WebGPU Shading Language
| Latest version | W3C Candidate recommendation (As of 2025) |
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WebGPU Shading Language (WGSL) is a high-level shading language with a syntax inspired by Rust.[1] It was initially developed by the W3C GPU for the Web Community Group to provide developers with a modern, safe, and portable shading language for the WebGPU API.[2] WGSL is designed to be compiled to SPIR-V or other intermediate representations, enabling execution across different graphics hardware while maintaining security and portability requirements essential for web applications.[1]
Background
Traditional web graphics programming relied on WebGL, which used GLSL ES for shader programming. However, as web applications became more sophisticated and demanded better performance, the need for a more modern graphics API became apparent.[3] WebGPU was developed to address these needs, providing access to modern GPU features while maintaining the security and portability requirements of the web platform.[2]
Shader Types
WGSL supports multiple shader stages:[1]
Vertex Shaders
Process individual vertices, transforming positions and computing per-vertex data for rasterization.[1]
Fragment Shaders
Execute for each fragment, computing final color values and depth information.[1]
Compute Shaders
Perform general-purpose parallel computations on the GPU, supporting various algorithms beyond traditional graphics rendering.[1]
See also
- WebGPU, the graphics API that uses WGSL
- SPIR-V, intermediate shader representation
- W3C, the organization developing WebGPU and WGSL
Other shading languages
- GLSL, shading language for OpenGL
- HLSL, Microsoft's shading language for Direct3D
- Metal Shading Language, Apple's shading language for Metal
- Cg, NVIDIA's C-based shading language
- Open Shading Language, offline rendering shading language
References
External links
- WebGPU Shading Language Specification - Official W3C specification
- WebGPU Specification - The broader WebGPU API specification
- WebGPU Working Group on GitHub - Development repository