VkSampler

VkSampler is a Vulkan object that represents the state of an image sampler, which is used to read texels from an image in shaders. It defines how the image should be sampled, including parameters such as filtering, addressing modes, and mipmapping. Samplers are used to control the way textures are accessed and interpolated, allowing for various effects such as texture magnification, minification, and anisotropic filtering.

A VkSampler object is created using the vkCreateSampler function, which takes a VkSamplerCreateInfo structure as an argument. This structure specifies the sampler's properties, including the magFilter and minFilter fields for magnification and minification filtering, respectively. The addressModeU, addressModeV, and addressModeW fields define the addressing modes for the U, V, and W texture coordinates. The mipLodBias, anisotropyEnable, maxAnisotropy, compareEnable, compareOp, minLod, and maxLod fields further configure the sampler's behavior.

Once created, a VkSampler object can be used in shaders by binding it to a descriptor set. This allows shaders to access the sampler and sample texels from the associated image. The sampler's state is immutable after creation, meaning that its properties cannot be changed once it has been created.

VkSampler objects are destroyed using the vkDestroySampler function, which releases the resources associated with the sampler. It is important to properly manage the lifecycle of VkSampler objects to avoid resource leaks and ensure optimal performance.