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DirectX

DirectX
NameDirectX
Logo Size250px
Included WithWindows 95 OSR2
Windows NT 4.0
and all subsequent releases

     Home | Windows component | DirectX



Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces (APIs) for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with Direct, such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay, DirectSound, and so forth. The name DirectX was coined as shorthand term for all of these APIs (the X standing in for the particular API names) and soon became the name of the collection. When Microsoft later set out to develop a gaming console, the X was used as the basis of the name Xbox to indicate that the console was based on DirectX technology. The X initial has been carried forward in the naming of APIs designed for the Xbox such as XInput and the Cross-platform Audio Creation Tool (XACT), while the DirectX pattern has been continued for Windows APIs such as Direct2D and DirectWrite.

Direct3D (the 3D graphics API within DirectX) is widely used in the development of video games for Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Xbox, and Microsoft Xbox 360. Direct3D is also used by other software applications for visualization and graphics tasks such as CAD/CAM engineering. As Direct3D is the most widely publicized component of DirectX, it is common to see the names "DirectX" and "Direct3D" used interchangeably.

The DirectX software development kit (SDK) consists of runtime libraries in redistributable binary form, along with accompanying documentation and headers for use in coding. Originally, the runtimes were only installed by games or explicitly by the user. Windows 95 did not launch with DirectX, but DirectX was included with Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2. Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 both shipped with DirectX, as has every version of Windows released since. The SDK is available as a free download. While the runtimes are proprietary, closed-source software, source code is provided for most of the SDK samples.

Direct3D 9Ex, Direct3D 10, and Direct3D 11 are only available for Windows Vista and Windows 7 because each of these new versions were built to depend upon the new Windows Display Driver Model that was introduced for Windows Vista. The new Vista/WDDM graphics architecture includes a new video memory manager that supports virtualizing graphics hardware to multiple applications and services such as the Desktop Window Manager.

