Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

KodeLife VS GLSL Sandbox

Compare KodeLife VS GLSL Sandbox and see what are their differences

KodeLife logo KodeLife

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

GLSL Sandbox logo GLSL Sandbox

An online GSGL Shader Gallery and live development tool.
  • KodeLife Landing page
    Landing page //
    2020-03-23
  • GLSL Sandbox Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-25

KodeLife features and specs

  • Real-Time Shader Editing
    KodeLife provides a real-time shader editing environment, allowing developers to see the immediate impact of their code changes. This feature is beneficial for rapid prototyping and debugging.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    KodeLife is available on multiple operating systems including macOS, Windows, and Linux, offering flexibility for developers who work across different platforms.
  • Support for Various Shading Languages
    The software supports multiple shading languages, such as GLSL, HLSL, and Metal, providing versatility for developers to work with their preferred or project-specific languages.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    KodeLife features an intuitive and modern user interface, making it accessible for both beginners and experienced developers to navigate and use effectively.
  • Customizable Workspaces
    Users can customize their workspaces to fit their personal workflow preferences, enhancing productivity and comfort while working on shader development.

Possible disadvantages of KodeLife

  • Cost
    KodeLife is commercially priced, which might be a barrier for individual developers or small teams with tight budgets compared to some free alternatives.
  • Limited Community Support
    Given its niche positioning, KodeLife may not have as large a community or as many resources available online as some other more established shader development tools.
  • Learning Curve for Beginners
    While the interface is user-friendly, newcomers to shader programming might still face a steep learning curve when getting started due to the complexity of shader coding itself.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running real-time shader rendering can be resource-intensive, which might require powerful hardware for smooth performance, potentially limiting usability on low-end machines.
  • Updates and Maintenance
    As a proprietary tool, users are dependent on the developer for updates and maintenance, which might not be as frequent or community-driven as open-source options.

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.

KodeLife videos

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GLSL Sandbox videos

fractal GLSL sandbox review metroid like

More videos:

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

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to KodeLife and GLSL Sandbox)
3D
39 39%
61% 61
Interactive Exhibits
36 36%
64% 64
VJ
39 39%
61% 61
Prototyping Tools
50 50%
50% 50

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GLSL Sandbox should be more popular than KodeLife. 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.

KodeLife mentions (1)

  • Droste shader with video texture
    I'm not entirely sure myself, but if you'd like there's kodelife which can take custom images/videos, supports shadertoy project uniforms as well so you can just paste it in as-is with no trouble. Source: about 4 years ago

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 / 3 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
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing KodeLife and GLSL Sandbox, 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

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

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

Shader Editor - Android app to create GLSL shaders and use them as live wallpaper

ShaderWorkshop - Qt based, interactive GLSL fragment shader editor