Scott and CJ sit down live at JSNation NYC with Iwo Plaza, creator of TypeGPU, to dig into how WebGPU is unlocking a new wave of graphics and compute power on the web. They chat about shader authoring in TypeScript, the future of GPU-powered AI in the browser, and what it takes to build a killer developer-friendly graphics library. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:32 What is TypeGPU? High-level overview and why it exists 01:20 WebGPU vs WebGL – the new era of GPU access on the web 01:47 Why shader languages are hard + making them accessible 02:24 Iwo’s background in C++, OpenGL, and discovering JS 03:06 Sharing graphics work on the web vs native platforms 03:29 WebGPU frustrations that inspired TypeGPU 04:17 Making GPU–CPU data exchange easier with Zod-like schemas 05:01 Writing shaders in JavaScript + the unified type system 05:38 How the “use_gpu” directive works under the hood 06:05 Building a compiler that turns TypeScript into shader code 07:00 Type inference, primitives, structs, and TypeScript magic 08:21 Leveraging existing tooling via Unplugin + bundler integration 09:15 How TypeGPU extracts ASTs and generates TinyEST metadata 10:10 Runtime shader generation vs build-time macros 11:07 How the AST is traversed + maintaining transparency in output 11:43 Example projects like Jelly Shader and community reception 12:05 Brought to you by Sentry.io 12:30 Does TypeGPU replace 3JS? How it fits the existing ecosystem 13:20 Low-level control vs high-level abstractions 14:04 Upcoming Three.js integration – plugging TypeGPU into materials compute shaders 15:34 Making GPU development more approachable 16:26 Docs, examples, and the philosophy behind TypeGPU documentation 17:03 Building features by building examples first 18:13 Using examples as a test suite + how docs shape API design 19:00 Docs as a forcing function for intuitive APIs 20:21 GPU for AI – browser inference and future abstractions 21:11 How AI examples inform new libraries (noise, inference, etc.) 21:57 Keeping the core package small and flexible 22:44 Building “TypeGPU AI”-style extensions without bloating the core 23:07 The cost of AI examples and building everything from scratch 23:41 Standard library design and future of the ecosystem 24:04 Closing thoughts from Iwo – OSS, GPU renaissance, and encouragement 24:34 Sick Picks & Shameless Plugs Sick Picks Iwo: Perogies Shameless Plugs Iwo: Syntax Podcast Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats

Wes Bos & Scott Tolinski - Full Stack JavaScript Web Developers

959: TypeScript on the GPU with TypeGPU creator Iwo Plaza

DEC 1, 202525 MIN
Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats

959: TypeScript on the GPU with TypeGPU creator Iwo Plaza

DEC 1, 202525 MIN

Description

Scott and CJ sit down live at JSNation NYC with Iwo Plaza, creator of TypeGPU, to dig into how WebGPU is unlocking a new wave of graphics and compute power on the web. They chat about shader authoring in TypeScript, the future of GPU-powered AI in the browser, and what it takes to build a killer developer-friendly graphics library.

Show Notes

  • 00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
  • 00:32 What is TypeGPU? High-level overview and why it exists
  • 01:20 WebGPU vs WebGL – the new era of GPU access on the web
  • 01:47 Why shader languages are hard + making them accessible
  • 02:24 Iwo’s background in C++, OpenGL, and discovering JS
  • 03:06 Sharing graphics work on the web vs native platforms
  • 03:29 WebGPU frustrations that inspired TypeGPU
  • 04:17 Making GPU–CPU data exchange easier with Zod-like schemas
  • 05:01 Writing shaders in JavaScript + the unified type system
  • 05:38 How the “use_gpu” directive works under the hood
  • 06:05 Building a compiler that turns TypeScript into shader code
  • 07:00 Type inference, primitives, structs, and TypeScript magic
  • 08:21 Leveraging existing tooling via Unplugin + bundler integration
  • 09:15 How TypeGPU extracts ASTs and generates TinyEST metadata
  • 10:10 Runtime shader generation vs build-time macros
  • 11:07 How the AST is traversed + maintaining transparency in output
  • 11:43 Example projects like Jelly Shader and community reception
  • 12:05 Brought to you by Sentry.io
  • 12:30 Does TypeGPU replace 3JS? How it fits the existing ecosystem
  • 13:20 Low-level control vs high-level abstractions
  • 14:04 Upcoming Three.js integration – plugging TypeGPU into materials compute shaders
  • 15:34 Making GPU development more approachable
  • 16:26 Docs, examples, and the philosophy behind TypeGPU documentation
  • 17:03 Building features by building examples first
  • 18:13 Using examples as a test suite + how docs shape API design
  • 19:00 Docs as a forcing function for intuitive APIs
  • 20:21 GPU for AI – browser inference and future abstractions
  • 21:11 How AI examples inform new libraries (noise, inference, etc.)
  • 21:57 Keeping the core package small and flexible
  • 22:44 Building “TypeGPU AI”-style extensions without bloating the core
  • 23:07 The cost of AI examples and building everything from scratch
  • 23:41 Standard library design and future of the ecosystem
  • 24:04 Closing thoughts from Iwo – OSS, GPU renaissance, and encouragement
  • 24:34 Sick Picks & Shameless Plugs

Sick Picks

  • Iwo: Perogies

Shameless Plugs

  • Iwo: Syntax Podcast

Hit us up on Socials!

Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads

Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads

Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads

Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads