Vulkan Extension Wrangler

This library allows initializing Vulkan and adds important extensions. It doesn't require extra libraries. Debug services, and enum to string converters are included.

🔥 Core Features

Instance and Device Management

• Creation and destruction of VkInstance and VkDevice.
• Querying available Vulkan physical devices.
• Fetching physical device properties and features.
• Support for multiple platforms: Windows, Linux (XCB/Xlib/Wayland), Android, macOS (MoltenVK).

Function Loader

• Dynamic function lookup for Vulkan API functions (vkGetInstanceProcAddr / vkGetDeviceProcAddr).
• Handles both instance-level and device-level Vulkan functions.
• Support for VK_NO_PROTOTYPES to manually load Vulkan functions.

Extension & Layer Management

• Enumerates and checks for supported Vulkan instance and device extensions.
• Enables validation layers (VK_LAYER_KHRONOS_validation).
• Platform-specific extensions: VK_KHR_win32_surface, VK_KHR_xcb_surface, VK_KHR_wayland_surface, VK_KHR_android_surface, etc.

Swap Chain Management

🛠 Debugging & Logging Features

Debug Output Support

• Supports VK_EXT_debug_utils and VK_EXT_debug_report.
• Debug message callbacks for validation layer errors and warnings.
• Provides function vkewLogMessage() for structured logging.
• Detects Vulkan API call failures with vkewPrintResult().

Error Handling

• Converts Vulkan result codes (VkResult) into human-readable messages.
• Logs missing extensions and validation layers.
• Offers vkewOnErrors() for custom error handling.

⚙️ Synchronization & Command Management

Queue & Command Buffer Management

• Queries queue families (vkewGetGraphicsQueueFamilyIndex()).
• Retrieves and initializes command pools and command buffers.
• Loads core command submission functions (vkQueueSubmit, vkQueuePresentKHR).

Synchronization Primitives

• Creates and manages semaphores (vkCreateSemaphore).
• Handles fences for GPU synchronization (vkWaitForFences).
• Supports timeline semaphores (VK_KHR_timeline_semaphore).

📦 Advanced Vulkan Features

Ray Tracing Support

• Supports VK_KHR_ray_tracing_pipeline and VK_KHR_acceleration_structure.
• Provides function pointers for ray tracing operations.
• Fetches ray tracing pipeline properties and acceleration structure features.

Pipeline & Descriptor Management

• Creates render passes, framebuffers, pipelines.
• Manages descriptor sets and pipeline layouts.

Memory Management

• Fetches memory requirements (vkGetBufferMemoryRequirements).
• Supports memory mapping (vkMapMemory, vkUnmapMemory).
• Queries buffer and image device addresses (VK_KHR_buffer_device_address).

🌍 Platform-Specific Features

Windows (VK_USE_PLATFORM_WIN32_KHR)

• Uses vkCreateWin32SurfaceKHR for surface creation.
• Provides full-screen exclusive mode (VK_EXT_full_screen_exclusive).

Linux (VK_USE_PLATFORM_XCB_KHR, VK_USE_PLATFORM_XLIB_KHR, VK_USE_PLATFORM_WAYLAND_KHR)

• Supports vkCreateXcbSurfaceKHR, vkCreateXlibSurfaceKHR, vkCreateWaylandSurfaceKHR.

Android (VK_USE_PLATFORM_ANDROID_KHR)

• Uses vkCreateAndroidSurfaceKHR.

MacOS/iOS (MoltenVK)

• Supports VK_MVK_macos_surface and VK_MVK_ios_surface.

🛠 Utility Functions

String Converters

• Converts VkObjectType and VkResult to human-readable strings.

Feature Detection

• Checks for optional Vulkan features like VK_KHR_synchronization2, VK_EXT_descriptor_indexing, etc.
• Queries vkewSupportsFullscreenExclusive() for full-screen support.

Supported Vulkan Extensions in VKEW

VKEW enumerates instance/device extensions at runtime and exposes a boolean flag per supported extension (VKEW_<EXTENSION_NAME>). Extensions are enabled only when available on the current driver / platform.

