// Copyright 2015-2021 The Khronos Group, Inc. // // SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-4.0 [[extendingvulkan]] = Extending Vulkan New functionality may: be added to Vulkan via either new extensions or new versions of the core, or new versions of an extension in some cases. This chapter describes how Vulkan is versioned, how compatibility is affected between different versions, and compatibility rules that are followed by the Vulkan Working Group. [[extendingvulkan-instanceanddevicefunctionality]] == Instance and Device Functionality Commands that enumerate instance properties, or that accept a slink:VkInstance object as a parameter, are considered instance-level functionality. Commands ifdef::VK_VERSION_1_1,VK_KHR_get_physical_device_properties2[] that enumerate physical device properties, or endif::VK_VERSION_1_1,VK_KHR_get_physical_device_properties2[] that accept a slink:VkDevice object or any of a device's child objects as a parameter, are considered device-level functionality. ifdef::VK_VERSION_1_1[] [NOTE] .Note ==== Applications usually interface to Vulkan using a loader that implements only instance-level functionality, passing device-level functionality to implementations of the full Vulkan API on the system. In some circumstances, as these may be implemented independently, it is possible that the loader and device implementations on a given installation will support different versions. To allow for this and call out when it happens, the Vulkan specification enumerates device and instance level functionality separately - they have <>. ==== endif::VK_VERSION_1_1[] ifdef::VK_VERSION_1_1,VK_KHR_get_physical_device_properties2[] [NOTE] .Note ==== Vulkan 1.0 initially specified new physical device enumeration functionality as instance-level, requiring it to be included in an instance extension. As the capabilities of device-level functionality require discovery via physical device enumeration, this led to the situation where many device extensions required an instance extension as well. To alleviate this extra work, `apiext:VK_KHR_get_physical_device_properties2` (and subsequently Vulkan 1.1) redefined device-level functionality to include physical device enumeration. ==== endif::VK_VERSION_1_1,VK_KHR_get_physical_device_properties2[] [[extendingvulkan-coreversions]] == Core Versions The Vulkan Specification is regularly updated with bug fixes and clarifications. Occasionally new functionality is added to the core and at some point it is expected that there will be a desire to perform a large, breaking change to the API. In order to indicate to developers how and when these changes are made to the specification, and to provide a way to identify each set of changes, the Vulkan API maintains a version number. [[extendingvulkan-coreversions-versionnumbers]] === Version Numbers The Vulkan version number comprises four parts indicating the variant, major, minor and patch version of the Vulkan API Specification. The _variant_ indicates the variant of the Vulkan API supported by the implementation. This is always 0 for the Vulkan API. [NOTE] .Note ==== A non-zero variant indicates the API is a variant of the Vulkan API and applications will typically need to be modified to run against it. The variant field was a later addition to the version number, added in version 1.2.175 of the Specification. As Vulkan uses variant 0, this change is fully backwards compatible with the previous version number format for Vulkan implementations. New version number macros have been added for this change and the old macros deprecated. For existing applications using the older format and macros, an implementation with non-zero variant will decode as a very high Vulkan version. The high version number should be detectable by applications performing suitable version checking. ==== The _major version_ indicates a significant change in the API, which will encompass a wholly new version of the specification. The _minor version_ indicates the incorporation of new functionality into the core specification. The _patch version_ indicates bug fixes, clarifications, and language improvements have been incorporated into the specification. Compatibility guarantees made about versions of the API sharing any of the same version numbers are documented in <> The version number is used in several places in the API. In each such use, the version numbers are packed into a 32-bit integer as follows: * The variant is a 3-bit integer packed into bits 31-29. * The major version is a 7-bit integer packed into bits 28-22. * The minor version number is a 10-bit integer packed into bits 21-12. * The patch version number is a 12-bit integer packed into bits 