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<span id="Buffers"></span><div class="header">
<p>
Next: <a href="Shaders.html#Shaders" accesskey="n" rel="next">Shaders</a>, Previous: <a href="Rendering-Engine.html#Rendering-Engine" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Rendering Engine</a>, Up: <a href="Graphics.html#Graphics" accesskey="u" rel="up">Graphics</a> [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="Index.html#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
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<hr>
<span id="Buffers-1"></span><h4 class="subsection">2.3.13 Buffers</h4>
<p>Alright, let’s brush aside all of those pretty high level abstractions
and discuss what is going on under the hood. The GPU exists as a
discrete piece of hardware separate from the CPU. In order to make it
draw things, we must ship lots of data out of our memory space and
into the GPU. The <code>(chickadee render buffer</code>) module provides an
API for manipulating GPU buffers.
</p>
<p>In OpenGL terminology, a chunk of data allocated on the GPU is a
“vertex buffer object” or VBO. For example, here is a bytevector
that could be transformed into a GPU buffer that packs together vertex
position and texture coordinates:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example">(use-modules (chickadee render buffer) (srfi srfi-4))
(define data
(f32vector -8.0 -8.0 ; 2D vertex
0.0 0.0 ; 2D texture coordinate
8.0 -8.0 ; 2D vertex
1.0 0.0 ; 2D texture coordinate
8.0 8.0 ; 2D vertex
1.0 1.0 ; 2D texture coordinate
-8.0 8.0 ; 2D vertex
0.0 1.0)) ; 2D texture coordinate
</pre></div>
<p>This data represents a textured 16x16 square centered on the
origin. To send this data to the GPU, the <code>make-buffer</code> procedure
is needed:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example">(define buffer (make-buffer data #:stride 16))
</pre></div>
<p>The <code>#:stride</code> keyword argument indicates how many bytes make up
each element of the buffer. In this case, there are 4 floats per
element: 2 for the vertex, and 2 for the texture coordinate. A 32-bit
float is 4 bytes in length, so the buffer’s stride is 16.
</p>
<p>Within a VBO, one or more “attributes”, as OpenGL calls them, may be
present. Attributes are subregions within the buffer that have a
particular data type. In this case, there are two attributes packed
into the buffer. To provided a typed view into a buffer, the
<code>make-buffer-view</code> procedure is needed:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example">(define vertices
(make-buffer-view #:buffer buffer
#:type 'vec2
#:component-type 'float
#:length 4))
(define texcoords
(make-buffer-view #:buffer buffer
#:type 'vec2
#:component-type 'float
#:length 4
#:offset 8))
</pre></div>
<p>To render a square, the GPU needs to draw two triangles, which means
we need 6 vertices in total. However, the above buffer only contains
data for 4 vertices. This is because there are only 4 unique vertices
for a square, but 2 of them must be repeated for each triangle. To
work with deduplicated vertex data, an “index buffer” must be
created.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example">(define index-buffer
(make-buffer (u32vector 0 3 2 0 2 1)
#:target 'index)
(define indices
(make-buffer-view #:type 'scalar
#:component-type 'unsigned-int
#:buffer index-buffer))
</pre></div>
<p>Note the use of the <code>#:target</code> keyword argument. It is required
because the GPU treats index data in a special way and must be told
which data is index data.
</p>
<p>Now that the buffer views representing each attribute have been
created, all that’s left is to bind them all together in a “vertex
array object”, or VAO. Vertex arrays associate each buffer view
with an attribute index on the GPU. The indices that are chosen must
correspond with the indices that the shader (see <a href="Shaders.html#Shaders">Shaders</a>) expects
for each attribute.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example">(define vertex-array
(make-vertex-array #:indices indices
#:attributes `((0 . ,vertices)
(1 . ,texcoords))))
</pre></div>
<p>With the vertex array created, the GPU is now fully aware of how to
interpret the data that it has been given in the original buffer.
Actually rendering this square is left as an exercise to the reader.
See the <a href="Shaders.html#Shaders">Shaders</a> section and the <code>gpu-apply</code> procedure in
<a href="Rendering-Engine.html#Rendering-Engine">Rendering Engine</a> for the remaining pieces of a successful draw
call. Additionally, consider reading the source code for sprites,
shapes, or particles to see GPU buffers in action.
