SL# is a runtime IL-to-GLSL/HLSL translation engine, written in pure C#. It takes the compiled IL of a shader definition written in a managed language (usually C#), and generates GLSL code from it. The GLSL is automatically uploaded to the GPU, and you can use the shader object as any other object in .NET. Shaders can have properties that map directly to uniform/varying variables in the GLSL code, allowing you to easily interact with your GPU code from the CPU.
Please note that SL# is currently a very experimental library. The syntax and usage may be subject to change at any time, as we further research what design is the most sane for the project.
There are quite a few advantages to this approach:
- Developers can use existing development tools (Visual Studio, MonoDevelop, SharpDevelop, etc.) to develop shaders. This means code completion, syntax checking, and so on.
- Shaders are validated at compile-time. Any syntactical or semantical errors are caught by the C# compiler, rather than at runtime when interacting with the GPU.
- No more storing shaders as huge strings in source code, or storing them as resources. They're compiled directly to IL.
SL# currently depends Mono.Cecil and ICSharpCode, as well as additional dependencies for the Bindings.
Please report any issues on the GitHub issue tracker.
Known problems:
- Geometry shaders are currently not supported.
- Support for other .NET languages (such as F#) is currently up in the air. We haven't had time to test SL# with F# yet, but we would definitely like to add support for it in the future (perhaps using quotations).
- HLSL support is currently at a bare minimum
This project is developed by students, as a part-time project. We're investing a lot of time into this, and so we would greatly appreciate donations that could help us get by economically. Rest assured that your money will make a difference for us.
Donations can be sent via PayPal to: xtzgzorex at gmail dot com