gfx

gfx is a minimalist and easy to use graphics API built on top of Direct3D12/HLSL intended for rapid prototyping.

It supports:

• Full shader reflection; no need for root signatures, pipeline states, descriptor tables, register indexing, etc.
• Internal management of descriptor heaps, resource views, memory allocation, etc.
• "Garbage collection" defers the release of freed resources to ensure the GPU is done with it; you can create and destroy anything at any time without worrying about synchronization.
• Automatic placement of pipeline barriers and resource transitions.
• Runtime shader reloading; simply call the gfxKernelReloadAll() function.
• Basic GPU-based parallel primitives (min/max/sum scans and reductions as well as key-only/key-value pair sorting for various data types).
• DXR-1.1 raytracing (i.e. using RayQuery<> object); also known as inline raytracing.

On top of gfx.h, three optional layers are available:

• gfx_imgui.h: adds Dear ImGui support.
• gfx_scene.h: supports loading .obj files (.gltf coming soon).
• gfx_window.h: window creation and basic event management.

Usage

Include the header corresponding to the desired level of functionality.

In one .cpp file, define #define GFX_IMPLEMENTATION_DEFINE and include said header to include the implementation details.

Motivation

This project was born mostly out of frustration while researching rendering techniques using explicit APIs such as Direct3D12 or Vulkan.

These APIs intend to deliver higher performance for complex workloads on both the CPU and the GPU by giving more responsibility to the developer; unfortunately this is to the detriment of productivity especially during the initial prototyping/research phase due to their high level of complexity.

gfx aims to provide an efficient API that's easy to learn, pleasant to use and quick to get things set up, while offering rapid iterations; it allows to get that "start from scratch" efficiency while still offering access to the basic necessary functionality (low-level access to GPU work scheduling, drawing UI overlays, etc.).

Drawing a triangle

Some example code for drawing a simple colored triangle:

// main.cpp

#define GFX_IMPLEMENTATION_DEFINE
#include "gfx_window.h"

int main()
{
    auto window = gfxCreateWindow(1280, 720);
    auto gfx = gfxCreateContext(window);

    float vertices[] = {  0.5f, -0.5f, 0.0f,
                          0.0f,  0.7f, 0.0f,
                         -0.5f, -0.5f, 0.0f };
    auto vertex_buffer = gfxCreateBuffer(gfx, sizeof(vertices), vertices);

    auto program = gfxCreateProgram(gfx, "triangle");
    auto kernel = gfxCreateGraphicsKernel(gfx, program);

    for (auto time = 0.0f; !gfxWindowIsCloseRequested(window); time += 0.1f)
    {
        gfxWindowPumpEvents(window);

        float color[] = { 0.5f * cosf(time) + 0.5f,
                          0.5f * sinf(time) + 0.5f,
                          1.0f };
        gfxProgramSetParameter(gfx, program, "Color", color);

        gfxCommandBindKernel(gfx, kernel);
        gfxCommandBindVertexBuffer(gfx, vertex_buffer);

        gfxCommandDraw(gfx, 3);

        gfxFrame(gfx);
    }

    gfxDestroyContext(gfx);
    gfxDestroyWindow(window);

    return 0;
}

Here's the corresponding vertex shader:

// triangle.vert

float4 main(float3 pos : Position) : SV_Position
{
    return float4(pos, 1.0f);
}

And pixel shader:

// triangle.frag

float3 Color;

float4 main() : SV_Target
{
    return float4(Color, 1.0f);
}