</p>
<p>Without further ado, the API reference:
</p>
<dl>
<dt id="index-make_002dbuffer">Procedure: <strong>make-buffer</strong> <em>data [#:name "anonymous"] [#:length] [#:offset 0] [#:stride 0] [#:target <code>vertex</code>] [#:usage <code>static</code>]</em></dt>
<dd>
<p>Upload <var>data</var>, a bytevector, to the GPU. By default, the entire
bytevector is uploaded. A subset of the data may be uploaded by
specifying the <var>offset</var>, the index of the first byte to be
uploaded, and <var>length</var>, the number of bytes to upload.
</p>
<p>If <var>data</var> is <code>#f</code>, allocate <var>length</var> bytes of fresh GPU
memory instead.
</p>
<p><var>target</var> and <var>usage</var> are hints that tell the GPU how the
buffer is intended to be used.
</p>
<p><var>target</var> may be:
</p>
<ul>
<li> <code>vertex</code>
Vertex attribute data.
</li><li> <code>index</code>
Index buffer data.
</li></ul>
<p><var>usage</var> may be:
</p>
<ul>
<li> <code>static</code>
The buffer data will not be modified after creation.
</li><li> <code>stream</code>
The buffer data will be modified frequently.
</li></ul>
<p><var>name</var> is simply an arbitrary string for debugging purposes that
is never sent to the GPU.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-buffer_003f">Procedure: <strong>buffer?</strong> <em>obj</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return <code>#t</code> if <var>obj</var> is a GPU buffer.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-index_002dbuffer_003f">Procedure: <strong>index-buffer?</strong> <em>buffer</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return <code>#t</code> if <var>buffer</var> is an index buffer.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-null_002dbuffer">Variable: <strong>null-buffer</strong></dt>
<dd><p>Represents the absence of a buffer.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-buffer_002dname">Procedure: <strong>buffer-name</strong> <em>buffer</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return the name of <var>buffer</var>.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-buffer_002dlength">Procedure: <strong>buffer-length</strong> <em>buffer</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return the length of <var>buffer</var>.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-buffer_002dstride">Procedure: <strong>buffer-stride</strong> <em>buffer</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return the amount of space, in bytes, between each element in
<var>buffer</var>.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-buffer_002dtarget">Procedure: <strong>buffer-target</strong> <em>buffer</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return the the intended usage of <var>buffer</var>, either <code>vertex</code> or
<code>index</code>.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-buffer_002dusage">Procedure: <strong>buffer-usage</strong> <em>buffer</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return the intended usage of <var>buffer</var>, either <code>static</code> for
buffer data that will not change once sent to the GPU, or
<code>stream</code> for buffer data that will be frequently updated from the
client-side.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-buffer_002ddata">Procedure: <strong>buffer-data</strong> <em>buffer</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return a bytevector containing all the data within <var>buffer</var>. If
<var>buffer</var> has not been mapped (see <code>with-mapped-buffer</code>) then
this procedure will return <code>#f</code>.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-with_002dmapped_002dbuffer">Syntax: <strong>with-mapped-buffer</strong> <em>buffer body …</em></dt>
<dd><p>Evaluate <var>body</var> in the context of <var>buffer</var> having its data
synced from GPU memory to RAM. In this context, <code>buffer-data</code>
will return a bytevector of all the data stored in <var>buffer</var>. When
program execution exits this form, the data (including any
modifications) is synced back to the GPU.
</p>
<p>This form is useful for streaming buffers that need to update their
contents dynamically, such as a sprite batch.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-make_002dbuffer_002dview">Procedure: <strong>make-buffer-view</strong> <em>#:buffer #:type #:component-type #:length [#:offset <code>0</code>] [#:divisor <code>1</code>] [#:name <code>"anonymous"</code>]</em></dt>
<dd>
<p>Return a new buffer view for <var>buffer</var> starting at byte index
<var>offset</var> of <var>length</var> elements, where each element is of
<var>type</var> and composed of <var>component-type</var> values.
