5.6 KiB
name, description, license, compatibility, metadata
| name | description | license | compatibility | metadata | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| prism-rhi | RHI (Rendering Hardware Interface) patterns — compile-time dispatch, by-value desc structs, wapp array aliases, backend file layout | MIT | opencode |
|
What I do
Captures the RHI conventions for Prism: how backends are dispatched, how descriptor structs and arrays are handled, and how the files are organized.
When to use me
Use this when working on any file in src/prism/rhi/, or when creating a new backend (Vulkan, D3D12, Metal).
Conventions
Global context
RHI functions do not take allocator parameters. A global PrRhiContext provides two allocators:
allocator— for user-facing objects (buffers, textures, pipelines, etc.)tmp— for short-lived internal temporaries
extern PrRhiContext _G_RHI_CONTEXT;
void prRhiInit(void); // sets up both allocators
void prRhiDestroy(void); // tears down context
All RHI functions access _G_RHI_CONTEXT directly. Do not pass allocators to RHI API calls.
Backend dispatch
Backend selection is compile-time via -D PR_RHI_VULKAN / -D PR_RHI_D3D12 / -D PR_RHI_METAL. The umbrella header pr_rhi.h includes the appropriate alias file:
#if defined(PR_RHI_VULKAN)
# include "vulkan/pr_rhi_vk_aliases.h"
#elif defined(PR_RHI_D3D12)
# include "d3d12/pr_rhi_d3d12_aliases.h"
#elif defined(PR_RHI_METAL)
# include "metal/pr_rhi_metal_aliases.h"
#else
# error "Define one of: PR_RHI_VULKAN, PR_RHI_D3D12, PR_RHI_METAL"
#endif
Each _aliases.h file maps generic names to backend-specific names:
#define prRhiCreateDevice prRhiCreateDeviceVk
#define prRhiCreateSwapchain prRhiCreateSwapchainVk
#define prRhiCreateBuffer prRhiCreateBufferVk
// …
Backend implementations are suffixed with the backend name: pr_rhi_vk_device.c, pr_rhi_vk_swapchain.c, etc.
Desc structs
All descriptor structs are passed by value, not const *:
// correct
PrRhiDevice *prRhiCreateDevice(PrRhiPhysicalDevice *pdev, PrRhiSurface *surface, PrRhiDeviceDesc desc);
// wrong
PrRhiDevice *prRhiCreateDevice(PrRhiPhysicalDevice *pdev, PrRhiSurface *surface, const PrRhiDeviceDesc *desc);
Frame-by-frame command batching
Commands that run every frame must avoid arena allocation. Use stack arrays with a while-loop to batch operations:
// correct — stack array, batched submission
void prRhiCmdBindDescriptorSetsVk(PrRhiCommandBuffer *cb, PrRhiPipelineBindPoint bind_point,
PrRhiPipelineLayout *layout, u32 first_set,
PrRhiDescriptorSetArray sets) {
u32 set_count = sets ? (u32)wpArrayCount(sets) : 0;
while (set_count > 0) {
VkDescriptorSetArray vk_sets = wpArrayWithCapacity(VkDescriptorSet, 16, WP_ARRAY_INIT_FILLED);
u32 total_capacity = (u32)wpArrayCapacity(vk_sets);
u32 real_count = set_count < total_capacity ? set_count : total_capacity;
for (u32 i = 0; i < real_count; ++i) {
vk_sets[i] = sets[i]->handle;
}
vkCmdBindDescriptorSets(cb->handle, vk_bp, vk_layout, first_set, real_count, vk_sets, 0, NULL);
set_count -= real_count;
first_set += real_count;
}
}
// wrong — allocates from arena on every call
void prRhiCmdBindDescriptorSetsBad(PrRhiCommandBuffer *cb, ...) {
VkDescriptorSetArray vk_sets = wpArrayAllocCapacity(VkDescriptorSet, &_G_RHI_CONTEXT.allocator, count, ...);
// ... this leaks every frame
}
Apply this pattern to: prRhiCmdBindDescriptorSets, prRhiCmdBindVertexBuffers, prRhiCmdCopyBufferToImage, and any other command that processes user-provided arrays.
Opaque struct handles — no casts
Handle types in opaque structs are already the correct Vulkan type. Do not cast:
// correct
vk_device = device->handle;
vk_buffer = buffer->handle;
// wrong
vk_device = (VkDevice)device->handle;
vk_buffer = (VkBuffer)buffer->handle;
Vulkan struct initialisation — designated initializers
Always use C99 designated initializers for Vulkan info structs:
// correct
VkBufferCreateInfo buf_info = {
.sType = VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_BUFFER_CREATE_INFO,
.size = desc.size,
.usage = _toVkBufferUsage(desc.usage),
};
// wrong
VkBufferCreateInfo buf_info = {};
buf_info.sType = VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_BUFFER_CREATE_INFO;
buf_info.size = desc.size;
buf_info.usage = _toVkBufferUsage(desc.usage);
API patterns
prRhiCreateCommandPool: Takes onlyPrRhiDevice *device(usesdevice->queue_family_indexinternally)prRhiFreeCommandBuffers: TakesPrRhiCommandBufferArray buffers(count derived fromwpArrayCount)prRhiAllocateDescriptorSet: TakesWpU32Array variable_descriptor_countsfor variable descriptor supportprRhiCmdBindVertexBuffers: TakesWpU64Array offsets(count matched to buffers internally)- Shader entry points: Configurable via
vertex_shader_entry_point/fragment_shader_entry_pointin pipeline desc (not hardcoded to "main")
File layout
src/prism/rhi/
├── pr_rhi.h ← umbrella header (API declarations + backend dispatch)
├── pr_rhi.c ← global context definition (prRhiInit, prRhiDestroy)
├── pr_rhi_types.h ← shared types (enums, element types, array aliases, desc structs, opaque handles)
├── vulkan/
│ ├── pr_rhi_vk.h ← Vulkan backend header (opaque struct defs + Vk-suffixed decls)
│ ├── pr_rhi_vk.c ← Vulkan backend implementation
│ ├── pr_rhi_vk_aliases.h ← #define alias mapping
│ └── profiles/ ← generated Vulkan Profiles library
├── d3d12/
│ └── …
└── metal/
└── …