path: root/docs/architecture.md

# the architecture of donut

how donut is put together as a program: how the code is layered, how the same
rendering runs on two graphics apis, how a frame is drawn, and how the editor, the
live simulation, and the data export fit together.

for the physics behind the image itself, see [`physics.md`](physics.md).

## contents

- [overview](#overview)
- [the rhi: one interface, two backends](#the-rhi-one-interface-two-backends)
- [a frame, end to end](#a-frame-end-to-end)
- [the two renderers](#the-two-renderers)
- [scene and simulation: one world](#scene-and-simulation-one-world)
- [the rendering pipeline](#the-rendering-pipeline)
  - [progressive resolution and supersampling](#progressive-resolution-and-supersampling)
- [the workspace: tabs](#the-workspace-tabs)
- [the export pipeline](#the-export-pipeline)
- [the build system](#the-build-system)

## overview

donut is split into a few pieces with distinct jobs, so the physics, the platform,
and the interface can change independently.

```mermaid
flowchart TD
    App["Application<br/>thin shell + main loop"]
    App --> Scene["Scene<br/>the document/world:<br/>objects, black hole, cameras"]
    App --> UI["UILayer<br/>the docking UI shell"]
    App --> RP["RenderPath<br/>device-side rendering"]
    App --> Dev["RHI::Device<br/>the GPU, abstracted"]

    RP --> SR["SceneRenderer<br/>raster world editor"]
    RP --> BHR["BlackHoleRenderer<br/>geodesic ray tracer"]
    RP --> Dev

    Dev -.implemented by.-> GL["OpenGLDevice"]
    Dev -.implemented by.-> VK["VulkanDevice<br/>MoltenVK"]

    UI -.reads/writes.-> Scene
    SR -.reads.-> Scene
    BHR -.reads.-> Scene
```

| component | file | responsibility |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `Application` | [`src/core/application.cpp`](../src/core/application.cpp) | owns everything; runs the main loop; handles input, resize, vsync, fullscreen; exposes actions to the ui |
| `Scene` | [`src/scene/scene.h`](../src/scene/scene.h) | the world as plain data — placed objects, black-hole/disk parameters, the editor and simulation cameras, the hdri path |
| `UILayer` | [`src/ui/ui_layer.cpp`](../src/ui/ui_layer.cpp) | the docking shell: menu bar, workspace tabs, dockable panels with a layout per workspace; returns which view is live and drives the scene through `AppActions` |
| `RenderPath` | [`src/rendering/render_path.cpp`](../src/rendering/render_path.cpp) | turns the scene into pixels on whatever device is active; owns the two renderers and the environment cubemap |
| `RHI::Device` | [`src/rendering/rhi.h`](../src/rendering/rhi.h) | the portable gpu interface every backend implements |

two things carry most of the weight here. `Scene` is plain data with no knowledge
of the backend or the ui, and everything that touches the gpu goes through one
narrow interface (the rhi). the `Application` stays thin: it hands the document to
`Scene`, the pixels to `RenderPath`, and the controls to `UILayer`.

## the rhi: one interface, two backends

donut runs on both opengl and vulkan (through moltenvk on macos) from one codebase.
all rendering is written once against an abstract render hardware interface in the
`Donut::RHI` namespace, and each api supplies an implementation.