</p>
<p>Valid values for <var>type</var> are:
</p>
<ul>
<li> <code>scalar</code>
single number
</li><li> <code>vec2</code>
2D vector
</li><li> <code>vec3</code>
3D vector
</li><li> <code>vec4</code>
4D vector
</li><li> <code>mat2</code>
2x2 matrix
</li><li> <code>mat3</code>
3x3 matrix
</li><li> <code>mat4</code>
4x4 matrix
</li></ul>
<p>Valid values for <var>component-type</var> are:
</p>
<ul>
<li> <code>byte</code>
</li><li> <code>unsigned-byte</code>
</li><li> <code>short</code>
</li><li> <code>unsigned-short</code>
</li><li> <code>int</code>
</li><li> <code>unsigned-int</code>
</li><li> <code>float</code>
</li><li> <code>double</code>
</li></ul>
<p><var>divisor</var> is only needed for instanced rendering applications (see
<code>gpu-apply/instanced</code> in <a href="Rendering-Engine.html#Rendering-Engine">Rendering Engine</a>) and represents
how many instances each vertex element applies to. A divisor of 0
means that a single element is used for every instance and is used for
the data being instanced. A divisor of 1 means that each element is
used for 1 instance. A divisor of 2 means that each element is used
for 2 instances, and so on.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-buffer_002dview_003f">Procedure: <strong>buffer-view?</strong> <em>obj</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return <code>#t</code> if <var>obj</var> is a buffer view.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-buffer_002dview_002d_003ebuffer">Procedure: <strong>buffer-view->buffer</strong> <em>buffer-view</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return the buffer that <var>buffer-view</var> is using.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-buffer_002dview_002dname">Procedure: <strong>buffer-view-name</strong> <em>buffer-view</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return the name of <var>buffer-view</var>.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-buffer_002dview_002doffset">Procedure: <strong>buffer-view-offset</strong> <em>buffer-view</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return the byte offset of <var>buffer-view</var>.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-buffer_002dview_002dtype">Procedure: <strong>buffer-view-type</strong> <em>buffer-view</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return the data type of <var>buffer-view</var>.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-buffer_002dview_002dcomponent_002dtype">Procedure: <strong>buffer-view-component-type</strong> <em>buffer-view</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return the component data type of <var>buffer-view</var>
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-buffer_002dview_002ddivisor">Procedure: <strong>buffer-view-divisor</strong> <em>buffer-view</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return the instance divisor for <var>buffer-view</var>.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-with_002dmapped_002dbuffer_002dview">Syntax: <strong>with-mapped-buffer-view</strong> <em>buffer-view body …</em></dt>
<dd>
<p>Evaluate <var>body</var> in the context of <var>buffer-view</var> having its
data synced from GPU memory to RAM. See <code>with-mapped-buffer</code> for
more information.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-make_002dvertex_002darray">Procedure: <strong>make-vertex-array</strong> <em>#:indices #:attributes [#:mode <code>triangles</code>]</em></dt>
<dd>
<p>Return a new vertex array using the index data within the buffer view
<var>indices</var> and the vertex attribute data within <var>attributes</var>.
</p>
<p><var>attributes</var> is an alist mapping shader attribute indices to typed
buffers containing vertex data:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example">`((1 . ,buffer-view-a)
(2 . ,buffer-view-b)
…)
</pre></div>
<p>By default, the vertex array is interpreted as containing a series of
triangles. If another primtive type is desired, the <var>mode</var>
keyword argument may be overridden. The following values are
supported:
</p>
<ul>
<li> <code>points</code>
</li><li> <code>lines</code>
</li><li> <code>line-loop</code>
</li><li> <code>line-strip</code>
</li><li> <code>triangles</code>
</li><li> <code>triangle-strip</code>
</li><li> <code>triangle-fan</code>
</li></ul>
</dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-null_002dvertex_002darray">Variable: <strong>null-vertex-array</strong></dt>
<dd><p>Represents the absence of a vertex array.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-vertex_002darray_003f">Procedure: <strong>vertex-array?</strong> <em>obj</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return <code>#t</code> if <var>obj</var> is a vertex array.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-vertex_002darray_002dindices">Procedure: <strong>vertex-array-indices</strong> <em>vertex-array</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return the buffer view containing index data for <var>vertex-array</var>.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-vertex_002darray_002dattributes">Procedure: <strong>vertex-array-attributes</strong> <em>vertex-array</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return the attribute index -> buffer view mapping of vertex attribute
data for <var>vertex-array</var>.
</p></dd></dl>
<dl>
<dt id="index-vertex_002darray_002dmode">Procedure: <strong>vertex-array-mode</strong> <em>vertex-array</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return the primitive rendering mode for <var>vertex-array</var>.
</p></dd></dl>
<hr>
<div class="header">
<p>
Next: <a href="Shaders.html#Shaders" accesskey="n" rel="next">Shaders</a>, Previous: <a href="Rendering-Engine.html#Rendering-Engine" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Rendering Engine</a>, Up: <a href="Graphics.html#Graphics" accesskey="u" rel="up">Graphics</a> [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="Index.html#Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
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