RisShaderToolkit

RisShaderToolkit is a supporting library created for the RisGameFramework project.
Its main purpose is to provide a convenient, reliable foundation for loading, compiling, and managing shaders — especially those written in Slang.

Project Structure

The toolkit consists of two main parts:

1. RisShaderToolkit (C# / .NET library)

• High-level, public-facing C# API

• Depends on the shader_toolkit_c native library

• Provides easy-to-use methods for compiling Slang shaders into multiple target formats:

  • WGSL
  • SPIR-V
  • GLSL
  • possibly others in the future

• Published as NuGet package(s)

• Used by RisGameFramework but can be used by any other .NET project

2. shader_toolkit_c (C++ layer)

• Low-level C++ implementation using the official Slang compilation API
• Exposes ShaderCompiler classes and a clean C-compatible API
• Compiled into a dynamic library (.dll / .so / .dylib)
• Acts as the bridge between Slang and higher-level managed code
• Currently considered internal even though it's open sourced — it is not planned to be released as a standalone package

Goals & Philosophy

• Make Slang shader compilation dead simple in .NET / C# game/engine projects
• Provide a single, consistent API regardless of target backend (WebGPU, Vulkan, DirectX 12, etc.)
• Keep native code minimal and focused → most logic & convenience lives in C#
• Enable fast iteration when working with modern shading languages

Current Status

• C# NuGet package → released and publicly available
• C++ native layer → internal / tightly coupled to the C# project (for now)
• Primarily developed & used by RisGameFramework

Planned / Possible Future Directions

• Better diagnostic & error reporting in C#
• Shader reflection & metadata extraction helpers
• Support for more target profiles and optimization levels
• Using Slang modules
• (maybe) pure C# frontend for Slang

Feel free to use the RisShaderToolkit NuGet package in your own projects if you're working with Slang shaders in .NET!

Basic Usage Example

Here's how you might compile a simple vertex + fragment shader pair to WGSL:

using RisShaderToolkit;
/// ...
const string SLANG_SOURCE = @"
    struct VSInput
    { 
        float3 position : POSITION;
        float2 texCoord : TEXCOORD0;
        float4 color : COLOR0;
    }

    struct VSOutput
    {
        float4 position : SV_POSITION;
        float2 texCoord : TEXCOORD0;
        float4 color : COLOR0;
    }

    ConstantBuffer<float4x4> viewProjection : register(b0, space0);

    [shader("vertex")]
    VSOutput main_vs(VSInput input)
    {
        VSOutput output;
        output.position = mul(viewProjection, float4(input.position, 1.0));
        output.texCoord = input.texCoord;
        output.color = input.color;
        return output;
    }

    Texture2D diffuseTexture: register(t0, space1);
    SamplerState diffuseTexSampler : register(s1, space1);

    [shader("fragment")]
    float4 main_fs(VSOutput input) : SV_TARGET
    {
        float4 textureColor = diffuseTexture.Sample(diffuseTexSampler, input.texCoord);
        return textureColor * input.color;
    }";

ShaderCompiler compiler = new ();
ShaderStage[] stages = [ShaderStage.VERTEX, ShaderStage.FRAGMENT]
CompileResult result = compiler.CompileSlangToWgsl(SLANG_SOURCE, stages);
var wgsl = result.SourceCode;