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    Renderers["SceneRenderer<br/>BlackHoleRenderer<br/>written once"] --> RHI["RHI::Device / CommandList<br/>Buffer · Texture · Pipeline · RenderTarget"]
    RHI --> GL["platform/opengl/<br/>OpenGLDevice"]
    RHI --> VK["platform/vulkan/<br/>VulkanDevice"]
    GL --> GLAPI[("OpenGL")]
    VK --> VKAPI[("Vulkan / MoltenVK")]
```

the interface (in [`rhi.h`](../src/rendering/rhi.h)) is small and shaped for modern
gpus:

- `Device` is the factory and frame driver: `create_buffer`, `create_texture`,
  `create_cubemap_from_hdri`, `create_render_target`, `create_pipeline`;
  `begin_frame` / `end_frame`; `set_vsync`, `resize`, `wait_idle`; the imgui hooks;
  and the export helpers `run_offscreen`, `read_render_target`,
  `read_render_target_float`.
- `CommandList` records work: `begin_render_pass` / `end_render_pass` (a `nullptr`
  target means the swapchain), `bind_pipeline`, `set_viewport`, `bind_uniform`,
  `bind_texture`, `bind_vertex_buffer`, `draw`.
- `Buffer`, `Texture`, `Pipeline` and `RenderTarget` are opaque gpu resources.
- `Format` is `{ None, Swapchain, RGBA8, RGBA16F, RGBA32F, D32 }`. `Swapchain`
  means whatever the presented image is, resolved per backend; `RGBA32F` is what
  makes raw floating-point export possible.

the backend is chosen once at startup, before the window exists, since the two apis
want the window created differently:

```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
    participant A as Application ctor
    participant S as SettingsManager
    participant W as Window (GLFW)
    participant D as RHI::Device
    A->>S: read graphics.render_api
    alt Vulkan
        A->>A: vulkan_prepare_glfw (GLFW_NO_API)
    end
    A->>W: create window
    A->>D: create_vulkan_device or create_opengl_device
    A->>D: init(native window)
```

because the renderers only ever see the rhi, the same draw code gives
pixel-identical output on both backends. that parity is checked by rendering to an
off-screen target and comparing the read-back pixels.

## a frame, end to end

the main loop is `Application::run`: poll events, render, then let vsync pace the
frame or sleep to hit the target fps. each frame is assembled in
`Application::render_frame`:

```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
    participant Dev as Device
    participant UI as UILayer
    participant In as Input
    participant RP as RenderPath
    Dev->>Dev: begin_frame(clear) → CommandList
    Dev->>Dev: imgui_new_frame
    Note over RP: update the active camera's projection
    UI->>UI: draw(ctx) → returns active View
    In->>In: update_input(view) — orbit / FPS camera
    RP->>RP: sync_hdri — reload cubemap if changed
    RP->>RP: render(cmd, scene, view, w, h, moving, time)
    Dev->>Dev: end_frame — submit + present
```

the `View` the ui returns — `None`, `Scene` or `BlackHole` — decides which
viewport is live and therefore what `RenderPath` draws. the `moving` flag, true
while the user is dragging or flying the camera, triggers the progressive-resolution
path described below.

## the two renderers

`RenderPath` owns two independent renderers, both written purely against the rhi.

`SceneRenderer` ([`scene_renderer.cpp`](../src/rendering/scene_renderer.cpp)) is the
world editor: a conventional rasteriser that draws the placed spheres, the ground
grid, the selection outline and gizmo, and a near-black black-hole marker at the
origin, sized to the horizon and ringed with an amber accretion-glow outline so it
reads against the dark background. this is what you manipulate in the scene view.

`BlackHoleRenderer` ([`black_hole_renderer.cpp`](../src/rendering/black_hole_renderer.cpp))
is the geodesic ray tracer. it runs the physics shader from [`physics.md`](physics.md)
as a full-screen fragment pass into an off-screen target, then presents that target
to the screen. this is the expensive work, and it runs only when the centre view is
simulation, and during export.

`RenderPath::render` routes to the right one based on the `View`:

