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by fulafel 203 days ago
The WebGPU spec identifies squarely as a web standard: "WebGPU is an API that exposes the capabilities of GPU hardware for the Web." There are also no mentions of non-web applications.

The It's true that you can use Dawn and wgpu from native code but that's all outside the spec.
2 comments
throwaway6977 203 days ago
There is mention of desktop applications in their getting-started docs; it seems well within the intention of the maintainers to me.

https://eliemichel.github.io/LearnWebGPU/introduction.html

> Yeah, why in the world would I use a web API to develop a desktop application?

> Glad you asked, the short answer is:

    Reasonable level of abstraction

    Good performance

    Cross-platform

    Standard enough

    Future-proof
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fulafel 202 days ago
This is an indie site. Nothing wrong with it but it's not canon.
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reactordev 202 days ago
And yet Electron exists…

The intent and the application are never squarely joined. Yes it’s made for the web. However, it’s an API for graphics. If you need graphics, and you want to run anywhere that a web page could run, it’s a great choice.

If you want to roll your own abstraction over Vulkan, Metal, DX12, Legacy OpenGL, Legacy DX11, Mesa - be my guest.

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