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Computers & Technology

Shaders Unchained: Writing Powerful Shaders for Every Platform

By Kenwright

Master the art and science of writing high-performance, portable shaders for graphics and compute across all major modern APIs.

WHAT THE PUBLISHER HIGHLIGHTS

  • Understand the fundamental mathematics and algorithms that power modern shaders.
  • Learn the syntax and quirks of major shading languages: HLSL, GLSL, MSL, and WGSL.
  • Develop strategies for writing portable and performant shader code across different APIs.

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Catalogue reference: d0c064a3a3d220d5

INSIDE THE BOOK

About this book

This book is a comprehensive guide to shader programming in the modern era. It starts with the core mathematical and algorithmic concepts behind shaders and then dives into practical implementation across different shading languages and platforms (HLSL, GLSL, MSL, WGSL). You'll learn how to write shaders that are not only powerful and visually stunning but also efficient and portable, enabling you to target OpenGL, Vulkan, DirectX, Metal, and WebGPU from a solid foundation of knowledge.

From the publisher’s description

  • Understand the fundamental mathematics and algorithms that power modern shaders.
  • Learn the syntax and quirks of major shading languages: HLSL, GLSL, MSL, and WGSL.
  • Develop strategies for writing portable and performant shader code across different APIs.
  • Create advanced visual effects and leverage GPU compute for non-graphics tasks.

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ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE

Readers, in their own words

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Reader review4

Strong content, uneven pacing

Almost excellent. A second edition could easily push it to five stars.

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. Good value for the price and worth the time it takes to work through properly.

Mia JohnsonCloud architect · Prague, CZ
Shaders Unchained: Writing Powerful Shaders for Every Platform
Reader review5

This is the one to get

Worth every page. I have already recommended it to two colleagues.

I read this over a couple of weekends alongside a small side project, which turned out to be the ideal way to approach it. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with computer graphics.

Charlotte WoodEmbedded systems engineer · Seattle, WA
Shaders Unchained: Writing Powerful Shaders for Every Platform

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