WESL - The extended WGSL language, and is pronounced like “weasel”. Stands for WebGPU Enhanced Shading Language
WESL translator - a program that implements the WESL specification
and transpiles WESL source code to WGSL.
WESL linker - a WESL translator.
Part of the process of translating WESL involves
linking together multiple WGSL and WESL modules.
Also akin to bundler in the JavaScript/TypeScript world.
Module: A unit of WESL or WGSL code with its own top-level scope, stored in a single module source.
Module Source: The stored text of a module, typically a WESL or WGSL file.
Root Module: The WESL module from which translation starts. A single project can have many root modules.
Declaration Path: A fully qualified ::-separated path whose final segment names a declared item.
Module Path: A ::-separated path naming a module; equivalently, a declaration path minus its final segment. See Imports.
Import Path: The ::-separated path written in an import statement. An import collection ({}) flattens into separate imports, each with its own import path.
Package Module: The top-level module of a package, typically the file package.wesl in the package root. A module path consisting only of package or a bare package name refers to the package module.
Side effects: WESL/WGSL shader code that is visible to host code (e.g. in Rust or JavaScript).
Changes to that shader code have the side effect of changing the host interface to the shader.
Directives: Generated WGSL code must agree on a set of directives
(Maybe const_assert?)
Package: A publishable body of WESL code containing multiple files. Akin to a JavaScript npm package or a Rust crate.
Package Root: The root directory containing WESL files
Visibility: Which modules can reference or re-export an item. Visibility
has three levels: public, package (the default), or private. For a
pipeline-relevant item, visibility also controls whether the root module
exposes it to the host (see Visibility).
