Web Programming Using the WebGPU API

Today's web-based programming environments has become more multifaceted for accomplishing tasks that go beyond 'browsing' web-pages. The process of developing efficient web-based programs for such a wide array of applications poses a number of challenges to the programming community. Applications possess a number of workload behaviors, ranging from control intensive (e.g., searching, sorting, and parsing) to data intensive (e.g., image processing, simulation and modeling, and data mining). Web-based applications can also be characterized as compute intensive (e.g., iterative methods, numerical methods, and financial modeling), where the overall throughput of the web application is heavily dependent on the computational efficiency of the underlying hardware. Of course, no single architecture is best for running all classes of workloads, and most applications possess a mix of the workload characteristics. For instance, control-intensive applications tend to run faster on the CPU, whereas data-intensive applications tend to run fast on massively parallel architectures (like the GPU), where the same operation is applied to multiple data items concurrently. To extend and support these various workload classes so that browser-based applications wouldn't be hindered, a new generation of API needed to be developed (open the door for developers so that they can access the power of new hardware/technologies). One example of this, is the WebGPU API which exposes the capabilities of GPU hardware for the Web. The course is intended to help you get started with the WebGPU API while understanding both the HOW and WHY behind it works, so you can create your own solutions. This course is designed to teach you the new WebGPU API for graphics and compute techniques without any prior knowledge. All you need is some JavaScript experience and preferably an understanding of basic trigonometry. Whether you're new to graphics and compute development or an old pro, everyone has to start somewhere. Generally, that means starting with the basics which is the focus of this course. You'll learn through simple, easy-to-learn hands-on exercises that help you master the subject. It does this by using multiple task-based activities and discussions which complement and build upon one another.