Open-Source Intel & AMD Drivers Make Quick Progress On Vulkan Roadmap 2024 Extensions

Following this morning's embargo lift on the Vulkan Roadmap 2024 specification, Mesa merge requests were opened by Intel and RADV stakeholders in beginning to implement the new extensions for these Mesa Vulkan drivers and promoting existing extensions to their newly-minted state.

Longtime Linux desktop users (and/or Phoronix readers) will recall the struggles many years ago of the Linux drivers being slow to adopt OpenGL 3.0, open-source drivers not supporting new GL/GLSL specs until well after release, and that continued much of the last decade. Thankfully in the modern Vulkan world and with the IHVs being much more concerned about Linux GPU support these days than years ago, these delays haven't happened and commonly even seeing launch-day driver support or at least new patches being posted for review of new extensions.

Following today's Vulkan Roadmap 2024 embargo lift, Intel engineers began posting merge requests for updating their ANV Vulkan driver. Today's merge requests so far have included VK_KHR_shader_float_controls2, VK_KHR_shader_quad_control, VK_KHR_shader_maximal_reconvergence, VK_KHR_dynamic_rendering_local_read, and also dealing with the promoted extensions to KHR.

Meanwhile the Valve open-source team that continues working on the Radeon RADV driver so well posted their own Vulkan Roadmap 2024 merge requests. Today on the RADV side were merge requests for promoting the various EXT to KHR extensions as well as VK_KHR_dynamic_rendering_local_read, VK_KHR_shader_maximal_reconvergence, and VK_KHR_shader_quad_control.

There's also been the common Vulkan work for VK_KHR_shader_expect_assume and SPIR-V header updates. The Lavapipe software driver has also opened one for VK_KHR_dynamic_rendering_local_read.

Much of that code is still under review but should likely see merges over the coming days. Though given the timing and with Mesa 24.0 having been branched earlier this month, these new extensions won't be in stable versions until next quarter with Mesa 24.1. In any event it's wonderful seeing all these same-day Vulkan Roadmap 2024 patches for Intel ANV and Radeon RADV.

More details on the Vulkan Roadmap 2024 changes via the Vulkan documentation.