11-0. [open,refpage='VK_API_VERSION_VARIANT',desc='Extract API variant number',type='defines'] -- dname:VK_API_VERSION_VARIANT extracts the API variant number from a packed version number: include::{generated}/api/defines/VK_API_VERSION_VARIANT.txt[] -- [open,refpage='VK_API_VERSION_MAJOR',desc='Extract API major version number',type='defines'] -- dname:VK_API_VERSION_MAJOR extracts the API major version number from a packed version number: include::{generated}/api/defines/VK_API_VERSION_MAJOR.txt[] -- [open,refpage='VK_VERSION_MAJOR',desc='Extract API major version number',type='defines'] -- dname:VK_VERSION_MAJOR extracts the API major version number from a packed version number: include::{generated}/api/defines/VK_VERSION_MAJOR.txt[] -- [open,refpage='VK_API_VERSION_MINOR',desc='Extract API minor version number',type='defines'] -- dname:VK_API_VERSION_MINOR extracts the API minor version number from a packed version number: include::{generated}/api/defines/VK_API_VERSION_MINOR.txt[] -- [open,refpage='VK_VERSION_MINOR',desc='Extract API minor version number',type='defines'] -- dname:VK_VERSION_MINOR extracts the API minor version number from a packed version number: include::{generated}/api/defines/VK_VERSION_MINOR.txt[] -- [open,refpage='VK_API_VERSION_PATCH',desc='Extract API patch version number',type='defines'] -- dname:VK_API_VERSION_PATCH extracts the API patch version number from a packed version number: include::{generated}/api/defines/VK_API_VERSION_PATCH.txt[] -- [open,refpage='VK_VERSION_PATCH',desc='Extract API patch version number',type='defines'] -- dname:VK_VERSION_PATCH extracts the API patch version number from a packed version number: include::{generated}/api/defines/VK_VERSION_PATCH.txt[] -- [open,refpage='VK_MAKE_API_VERSION',desc='Construct an API version number',type='defines',xrefs='VkApplicationInfo vkCreateInstance'] -- dname:VK_MAKE_API_VERSION constructs an API version number. include::{generated}/api/defines/VK_MAKE_API_VERSION.txt[] * pname:variant is the variant number. * pname:major is the major version number. * pname:minor is the minor version number. * pname:patch is the patch version number. -- [open,refpage='VK_MAKE_VERSION',desc='Construct an API version number',type='defines',xrefs='VkApplicationInfo vkCreateInstance'] -- dname:VK_MAKE_VERSION constructs an API version number. include::{generated}/api/defines/VK_MAKE_VERSION.txt[] * pname:major is the major version number. * pname:minor is the minor version number. * pname:patch is the patch version number. -- [open,refpage='VK_API_VERSION_1_0',desc='Return API version number for Vulkan 1.0',type='defines',xrefs='vkCreateInstance vkGetPhysicalDeviceProperties'] -- dname:VK_API_VERSION_1_0 returns the API version number for Vulkan 1.0.0. include::{generated}/api/defines/VK_API_VERSION_1_0.txt[] -- ifdef::VK_VERSION_1_1[] [open,refpage='VK_API_VERSION_1_1',desc='Return API version number for Vulkan 1.1',type='defines',xrefs='vkCreateInstance vkGetPhysicalDeviceProperties'] -- dname:VK_API_VERSION_1_1 returns the API version number for Vulkan 1.1.0. include::{generated}/api/defines/VK_API_VERSION_1_1.txt[] -- endif::VK_VERSION_1_1[] ifdef::VK_VERSION_1_2[] [open,refpage='VK_API_VERSION_1_2',desc='Return API version number for Vulkan 1.2',type='defines',xrefs='vkCreateInstance vkGetPhysicalDeviceProperties'] -- dname:VK_API_VERSION_1_2 returns the API version number for Vulkan 1.2.0. include::{generated}/api/defines/VK_API_VERSION_1_2.txt[] -- endif::VK_VERSION_1_2[] [[extendingvulkan-coreversions-queryingversionsupport]] === Querying Version Support ifndef::VK_VERSION_1_1[] [NOTE] .Note ==== In Vulkan 1.0, there is no mechanism to detect the separate versions of <> supported. However, the fname:vkEnumerateInstanceVersion command was added in Vulkan 1.1 to determine the supported version of instance-level functionality - querying for this function via flink:vkGetInstanceProcAddr will return `NULL` on implementations that only support Vulkan 1.0 functionality. For more information on this, please refer to the Vulkan 1.1 specification. ==== endif::VK_VERSION_1_1[] ifdef::VK_VERSION_1_1[] The version of instance-level functionality can be queried by calling flink:vkEnumerateInstanceVersion. endif::VK_VERSION_1_1[] The version of device-level functionality can be queried by calling flink:vkGetPhysicalDeviceProperties ifdef::VK_VERSION_1_1,VK_KHR_get_physical_device_properties2[] or flink:vkGetPhysicalDeviceProperties2, endif::VK_VERSION_1_1,VK_KHR_get_physical_device_properties2[] and is returned in slink:VkPhysicalDeviceProperties::pname:apiVersion, encoded as described in <>. [[extendingvulkan-layers]] == Layers When a layer is enabled, it inserts itself into the call chain for