Vulkan-Docs/appendices/invariance.txt

// Copyright (c) 2015-2018 Khronos Group. This work is licensed under a
// Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License; see
// http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

[appendix]
[[invariance]]
= Invariance

The Vulkan specification is not pixel exact.
It therefore does not guarantee an exact match between images produced by
different Vulkan implementations.
However, the specification does specify exact matches, in some cases, for
images produced by the same implementation.
The purpose of this appendix is to identify and provide justification for
those cases that require exact matches.

== Repeatability

The obvious and most fundamental case is repeated issuance of a series of
Vulkan commands.
For any given Vulkan and framebuffer state vector, and for any Vulkan
command, the resulting Vulkan and framebuffer state must: be identical
whenever the command is executed on that initial Vulkan and framebuffer
state.
This repeatability requirement does not apply when using shaders containing
side effects (image and buffer variable stores and atomic operations),
because these memory operations are not guaranteed to be processed in a
defined order.

ifdef::VK_AMD_rasterization_order[]
The repeatability requirement does not apply for rendering done using a
graphics pipeline that uses ename:VK_RASTERIZATION_ORDER_RELAXED_AMD.
endif::VK_AMD_rasterization_order[]

One purpose of repeatability is avoidance of visual artifacts when a
double-buffered scene is redrawn.
If rendering is not repeatable, swapping between two buffers rendered with
the same command sequence may: result in visible changes in the image.
Such false motion is distracting to the viewer.
Another reason for repeatability is testability.

Repeatability, while important, is a weak requirement.
Given only repeatability as a requirement, two scenes rendered with one
(small) polygon changed in position might differ at every pixel.
Such a difference, while within the law of repeatability, is certainly not
within its spirit.
Additional invariance rules are desirable to ensure useful operation.


== Multi-pass Algorithms

Invariance is necessary for a whole set of useful multi-pass algorithms.
Such algorithms render multiple times, each time with a different Vulkan
mode vector, to eventually produce a result in the framebuffer.
Examples of these algorithms include:

  * "`Erasing`" a primitive from the framebuffer by redrawing it, either in
    a different color or using the XOR logical operation.
  * Using stencil operations to compute capping planes.


== Invariance Rules

For a given Vulkan device:

*Rule 1* _For any given Vulkan and framebuffer state vector, and for any
given Vulkan command, the resulting Vulkan and framebuffer state must: be
identical each time the command is executed on that initial Vulkan and
framebuffer state._

*Rule 2* _Changes to the following state values have no side effects (the
use of any other state value is not affected by the change):_

*Required:*

  * _Color and depth/stencil attachment contents_
  * _Scissor parameters (other than enable)_
  * _Write masks (color, depth, stencil)_
  * _Clear values (color, depth, stencil)_

*Strongly suggested:*

  * _Stencil parameters (other than enable)_
  * _Depth test parameters (other than enable)_
  * _Blend parameters (other than enable)_
  * _Logical operation parameters (other than enable)_

*Corollary 1* _Fragment generation is invariant with respect to the state
values listed in Rule 2._

*Rule 3* _The arithmetic of each per-fragment operation is invariant except
with respect to parameters that directly control it._

*Corollary 2* _Images rendered into different color attachments of the same
framebuffer, either simultaneously or separately using the same command
sequence, are pixel identical._

*Rule 4* _Identical pipelines will produce the same result when run multiple
times with the same input.
The wording "`Identical pipelines`" means slink:VkPipeline objects that have
been created with identical SPIR-V binaries and identical state, which are
then used by commands executed using the same Vulkan state vector.
Invariance is relaxed for shaders with side effects, such as performing
stores or atomics._

*Rule 5* _All fragment shaders that either conditionally or unconditionally
assign_ code:FragCoord.z _to_ code:FragDepth _are depth-invariant with
respect to each other, for those fragments where the assignment to_
code:FragDepth _actually is done._

If a sequence of Vulkan commands specifies primitives to be rendered with
shaders containing side effects (image and buffer variable stores and atomic
operations), invariance rules are relaxed.
In particular, rule 1, corollary 2, and rule 4 do not apply in the presence
of shader side effects.

The following weaker versions of rules 1 and 4 apply to Vulkan commands
involving shader side effects:

*Rule 6* _For any given Vulkan and framebuffer state vector, and for any
given Vulkan command, the contents of any framebuffer state not directly or
indirectly affected by results of shader image or buffer variable stores or
atomic operations must: be identical each time the command is executed on
that initial Vulkan and framebuffer state._

*Rule 7* _Identical pipelines will produce the same result when run multiple
times with the same input as long as:_

  * _shader invocations do not use image atomic operations;_
  * _no framebuffer memory is written to more than once by image stores,
    unless all such stores write the same value; and_
  * _no shader invocation, or other operation performed to process the
    sequence of commands, reads memory written to by an image store._


[NOTE]
.Note
====
The OpenGL spec has the following invariance rule: Consider a primitive p'
obtained by translating a primitive p through an offset (x, y) in window
coordinates, where x and y are integers.
As long as neither p' nor p is clipped, it must: be the case that each
fragment f' produced from p' is identical to a corresponding fragment f from
p except that the center of f' is offset by (x, y) from the center of f.

