CrossTL

The CrossTL is a core component of our platform, enabling the conversion of CrossGL shader code directly into various graphics APIs, such as DirectX, Metal, Vulkan, and OpenGL and vice-versa. This translator simplifies shader development by allowing a single, unified shader language to be used across multiple platforms.

🌟 CrossGL-Graphica: Revolutionizing Shader Development

The Universal Shader Language

In the ever-evolving world of graphics programming, CrossGL emerges as a solution to bridge the gap between diverse graphics APIs.

🚀 Write Once, Run Everywhere

Imagine writing a shader once and deploying it across:

🍎 Metal
🎮 DirectX
🖥️ OpenGL
🖥️ Vulkan
⚙️ Slang
🔥 Mojo

...all without changing a single line of code!

Supported Backends

Metal
DirectX
OpenGL
Slang

💡 Key Benefits

⏱️ Time-Saving: Slash development time by eliminating the need for multiple shader versions.
🛠️ Consistency: Ensure uniform behavior across all platforms.
🧠 Simplified Learning Curve: Master one language instead of many.
🔍 Enhanced Debugging: Develop universal tools for shader analysis.
🔮 Future-Proof: Easily adapt to new graphics APIs as they emerge.

How It Works

The translator takes CrossGL shader code and processes it through several stages:

Parsing: The code is parsed into an abstract syntax tree (AST).
Intermediate Representation: The AST is converted into an intermediate representation (IR) for optimization.
Code Generation: The IR is translated into the target backend code.
Optimization: Various optimization passes are applied to ensure maximum performance.
Source Output: The final output is produced and ready for use.

🔄 Two-Way Translation: From Platform-Specific to CrossGL

CrossGL doesn't just translate from a universal language to platform-specific shaders - it also works in reverse! This powerful feature allows developers to convert existing shaders from various platforms into CrossGL.

🌈 CrossGL Shader

shader main {
    vertex {
        input vec3 position;
        output vec2 vUV;

        void main() {
            vUV = position.xy * 10.0;
            gl_Position = vec4(position, 1.0);
        }
    }

    float perlinNoise(vec2 p) {
        return fract(sin(dot(p, vec2(12.9898, 78.233))) * 43758.5453);
    }

    fragment {
        input vec2 vUV;
        output vec4 fragColor;

        void main() {
            float noise = perlinNoise(vUV);
            float height = noise * 10.0;
            vec3 color = vec3(height / 10.0, 1.0 - height / 10.0, 0.0);
            fragColor = vec4(color, 1.0);
        }
    }
}

Getting started

First, install CrossGL's translation library using pip:

pip install crosstl

Using CrossGL

Create a CrossGL shader file (e.g., shader.cgl):

shader main {
    vertex {
        input vec3 position;
        output vec2 vUV;

        void main() {
            vUV = position.xy * 10.0;
            gl_Position = vec4(position, 1.0);
        }
    }

    fragment {
        input vec2 vUV;
        output vec4 fragColor;

        void main() {
            fragColor = vec4(vUV, 0.0, 1.0);
        }
    }
}

Translate to your desired backend:

import crosstl

# Translate to Metal
metal_code = crosstl.translate('shader.cgl', backend='metal', save_shader= 'shader.metal')

# Translate to DirectX (HLSL)
hlsl_code = crosstl.translate('shader.cgl', backend='directx', save_shader= 'shader.hlsl')

# Translate to OpenGL
opengl_code = crosstl.translate('shader.cgl', backend='opengl', save_shader= 'shader.glsl')

Converting from HLSL to CrossGL

write your HLSL shader (e.g., shader.hlsl):

struct VS_INPUT {
    float3 position : POSITION;
};

struct PS_INPUT {
    float4 position : SV_POSITION;
    float2 uv : TEXCOORD0;
};

PS_INPUT VSMain(VS_INPUT input) {
    PS_INPUT output;
    output.position = float4(input.position, 1.0);
    output.uv = input.position.xy * 10.0;
    return output;
}

float4 PSMain(PS_INPUT input) : SV_TARGET {
    return float4(input.uv, 0.0, 1.0);
}

Convert to CrossGL:

import crosstl

crossgl_code = crosstl.translate('shader.hlsl', backend='cgl', save_shader= 'shader.cgl')
print(crossgl_code)

Converting from Metal to CrossGL

write your Metal shader (e.g., shader.metal):

#include <metal_stdlib>
using namespace metal;

struct VertexInput {
    float3 position [[attribute(0)]];
};

struct VertexOutput {
    float4 position [[position]];
    float2 uv;
};

vertex VertexOutput vertexShader(VertexInput in [[stage_in]]) {
    VertexOutput out;
    out.position = float4(in.position, 1.0);
    out.uv = in.position.xy * 10.0;
    return out;
}

fragment float4 fragmentShader(VertexOutput in [[stage_in]]) {
    return float4(in.uv, 0.0, 1.0);
}

Convert to CrossGL:

import crosstl

crossgl_code = crosstl.translate('shader.metal', backend='cgl')
print(crossgl_code)

With these examples, you can easily get started with CrossGL, translating between different shader languages, and integrating existing shaders into your CrossGL workflow. Happy shader coding! 🚀✨

For more deep dive into crosstl , check out our Getting Started Notebook.

Contributing

We believe that everyone can contribute and make a difference. Whether it's writing code, fixing bugs, or simply sharing feedback, your contributions are definitely welcome and appreciated 🙌

find out more info in our Contributing guide

Community

Stay connected and follow our latest updates and announcements

See you there!

License

The CrossGL Translator is open-source and licensed under the License.

Thank you for using the CrossGL Translator!

The CrossGL Team

CrossGL/crosstl