Vulkan commands the layer is interested in. Layers can: be used for a variety of tasks that extend the base behavior of Vulkan beyond what is required by the specification - such as call logging, tracing, validation, or providing additional extensions. [NOTE] .Note ==== For example, an implementation is not expected to check that the value of enums used by the application fall within allowed ranges. Instead, a validation layer would do those checks and flag issues. This avoids a performance penalty during production use of the application because those layers would not be enabled in production. ==== [NOTE] .Note ==== Vulkan layers may: wrap object handles (i.e. return a different handle value to the application than that generated by the implementation). This is generally discouraged, as it increases the probability of incompatibilities with new extensions. The validation layers wrap handles in order to track the proper use and destruction of each object. See the <> document for additional information. ==== [open,refpage='vkEnumerateInstanceLayerProperties',desc='Returns up to requested number of global layer properties',type='protos'] -- To query the available layers, call: include::{generated}/api/protos/vkEnumerateInstanceLayerProperties.txt[] * pname:pPropertyCount is a pointer to an integer related to the number of layer properties available or queried, as described below. * pname:pProperties is either `NULL` or a pointer to an array of slink:VkLayerProperties structures. If pname:pProperties is `NULL`, then the number of layer properties available is returned in pname:pPropertyCount. Otherwise, pname:pPropertyCount must: point to a variable set by the user to the number of elements in the pname:pProperties array, and on return the variable is overwritten with the number of structures actually written to pname:pProperties. If pname:pPropertyCount is less than the number of layer properties available, at most pname:pPropertyCount structures will be written, and ename:VK_INCOMPLETE will be returned instead of ename:VK_SUCCESS, to indicate that not all the available properties were returned. The list of available layers may change at any time due to actions outside of the Vulkan implementation, so two calls to fname:vkEnumerateInstanceLayerProperties with the same parameters may: return different results, or retrieve different pname:pPropertyCount values or pname:pProperties contents. Once an instance has been created, the layers enabled for that instance will continue to be enabled and valid for the lifetime of that instance, even if some of them become unavailable for future instances. include::{generated}/validity/protos/vkEnumerateInstanceLayerProperties.txt[] -- [open,refpage='VkLayerProperties',desc='Structure specifying layer properties',type='structs'] -- The sname:VkLayerProperties structure is defined as: include::{generated}/api/structs/VkLayerProperties.txt[] * pname:layerName is an array of ename:VK_MAX_EXTENSION_NAME_SIZE code:char containing a null-terminated UTF-8 string which is the name of the layer. Use this name in the pname:ppEnabledLayerNames array passed in the slink:VkInstanceCreateInfo structure to enable this layer for an instance. * pname:specVersion is the Vulkan version the layer was written to, encoded as described in <>. * pname:implementationVersion is the version of this layer. It is an integer, increasing with backward compatible changes. * pname:description is an array of ename:VK_MAX_DESCRIPTION_SIZE code:char containing a null-terminated UTF-8 string which provides additional details that can: be used by the application to identify the layer. include::{generated}/validity/structs/VkLayerProperties.txt[] -- [open,refpage='VK_MAX_EXTENSION_NAME_SIZE',desc='Maximum length of a layer of extension name string',type='consts'] -- ename:VK_MAX_EXTENSION_NAME_SIZE is the length in code:char values of an array containing a layer or extension name string, as returned in slink:VkLayerProperties::layerName, slink:VkExtensionProperties::extensionName, and other queries. include::{generated}/api/enums/VK_MAX_EXTENSION_NAME_SIZE.txt[] -- [open,refpage='VK_MAX_DESCRIPTION_SIZE',desc='Length of a driver name string',type='consts'] -- ename:VK_MAX_DESCRIPTION_SIZE is the length in code:char values of an array containing a string with additional descriptive information about a query, as returned in slink:VkLayerProperties::description and other queries. include::{generated}/api/enums/VK_MAX_DESCRIPTION_SIZE.txt[] -- To enable a layer, the name of the layer should: be added to the pname:ppEnabledLayerNames member of slink:VkInstanceCreateInfo when creating a sname:VkInstance. Loader implementations may: provide mechanisms outside