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> It is expected you already know JavaScript before you read this article. Concepts like mapping arrays, destructuring assignment, spreading values, async/await

> It is expected you already know JavaScript before you read this article. Concepts like mapping arrays, destructuring assignment, spreading values, async/await, es6 modules, and more will be used extensively. So in other words, it’s just like Vulkan where the beginner tutorials have you set up your own allocators, deal with fencing, and use a swap chain just to put a single triangle on the screen? What the actual fuck? This doesn’t sound at all like “fundamentals” and makes me not want to ever use it if the very basics require all of the above. I think your average programmer, even one who does 3D graphics, is going to look at this and just be turned off.

waboremo 3y ago
Most of those concepts are foundational to web programming, yes. I also believe that for most people who "just want a triangle on the screen" they'll be utilizing other higher level tools to do so, and those tools will then do the "dirty" work of using WebGPU. Think, Figma making it easy for people to design but behind the scenes it's incredibly complex using C++ (might be outdated on this) compiled to WebAssembly. Same will apply here, most people who want lower level access to the GPU aren't really doing so just because of simple triangles or basic graphics work. There are already engines and frameworks for them.
shepherdjerred 3y ago
This is a beginner tutorial for WebGPU, not JavaScript. It's entirely reasonable to assume knowledge of language features.
spiralganglion 3y ago
WebGPU is not meant to be a high-level, beginner-accessible graphics API. It's meant to be a low-level GPU API that expert users can build nice tooling atop. It's an embodiment of the extensible web manifesto's principle that browsers ought to expose lower level hooks to enable API experimentation in user space, like we had with Promises starting out as a constellation of competing approaches in libraries.

waboremo 3y ago

Most of those concepts are foundational to web programming, yes. I also believe that for most people who "just want a triangle on the screen" they'll be utilizing other higher level tools to do so, and those tools will then do the "dirty" work of using WebGPU. Think, Figma making it easy for people to design but behind the scenes it's incredibly complex using C++ (might be outdated on this) compiled to WebAssembly. Same will apply here, most people who want lower level access to the GPU aren't really doing so just because of simple triangles or basic graphics work. There are already engines and frameworks for them.

shepherdjerred 3y ago

This is a beginner tutorial for WebGPU, not JavaScript. It's entirely reasonable to assume knowledge of language features.

spiralganglion 3y ago

WebGPU is not meant to be a high-level, beginner-accessible graphics API. It's meant to be a low-level GPU API that expert users can build nice tooling atop. It's an embodiment of the extensible web manifesto's principle that browsers ought to expose lower level hooks to enable API experimentation in user space, like we had with Promises starting out as a constellation of competing approaches in libraries.