Q188695
Sign in to saveMicrosoft 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 (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 indi
AI overview
Microsoft DirectX is a collection of programming tools and interfaces that developers use to create multimedia applications, particularly video games and videos, for Microsoft platforms. The name "DirectX" originated as shorthand for the company's various "Direct" APIs (like Direct3D and DirectSound), and the "X" from this name later inspired Microsoft's Xbox gaming console branding.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Software.name
- DirectX
- Software.logo
- frameless|class=skin-invert
- Software.logo_size
- 250px
- Software.developer
- Microsoft
- Software.latest_release_version
- 12 Ultimate API
- Software.operating system
- Microsoft Windows, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, Dreamcast, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Linux (Gallium Nine) (DirectX 12 only, Exclusive to Windows Subsystem for Linux)
- Software.genre
- API
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
15 sectionsContents
- Development history
- Components
- Versions
- DirectX 9
- DirectX 10
- DirectX 11
- DirectX 12
- DirectX 12 Ultimate
- Version history
- Compatibility
- .NET Framework
- Alternatives
- See also
- References
- External links
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 (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 and the Xbox line of consoles. 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.