the Vulkan API for enabling specific layers. Layers enabled through such a mechanism are _implicitly enabled_, while layers enabled by including the layer name in the pname:ppEnabledLayerNames member of slink:VkInstanceCreateInfo are _explicitly enabled_. Implicitly enabled layers are loaded before explicitly enabled layers, such that implicitly enabled layers are closer to the application, and explicitly enabled layers are closer to the driver. Except where otherwise specified, implicitly enabled and explicitly enabled layers differ only in the way they are enabled, and the order in which they are loaded. Explicitly enabling a layer that is implicitly enabled results in this layer being loaded as an implicitly enabled layer; it has no additional effect. [[extendingvulkan-layers-devicelayerdeprecation]] === Device Layer Deprecation Previous versions of this specification distinguished between instance and device layers. Instance layers were only able to intercept commands that operate on sname:VkInstance and sname:VkPhysicalDevice, except they were not able to intercept flink:vkCreateDevice. Device layers were enabled for individual devices when they were created, and could only intercept commands operating on that device or its child objects. Device-only layers are now deprecated, and this specification no longer distinguishes between instance and device layers. Layers are enabled during instance creation, and are able to intercept all commands operating on that instance or any of its child objects. At the time of deprecation there were no known device-only layers and no compelling reason to create one. In order to maintain compatibility with implementations released prior to device-layer deprecation, applications should: still enumerate and enable device layers. The behavior of fname:vkEnumerateDeviceLayerProperties and valid usage of the pname:ppEnabledLayerNames member of slink:VkDeviceCreateInfo maximizes compatibility with applications written to work with the previous requirements. [open,refpage='vkEnumerateDeviceLayerProperties',desc='Returns properties of available physical device layers',type='protos'] -- To enumerate device layers, call: include::{generated}/api/protos/vkEnumerateDeviceLayerProperties.txt[] * pname:pPropertyCount is a pointer to an integer related to the number of layer properties available or queried. * pname:pProperties is either `NULL` or a pointer to an array of slink:VkLayerProperties structures. If pname:pProperties is `NULL`, then the number of layer properties available is returned in pname:pPropertyCount. Otherwise, pname:pPropertyCount must: point to a variable set by the user to the number of elements in the pname:pProperties array, and on return the variable is overwritten with the number of structures actually written to pname:pProperties. If pname:pPropertyCount is less than the number of layer properties available, at most pname:pPropertyCount structures will be written, and ename:VK_INCOMPLETE will be returned instead of ename:VK_SUCCESS, to indicate that not all the available properties were returned. The list of layers enumerated by fname:vkEnumerateDeviceLayerProperties must: be exactly the sequence of layers enabled for the instance. The members of sname:VkLayerProperties for each enumerated layer must: be the same as the properties when the layer was enumerated by fname:vkEnumerateInstanceLayerProperties. include::{generated}/validity/protos/vkEnumerateDeviceLayerProperties.txt[] -- The pname:ppEnabledLayerNames and pname:enabledLayerCount members of slink:VkDeviceCreateInfo are deprecated and their values must: be ignored by implementations. However, for compatibility, only an empty list of layers or a list that exactly matches the sequence enabled at instance creation time are valid, and validation layers should: issue diagnostics for other cases. Regardless of the enabled layer list provided in slink:VkDeviceCreateInfo, the sequence of layers active for a device will be exactly the sequence of layers enabled when the parent instance was created. [[extendingvulkan-extensions]] == Extensions Extensions may: define new Vulkan commands, structures, and enumerants. For compilation purposes, the interfaces defined by registered extensions, including new structures and enumerants as well as function pointer types for new commands, are defined in the Khronos-supplied `{core_header}` together with the core API. However, commands defined by extensions may: not be available for static linking - in which case function pointers to these commands should: be queried at runtime as described in <>. Extensions may: be provided by layers as well as by a Vulkan implementation. Because extensions may: extend