Tools¶

Shader Compiler (shaderc)¶

bgfx cross-platform shader language is based on GLSL syntax. It’s uses ANSI C preprocessor to transform GLSL like language syntax into HLSL. This technique has certain drawbacks, but overall it’s simple and allows quick authoring of cross-platform shaders.

Some differences between bgfx’s shaderc flavor of GLSL and regular GLSL:

• No bool/int uniforms, all uniforms must be float.
• Attributes and varyings can be accessed only from main() function.
• Must use SAMPLER2D/3D/CUBE/etc. macros instead of sampler2D/3D/Cube/etc. tokens.
• Must use vec2/3/4_splat(<value>) instead of vec2/3/4(<value>).
• Must use mul(x, y) when multiplying vectors and matrices.
• Must use varying.def.sc to define input/output semantic and precission instead of using attribute/in and varying/in/out.
• $input/$output tokens must appear at the begining of shader.

For more info see shader helper macros.

Texture Compiler (texturec)¶

This tool doesn’t currently exist. To produce DDS, KTX or PVR textures use:

• .dds - nVidia Texture Tools - DDS Utilities
• .ktx - Mali GPU Texture Compression Tool
• .pvr - PowerVR Insider SDK

Geometry Compiler (geometryc)¶

Converts Wavefront .obj mesh file to format optimal for using with bgfx.