SHADERS (2001) Quiz

Exam-prep questions for the SHADERS (2001) track of the Terminal Academy. Write GLSL in a live fragment-shader sandbox: the programmable pipeline, varyings and uniforms, signed distance fields, lighting, errors.

This category currently has 40 questions in the SERVBG quiz bank. Below are a few sample questions: the full interactive quiz shuffles through the whole set with instant scoring.

Sample questions

In the graphics pipeline vertex stage, rasteriser, fragment stage, which stage is NOT programmable?

The rasteriser
The vertex stage
Both programmable ends, only the driver is fixed
Every stage became programmable in 2001
The fragment stage

What is the one output a vertex shader is required to write?

A texture coordinate for every sampler
The triangle's surface normal
gl_Position, the clip-space position of the vertex
The depth value for the z-buffer
gl_FragColor, the final pixel colour

What is the one value a GLSL ES 1.00 fragment shader is required to write?

The number of raymarch steps it used
gl_Position, a clip-space coordinate
A varying for the next stage to read
The vertex index it was generated from
gl_FragColor, a colour

What makes a value a 'uniform' in a shader?

The CPU sets it once per draw call and it is identical for every fragment in that call
It is uniform in size, always exactly four bytes
Each fragment computes its own copy of it
It changes smoothly across the surface of each triangle
The GPU picks its value at random each frame

A varying is written per what, and read per what?