This rule does not apply to Vulkan and is an intentional difference from
OpenGL.
====

When any sequence of Vulkan commands triggers shader invocations that
perform image stores or atomic operations, and subsequent Vulkan commands
read the memory written by those shader invocations, these operations must:
be explicitly synchronized.


== Tessellation Invariance

When using a pipeline containing tessellation evaluation shaders, the
fixed-function tessellation primitive generator consumes the input patch
specified by an application and emits a new set of primitives.
The following invariance rules are intended to provide repeatability
guarantees.
Additionally, they are intended to allow an application with a carefully
crafted tessellation evaluation shader to ensure that the sets of triangles
generated for two adjacent patches have identical vertices along shared
patch edges, avoiding "`cracks`" caused by minor differences in the
positions of vertices along shared edges.

*Rule 1* _When processing two patches with identical outer and inner
tessellation levels, the tessellation primitive generator will emit an
identical set of point, line, or triangle primitives as long as the pipeline
used to process the patch primitives has tessellation evaluation shaders
specifying the same tessellation mode, spacing, vertex order, and point mode
decorations.
Two sets of primitives are considered identical if and only if they contain
the same number and type of primitives and the generated tessellation
coordinates for the vertex numbered m of the primitive numbered n are
identical for all values of m and n._

*Rule 2* _The set of vertices generated along the outer edge of the
subdivided primitive in triangle and quad tessellation, and the tessellation
coordinates of each, depends only on the corresponding outer tessellation
level and the spacing decorations in the tessellation shaders of the
pipeline._

*Rule 3* _The set of vertices generated when subdividing any outer primitive
edge is always symmetric.
For triangle tessellation, if the subdivision generates a vertex with
tessellation coordinates of the form (0, x, 1-x), (x, 0, 1-x), or (x, 1-x,
0), it will also generate a vertex with coordinates of exactly (0, 1-x, x),
(1-x, 0, x), or (1-x, x, 0), respectively.
For quad tessellation, if the subdivision generates a vertex with
coordinates of (x, 0) or (0, x), it will also generate a vertex with
coordinates of exactly (1-x, 0) or (0, 1-x), respectively.
For isoline tessellation, if it generates vertices at (0, x) and (1, x)
where x is not zero, it will also generate vertices at exactly (0, 1-x) and
(1, 1-x), respectively._

*Rule 4* _The set of vertices generated when subdividing outer edges in
triangular and quad tessellation must: be independent of the specific edge
subdivided, given identical outer tessellation levels and spacing.
For example, if vertices at (x, 1 - x, 0) and (1-x, x, 0) are generated when
subdividing the w = 0 edge in triangular tessellation, vertices must: be
generated at (x, 0, 1-x) and (1-x, 0, x) when subdividing an otherwise
identical v = 0 edge.
For quad tessellation, if vertices at (x, 0) and (1-x, 0) are generated when
subdividing the v = 0 edge, vertices must: be generated at (0, x) and (0,
1-x) when subdividing an otherwise identical u = 0 edge._

*Rule 5* _When processing two patches that are identical in all respects
enumerated in rule 1 except for vertex order, the set of triangles generated
for triangle and quad tessellation must: be identical except for vertex and
triangle order.
For each triangle n1 produced by processing the first patch, there must: be
a triangle n2 produced when processing the second patch each of whose
vertices has the same tessellation coordinates as one of the vertices in
n1._

*Rule 6* _When processing two patches that are identical in all respects
enumerated in rule 1 other than matching outer tessellation levels and/or
vertex order, the set of interior triangles generated for triangle and quad
tessellation must: be identical in all respects except for vertex and
triangle order.
For each interior triangle n1 produced by processing the first patch, there
must: be a triangle n2 produced when processing the second patch each of
whose vertices has the same tessellation coordinates as one of the vertices
in n1.
A triangle produced by the tessellator is considered an interior triangle if
none of its vertices lie on an outer edge of the subdivided primitive._

*Rule 7* _For quad and triangle tessellation, the set of triangles
connecting an inner and outer edge depends only on the inner and outer
tessellation levels corresponding to that edge and the spacing decorations._

*Rule 8* _The value of all defined components of_ code:TessCoord _will be in
the range [0, 1].
Additionally, for any defined component x of_ code:TessCoord, _the results
of computing 1.0-x in a tessellation evaluation shader will be exact.
If any floating-point values in the range [0, 1] fail to satisfy this
property, such values must: not be used as tessellation coordinate
components._