DirectX Video

Full captured video from Unigine "Heaven" benchmark in demo mode. The official announce: unigine.com Key features: * Native support of OpenGL, DirectX 9, DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 * Comprehensive use of tessellation technology * Advanced SSAO (screen-space ambient occlusion) * Volumetric cumulonimbus clouds generated by a physically accurate algorithm * Dynamic simulation of changing environment with high physical fidelity * Interactive experience with fly/walk-through modes * ATI Eyefinity support Music by Paralyzah: paralyzah.all.dj
4.38 min. | 4.84 user rating		 See for yourself how amazing DirectX 10 can be!
5.68 min. | 3.97 user rating		 3DMark 11 is the latest version of the world's most popular benchmark for gaming PCs. 3DMark 11 uses a native DirectX 11 engine which makes extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading. Deep Sea is a demonstration of DirectX 11 technologies created using an early development build of the 3DMark 11 engine. 3DMark 11 will be released in 2010. There will be a free edition that allows unlimited runs available at launch. The music and audio design is by Pedro Macedo Camacho. Find out more at www.musicbypedro.com The MSI logo placement within the Deep Sea tech demo is a special sponsorship arrangement between MSI and Futuremark. Advertising placements ensure that Futuremark can offer a free edition of the benchmark alongside the paid editions. Find out more at www.3dmark.com 3DMark is the worlds most popular benchmark for evaluating next generation PC gaming hardware. First released in 1998, 3DMark has since been downloaded by millions of people around the world. It is supported by an online database containing over 35 million results with new results submitted every few seconds on average. Featuring a combination of real-time visual and numerical computation tests, 3DMark is the standard for measuring PC gaming performance. Widely used by the hardware press and technology manufacturers, 3DMark is trusted by gamers and enthusiasts worldwide to cut through marketing hype and technical jargon to give accurate and <b>...</b>
1.95 min. | 4.76 user rating		 The demo shows a real-time simulated ocean under twilight lighting condition. To obtain good looking wave crests, a rather large height field has to be employed. With Microsoft's newly introduced DirectX Compute Shader we can efficiently perform FFT on GPU, thus greatly improve the performance and image quality. The water surface is mainly modeled after Jerry Tessendorf's statistic method described in the paper "Simulating Ocean Water", which is one of the most popular techniques used for water effect in todays games. Although the algorithm itself is capable of producing visually impressive result from a presumed statistic model (Phillips spectrum), previous implementations are often limited to a relatively small height field, eg 64x64 or 128x128, due to the slow FFT code path on CPU. For example, the demo shown here executes three 512x512 Fourier transforms on a per frame basis.
0.40 min. | 4.76 user rating		 3DMark 11 is the latest version of the world's most popular benchmark for gaming PCs. 3DMark 11 uses a native DirectX 11 engine which makes extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading. High Temple is a demonstration of the DirectX 11 powered 3DMark 11 engine. 3DMark 11 will be released in 2010. There will be a free edition that allows unlimited runs available at launch. The music and audio design is by Pedro Macedo Camacho. Find out more at www.musicbypedro.com The Antec logo placement within the High Temple tech demo is a special sponsorship arrangement between Antec and Futuremark. Advertising placements ensure that Futuremark can offer a free edition of the benchmark alongside the paid editions. Find out more at www.3dmark.com 3DMark is the world's most popular benchmark for evaluating next generation PC gaming hardware. First released in 1998, 3DMark has since been downloaded by millions of people around the world. It is supported by an online database containing over 35 million results with new results submitted every few seconds on average. Featuring a combination of real-time visual and numerical computation tests, 3DMark is the standard for measuring PC gaming performance. Widely used by the hardware press and technology manufacturers, 3DMark is trusted by gamers and enthusiasts worldwide to cut through marketing hype and technical jargon to give accurate and unbiased guidance for PC hardware <b>...</b>
1.33 min. | 4.79 user rating
This video shows DirectX 11 and Tessellation features in popular games, and how DirectX 11 these technologies can dramatically improve the quality of the image! Learn more about the latest and fastest DirectX 11 hardware at www.evga.com Games/applications shown: *Battlefield Bad Company 2 *Metro 2033 *NVIDIA Supersonic Sled *Unigine Heaven 2.0 *Bitsquid Stone Giant *Aliens vs. Predator *Dirt 2
2.33 min. | 4.54 user rating		 to add anotation : www.youtube.com ♫Trinity♫
0.78 min. | 2.61 user rating		 Updated Unigine Heaven Benchmark 2.0 version: unigine.com More content & adjustable settings, added Linux version.
4.45 min. | 4.83 user rating		 Go to tiger.tv for more information. This is probably the most powerful card on the market in this price point. It takes up only a single slot's worth of space on your motherboard, is HD, SLI, Dual Monitor, and DirectX 10 compatible, and it comes in without a doubt the coolest box of all time. Check out the XFX GeForce 9600 GT Graphics Card today!
6.33 min. | 4.75 user rating		 Aliens versus Predator - shocking new Aliens trailer for the upcoming DirectX 11 game. Check out www.pcgameshardware.de for more news on games.
2.00 min. | 4.57 user rating

