DirectX is a set of APIs created by Microsoft to enhance multimedia applications on Windows operating systems. It includes Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectSound, DirectPlay, and DirectInput. DirectX allows easy access to hardware features, with the latest version offering benefits for both users and developers. Direct3D is extensively used for game development and other software applications. The SDK contains tools for building multimedia applications, including samples, libraries, and runtimes.
DirectX® is a set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) created to enhance games, active web pages, and other multimedia applications running on Windows® operating systems. It provides a bridge for hardware and software to connect or “talk” to each other. The collection of these APIs includes Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectSound and DirectPlay. Typically, the names of these components begin with the word Direct.
The five important components of DirectX® include:
Direct3D: Helps developers create 3D graphics.
DirectPlay – Developers use this API to test applications. It is also used as a plug-in by end users.
DirectSound: An interface for embedding sound with images.
DirectInput: Used for input from I/O devices.
DirectDraw: Allows developers to define two-dimensional images, helps with handling double buffers, and specifies images.
DirectX® was developed by Microsoft® to give multimedia programmers easy access to hardware features. Before the release of the Windows® 95 operating system, DOS was the best alternative for game programming. The MS-DOS platform allowed direct access to hardware components such as video cards, audio devices and input devices.
The Windows® 95 operating system had some limitations. The operating system’s protected memory model has limited access to hardware functions. Programmers have been discouraged from retaining creative freedom over their code. Microsoft® felt the need to fix this problem quickly before the official release of the operating system. To provide a complete solution to this problem, DirectX® has been introduced. It allowed programmers to access graphics, sound, and input components with ease.
The first version of DirectX® was released in September 1995 as a Software Development Kit for Windows® games. It allowed programmers to integrate or create graphic images, sprites, overlays and game elements including sound. Subsequently, more and more versions were released, the latest being DirectX® 10.
One of the key APIs of DirectX® is Direct3D. It is used extensively for Microsoft Windows® and Microsoft® Xbox 360 game development. The 3D Graphics API is also used by other software applications such as CAD/CAM engineering.
The latest version of DirectX® offers many benefits for both average users and developers. It is designed as the next generation graphics technology for Windows® Vista. It also provides a detailed experience for video game players and encourages developers to increase realism in games. The Software Development Kit (SDK) contains tools for building multimedia applications. It also includes samples, libraries and runtimes. Developers can download the DirectX SDK to create drivers for audio, display and other I/O devices.
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