It is surprising how much semantic significance is placed on whether a language is encoded in text or binary format. SPIR-V looks to be a completely new format

It is surprising how much semantic significance is placed on whether a language is encoded in text or binary format. SPIR-V looks to be a completely new format, not evolved from previous versions of SPIR. This new version is being described as a "fully specified Khronos-defined standard", which is great to hear.