or change the behavior of the Vulkan API, extension authors should: add support for their extensions to the Khronos validation layers. This is especially important for new commands whose parameters have been wrapped by the validation layers. See the <> document for additional information. [NOTE] .Note ==== To enable an instance extension, the name of the extension can: be added to the pname:ppEnabledExtensionNames member of slink:VkInstanceCreateInfo when creating a sname:VkInstance. To enable a device extension, the name of the extension can: be added to the pname:ppEnabledExtensionNames member of slink:VkDeviceCreateInfo when creating a sname:VkDevice. ifdef::VK_VERSION_1_1,VK_KHR_get_physical_device_properties2[] Physical-Device-Level functionality does not have any enabling mechanism and can: be used as long as the slink:VkPhysicalDevice supports the device extension as determined by flink:vkEnumerateDeviceExtensionProperties. endif::VK_VERSION_1_1,VK_KHR_get_physical_device_properties2[] Enabling an extension (with no further use of that extension) does not change the behavior of functionality exposed by the core Vulkan API or any other extension, other than making valid the use of the commands, enums and structures defined by that extension. Valid Usage sections for individual commands and structures do not currently contain which extensions have to be enabled in order to make their use valid, although they might do so in the future. It is defined only in the <> section. ==== === Instance Extensions Instance extensions add new <> to the API, outside of the core specification. [open,refpage='vkEnumerateInstanceExtensionProperties',desc='Returns up to requested number of global extension properties',type='protos'] -- To query the available instance extensions, call: include::{generated}/api/protos/vkEnumerateInstanceExtensionProperties.txt[] * pname:pLayerName is either `NULL` or a pointer to a null-terminated UTF-8 string naming the layer to retrieve extensions from. * pname:pPropertyCount is a pointer to an integer related to the number of extension properties available or queried, as described below. * pname:pProperties is either `NULL` or a pointer to an array of slink:VkExtensionProperties structures. When pname:pLayerName parameter is `NULL`, only extensions provided by the Vulkan implementation or by implicitly enabled layers are returned. When pname:pLayerName is the name of a layer, the instance extensions provided by that layer are returned. If pname:pProperties is `NULL`, then the number of extensions properties available is returned in pname:pPropertyCount. Otherwise, pname:pPropertyCount must: point to a variable set by the user to the number of elements in the pname:pProperties array, and on return the variable is overwritten with the number of structures actually written to pname:pProperties. If pname:pPropertyCount is less than the number of extension properties available, at most pname:pPropertyCount structures will be written, and ename:VK_INCOMPLETE will be returned instead of ename:VK_SUCCESS, to indicate that not all the available properties were returned. Because the list of available layers may change externally between calls to flink:vkEnumerateInstanceExtensionProperties, two calls may retrieve different results if a pname:pLayerName is available in one call but not in another. The extensions supported by a layer may also change between two calls, e.g. if the layer implementation is replaced by a different version between those calls. Implementations must: not advertise any pair of extensions that cannot be enabled together due to behavioral differences, or any extension that cannot be enabled against the advertised version. include::{generated}/validity/protos/vkEnumerateInstanceExtensionProperties.txt[] -- === Device Extensions Device extensions add new <> to the API, outside of the core specification. [open,refpage='vkEnumerateDeviceExtensionProperties',desc='Returns properties of available physical device extensions',type='protos'] -- To query the extensions available to a given physical device, call: include::{generated}/api/protos/vkEnumerateDeviceExtensionProperties.txt[] * pname:physicalDevice is the physical device that will be queried. * pname:pLayerName is either `NULL` or a pointer to a null-terminated UTF-8 string naming the layer to retrieve extensions from. * pname:pPropertyCount is a pointer to an integer related to the number of extension properties available or queried, and is treated in the same fashion as the flink:vkEnumerateInstanceExtensionProperties::pname:pPropertyCount parameter. * pname:pProperties is either `NULL` or a pointer to an array of slink:VkExtensionProperties structures. When