Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
cppcon.org
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From Pure ISO C++20 To Compute Shaders - Koen Samyn - CppCon 2025
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Modern graphics and compute projects still force developers to write every kernel twice—once in C++ for CPU debugging and again in GLSL/HLSL for the GPU. This session shows how entirely standard C++20 can unify those worlds. C++ features such as constexpr, user defined literals and templates are used to write C++ source code that can be transpiled easily into GLSL or HLSL.
Attendees will learn three reusable techniques:
Metadata as templates, not attributes – e.g. resources like Buffer＜float,0,2＞ encode set & binding in ordinary non‑type parameters, so any ISO‑compliant compiler accepts the code and tooling can reflect it without macros or vendor keywords.
CPU work‑group emulation – std::execution::par_unseq plus a per‑group std::barrier faithfully reproduces compute shader parallellism, enabling single‑step debugging in a familiar debugger.
AST‑driven transpile & reflection – a lightweight Clang LibTooling pass converts the same source file to GLSL, inserts #line mappings for error reporting, and emits a JSON descriptor table that engines can consume automatically.
If you want to dive into the world of compute shading without leaving the familiarity of C++, this is the talk for you.
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Slides: github.com/CppCon/CppCon2025/blob/main/Presentations/From_Pure_ISO_Cpp20_to_Compute_Shaders.pptx
Work at Hudson River Trading (HRT): tinyurl.com/safxfctf
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Koen Samyn
Koen is a senior software engineer and lecturer at digital art and entertainment whose primary focus is bringing modern C++ to GPU-driven game technology. Over the past decade he has built and optimized compute-shader pipelines for lighting, physics, and inverse kinematics. In the classroom Koen mentors future developers on topics such as C++20/23 concurrency, data-oriented design, and the nuances of dispatching workloads across CPU and GPU.
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CppCon is the annual, week-long face-to-face gathering for the entire C++ community. The conference is organized by the C++ community for the community. You will enjoy inspirational talks and a friendly atmosphere designed to help attendees learn from each other, meet interesting people, and generally have a stimulating experience. Taking place this year in Aurora, Colorado, near the Denver airport, and including multiple diverse tracks, the conference will appeal to anyone from C++ novices to experts.
Annual CppCon Conference - cppcon.org
linkedin.com/company/cppcon
https://x.com/cppcon
facebook.com/CppConference
reddit.com/r/cppcon
https://mastodon.social/@CppCon
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Videos Filmed & Edited by Bash Films: BashFilms.com
YouTube Channel Managed by Digital Medium Ltd: events.digital-medium.co.uk
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#cpp #cplusplus #cppcon #cppprogramming #cplusplusprogramming #softwaredevelopment #softwareengineering #coding #code #computerscience #technology #technews #programming #programmer
cppcon.org
---
From Pure ISO C++20 To Compute Shaders - Koen Samyn - CppCon 2025
---
Modern graphics and compute projects still force developers to write every kernel twice—once in C++ for CPU debugging and again in GLSL/HLSL for the GPU. This session shows how entirely standard C++20 can unify those worlds. C++ features such as constexpr, user defined literals and templates are used to write C++ source code that can be transpiled easily into GLSL or HLSL.
Attendees will learn three reusable techniques:
Metadata as templates, not attributes – e.g. resources like Buffer＜float,0,2＞ encode set & binding in ordinary non‑type parameters, so any ISO‑compliant compiler accepts the code and tooling can reflect it without macros or vendor keywords.
CPU work‑group emulation – std::execution::par_unseq plus a per‑group std::barrier faithfully reproduces compute shader parallellism, enabling single‑step debugging in a familiar debugger.
AST‑driven transpile & reflection – a lightweight Clang LibTooling pass converts the same source file to GLSL, inserts #line mappings for error reporting, and emits a JSON descriptor table that engines can consume automatically.
If you want to dive into the world of compute shading without leaving the familiarity of C++, this is the talk for you.
---
Slides: github.com/CppCon/CppCon2025/blob/main/Presentations/From_Pure_ISO_Cpp20_to_Compute_Shaders.pptx
Work at Hudson River Trading (HRT): tinyurl.com/safxfctf
---
Koen Samyn
Koen is a senior software engineer and lecturer at digital art and entertainment whose primary focus is bringing modern C++ to GPU-driven game technology. Over the past decade he has built and optimized compute-shader pipelines for lighting, physics, and inverse kinematics. In the classroom Koen mentors future developers on topics such as C++20/23 concurrency, data-oriented design, and the nuances of dispatching workloads across CPU and GPU.
---
CppCon is the annual, week-long face-to-face gathering for the entire C++ community. The conference is organized by the C++ community for the community. You will enjoy inspirational talks and a friendly atmosphere designed to help attendees learn from each other, meet interesting people, and generally have a stimulating experience. Taking place this year in Aurora, Colorado, near the Denver airport, and including multiple diverse tracks, the conference will appeal to anyone from C++ novices to experts.
Annual CppCon Conference - cppcon.org
linkedin.com/company/cppcon
https://x.com/cppcon
facebook.com/CppConference
reddit.com/r/cppcon
https://mastodon.social/@CppCon
---
Videos Filmed & Edited by Bash Films: BashFilms.com
YouTube Channel Managed by Digital Medium Ltd: events.digital-medium.co.uk
---
#cpp #cplusplus #cppcon #cppprogramming #cplusplusprogramming #softwaredevelopment #softwareengineering #coding #code #computerscience #technology #technews #programming #programmer
