Stupid question about "Vulkan API" Etymology

[EverythingPinkIsMagic]

Is Vulkan API named after the Vulcan race from Star Trek? Or the God of Fire from Roman mythology? Or something else entirely?

[ARikozuM]

11 minutes ago, EverythingPinkIsMagic said:

Is Vulkan API named after the Vulcan race from Star Trek? Or the God of Fire from Roman mythology? Or something else entirely?

I'd probably go with God of Fire (Hephaestus) as AMD is all about the red.

[GoodBytes]

Vulkan is a German word. It means volcano in English.

[Drak3]

Neither. Vulkan means volcano, and is named such as Vulcan is supposed to make low level, cross platform API erupt in the market.

Volcanoes are also often regarded as being of godlike power (Hence the Roman god, as well as the Cretan god Volchanos), as they can both destroy civilizations and create new landmasses entirely. Sticking your API to something that has a connotation of unparalleled power kind of pushes the idea of it being a powerful thing across.

Something else, AMD initially created Vulkan, using Mantle as the foundation. The Earth's mantle and plate tectonics drive volcanic activity, so the names tie into each other.