Index of Topics Explained in the Example Programs

The Tutorial and Example Programs explain many topics listed here as an index.

General

• Naming conventions
• Main include files
• Main API access point
• Interfaces and handles
• Starting and shutting down
• Configuration of the MDL SDK
• Loading of MDL modules
• Enumerating the contents of MDL modules
• Inspecting the parameters of material and function definitions
• Instantiating material and function definitions
• Changing arguments
• Creating material and function variants
• Rationale for expressions vs values
• Creating a textured material
• Compiled materials
• Different compilation modes
• Target code generation
• Different compilation modes and options between
• Target code generation for a material with multiple functions
• Target code serialization
• MDL material state (CPU)
• MDL material state (PTX)
• MDL material state (GLSL)
• Execution of generated code (CPU)
• Execution of generated code (PTX)
• Execution of generated code (OptiX 7)
• Execution of generated code (GLSL)
• Loading textures (PTX)
• Loading textures (GLSL)
• Texture access functions (PTX)
• Texture access functions (GLSL)
• Constant data (GLSL)
• Configuration of the GLSL backend for Vulkan
• Generated BSDF functions (PTX)
• Changing compiled material arguments at runtime (PTX)
• Generated BSDF functions (CPU)
• Changing compiled material arguments at runtime (CPU)
• Generated BSDF functions (GLSL)
• Automatic derivatives

• Material distilling
• Baking material sub-expressions
• Compiling into one link unit
• Baking material to Unity texture channel layout
• Mapping distilled materials to a GLSL shader
• Custom Distiller target loading
• Custom Distiller plugin implementation

• Traversal of a compiled material
• Generating MDL code
• Creation of a simple diffuse material
• Creation of a material variant
• Using the uniform analysis
• Creation and usage of user-defined enum and struct types
• Discovery of MDL archives, packages and modules
• Caching of information on packages, modules, and materials
• Illustration of how we believe MDL materials should be presented to the user
• Example for Integrating the MDL encapsulated format
• Export and load materials or functions using the MDL encapsulated format
• Example for a Microsoft DXR-based MDL-enabled path tracer
• Rendering glTF scenes using MDL materials
• Linking and optimizing generated MDL code with renderer code
• Limiting the number of exported PTX functions
• AxF to MDL material format conversion