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Everything about DirectX

Collection of multimedia related APIs on Microsoft platforms

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 a shorthand term for all of these APIs 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. Wikipedia →

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

  1. Read the overview: DirectXA 5-minute orientation
  2. Skim a recent paper: Comparison of Graphics Application Public Interfaces DirectX 12 and VulkanInfluential work since 2022
  3. Pick up a classic book: SAMS teach yourself game programming with DirectX in 21 daysThe most-reprinted book on the subject
  4. Read the landmark paper: DiReCtX: Dynamic Resource-Aware CNN Reconfiguration Framework for Real-Time Mobile ApplicationsCited 14 times
  5. Go sideways: Direct3DA closely related topic
  6. Go sideways: Feature levels in Direct3DA closely related topic

📖 Definitions

No dictionary entry for this exact phrase.

🗂️ The subject at a glance

  1. Development history
  2. Components
  3. Versions
  4. Compatibility
  5. Alternatives

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

🆕 Influential since 2022

📚 Books worth reading

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

🔗 Related topics