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Galaxy unveils fastest GTS 450 video card, Hall of Fame ed. - Electronista Tweet this news
Electronista--The card uses Samsung 0.4ns GDDR5 memory and is designed to optimize gaming performance for -DirectX- 11. Pricing and details have yet to be announced. ... - Date : Thu, 28 Oct 2010 10:56:35 GMT+00:00
ASUS Launches EAH6800 Graphics Cards - Times of the Internet Tweet this news
Times of the Internet--The two graphics cards EAH6870/2DI2S/1GD5 and EAH6850 DirectCU/2DIS/1GD5 are using AMD Eyefinity technology, AMD HD3D and supports -DirectX- 11. ... - Date : Sat, 30 Oct 2010 16:18:00 GMT+00:00
Futuremark Releases 3DMark DirectX 11 Tech Demo Trailer - Cinema Blend Tweet this news
Cinema Blend--Curious about what -DirectX- 11 tech looks like on some high-end video cards? Well, Futuremark Studios has just the thing. ... - Date : Thu, 21 Oct 2010 20:39:35 GMT+00:00
Adobe picks up TransGaming 3D tech to enhance Flash, AIR - Ottawa Business Journal Tweet this news
Ottawa Business Journal--The renderer works with -DirectX- 9 and supports graphics such as anti-aliasing and shading. It also can be put directly into applications without needing to ... - Date : Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:07:24 GMT+00:00
AMD Builds Market Share Lead in Notebook Discrete Graphics - Benchmark Reviews Tweet this news
Benchmark Reviews--Outpacing its competitor yet again in this key market, the result demonstrates the strength of AMD's -DirectX-® 11 notebook discrete product stack. ... - Date : Sat, 30 Oct 2010 17:43:09 GMT+00:00
AMD: New graphic cards HD 6850 and 6870 - Gemini Tweet this news
Gemini--The HD 6850 and 6870 graphics cards take advantage of Microsoft's -DirectX- 11 technology with Shader 5.0 and DirectCompute 11 in Windows 7 and compete with ... - Date : Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:57:38 GMT+00:00
AMD Ships Radeon HD 6800 Series - Maximum PC Tweet this news
Maximum PC--AMD shipped its first -DirectX- 11 GPU, the Radeon HD 5870, in late 2009. Despite supporting Microsoft's latest 3D API, the new GPU was built on an ... - Date : Fri, 22 Oct 2010 09:01:26 GMT+00:00

Releases :
DirectX version Version number Operating system Date released
DirectX 1.0 4.02.0095 September 30, 1995
DirectX 2.0 Was shipped only with a few 3rd party applications 1996
DirectX 2.0a 4.03.00.1096 Windows 95 OSR2 and NT 4.0 June 5, 1996
DirectX 3.0 4.04.00.0068 September 15, 1996
4.04.00.0069 Later package of DirectX 3.0 included Direct3D 4.04.00.0069 1996
DirectX 3.0a 4.04.00.0070 Windows NT 4.0 SP3 (and above)
last supported version of DirectX for Windows NT 4.0		 December 1996
DirectX 3.0b 4.04.00.0070 This was a very minor update to 3.0a that fixed a cosmetic problem with the Japanese version of Windows 95 December 1996
DirectX 4.0 Never launched
DirectX 5.0 4.05.00.0155 (RC55) Available as a beta for Windows 2000 that would install on Windows NT 4.0 August 4, 1997
DirectX 5.2 4.05.01.1600 (RC00) DirectX 5.2 release for Windows 95 May 5, 1998
4.05.01.1998 (RC0) Windows 98 exclusive June 25, 1998
DirectX 6.0 4.06.00.0318 (RC3) Windows CE as implemented on Dreamcast August 7, 1998
DirectX 6.1 4.06.02.0436 (RC0) February 3, 1999
DirectX 6.1a 4.06.03.0518 (RC0) Windows 98 SE exclusive May 5, 1999
DirectX 7.0 4.07.00.0700 (RC1) September 22, 1999
4.07.00.0700 Windows 2000 February 17, 2000
DirectX 7.0a 4.07.00.0716 (RC0) March 8, 2000
4.07.00.0716 (RC1) 2000
DirectX 7.1 4.07.01.3000 (RC1) Windows Me exclusive September 14, 2000
DirectX 8.0 4.08.00.0400 (RC10) November 12, 2000
DirectX 8.0a 4.08.00.0400 (RC14) Last supported version for Windows 95 February 5, 2001
DirectX 8.1 4.08.01.0810 Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Xbox exclusive October 25, 2001
4.08.01.0881 (RC7) This version is for the down level operating systems
(Windows 98, Windows Me and Windows 2000)		 November 8, 2001
DirectX 8.1a 4.08.01.0901 (RC?) This release includes an update to Direct3D (D3d8.dll) 2002
DirectX 8.1b 4.08.01.0901 (RC7) This update includes a fix to DirectShow on Windows 2000 (Quartz.dll) June 25, 2002
DirectX 8.2 4.08.02.0134 (RC0) Same as the DirectX 8.1b but includes DirectPlay 8.2 2002
DirectX 9.0 4.09.00.0900 (RC4) December 19, 2002
DirectX 9.0a 4.09.00.0901 (RC6) March 26, 2003
DirectX 9.0b 4.09.00.0902 (RC2) August 13, 2003
DirectX 9.0c 4.09.00.0903 Service Pack 2 for Windows XP exclusive
4.09.00.0904 (RC0) August 4, 2004
4.09.00.0904 Windows XP SP2, SP3*, Windows Server 2003 SP1, Windows Server 2003 R2 and Xbox 360 August 6, 2004 / April 21, 2008*
DirectX - bimonthly updates 4.09.00.0904 (RC0 for DX 9.0c) The February 9, 2005 release is the first 64-bit capable build.The last build for Windows 98/Me is the redistributable from December 13, 2006. The last build for Windows 2000 is the redistributable from February 5, 2010. April 2006 is the first official support to Windows Vista and August 2009 is the first official support to Windows 7 and DX11 update Released bimonthly from October 2004 to August 2007, and quarterly thereafter; Latest version: June 2010
DirectX 10 6.00.6000.16386 Windows Vista exclusive November 30, 2006
6.00.6001.18000 Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008
includes Direct3D 10.1		 February 4, 2008
6.00.6002.18005 Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008
includes Direct3D 10.1		 April 28, 2009
DirectX 11 6.01.7600.16385 Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 October 22, 2009
6.01.7601.17514 Service Pack 1 for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 February 16, 2011
7.00.6002.18107 Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2, through the 2008 October 27, 2009

