VK_NV_cooperative_vector), as well as equivalent NVAPI extensions for DirectX12. Equal support, although DirectX12 is technically worse as you need to use NVAPI and rely on a prerelease version of DXC, as unlike Vulkan and SPIR-V, DirectX12 has no mechanism for vendor-specific extensions (for good or bad).

Meanwhile the APIs, both at a surface level and how the driver implements them under the hood, are basically identical. So identical in fact, that NVIDIA has the nvrhi project which provides a thin wrapper over Vulkan/DirectX12 so that you can run on multiple platforms via one API.

pjmlpOP11mo ago

An exception that doesn't change the rule, where are the Vulkan extensions for DirectX neural shaders, and RTX kit?

As a more recent example, not feeling like enumerating all of them since DirectX 8 shader model introduction, and collaboration with NVidia where Cg became HLSL foundation.

Exactly, proprietary APIs don't have extension spaghetti like Khronos APIs, that always end up out of control, hence Vulkan 2025 roadmap plans.

Khronos got lucky that Google and Samsung decided to embrace Vulkan as the API to be on Android, Valve for their Steam Deck, and IoT displays, basically.

Everywhere else it is middleware engines that support all major 3D APIs, with WebGPU becoming also middleware outside of the browser due to the ways of Vulkan.

jms5511mo ago

> An exception that doesn't change the rule, where are the Vulkan extensions for DirectX neural shaders, and RTX kit?

DirectX "neural shaders" is literately the VK_NV_cooperative_vector extension I mentioned previously, which is actually easier to use in Vulkan at the moment since you don't need a custom prelease version of DXC. Same for all the RTX kit stuff, e.g. https://github.com/NVIDIA-RTX/RTXGI has both VK and DX12 support.

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bigyabai11mo ago

> it is called Metal Compute, and everyone using Apple devices has to use it.

Sounds like a submarket absolutely teeming with competition. Like, you have Metal Compute, and Apple Accelerate Framework and MLX all sitting there in the same spot! Apple is really outdoing themselves, albeit in a fairly literal sense.

> It is only relevant on GNU/Linux and Android

Hmm... someone ought to remind me of the first stage of grief, I've forgotten it suddenly.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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jms5511mo ago

> NVidia and AMD keep designing their cards with Microsoft for DirectX first, and Vulkan, eventually.

pjmlpOP11mo ago

An exception that doesn't change the rule, where are the Vulkan extensions for DirectX neural shaders, and RTX kit?

As a more recent example, not feeling like enumerating all of them since DirectX 8 shader model introduction, and collaboration with NVidia where Cg became HLSL foundation.

Exactly, proprietary APIs don't have extension spaghetti like Khronos APIs, that always end up out of control, hence Vulkan 2025 roadmap plans.

Khronos got lucky that Google and Samsung decided to embrace Vulkan as the API to be on Android, Valve for their Steam Deck, and IoT displays, basically.

Everywhere else it is middleware engines that support all major 3D APIs, with WebGPU becoming also middleware outside of the browser due to the ways of Vulkan.

jms5511mo ago

> An exception that doesn't change the rule, where are the Vulkan extensions for DirectX neural shaders, and RTX kit?

1 more reply

bigyabai11mo ago

> it is called Metal Compute, and everyone using Apple devices has to use it.

> It is only relevant on GNU/Linux and Android

Hmm... someone ought to remind me of the first stage of grief, I've forgotten it suddenly.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse