Project 10: GPU-Accelerated Renderer
A GPU-accelerated text renderer using OpenGL (or Metal/Vulkan) that uploads glyph atlases to the GPU and renders the entire terminal in one draw call.
Quick Reference
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Primary Language | C |
| Alternative Languages | Rust, C++ |
| Difficulty | Level 4: Expert (The Systems Architect) |
| Time Estimate | 4-6 weeks |
| Knowledge Area | Graphics / GPU / OpenGL |
| Tooling | GPU Renderer |
| Prerequisites | Project 9, basic OpenGL |
What You Will Build
A GPU-accelerated text renderer using OpenGL (or Metal/Vulkan) that uploads glyph atlases to the GPU and renders the entire terminal in one draw call.
Why It Matters
This project builds core skills that appear repeatedly in real-world systems and tooling.
Core Challenges
- Texture atlas creation → Pack glyphs into a single texture
- Vertex buffer generation → Build quads for each character
- Shader programming → Vertex and fragment shaders for text
- Color handling → Passing colors as attributes
- Damage tracking → Only re-render changed cells
Key Concepts
- OpenGL Text Rendering: LearnOpenGL - Text Rendering
- GPU Text Rendering: Sublime Text Hardware Acceleration
- Texture Atlases: Font Atlas Generation
Real-World Outcome
$ ./gpu_terminal
[RENDERER] OpenGL 4.6
[RENDERER] GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
[RENDERER] Glyph atlas: 512x512, 256 glyphs
[RENDERER] Draw calls per frame: 1
# At 4K resolution, still buttery smooth
# Can handle 10,000+ cells at 144fps
Implementation Guide
- Reproduce the simplest happy-path scenario.
- Build the smallest working version of the core feature.
- Add input validation and error handling.
- Add instrumentation/logging to confirm behavior.
- Refactor into clean modules with tests.
Milestones
- Milestone 1: Minimal working program that runs end-to-end.
- Milestone 2: Correct outputs for typical inputs.
- Milestone 3: Robust handling of edge cases.
- Milestone 4: Clean structure and documented usage.
Validation Checklist
- Output matches the real-world outcome example
- Handles invalid inputs safely
- Provides clear errors and exit codes
- Repeatable results across runs
References
- Main guide:
TERMINAL_EMULATOR_DEEP_DIVE_PROJECTS.md - “Computer Graphics from Scratch” by Gabriel Gambetta