20.7. External types

Types defined by the raw vulkan binding and the generated vulkan_structs view module that the documented boost surface references but does not own. The raw layer mirrors the Vulkan C API 1:1 and is not re-documented here — see the Vulkan specification for the authoritative field-by-field reference. This page anchors the labels so the generated boost pages can link without dangling references.

20.7.1. Core enums

20.7.1.1. vulkan::VkResult

Return code for almost every Vulkan command. VK_SUCCESS is 0; negative values are errors. The boost create_* / command wrappers run it through vk_check — left to default they panic on a non-success code, or forward it to a caller-supplied var result : VkResult?.

20.7.1.2. vulkan::VkFormat

Pixel / vertex-attribute format enum (VK_FORMAT_R8G8B8A8_UNORM, …). Passed to image, image-view, render-pass, and swapchain creation.

20.7.1.3. vulkan::VkColorSpaceKHR

Color space of a presentation surface (VK_COLOR_SPACE_SRGB_NONLINEAR_KHR, …). Reported by surface-format queries and recorded on the swapchain.

20.7.1.4. vulkan::VkImageLayout

Image memory layout (VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_UNDEFINED, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, …) used in render passes and barriers.

20.7.1.5. vulkan::VkPipelineBindPoint

Selects which bind point a pipeline / descriptor set binds to — GRAPHICS or COMPUTE. The trailing bind_point argument to cmd_bind_pipeline (defaults to GRAPHICS).

20.7.1.6. vulkan::VkCompareOp

Per-fragment comparison operator (LESS, LESS_OR_EQUAL, EQUAL, GREATER_OR_EQUAL, …). Used by the depth-stencil state on a graphics pipeline — the depth_compare_op argument to create_graphics_pipeline_v3d (defaults to LESS_OR_EQUAL for the standard z-buffer convention).

20.7.1.7. vulkan::VkAttachmentLoadOp

What a rendering does with an attachment’s contents on entry: CLEAR to the clear value, LOAD to keep what the view holds, DONT_CARE. The load_op of rendering_color_attachment and of the single-view record_rendering.

20.7.1.8. vulkan::VkAttachmentStoreOp

What a rendering does with an attachment’s contents on exit: STORE for a target something reads afterwards, DONT_CARE for one nothing reads (an MSAA source after its resolve, a depth buffer no later pass samples). The store_op of rendering_color_attachment and rendering_depth_attachment.

20.7.1.9. vulkan::VkFilter

Sampling filter (NEAREST, LINEAR) for a sampler or a scaled blit; the filter of blit_full_image.

20.7.2. Core handles and aliases

20.7.2.1. vulkan::VkCommandBuffer

Raw handle for a command buffer. begin_one_time_commands returns one allocated and begun; the submit_and_present pair ends, submits and frees it. vk_value_to_boost wraps it as the non-owning CommandBuffer the record helpers take.

20.7.2.2. vulkan::VkPipelineStageFlags2

The 64-bit synchronization2 pipeline-stage bitfield (color_attachment_output, compute_shader, copy, blit, fragment_shader, …). Spelled as VkPipelineStageFlags2.copy | VkPipelineStageFlags2.blit; PIPELINE_STAGE_2_NONE is the empty mask. The stage masks of the transition_image2 family and the acquire wait of submit2_and_present.

20.7.2.3. vulkan::VkAccessFlags2

The 64-bit synchronization2 memory-access bitfield (color_attachment_write, shader_sampled_read, shader_storage_write, transfer_read, …); ACCESS_2_NONE is the empty mask. The access masks of the transition_image2 family.

20.7.2.4. vulkan::VkPhysicalDevice

Raw non-owning handle for a physical GPU, returned by select_physical_device and consumed by device creation and memory queries. Has no RAII wrapper (it is owned by the instance, not created or destroyed).

20.7.2.5. vulkan::VkQueue

Raw non-owning handle for a device queue, returned by get_device_queue. Owned by the device; no separate destroy.

20.7.2.6. vulkan::VkMemoryPropertyFlags

Bitfield of memory-property bits (DEVICE_LOCAL, HOST_VISIBLE, HOST_COHERENT, …) used by find_memory_type to pick a heap.

