Vulkan 1.1.128 Released With Performance Query Extension

Vulkan 1.1.128 is out with various corrections and clarifications to this graphics/compute API specification but it also comes with one exciting new extension.

The new extension that is quite notable for Vulkan 1.1.128 is VK_KHR_performance_query. This KHR-ratified extension is the first cross-vendor extension in Vulkan for the querying of any performance counters on the hardware. We are used to seeing various performance counter extensions within Vulkan (and other APIs like OpenGL) but they tend to be vendor-specific extensions tailored towards their own individual needs.

VK_KHR_performance_query is used for querying of performance counters and is done in an extensible way to cater towards varying GPU device capabilities. VK_KHR_performance_query was worked on by the likes of Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, Samsung, Qualcomm, Google, and ARM, so it has quite broad vendor support.

Similar to the other debug / performance counter extensions, the intent is for VK_KHR_performance_query to be supported by performance profiling software and debugging type applications for offering an integrated view at the performance counters while running Vulkan workloads.

More details on Vulkan 1.1.128 with its many fixes and the new performance query documentation can be found via this Vulkan-Docs commit.