vkCmdBindDescriptorSets

To bind one or more descriptor sets to a command buffer, call:

void vkCmdBindDescriptorSets(
    VkCommandBuffer commandBuffer,
    VkPipelineBindPoint pipelineBindPoint,
    VkPipelineLayout layout,
    uint32_t firstSet,
    uint32_t descriptorSetCount,
    const VkDescriptorSet* pDescriptorSets,
    uint32_t dynamicOffsetCount,
    const uint32_t* pDynamicOffsets);

• commandBuffer is the command buffer that the descriptor sets will be bound to.
• pipelineBindPoint is a VkPipelineBindPoint indicating the type of the pipeline that will use the descriptors. There is a separate set of bind points for each pipeline type, so binding one does not disturb the others.
• layout is a VkPipelineLayout object used to program the bindings.
• firstSet is the set number of the first descriptor set to be bound.
• descriptorSetCount is the number of elements in the pDescriptorSets array.
• pDescriptorSets is a pointer to an array of handles to VkDescriptorSet objects describing the descriptor sets to bind to.
• dynamicOffsetCount is the number of dynamic offsets in the pDynamicOffsets array.
• pDynamicOffsets is a pointer to an array of uint32_t values specifying dynamic offsets.

vkCmdBindDescriptorSets binds descriptor sets pDescriptorSets[0..descriptorSetCount-1] to set numbers [firstSet..firstSet+descriptorSetCount-1] for subsequent bound pipeline commands set by pipelineBindPoint. Any bindings that were previously applied via these sets , or calls to vkCmdSetDescriptorBufferOffsetsEXT or vkCmdBindDescriptorBufferEmbeddedSamplersEXT, are no longer valid.

Once bound, a descriptor set affects rendering of subsequent commands that interact with the given pipeline type in the command buffer until either a different set is bound to the same set number, or the set is disturbed as described in Pipeline Layout Compatibility.

A compatible descriptor set must be bound for all set numbers that any shaders in a pipeline access, at the time that a drawing or dispatching command is recorded to execute using that pipeline. However, if none of the shaders in a pipeline statically use any bindings with a particular set number, then no descriptor set need be bound for that set number, even if the pipeline layout includes a non-trivial descriptor set layout for that set number.

When consuming a descriptor, a descriptor is considered valid if the descriptor is not undefined: as described by descriptor set allocation. If the nullDescriptor feature is enabled, a null descriptor is also considered valid. A descriptor that was disturbed by Pipeline Layout Compatibility, or was never bound by vkCmdBindDescriptorSets is not considered valid. If a pipeline accesses a descriptor either statically or dynamically depending on the VkDescriptorBindingFlagBits, the consuming descriptor type in the pipeline must match the VkDescriptorType in VkDescriptorSetLayoutCreateInfo for the descriptor to be considered valid. If a descriptor is a mutable descriptor, the consuming descriptor type in the pipeline must match the active descriptor type for the descriptor to be considered valid.

If any of the sets being bound include dynamic uniform or storage buffers, then pDynamicOffsets includes one element for each array element in each dynamic descriptor type binding in each set. Values are taken from pDynamicOffsets in an order such that all entries for set N come before set N+1; within a set, entries are ordered by the binding numbers in the descriptor set layouts; and within a binding array, elements are in order. dynamicOffsetCount must equal the total number of dynamic descriptors in the sets being bound.

The effective offset used for dynamic uniform and storage buffer bindings is the sum of the relative offset taken from pDynamicOffsets, and the base address of the buffer plus base offset in the descriptor set. The range of the dynamic uniform and storage buffer bindings is the buffer range as specified in the descriptor set.

Each of the pDescriptorSets must be compatible with the pipeline layout specified by layout. The layout used to program the bindings must also be compatible with the pipeline used in subsequent bound pipeline commands with that pipeline type, as defined in the Pipeline Layout Compatibility section.

The descriptor set contents bound by a call to vkCmdBindDescriptorSetsmay be consumed at the following times:

• For descriptor bindings created with the VK_DESCRIPTOR_BINDING_UPDATE_AFTER_BIND_BIT bit set, the contents may be consumed when the command buffer is submitted to a queue, or during shader execution of the resulting draws and dispatches, or any time in between. Otherwise,
• during host execution of the command, or during shader execution of the resulting draws and dispatches, or any time in between.

Thus, the contents of a descriptor set binding must not be altered (overwritten by an update command, or freed) between the first point in time that it may be consumed, and when the command completes executing on the queue.

The contents of pDynamicOffsets are consumed immediately during execution of vkCmdBindDescriptorSets. Once all pending uses have completed, it is legal to update and reuse a descriptor set.