Microsoft development tools

Development
environments
Visual Studio (Team System * Express) * Visual Studio Tools for Office * Visual Studio Tools for Applications * Expression Web * Expression Blend * Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer
Languages and
compilers
Visual Basic (VB.NET) * Visual C++ * Visual C# * Visual J# * Visual FoxPro * IronPython * IronRuby * PowerShell * XAML * F#
Major APIs and
frameworks
Windows API / SDK * .NET Framework * Managed code frameworks (Presentation * Communication * Workflow * CardSpace) * Silverlight * XNA * ASP.NET (ASP.NET AJAX) * LINQ * ADO.NET * DirectX * Robotics Developer Studio
Database tools
and languages
SQL ServerExpress * Compact * Management Studio * Business Intelligence Development Studio * MSDE
SQL servicesAnalysis * Reporting * Integration * Notification
OtherVisual FoxPro * Microsoft Access * Extensible Storage Engine
Source control
Team Foundation Server * Visual SourceSafe
Driver development
Windows Driver Model * Windows Driver Foundation (KMDF * UMDF) * Windows Driver Kit * Windows Logo Kit |

Microsoft

Board of directors
Steve Ballmer * James Cash, Jr. * Dina Dublon * Bill Gates * Raymond Gilmartin * Reed Hastings * Maria Klawe * David Marquardt * Charles Noski * Helmut Panke * Jon Shirley
Desktop software
Windows (components) * Internet Explorer * Office * Visual Studio * Security Essentials * Expression * Dynamics * Money * Encarta * Student * Math * Works * MapPoint * Virtual PC * Forefront * Home * Flight Simulator * Bob
Server software
Windows Server * SQL Server * IIS * PWS * Exchange * BizTalk * Commerce * ISA Server * System Center * Home Server * SharePoint (WSS, MOSS, Search Server) * OCS * Terminal Services * Microsoft Host Integration Server
Technologies
Active Directory * DirectX * .NET * Windows Media * PlaysForSure * App-V * Hyper-V * Silverlight * Windows Mobile * Windows Embedded * Mediaroom * HDi
Web properties
WebsitesadCenter * Bing * Channel 9 * CodePlex * HealthVault * Ignition * Microsoft Store * MSDN * MSN (Games * msnbc.com * ninemsn) * TechNet * Windows Live (Groups * Hotmail * ID * Messenger * Spaces) * Microsoft Popfly
LiveGames for Windows � Live * Xbox Live (Arcade * Marketplace) * Zune Social
Gaming
Microsoft Game Studios * Zone * XNA * Xbox * Xbox 360 * Games for Windows
Hardware
ReleasedSurface * Zune (4 / 8 / 16 * 30 * 80 / 120 * HD) * Kin * MSN TV * Natural Keyboard * Jazz * Keyboard * Mouse * LifeCam * LifeChat * SideWinder * Ultra-Mobile PC * Fingerprint * Audio System * Cordless Phone * Pocket PC * RoundTable * Response Point
PrototypesVenus * Courier
Education and
recognition
BrowserChoice.eu * MCPs * MSDNAA * MSCA * Microsoft Press * Microsoft MVP * Student Partners * Research * Studies related to Microsoft
Licensing
Client Access License * Shared source * Licensing Services
Conferences
MIX * Professional Developers Conference * Windows Hardware Engineering Conference
Criticism