pname:pLayerName parameter is `NULL`, only extensions provided by the Vulkan implementation or by implicitly enabled layers are returned. When pname:pLayerName is the name of a layer, the device extensions provided by that layer are returned. Implementations must: not advertise any pair of extensions that cannot be enabled together due to behavioral differences, or any extension that cannot be enabled against the advertised version. include::{generated}/validity/protos/vkEnumerateDeviceExtensionProperties.txt[] -- [open,refpage='VkExtensionProperties',desc='Structure specifying an extension properties',type='structs'] -- The sname:VkExtensionProperties structure is defined as: include::{generated}/api/structs/VkExtensionProperties.txt[] * pname:extensionName is an array of ename:VK_MAX_EXTENSION_NAME_SIZE code:char containing a null-terminated UTF-8 string which is the name of the extension. * pname:specVersion is the version of this extension. It is an integer, incremented with backward compatible changes. include::{generated}/validity/structs/VkExtensionProperties.txt[] -- [[extendingvulkan-extensions-extensiondependencies]] == Extension Dependencies Some extensions are dependent on other extensions, or on specific core API versions, to function. To enable extensions with dependencies, any _required extensions_ must: also be enabled through the same API mechanisms when creating an instance with flink:vkCreateInstance or a device with flink:vkCreateDevice. Each extension which has such dependencies documents them in the <>. If an extension is supported (as queried by flink:vkEnumerateInstanceExtensionProperties or flink:vkEnumerateDeviceExtensionProperties), then _required extensions_ of that extension must: also be supported for the same instance or physical device. Any device extension that has an instance extension dependency that is not enabled by flink:vkCreateInstance is considered to be unsupported, hence it must: not be returned by flink:vkEnumerateDeviceExtensionProperties for any slink:VkPhysicalDevice child of the instance. Instance extensions do not have dependencies on device extensions. If a required extension has been <> to another extension or to a core API version, then as a _general_ rule, the dependency is also satisfied by the promoted extension or core version. This will be true so long as any features required by the original extension are also required or enabled by the promoted extension or core version. However, in some cases an extension is promoted while making some of its features optional in the promoted extension or core version. In this case, the dependency may: not be satisfied. The only way to be certain is to look at the descriptions of the original dependency and the promoted version in the <> and <> appendices. [NOTE] .Note ==== There is metadata in `vk.xml` describing some aspects of promotion, especially `requires`, `promotedto` and `deprecatedby` attributes of `` tags. However, the metadata does not yet fully describe this scenario. In the future, we may extend the XML schema to describe the full set of extensions and versions satisfying a dependency. ==== == Compatibility Guarantees (Informative) This section is marked as informal as there is no binding responsibility on implementations of the Vulkan API - these guarantees are however a contract between the Vulkan Working Group and developers using this Specification. [[extendingvulkan-compatibility-coreversions]] === Core Versions Each of the <> of the Vulkan specification provide different compatibility guarantees. ==== Patch Versions A difference in the patch version indicates that a set of bug fixes or clarifications have been made to the Specification. Informative enums returned by Vulkan commands that will not affect the runtime behavior of a valid application may be added in a patch version (e.g. elink:VkVendorId). The specification's patch version is strictly increasing for a given major version of the specification; any change to a specification as described above will result in the patch version being increased by 1. Patch versions are applied to all minor versions, even if a given minor version is not affected by the provoking change. Specifications with different patch versions but the same major and minor version are _fully compatible_ with each other - such that a valid application written against one will work with an implementation of another. [NOTE] .Note ==== If a patch version includes a bug fix or clarification that could have a significant impact on developer expectations, these will be highlighted in the change log. Generally the Vulkan Working Group tries to avoid these kinds of changes, instead fixing them in either an extension or