Instance extensions (enabled during vkCreateInstance)

Extension	Purpose
VK_KHR_surface	Base surface extension required for presentation.
VK_KHR_win32_surface / VK_KHR_xlib_surface / VK_KHR_xcb_surface / VK_KHR_wayland_surface / VK_KHR_android_surface / VK_MVK_macos_surface / VK_MVK_ios_surface	Platform surface integration (selected by compile-time platform macro).
VK_KHR_get_physical_device_properties2	Required for querying extended physical-device properties/features.
VK_KHR_get_surface_capabilities2	Extended surface capability queries (used when present).
VK_KHR_driver_properties	Extended driver/vendor properties (used when present).
VK_EXT_debug_utils	Modern debug messenger (enabled when validation is enabled).
VK_EXT_debug_report	Legacy debug callbacks (enabled when validation is enabled and available).
VK_EXT_debug_marker	Debug object markers/names (if available).

Device extensions

VK_KHR_swapchain is required. The following optional extensions are detected and exposed as flags when available:

Core / maintenance

Extension	Purpose
VK_KHR_maintenance1	Misc. API/behavior fixes.
VK_KHR_maintenance2	Misc. API/behavior fixes.
VK_KHR_maintenance3	Misc. API/behavior fixes (descriptor-related).
VK_KHR_maintenance4	Limits and feature refinements.
VK_KHR_maintenance5	Additional limits/behavior refinements.
VK_KHR_portability_enumeration	Portability-enumeration support (notably relevant on some platforms).
VK_KHR_device_group	Multi-device / device-group support.
VK_KHR_multiview	Multiview rendering support.

Swapchain, presentation, and formats

Extension	Purpose
VK_KHR_swapchain	Swapchain creation and presentation (required).
VK_KHR_display	Display / direct-to-display support (when exposed by the driver).
VK_EXT_swapchain_colorspace	Additional swapchain color spaces (HDR / wide-gamut related).
VK_KHR_image_format_list	Image format lists (commonly used with swapchains and views).
VK_KHR_create_renderpass2	RenderPass2 creation API.
VK_KHR_dynamic_rendering	Dynamic rendering (rendering without predefined render passes).
VK_KHR_present_id	Present IDs for tracking presentation.
VK_KHR_present_wait	Present-wait support.

Synchronization and scheduling

Extension	Purpose
VK_KHR_synchronization2	Synchronization2 structures and APIs.
VK_KHR_timeline_semaphore	Timeline semaphores.

Descriptors, resource access, and memory

Extension	Purpose
VK_EXT_descriptor_indexing	Descriptor indexing / bindless-style patterns.
VK_EXT_descriptor_buffer	Descriptor buffer model.
VK_KHR_push_descriptor	Push descriptors.
VK_KHR_buffer_device_address	Buffer device address support.
VK_KHR_deferred_host_operations	Host-side deferred operations (often used by RT features).
VK_KHR_separate_depth_stencil_layouts	Separate depth/stencil layouts for transitions.
VK_EXT_memory_priority	Memory priority (when supported by the driver).

Pipeline and dynamic state

Extension	Purpose
VK_EXT_extended_dynamic_state	Extended dynamic state (v1).
VK_EXT_extended_dynamic_state2	Extended dynamic state (v2).
VK_EXT_extended_dynamic_state3	Extended dynamic state (v3).
VK_EXT_pipeline_creation_cache_control	Pipeline creation cache-control hints.
VK_EXT_subgroup_size_control	Subgroup size controls.

Ray tracing (optional)

Extension	Purpose
VK_KHR_acceleration_structure	Acceleration structures.
VK_KHR_ray_tracing_pipeline	Ray tracing pipeline.
VK_KHR_ray_query	Ray queries from any shader stage.

Shader and debug utilities

Extension	Purpose
VK_EXT_shader_demote_to_helper_invocation	Shader demote-to-helper-invocation.
VK_KHR_shader_clock	Shader clock access.
VK_KHR_shader_float16_int8	Float16 / Int8 arithmetic.
VK_EXT_robustness2	Additional robustness guarantees (driver dependent).