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Cover of Shaders Unchained: Writing Powerful Shaders for Every Platform FROM THE BOOK CATALOGUE

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 review5

Clear, thorough, and genuinely useful

This is the one to get if you are serious about computer graphics.

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. The chapters on computer graphics are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

Imogen TurnerCloud architect · Sydney, AU
Shaders Unchained: Writing Powerful Shaders for Every Platform
Reader review5

Highly recommended

A superb guide. The examples are small but complete.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. The chapters on computer graphics are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

Aisha RodriguezBioinformatics researcher · Lisbon, PT
Shaders Unchained: Writing Powerful Shaders for Every Platform
Reader review5

Clear, thorough, and genuinely useful

This is the one to get if you are serious about computer graphics.

I have been working with computer graphics for a few years now and I still found plenty here that was new to me. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. I have already recommended it to two colleagues and will recommend it to more.

Isabella EdwardsRetired engineer · Madrid, ES
Shaders Unchained: Writing Powerful Shaders for Every Platform

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