Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GLSL Sandbox VS Shader Editor

Compare GLSL Sandbox VS Shader Editor and see what are their differences

GLSL Sandbox logo GLSL Sandbox

An online GSGL Shader Gallery and live development tool.

Shader Editor logo Shader Editor

Android app to create GLSL shaders and use them as live wallpaper
  • GLSL Sandbox Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-25
  • Shader Editor Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-27

GLSL Sandbox features and specs

  • Interactive Learning
    GLSL Sandbox offers a real-time environment where users can instantly see the effects of their GLSL code, which is excellent for learning and experimenting.
  • Community-Sharing
    Users can share their shaders with the community, allowing for collaborative learning and inspiration from the works of others.
  • No Setup Required
    As a web-based tool, GLSL Sandbox eliminates the need for complex setups or installations, making it accessible from any browser.
  • Quick Prototyping
    The platform allows for rapid prototyping of shader ideas, letting users test and iterate their designs efficiently.
  • Simple Interface
    GLSL Sandbox features a straightforward and user-friendly interface, making it easy for people new to GLSL to start creating.

Possible disadvantages of GLSL Sandbox

  • Limited Features
    Compared to more sophisticated IDEs, GLSL Sandbox lacks advanced tools and features such as debugging support, version control, and project management.
  • Performance Constraints
    Being browser-based, it may not handle complex shaders or provide the performance needed for more demanding graphics work.
  • No Offline Access
    GLSL Sandbox requires an internet connection, which can be a limitation for users who need to work offline.
  • Less Control Over Environment
    Users cannot customize the development environment as much as standalone applications, potentially limiting specific workflow preferences.
  • Shader Compatibility
    Since it runs in a web environment, compatibility issues may arise depending on the browser being used and its support for WebGL.

Shader Editor features and specs

  • Open Source
    Shader Editor is open source, allowing users to freely access, modify, and contribute to the codebase to enhance functionalities or fix issues as per their requirements.
  • Portability
    As a mobile app, it allows users to create and test GLSL shaders on the go, providing a convenient platform for developers and artists.
  • Interactive Editing
    Shader Editor offers interactive editing of shaders, providing immediate visual feedback which helps in quicker development and debugging.
  • Community Support
    Being hosted on GitHub means there is potential for strong community support, with users sharing ideas, solutions, and improvements through issues and pull requests.
  • Learning Resource
    This tool can serve as a valuable educational resource for individuals interested in learning about shader programming and graphic rendering techniques.

Possible disadvantages of Shader Editor

  • Platform Limitations
    Since it is primarily an Android app, it may not support development or testing on platforms like iOS or desktop environments, limiting its usability to Android devices.
  • Performance Constraints
    Running complex shaders may be demanding on mobile device hardware, impacting performance and reducing the ability to test high-end graphics adequately.
  • Feature Set
    The feature set may be more limited compared to desktop-based shader editors, which often have more advanced tools and integrations available.
  • Device Compatibility
    Some shaders might not run uniformly across different Android devices due to variations in hardware and OpenGL support, leading to inconsistencies in shader behavior.
  • User Interface Challenges
    The user interface might not be as intuitive or spacious as desktop-based alternatives, potentially leading to a less efficient editing experience on smaller screens.

GLSL Sandbox videos

fractal GLSL sandbox review metroid like

More videos:

  • Review - Importing GLSL sandbox shaders and rendering under macOS Metal.

Shader Editor videos

Advanced Materials in Blender 2.80 | Shader Editor Tutorial

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Amplify Shader Editor Tutorial 1 - User Interaction
  • Review - SHADERed -- Excellent Free and Open Source Shader Editor

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GLSL Sandbox and Shader Editor)
3D
53 53%
47% 47
Interactive Exhibits
53 53%
47% 47
VJ
53 53%
47% 47
Prototyping Tools
50 50%
50% 50

User comments

Share your experience with using GLSL Sandbox and Shader Editor. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GLSL Sandbox seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 7 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GLSL Sandbox mentions (7)

  • Show HN: Psychedelic animation generator; (p)art of your next trip
    Https://iquilezles.org/ is a legend, see the articles and video tutorials. Aside from shadertoy I use https://glslsandbox.com/ (for some reason it has https errors now). It's the same concept and it has a lot of submissions that are more basic than shardertoy where you can easily change lines and see what happens. My intuition for these kind of shaders: They are just pure functions mapping an x,y coordinate to a... - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • WebGL minigame on my new portfolio website
    I also found this website just recently: https://webgl2fundamentals.org/ and it's something I'm definitely gonna read through fully. You may also check https://thebookofshaders.com/ for shaders tutorials (they also have a pretty good editor), https://www.shadertoy.com/ and https://glslsandbox.com/ for some shader ideas. https://iquilezles.org/ and especially his SDF tutorials on YouTube.... Source: over 2 years ago
  • Why does it do those "chunks"
    I was messing around with this when I noticed those weird chunks. Source: over 2 years ago
  • pygame_shaders - a module to easily integrate shaders with Pygame
    (The example shader below wasn't written by me, it can be found here https://glslsandbox.com/). Source: over 2 years ago
  • Website created to host, share, run and display GLSL shader code - shadergrounds.com
    For folks looking for something considerably more casual than shadertoy, there's also https://glslsandbox.com/ , which makes it stupid easy to grab an existing shader there, tweak 2 lines and publish the result. You probably won't gain fame or glory there, but it's a rather convenient practice ground. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

Shader Editor mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Shader Editor yet. Tracking of Shader Editor recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GLSL Sandbox and Shader Editor, you can also consider the following products

Shadertoy - Build shaders, share them, and learn from the best community.

SHADERed - Lightweight, full-featured desktop tool for creating and testing HLSL and GLSL shaders

KodeLife - Real-time GPU shader editor, live-code performance tool and graphics prototyping sketchpad.

The Book of Shaders - Extensive guide through fragment shaders with live coding examples

Shdr - Shdr is an online ESSL (GLSL) shader editor, viewer and validator powered by WebGL.

The Force - Open source, live coding editor for WebGL