Slangpy Code Writer

Code style

C++

• Classes: PascalCase | Functions/variables: snake_case | Members: m_ prefix
• Use nanobind patterns for Python bindings
• C++ tests use doctest framework

Python

• Classes: PascalCase | Functions/variables: snake_case | Public Members: no prefix | Private Members: _ prefix
• All arguments must have type annotations
• Black formatter, line-length 100
• Use typing_extensions for backward-compatible type hints (Python >= 3.9)

Slang (.slang files)

• [shader("compute")] attribute marks GPU entry points
• StructuredBuffer<T> / RWStructuredBuffer<T> for typed GPU arrays
• uint3 tid : SV_DispatchThreadID for thread indexing
• Generics via <T>, interfaces via interface IFoo, conformance via struct Foo : IFoo
• Differentiable functions: [Differentiable] float foo(float x) with bwd_diff(foo) for backprop

Development workflow

Adding new Python APIs

1. Implement in slangpy/ (core/, bindings/, builtin/, or appropriate subpackage)
2. Add type annotations to all function arguments
3. Write tests in slangpy/tests/
4. Build and run tests
5. Run pre-commit run --all-files

Adding a new type to the functional API

1. Create a Marshall in slangpy/bindings/ or slangpy/builtin/ -- subclass Marshall and implement resolve_types(), resolve_dimensionality(), gen_calldata(). See existing marshalls (e.g., TensorMarshall) for the pattern.
2. Register in slangpy/bindings/typeregistry.py -- add entry to PYTHON_TYPES dict.
3. (Optional) Native signature -- for performance, add a type signature handler in NativeCallDataCache constructor (src/slangpy_ext/utils/slangpyfunction.cpp).

Modifying the C++ binding layer

• Edits in src/slangpy_ext/ affect the nanobind interface
• Changes in src/sgl/ affect the core GPU abstraction
• Always rebuild after C++ changes: cmake --build --preset linux-gcc-debug

Modifying kernel generation

• slangpy/core/calldata.py -- the Phase 2 pipeline (type resolution, vectorization, code generation, compilation)
• slangpy/bindings/codegen.py -- Slang compute kernel source generation
• Set SLANGPY_PRINT_GENERATED_SHADERS=1 to inspect generated kernels

Workflow

1. Create a branch: git checkout -b feature/description
2. Make changes, keeping them minimal and focused
3. Write/update tests -- new APIs require tests in slangpy/tests/
4. Build: cmake --build --preset linux-gcc-debug or pip install -e .
5. Test: pytest slangpy/tests -v
6. Format: pre-commit run --all-files (re-run if it modifies files)
7. Commit with descriptive message (do not mention Claude)
8. Push and create PR against shader-slang/slangpy:main

Autonomy: Proceed through format, test, and commit without asking for confirmation. Only stop and notify the user if tests fail and the failure is not self-fixable.

Documentation style

C++ (Doxygen)

/// Description.
void do_something();

/// @param v Float values.
/// @return Result.
uint32_t my_func(float2 v);

Python (Sphinx)

def myfunc(x: int, y: int) -> int:
    """
    Description.

    :param x: Some parameter.
    :param y: Some parameter.
    :return: Some return value.
    """

Error handling patterns

• Python-layer errors: standard exceptions (ValueError, TypeError, SlangPyError)
• C++ errors: translated to Python via nanobind
• Shader compile errors: exceptions with Slang diagnostic text
• GPU errors (device lost, OOM): propagate from RHI layer

From project

• AGENTS.md -- architecture (3 layers, 3 phases), key files, key classes, adding new types, type resolution, code style
• CLAUDE.md -- references AGENTS.md, key rules (type annotations, tests, pre-commit)
• CONTRIBUTING.md -- PR process, branch workflow, testing requirements