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Basic Shader Syntax

This tutorial will introduce the basic syntax of ShaderLab using a simple texture rendering shader. Through this basic example, you will learn:

  • The basic structure of ShaderLab
  • How to declare variables and structures
  • Basic vertex shader transformations
  • Texture sampling in fragment shaders
  • Passing and using UV coordinates

Shader Structure

ShaderLab uses a three-level nested structure: Shader → SubShader → Pass

Shader "Tutorial/01-BasicShader" {
SubShader "Default" {
Pass "Forward" {
// Shader code goes here
}
}
}
  • Shader: The root node of the shader, defining the shader name.
  • SubShader: A variant of the shader; there can be multiple, and the engine will choose the most suitable one.
  • Pass: A rendering pass, defining the specific rendering logic.

Variable Declaration

In the Pass, we need to declare the variables used by the shader:

// Engine-built-in variable: MVP transformation matrix
mat4 renderer_MVPMat;
 
// Custom material properties
vec4 material_BaseColor;      // Base color
sampler2D material_BaseTexture; // Texture sampler

Structure Definition

Use structures to define vertex data and data to be passed:

// Vertex shader input (from mesh)
struct Attributes {
vec4 POSITION;    // Vertex position
vec2 TEXCOORD_0;  // UV coordinates
};
 
// Vertex shader output / Fragment shader input
struct Varyings {
vec2 uv;          // UV coordinates passed to the fragment shader
};

Built-in vertex attributes:

  • POSITION: Vertex position
  • TEXCOORD_0: First set of UV coordinates
  • NORMAL: Vertex normal
  • ... COLOR_0: Vertex color

Shader Entry Functions

Specify the entry functions for the vertex and fragment shaders:

VertexShader = vert;    // Vertex shader entry point
FragmentShader = frag;  // Fragment shader entry point

Vertex Shader

The vertex shader is responsible for processing the transformation of each vertex:

Varyings vert(Attributes attr) {
Varyings output;
 
// MVP transformation: Transform the vertex from model space to clip space
gl_Position = renderer_MVPMat * attr.POSITION;
 
// Pass the UV coordinates to the fragment shader
output.uv = attr.TEXCOORD_0;
 
return output;
}

Key Points:

  • gl_Position is a built-in output variable and must be assigned a value.
  • The returned structure data will be passed to the fragment shader.

Fragment Shader

The fragment shader is responsible for calculating the color of each pixel:

void frag(Varyings varying) {
// Sample color from the texture
vec4 texColor = texture2D(material_BaseTexture, varying.uv);
 
// Multiply with the material base color
vec4 finalColor = texColor * material_BaseColor;
 
// Output the final color
gl_FragColor = finalColor;
}

Key Points:

  • The texture2D() function is used for texture sampling.
  • gl_FragColor is a built-in output variable representing the final pixel color.
  • Color operations support vector operations.

Texture Sampling

Texture sampling is a common operation in shaders:

// Declare the texture sampler
sampler2D material_BaseTexture;
 
// Sample in the fragment shader
vec4 texColor = texture2D(material_BaseTexture, uv);

Sampling Parameters:

  • First parameter: Texture sampler
  • Second parameter: UV coordinates (vec2 type)

Complete Example Analysis

Let's analyze the complete shader code:

Shader "Tutorial/01-BasicShader" {
SubShader "Default" {
// Pass defines the rendering pipeline, specifying the rendering logic
Pass "Forward" {
// Engine-provided MVP matrix for vertex transformation
mat4 renderer_MVPMat;
 
// Custom material properties
vec4 material_BaseColor;
sampler2D material_BaseTexture;
 
// Vertex shader input structure (Attributes)
struct Attributes {
vec4 POSITION;    // Vertex position
vec2 TEXCOORD_0;  // UV coordinates
};
 
// Vertex shader output / Fragment shader input structure (Varyings)
struct Varyings {
vec2 uv;          // UV coordinates passed to the fragment shader
};
 
// Specify the shader entry points
VertexShader = vert;
FragmentShader = frag;
 
// Vertex shader: Handles vertex transformation and data passing
Varyings vert(Attributes attr) {
Varyings output;
 
// Transform the vertex from model space to clip space
gl_Position = renderer_MVPMat * attr.POSITION;
 
// Pass the UV coordinates to the fragment shader
output.uv = attr.TEXCOORD_0;
 
return output;
}
 
// Fragment shader: Calculates the final color for each pixel
void frag(Varyings varying) {
// Sample color from the texture
vec4 texColor = texture2D(material_BaseTexture, varying.uv);
 
// Multiply with the base color
vec4 finalColor = texColor * material_BaseColor;
 
// Output the final color
gl_FragColor = finalColor;
}
}
}
}

Running Results

This shader will:

  1. Transform the 3D model's vertices to screen space
  2. Pass the UV coordinates to the fragment shader
  3. Sample the texture
  4. Multiply the texture color with the base color to get the final color

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