```mermaid
flowchart TD
    R{View?}
    R -->|Scene| SP["Swapchain pass:<br/>SceneRenderer.render + ImGui"]
    R -->|None| EP["Swapchain pass:<br/>empty viewport + ImGui"]
    R -->|BlackHole| GP["Off-screen geodesic pass →<br/>blit to swapchain + ImGui"]
```

## scene and simulation: one world

the editor and the simulation are the same world, not two separate scenes. the
constant `SCENE_UNITS_PER_RS = 3.0` connects them: three editor grid units equal
one schwarzschild radius. `SceneRenderer` draws the black-hole marker's horizon at
that radius, and `BlackHoleRenderer` takes every placed `SceneObject`, multiplies
its position and radius by $r_s/3$ (the code's `SagA_rs / 3`) to reach physical metres, and uploads
them into the shader's `Objects` uniform (up to 16 spheres).

so a sphere placed in the scene view shows up in the same spot in the simulation
view, except now the curved rays bend around the hole and lens it, and it can appear
stretched, doubled, or smeared into an arc. the spheres are passive lit objects,
planets and the like; they don't exert their own gravity, only the black hole bends
light.

## the rendering pipeline

when the simulation view is active, `BlackHoleRenderer::render_geodesic` does three
things each frame:

1. fills the uniforms (`fill_uniforms`): the camera basis and fov; the
   black-hole/disk parameters (radii converted to metres, temperature, brightness,
   turbulence); the integration budget (`quality_steps`, clamped 1000–15000); and
   the scene objects.
2. picks the off-screen target by the `moving` flag (below) and runs the geodesic
   fragment shader over a full-screen quad into it.
3. blits that target to the swapchain (`blit`) with a present pipeline, flipping
   vertically where needed so opengl and vulkan agree on orientation, then draws the
   imgui overlay on top.

inside the shader, each pixel builds a ray from the camera basis, fov and aspect,
marches the geodesic (see [physics](physics.md#the-equations-of-motion)), and shades
from whatever it hit: the opaque disk's redshifted blackbody, the black shadow, a
lit object, or the background. the background is the hdri loaded as a cubemap
(`create_cubemap_from_hdri`); escaped rays sample it at a mip level chosen from how
fast neighbouring rays diverge (`ddx`/`ddy`), so the strongly lensed background
blurs rather than aliasing into a shimmering fan. the colour channel is then
tone-mapped with an aces filmic curve.

### progressive resolution and supersampling

interactivity trades against quality through resolution and sample count, not by
touching the physics:

| state | off-screen target | samples per pixel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| camera moving | `GEO_LO` = 480 × 270 | 1 |
| camera settled | `GEO_HI` = 960 × 540 | 4× rotated-grid supersampling |

the integration budget is the same in both states, because the disk needs a high
step count to resolve at steep poses and lowering it during motion makes it
flicker. when the camera stops, the renderer switches to the larger target and the
fragment shader averages four sub-pixel samples in a rotated-grid ("4-rook") pattern
before tone-mapping, which cleans up the near-horizontal lensed edges and the thin
photon ring.

## workspaces: tabs, docking and panels

the interface is a docking shell with three workspaces along the top —
**simulation**, **scene editor** and **export** — each a tab with its own
independent layout, the way blender's workspace tabs work. a main menu bar sits
above the tab strip; below it is a full-viewport dock space with a pass-through
centre, so the live 3d render shows through the middle while the workspace's tool
panels attach to the edges — drag, tab, hide, or restore them like a normal
desktop app. rearranging one workspace never touches the others, and all three
layouts, the open workspace and each one's panel set persist in `imgui.ini`
between runs.

each workspace fixes what the centre viewport shows — the `View` that
`UILayer::draw` returns to the `RenderPath` — and has its own set of panels. the
sphere panels are available in the black-hole workspaces too, since the lensed
render draws the spheres, though the gizmo itself only works in the scene editor:

| workspace | view | panels (open by default in bold) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| simulation | `BlackHole` — the lensed black hole | **black hole**, **diagnostics**, settings, outliner, properties |
| scene editor | `Scene` — the world editor | **outliner**, **properties**, **diagnostics**, settings |
| export | `BlackHole` | **export**, **black hole**, **diagnostics**, settings, outliner, properties |

the panels themselves:

| panel | for |
| --- | --- |
| outliner | the sphere list: add, delete, select |
| properties | the selected sphere's transform and colour, plus the viewport gizmo |
| black hole | camera mode/fov, the accretion disk, and integration quality |
| settings | display & renderer: vsync, frame cap, resolution, fullscreen, ui scale, api, overlay, hdri |
| export | choose which observable channels, at what resolution and format, then render to disk |
| diagnostics | device, backend, fps and a frame-time graph |

the **workspace** menu (or cmd/ctrl + 1/2/3) switches tabs, the **window** menu
toggles the open workspace's panels, and **layout → reset** rebuilds the open
workspace's default arrangement, or all three.

underneath, each workspace is its own imgui dock space with a fixed id. only the
open one is submitted for real each frame; the other two get a keep-alive ping,
which freezes their trees in place instead of tearing them down — nothing is laid
out or undocked while a workspace is off screen. an imgui window can only live in
one dock tree, so every panel is instanced once per workspace under a stable
`###workspace.panel` id (the same code draws all of them), which is also what lets
imgui save and restore each tree on its own. a workspace with no saved tree is
seeded on the first frame with the `DockBuilder` api. imgui doesn't remember which
workspace was open or which panels were showing, so a small `[Donut][Workspaces]`
section in `imgui.ini` does. only panels are docked windows — the centre stays a
pass-through hole onto the full-frame 3d render, so `Application::update_input`
drives the camera whenever the cursor is over that centre (imgui reports it
doesn't want the mouse) and yields to the panels otherwise.

## the export pipeline

export writes out the physical quantities donut computes, not just a screenshot. it
is driven by `RenderPath::export_frame`
([`render_path.cpp`](../src/rendering/render_path.cpp)) and the rhi's off-screen
helpers.

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    Cfg["ExportConfig<br/>channels · resolution · format"] --> Loop
    subgraph Loop["for each enabled channel"]
        direction TB
        RT["create_render_target<br/>RGBA8 (PNG) or RGBA32F (raw)"] --> OS["run_offscreen:<br/>render_export(channel, raw)"]
        OS --> RB["read_render_target(_float)"]
        RB --> WR["write PNG / PFM / CSV"]
    end
    WR --> Files["exports/donut_[channel]_[timestamp].[ext]"]
```