Windows * Windows Vista * Windows XP * Windows 2000 (section) * Windows Me (section) * Windows 9x (section) * Office (section) * Xbox 360 * Internet Explorer (section) * Refund
Litigation
Alcatel-Lucent v. Microsoft * European Union Microsoft competition case * United States v. Microsoft * Microsoft v. Lindows * Apple v. Microsoft * Microsoft vs. MikeRoweSoft
Acquisitions
Altamira Software * aQuantive * Azyxxi * Blue Ribbon Soundworks * Bungie * Calista Technologies * Colloquis * Connectix * Consumers Software * Danger * Farecast * FASA Studio * Fast Search & Transfer * Firefly * Forethought * GIANT Company Software * Groove Networks * Hotmail * Jellyfish.com * LinkExchange * Lionhead Studios * Massive Incorporated * Onfolio * PlaceWare * Powerset * ProClarity * Rare * ScreenTonic * Teleo * Tellme Networks * Vermeer Technologies * Visio Corporation * VXtreme * WebTV Networks * Winternals * Yupi

Microsoft APIs and frameworks

GraphicsDesktop Window Manager * Direct2D * Direct3D (extensions) * GDI / GDI+ * WPF * Windows Color System * Windows Image Acquisition * Windows Imaging Component
AudioDirectMusic * DirectSound * DirectX plugin * XACT * Speech API
MultimediaDirectX * (Media Objects * Video Acceleration) * DirectInput * DirectPlay * DirectShow * Image Mastering API * Managed DirectX * Media Foundation * XNA * Windows Media
WebMSHTML * RSS Platform * JScript * VBScript * BHO * XDR * SideBar Gadgets
Data accessData Access Components * Extensible Storage Engine * ADO.NET * ADO.NET Entity Framework * Sync Framework * Jet Engine * MSXML * OLE DB * OPC
NetworkingWinsock (LSP) * Winsock Kernel * Filtering Platform * Network Driver Interface Specification * Windows Rally * BITS * P2P API * MSMQ * MS MPI
CommunicationMessaging API * Telephony API * WCF | |
Administration and
management
Administration and
management
Win32 console * Windows Script Host * WMI (extensions) * PowerShell * Task Scheduler * Offline Files * Shadow Copy * Windows Installer * Error Reporting * Event Log * Common Log File System
Component modelCOM * COM+ * ActiveX * Distributed Component Object Model * .NET Framework
LibrariesBase Class Library (BCL) * Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC) * Active Template Library (ATL) * Windows Template Library (WTL)
Device driversWindows Driver Model * Windows Driver Foundation (KMDF * UMDF) * WDDM * NDIS * UAA * Broadcast Driver Architecture * VxD
SecurityCrypto API (CAPICOM) * Windows CardSpace * Data Protection API * Security Support Provider Interface (SSPI)
.NETASP.NET * ADO.NET * Base Class Library (BCL) * Remoting * Silverlight * TPL * WCF * WCS * WPF * WF
Software factoriesEFx Factory * Enterprise Library * Composite UI * CCF * CSF
IPCMSRPC * Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) * Remoting * WCF
AccessibilityActive Accessibility * UI Automation | |
Text and multilingual
support
Text and multilingual
support
DirectWrite * Text Services Framework * Text Object Model * Input method editor * Language Interface Pack * Multilingual User Interface * Uniscribe | |



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