20.7.2.7. vulkan::VkImage

Raw non-owning handle for an image. The owning RAII wrapper is Image; the swapchain’s images and the raw handle handed to present_frame’s record block are bare VkImage handles.

20.7.2.8. vulkan::VkAccessFlags

Bitfield of memory-access bits (shader_write, transfer_read, transfer_write, …). The source/destination access masks of a pipeline barrier; consumed by transition_image.

20.7.2.9. vulkan::VkPipelineStageFlags

Bitfield of pipeline-stage bits (top_of_pipe, compute_shader, transfer, fragment_shader, …). The source/destination stage masks of a pipeline barrier; consumed by transition_image.

20.7.2.10. vulkan::VkBufferUsageFlags

Bitfield of buffer-usage bits (vertex_buffer, index_buffer, uniform_buffer, storage_buffer, transfer_src, transfer_dst, …). Picks how the GPU consumes a VkBuffer; consumed by create_host_buffer and create_host_buffer_from_bytes.

20.7.2.11. vulkan::VkShaderStageFlags

Bitfield of shader-stage bits (vertex, fragment, compute, …). The stage mask telling Vulkan which shader stages read a push-constant update; consumed by cmd_push_constants.

20.7.2.12. vulkan::VkImageAspectFlags

Bitfield of image-aspect bits (color, depth, stencil). Selects which aspect of an image a layout transition or descriptor applies to; consumed by transition_image_aspect (the depth / stencil counterpart of the color-by-default transition_image).

20.7.2.13. vulkan::VkImageUsageFlags

Bitfield of image-usage bits (color_attachment, depth_stencil_attachment, sampled, transfer_src, transfer_dst, input_attachment, …). The extra_usage parameter the offscreen-builder overloads (build_offscreen_target, build_offscreen_depth) take on top of the helper’s always-set base usage.

20.7.2.14. vulkan::VkSampleCountFlags

Bitfield of sample-count bits (_1, _2, _4, _8, …). The MSAA sample count of an image or pipeline; consumed by build_offscreen_target, build_offscreen_depth, and create_graphics_pipeline_dyn.

20.7.2.15. vulkan::VkClearValue

Union of a clear color or depth/stencil value. clear_color builds one; record_render_pass consumes it.

20.7.2.16. vulkan::VkRect2D

An offset + extent rectangle. full_area builds one covering the whole target; used as the render-pass render area.

20.7.2.17. vulkan::VkVertexInputBindingDescription

One per vertex buffer bound by vkCmdBindVertexBuffers: the binding slot, the stride between vertices, and whether the rate is per-vertex or per-instance. Consumed by create_graphics_pipeline_v3d as vertex_bindings.

20.7.2.18. vulkan::VkVertexInputAttributeDescription

One per per-vertex attribute the vertex shader reads (@in @location = N): the location, the source binding slot, the format, and the byte offset within the vertex. Consumed by create_graphics_pipeline_v3d as vertex_attributes.

20.7.2.19. vulkan::VkPhysicalDeviceFeatures2

The chained feature struct a device is created with: core features in features, every extension feature struct hung off pNext. The create_device overloads that take one let a caller assemble an arbitrary chain, which is how the compute-tier creators enable coopmat, memory-priority and timeline-semaphore features in a single vkCreateDevice.

20.7.2.20. vulkan::VkGraphicsPipelineCreateInfo

The raw create info a graphics pipeline is built from: shader stages, fixed- function state pointers, the layout, and either a renderPass or a VkPipelineRenderingCreateInfo on pNext. set_pipeline_target and attach_rendering_formats take one a hand-built pipeline assembles.

20.7.2.21. vulkan::VkPipelineRenderingCreateInfo

The pNext struct that names the color and depth attachment formats a pipeline renders into when it is built without a render pass. RenderingFormats owns one; attach_rendering_formats fills it and chains it.

20.7.3. vulkan_structs view structs

20.7.3.1. vulkan_structs::*

The idiomatic view structs accepted by the creators and command wrappers on the Commands — RAII creators returning owning handle wrappers page. Each shadows the matching Vulkan struct with daslang-friendly fields: array<T> instead of count+pointer pairs, string instead of const char*, boost handle types instead of raw ones, and sType filled automatically. Because they are generated 1:1 from vk.xml, their fields are documented field-by-field in the Vulkan specification; see dasVulkan overview for the view-struct mechanism.