core version. ==== ==== Minor Versions Changes in the minor version of the specification indicate that new functionality has been added to the core specification. This will usually include new interfaces in the header, and may: also include behavior changes and bug fixes. Core functionality may: be deprecated in a minor version, but will not be obsoleted or removed. The specification's minor version is strictly increasing for a given major version of the specification; any change to a specification as described above will result in the minor version being increased by 1. Changes that can be accommodated in a patch version will not increase the minor version. Specifications with a lower minor version are _backwards compatible_ with an implementation of a specification with a higher minor version for core functionality and extensions issued with the KHR vendor tag. Vendor and multi-vendor extensions are not guaranteed to remain functional across minor versions, though in general they are with few exceptions - see <> for more information. ==== Major Versions A difference in the major version of specifications indicates a large set of changes which will likely include interface changes, behavioral changes, removal of <>, and the modification, addition, or replacement of other functionality. The specification's major version is monotonically increasing; any change to the specification as described above will result in the major version being increased. Changes that can be accommodated in a patch or minor version will not increase the major version. The Vulkan Working Group intends to only issue a new major version of the Specification in order to realise significant improvements to the Vulkan API that will necessarily require breaking compatibility. A new major version will likely include a wholly new version of the specification to be issued - which could include an overhaul of the versioning semantics for the minor and patch versions. The patch and minor versions of a specification are therefore not meaningful across major versions. If a major version of the specification includes similar versioning semantics, it is expected that the patch and the minor version will be reset to 0 for that major version. [[extendingvulkan-compatibility-extensions]] === Extensions A KHR extension must: be able to be enabled alongside any other KHR extension, and for any minor or patch version of the core Specification beyond the minimum version it requires. A multi-vendor extension should: be able to be enabled alongside any KHR extension or other multi-vendor extension, and for any minor or patch version of the core Specification beyond the minimum version it requires. A vendor extension should: be able to be enabled alongside any KHR extension, multi-vendor extension, or other vendor extension from the same vendor, and for any minor or patch version of the core Specification beyond the minimum version it requires. A vendor extension may: be able to be enabled alongside vendor extensions from another vendor. The one other exception to this is if a vendor or multi-vendor extension is <> by either a core version or another extension, which will be highlighted in the <>. [[extendingvulkan-compatibility-promotion]] ==== Promotion Extensions, or features of an extension, may: be promoted to a new <>, or a newer extension which an equal or greater number of implementors are in favour of. When extension functionality is promoted, minor changes may: be introduced, limited to the following: * Naming * Non-intrusive parameters changes * <> * Combining structure parameters into larger structures * Author ID suffixes changed or removed [NOTE] .Note ==== If extension functionality is promoted, there is no guarantee of direct compatibility, however it should require little effort to port code from the original feature to the promoted one. The Vulkan Working Group endeavours to ensure that larger changes are marked as either <> or <> as appropriate, and can do so retroactively if necessary. ==== Extensions that are promoted are listed as being promoted in their extension appendices, with reference to where they were promoted to. When an extension is promoted, any backwards compatibility aliases which exist in the extension will *not* be promoted. [NOTE] .Note ==== As a hypothetical example, if the `apiext:VK_KHR_surface` extension were promoted to part of a future core version, the ename:VK_COLOR_SPACE_SRGB_NONLINEAR_KHR token defined by that extension would be promoted to etext:VK_COLOR_SPACE_SRGB_NONLINEAR. However, the ename:VK_COLORSPACE_SRGB_NONLINEAR_KHR token aliases ename:VK_COLOR_SPACE_SRGB_NONLINEAR_KHR. The ename:VK_COLORSPACE_SRGB_NONLINEAR_KHR would not be promoted, because