a few points worth knowing:

- the export always renders the settled view (`moving = false`) from the simulation
  camera, at the requested resolution, whatever the live window is doing.
- any combination of colour, redshift $g$, emission temperature and impact parameter
  (the observables from [physics](physics.md#observable-channels)) can be exported in
  one pass.
- png requests use an `RGBA8` target and the standard shader pipeline
  (`m_geo_pipeline`), giving a viewable tone-mapped or false-coloured image. pfm and
  csv requests use an `RGBA32F` target and an hdr pipeline variant
  (`m_geo_pipeline_hdr`), so the file holds the actual floating-point values: $g$ as
  a ratio, temperature in kelvin, impact parameter in $r_s$, colour as linear hdr
  radiance. for the disk-only channels, the alpha channel carries a validity mask (1
  where a ray hit the disk, 0 elsewhere).
- formats are png via `stb_image_write`, pfm (portable float map — raw rgb float,
  the usual choice for hdr data) via a small writer, and csv for the scalar channels,
  one grid value per cell.
- `run_offscreen` records a transient command buffer, submits it and waits, with no
  swapchain and no frame pacing. the target is then read back on the cpu and written
  to a timestamped file under `exports/`.

## the build system

donut uses premake5 to generate gnu makefiles. both backends compile into one
binary; the choice between them is made at runtime from the saved settings, so
there is no separate "opengl build" and "vulkan build".

generate and build (arm64 macos):

```bash
premake5 gmake && make config=debug
```

`premake5 clean` is wired up as a custom action that removes the generated build
output (`bin/`, `bin-int/`, the makefiles) along with the transient runtime files
(`logs/`, `config/`, `imgui.ini`), for a genuine from-scratch reset.

vendored third-party code lives under `ext/`. the portable renderers and the rhi
are under `src/rendering/`, with the two backends under `src/platform/opengl/` and
`src/platform/vulkan/`.

---

see [`physics.md`](physics.md) for the maths behind the image, and the top-level
[`README.md`](../README.md) for a project overview.