A descriptor is a data structure representing a shader resource such as a buffer, image or sampler.

Descriptors are organized into descriptor sets, which are bound during command recording for use in subsequent drawing commands. The arrangement of content in each descriptor set is determined by a descriptor layout, which determines what descriptors can be stored within it. The sequence of descriptor layouts that can be used by a pipeline is specified by creating a pipeline resources object.

Shaders access resources via variables decorated with a set/space number and a binding number that link them to a descriptor in a descriptor set.

• Descriptor Layout
• Descriptor Set
• Push constants
• Pipeline Resources

Resources types in descriptor sets

There are a number of different resources types :

• vireo::DescriptorType::UNIFORM : a memory aligned consecutive array of data bound to a shader variable. push constants can be used to specify to a shader which element to use.
• vireo::DescriptorType::UNIFORM_DYNAMIC : a memory aligned array of data bound to a shader variable. vireo::CommandList::bindDescriptor can be used to bind a specific element by his memory offset.
• vireo::DescriptorType::SAMPLED_IMAGE : an array of images that can be sampled in a shader.
• vireo::DescriptorType::SAMPLER : an array of samplers that can be used to sample a texture in a shader.
• vireo::DescriptorType::READWRITE_IMAGE : an array of images that can be used in a compute shader.