Before we jump into creating the Vulkan application, we have to check for application validation layers and extensions. Let's go over these in more detail:
- Validation layers: Since so much control is given to developers, it is also possible for the developers to implement the Vulkan applications in an incorrect manner. The Vulkan validation layers check for such errors and tell the developer that they are doing something wrong and need to fix it.
- Extensions: Over the course of the development of the Vulkan API, new features may be introduced to newer GPUs. To keep Vulkan up to date, we need to extend its functionality by adding extensions.
One example of this is the introduction of Ray Tracing in the RTX series of GPUs. In Vulkan, a new extension was created to support this change in the hardware by NVIDIA, that is, Vk_NV_ray_tracing...