it is a backwards compatibility alias that exists only due to a naming mistake when the extension was initially published. ==== [[extendingvulkan-compatibility-deprecation]] ==== Deprecation Extensions may: be marked as deprecated when the intended use cases either become irrelevant or can be solved in other ways. Generally, a new feature will become available to solve the use case in another extension or core version of the API, but it is not guaranteed. [NOTE] .Note ==== Features that are intended to replace deprecated functionality have no guarantees of compatibility, and applications may require drastic modification in order to make use of the new features. ==== Extensions that are deprecated are listed as being deprecated in their extension appendices, with an explanation of the deprecation and any features that are relevant. [[extendingvulkan-compatibility-obsoletion]] ==== Obsoletion Occasionally, an extension will be marked as obsolete if a new version of the core API or a new extension is fundamentally incompatible with it. An obsoleted extension must: not be used with the extension or core version that obsoleted it. Extensions that are obsoleted are listed as being obsoleted in their extension appendices, with reference to what they were obsoleted by. [[extendingvulkan-compatibility-aliases]] ==== Aliases When an extension is promoted or deprecated by a newer feature, some or all of its functionality may: be replicated into the newer feature. Rather than duplication of all the documentation and definitions, the specification instead identifies the identical commands and types as _aliases_ of one another. Each alias is mentioned together with the definition it aliases, with the older aliases marked as "`equivalents`". Each alias of the same command has identical behavior, and each alias of the same type has identical meaning - they can be used interchangeably in an application with no compatibility issues. [NOTE] .Note ==== For promoted types, the aliased extension type is semantically identical to the new core type. The C99 headers simply `typedef` the older aliases to the promoted types. For promoted command aliases, however, there are two separate entry point definitions, due to the fact that the C99 ABI has no way to alias command definitions without resorting to macros. Calling via either entry point definition will produce identical behavior within the bounds of the specification, and should still invoke the same entry point in the implementation. Debug tools may use separate entry points with different debug behavior; to write the appropriate command name to an output log, for instance. ==== [[extendingvulkan-compatibility-specialuse]] ==== Special Use Extensions Some extensions exist only to support a specific purpose or specific class of application. These are referred to as "`special use extensions`". Use of these extensions in applications not meeting the special use criteria is not recommended. Special use cases are restricted, and only those defined below are used to describe extensions: // The attributes in the "Special Use" column are defined in // config/attribs.txt, and used in reference pages as well as here. // They define human-readable names for corresponding XML attribute values, // so specialuse="cadsupport" -> "CAD Support". They are used in the table // here and in the ExtensionMetaDocGenerator script that produces metadata // includes for extension appendices. When introducing a new special use, // the attribute and the table must both be extended. [[extendingvulkan-specialuse-table]] .Extension Special Use Cases [width="100%",options="header",cols="25%,15%,60%"] |==== | Special Use | XML Tag | Full Description | {cadsupport} | cadsupport | Extension is intended to support specialized functionality used by CAD/CAM applications. | {d3demulation} | d3demulation | Extension is intended to support D3D emulation layers, and applications ported from D3D, by adding functionality specific to D3D. | {devtools} | devtools | Extension is intended to support developer tools such as capture-replay libraries. | {debugging} | debugging | Extension is intended for use by applications when debugging. | {glemulation} | glemulation | Extension is intended to support OpenGL and/or OpenGL ES emulation layers, and applications ported from those APIs, by adding functionality specific to those APIs. |==== Special use extensions are identified in the metadata for each such extension in the <> appendix, using the name in the "`Special Use`" column above. Special use extensions are also identified in `vk.xml` with the short name in "`XML Tag`" column above, as described in the "`API Extensions (`extension` tag)`" section of the <>.