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Apple proposes new web 3D graphics API

webkit.org

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Re: Apple proposes new web 3D graphics API

#7
Anything that's not based on the Vulkan spec is just a land-grab by Apple to push their own technologies.

As someone who spends a lot of time in that space I don't really see what this is solving, WebGL is good enough and anyone serious about performance/compute are going to drop down to native anyway.

Re: Apple proposes new web 3D graphics API

#8
I feel like Apple are just trying to get in early with a proposal so they don't get forced into supporting Vulkan (and wasting all that effort on Metal).

Mind you, it does at least look like they're trying not to be jerks about it (even if the motivation is somewhat selfish). They specifically mention the competition to Metal and how "webgpu" is ideally an abstraction that'll sit on-top of Vulkan, Metal and Direct3D 12.

It'll be interesting to see how this pans out. Vulkan, Metal and Direct3D 12 are all intentionally very low level, adding a wrapper of any kind may be seen as non-ideal by all parties.

Re: Apple proposes new web 3D graphics API

#9
"The major platform technologies in this space are Direct3D 12 from Microsoft, Metal from Apple, and Vulkan from the Khronos Group. While these technologies have similar design concepts, unfortunately none are available across all platforms."

So Apple, the only company not supporting Vulkan on their platforms, is complaining that there isn't a cross-platform solution?

Re: Apple proposes new web 3D graphics API

#10
Will it be patent encumbered, like Apple's "proposal" for touch events API?

> Meanwhile, GPU technology has improved and new software APIs have been created to better reflect the designs of modern GPUs. These new APIs exist at a lower level of abstraction and, due to their reduced overhead, generally offer better performance than OpenGL. The major platform technologies in this space are Direct3D 12 from Microsoft, Metal from Apple, and Vulkan from the Khronos Group. While these technologies have similar design concepts, unfortunately none are available across all platforms.

Oh, really? And who is to blame, that Vulkan is not available on Apple platforms?

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