README.md

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gfx-rs

gfx-rs is a low-level, cross-platform graphics abstraction library in Rust. It consists of the following layers/components:

• gfx-hal which is gfx's hardware abstraction layer: a Vulkan-ic mostly unsafe API which translates to native graphics backends.
• gfx-backend-* which contains graphics backends for various platforms:
  • Vulkan
  • DirectX 12 and 11
  • Metal
  • OpenGL 2.1+/ES2+
• gfx-warden which is a data-driven reference test framework, used to verify consistency across all graphics backends.

Example

To run an example, simply cd to the examples directory, then use cargo run with --features {backend} to specify the backend (where {backend} is either vulkan, dx12, dx11, metal, or gl). For example:

# Clone the gfx repository
git clone https://github.com/gfx-rs/gfx
# Change directory to `examples`
cd gfx/examples
# Vulkan
cargo run --bin quad --features vulkan
# Metal (macOS/iOS)
cargo run --bin quad --features metal
# DirectX12 (Windows)
cargo run --bin compute --features dx12 1 2 3 4

This runs the quad example using the Vulkan backend, and then the compute example using the DirectX 12 backend.

These examples assume that necessary dependencies for the graphics backend are already installed. For more information about installation and usage, refer to the Getting Started guide.

Hardware Abstraction Layer

The Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), is a thin, low-level graphics layer which translates API calls to various graphics backends, which allows for cross-platform support. The API of this layer is based on the Vulkan API, adapted to be more Rust-friendly.

Currently HAL has backends for Vulkan, DirectX 12/11, Metal, and OpenGL/OpenGL ES/WebGL.

The HAL layer is consumed directly by user applications or libraries. HAL is also used in efforts such as gfx-portability.

Previously Released Crates and API (pre-LL)

The code in master is a complete low-level rewrite of gfx based on HAL as described above.

The previously released crates (gfx_core, gfx, gfx_device_*, gfx_window_) are still being developed and published from the pre-ll (pre-low level rewrite) branch.

License

This repository is licensed under either of

• Apache License, Version 2.0, (LICENSE-APACHE or http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0)
• MIT license (LICENSE-MIT or http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)

at your option.

Contributions

Unless you explicitly state otherwise, any contribution intentionally submitted for inclusion in the work by you, as defined in the Apache-2.0 license, shall be dual licensed as above, without any additional terms or conditions.