NVIDIA Introduces VK_NVX_device_generated_commands Extension To Vulkan

NVIDIA this week announced the introduction of the VK_NVX_device_generated_commands Vulkan extension for allowing the GPU to generate rendering commands on its own.

VK_NVX_device_generated_commands is a Vulkan alternative to Microsoft's DirectX 12 ExecuteIndirect, but with the ability to change shaders/pipelines on the GPU.

NVIDIA's Christoph Kubisch explains, "This means for the first time an open graphics API provides functionality to create compact command buffer streams on the device avoiding the worst-case state setup of previous indirect drawing methods...In summary, the goal of this extension is primarily reducing the amount of actual work done on the GPU, and not off-loading command generation to the GPU in general. The extension is purposefully labeled as experimental (NVX, not NV) in order to gather early feedback from developers and researchers who want to play with these new features."

The Vulkan device-generated commands extension is outlined via this NVIDIA developer blog post.

Before anyone gets upset over this being a "NVIDIA extension", as with OpenGL and the other Vulkan extensions, it's simply because NVIDIA came up with the extension and isn't yet a ratified part of the Khronos Vulkan specification, thus vendor pre-fixed. There isn't anything stopping other Vulkan driver vendors from implementing this -- currently experimental -- extension, just like other NVIDIA VK extensions and AMD Vulkan extensions. Yet still many open-source enthusiasts seem to get bent out of shape when vendor-developed extensions are discussed.