vulkan

Vulkan is a low-overhead, cross-platform API for 3D graphics and compute. It was developed by the Khronos Group and released in 2016 as a successor to OpenGL, designed to give developers explicit control over GPU resources, enable better multi-threading, and reduce driver overhead.

The API uses an explicit programming model. Applications create objects such as instances and devices, allocate and manage memory, and record commands into command buffers that are submitted to queues. Shaders are compiled to SPIR-V, an intermediate representation consumed by the pipeline. Synchronization and resource lifetimes are largely managed by the application, offering fine-grained control and potential performance gains but increasing complexity.

Key concepts include pipelines (graphics and compute), descriptor sets for binding resources, swapchains for presenting images, and synchronization primitives like fences and semaphores. Vulkan emphasizes explicit, low-level control, with the goal of scalable performance on multi-core CPUs and a wide range of GPUs and platforms.

Platform support and extensions: Vulkan runs on Windows, Linux, and Android, with macOS and iOS support via bridge projects such as MoltenVK. The API is extended through instance and device extensions, as well as optional feature extensions, including those for advanced capabilities such as ray tracing (e.g., VK_KHR_ray_tracing_pipeline).

History and usage: Developed with broad industry backing, Vulkan's first stable version was 1.0 in 2016. It has been adopted by major game engines and professional applications seeking high performance and cross-platform compatibility. While offering significant performance advantages, Vulkan requires more verbose and careful management of resources and synchronization than higher-level APIs.