Introduction

Vulkan is a cross-platform, graphics API that provides high-performance, low-overhead access to GPUs. It is designed to be more flexible and efficient than previous APIs, such as OpenGL and Direct3D. Vulkan is also designed to be more extensible, allowing developers to customize it to their specific needs.

Installing VulkanSDK

To use Vulkan, you will need to install the VulkanSDK. The VulkanSDK is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Once you have installed the VulkanSDK, you can include it in your project by adding the following line to your project’s CMakeLists.txt file:

find_package(Vulkan REQUIRED)

Simple Example

Here is a simple example of how to use Vulkan to render a triangle:

#include <vulkan/vulkan.h>

int main() {
  // Create a Vulkan instance.
  VkInstance instance;
  if (vkCreateInstance(nullptr, nullptr, &instance) != VK_SUCCESS) {
    return 1;
  }

  // Create a device.
  VkPhysicalDevice physicalDevice = VK_NULL_HANDLE;
  for (const auto& device : vkEnumeratePhysicalDevices(instance)) {
    if (isDeviceSuitable(device)) {
      physicalDevice = device;
      break;
    }
  }

  VkDevice device;
  if (vkCreateDevice(physicalDevice, nullptr, &device) != VK_SUCCESS) {
    return 1;
  }

  // Create a surface.
  VkSurfaceKHR surface;
  if (createSurface(instance, ...) != VK_SUCCESS) {
    return 1;
  }

  // Create a swapchain.
  VkSwapchainKHR swapchain;
  if (createSwapchain(device, surface, ...) != VK_SUCCESS) {
    return 1;
  }

  // Create a render pass.
  VkRenderPass renderPass;
  if (createRenderPass(device, ...) != VK_SUCCESS) {
    return 1;
  }

  // Create a frame buffer.
  VkFramebuffer framebuffer;
  if (createFramebuffer(device, renderPass, ...) != VK_SUCCESS) {
    return 1;
  }

  // Create a command pool.
  VkCommandPool commandPool;
  if (createCommandPool(device, ...) != VK_SUCCESS) {
    return 1;
  }

  // Create a command buffer.
  VkCommandBuffer commandBuffer;
  if (beginCommandBuffer(commandPool, ...) != VK_SUCCESS) {
    return 1;
  }

  // Render the triangle.
  renderTriangle(commandBuffer, ...);

  // End the command buffer.
  endCommandBuffer(commandBuffer);

  // Submit the command buffer to the queue.
  VkSubmitInfo submitInfo = {};
  submitInfo.sType = VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SUBMIT_INFO;
  submitInfo.commandBufferCount = 1;
  submitInfo.pCommandBuffers = &commandBuffer;

  VkFence fence;
  if (vkCreateFence(device, nullptr, &fence) != VK_SUCCESS) {
    return 1;
  }

  if (vkQueueSubmit(device, 1, &submitInfo, fence) != VK_SUCCESS) {
    return 1;
  }

  // Wait for the fence to signal completion.
  vkWaitForFences(device, 1, &fence, VK_TRUE, UINT64_MAX);

  // Destroy the fence.
  vkDestroyFence(device, fence, nullptr);

  // Present the image to the swapchain.
  if (vkQueuePresentKHR(device, &presentInfo) != VK_SUCCESS) {
    return 1;
  }

  // Destroy the command buffer.
  vkFreeCommandBuffers(device, commandPool, 1, &commandBuffer);

  // Destroy the command pool.
  vkDestroyCommandPool(device, commandPool, nullptr);

  // Destroy the render pass.
  vkDestroyRenderPass(device, renderPass, nullptr);

  // Destroy the framebuffer.
  vkDestroyFramebuffer(device, framebuffer, nullptr);

  // Destroy the swapchain.
  vkDestroySwapchainKHR(device, swapchain, nullptr);
}