<s>
Microsoft	O
DirectX	O
is	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
application	B-Application
programming	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
(	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
)	O
for	O
handling	O
tasks	O
related	O
to	O
multimedia	O
,	O
especially	O
game	O
programming	O
and	O
video	O
,	O
on	O
Microsoft	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
,	O
the	O
names	O
of	O
these	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
all	O
began	O
with	O
"	O
Direct	O
"	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Direct3D	B-Application
,	O
DirectDraw	B-Device
,	O
DirectMusic	B-Library
,	O
DirectPlay	B-Protocol
,	O
DirectSound	B-Device
,	O
and	O
so	O
forth	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
name	O
DirectX	O
was	O
coined	O
as	O
a	O
shorthand	O
term	O
for	O
all	O
of	O
these	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
(	O
the	O
X	O
standing	O
in	O
for	O
the	O
particular	O
API	B-General_Concept
names	O
)	O
and	O
soon	O
became	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
the	O
collection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
Microsoft	O
later	O
set	O
out	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
gaming	O
console	B-Device
,	O
the	O
X	O
was	O
used	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
of	O
the	O
name	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
to	O
indicate	O
that	O
the	O
console	B-Device
was	O
based	O
on	O
DirectX	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
X	O
initial	O
has	O
been	O
carried	O
forward	O
in	O
the	O
naming	O
of	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
designed	O
for	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
such	O
as	O
XInput	O
and	O
the	O
Cross-platform	B-Library
Audio	I-Library
Creation	I-Library
Tool	I-Library
(	O
XACT	O
)	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
DirectX	O
pattern	O
has	O
been	O
continued	O
for	O
Windows	B-Library
APIs	I-Library
such	O
as	O
Direct2D	B-Library
and	O
DirectWrite	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Direct3D	B-Application
(	O
the	O
3D	O
graphics	O
API	B-General_Concept
within	O
DirectX	O
)	O
is	O
widely	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
video	O
games	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
line	O
of	O
consoles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Direct3D	B-Application
is	O
also	O
used	O
by	O
other	O
software	O
applications	O
for	O
visualization	O
and	O
graphics	O
tasks	O
such	O
as	O
CAD/CAM	O
engineering	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
Direct3D	B-Application
is	O
the	O
most	O
widely	O
publicized	O
component	O
of	O
DirectX	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
common	O
to	O
see	O
the	O
names	O
"	O
DirectX	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
Direct3D	B-Application
"	O
used	O
interchangeably	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
DirectX	O
software	B-Application
development	I-Application
kit	I-Application
(	O
SDK	O
)	O
consists	O
of	O
runtime	B-Library
libraries	I-Library
in	O
redistributable	O
binary	O
form	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
accompanying	O
documentation	O
and	O
headers	B-Language
for	O
use	O
in	O
coding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
did	O
not	O
launch	O
with	O
DirectX	O
,	O
but	O
DirectX	O
was	O
included	O
with	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
OEM	O
Service	O
Release	O
2	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Device
98	I-Device
and	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
4.0	I-Device
both	O
shipped	O
with	O
DirectX	O
,	O
as	O
has	O
every	O
version	O
of	O
Windows	O
released	O
since	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
8	I-Application
Developer	O
Preview	O
,	O
DirectX	O
SDK	O
has	O
been	O
integrated	O
into	O
Windows	B-Application
SDK	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
1994	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
was	O
ready	O
to	O
release	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
,	O
its	O
next	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
employee	O
Alex	O
St.	O
John	O
had	O
been	O
in	O
discussions	O
with	O
various	O
game	O
developers	O
asking	O
how	O
likely	O
they	O
would	O
be	O
to	O
bring	O
their	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
games	O
to	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
,	O
and	O
found	O
the	O
responses	O
mostly	O
negative	O
;	O
programmers	O
had	O
found	O
that	O
the	O
Windows	O
environment	O
did	O
not	O
provide	O
the	O
necessary	O
features	O
which	O
were	O
available	O
under	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
using	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
routines	O
or	O
direct	O
hardware	B-Architecture
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
also	O
strong	O
fears	O
of	O
compatibility	O
;	O
a	O
notable	O
case	O
of	O
this	O
was	O
from	O
Disney	B-Application
's	I-Application
Animated	I-Application
Storybook	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Lion	I-Application
King	I-Application
which	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
WinG	O
programming	B-Application
interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
numerous	O
incompatible	O
graphics	O
drivers	O
from	O
new	O
Compaq	O
computers	O
that	O
were	O
not	O
tested	O
with	O
the	O
WinG	O
interface	O
which	O
came	O
bundled	O
with	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
it	O
crashed	O
so	O
frequently	O
on	O
many	O
desktop	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
that	O
parents	O
had	O
flooded	O
Disney	O
's	O
call-in	O
help	O
lines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
St.	O
John	O
recognized	O
the	O
resistances	O
for	O
game	O
development	O
under	O
Windows	O
would	O
be	O
a	O
limitation	O
,	O
and	O
recruited	O
two	O
additional	O
engineers	O
,	O
Craig	O
Eisler	O
and	O
Eric	O
Engstrom	O
,	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
better	O
solution	O
to	O
get	O
more	O
programmers	O
to	O
develop	O
games	B-Application
for	I-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
project	O
was	O
codenamed	O
the	O
Manhattan	O
Project	O
,	O
like	O
the	O
World	O
War	O
II	O
project	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
name	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
idea	O
was	O
to	O
displace	O
the	O
Japanese-developed	O
video	B-Device
game	I-Device
consoles	I-Device
with	O
personal	O
computers	O
running	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Within	O
four	O
months	O
and	O
with	O
input	O
from	O
several	O
hardware	B-Architecture
manufacturers	O
,	O
the	O
team	O
had	O
developed	O
the	O
first	O
set	O
of	O
application	B-Application
programming	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
(	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
)	O
which	O
they	O
presented	O
at	O
the	O
1995	O
Game	O
Developers	O
Conference	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
SDK	O
included	O
libraries	O
implementing	O
DirectDraw	B-Device
for	O
bit-mapped	O
graphics	O
,	O
DirectSound	B-Device
for	O
audio	O
,	O
and	O
DirectPlay	B-Protocol
for	O
communication	O
between	O
players	O
over	O
a	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
an	O
extended	O
joystick	B-Device
API	B-General_Concept
already	O
present	O
in	O
Windows95	B-Application
was	O
documented	O
for	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
as	O
DirectInput	O
,	O
while	O
a	O
description	O
of	O
how	O
to	O
implement	O
the	O
immediate	O
start	O
of	O
the	O
installation	O
procedure	O
of	O
a	O
software	O
title	O
after	O
inserting	O
its	O
CD-ROM	O
,	O
a	O
feature	O
called	O
AutoPlay	O
,	O
was	O
also	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
SDK	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
Direct	O
"	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
library	O
was	O
so	O
named	O
as	O
these	O
routines	O
bypassed	O
existing	O
core	O
Windows95	B-Application
routines	O
and	O
accessed	O
the	O
computer	B-Architecture
hardware	I-Architecture
only	O
via	O
a	O
hardware	B-Operating_System
abstraction	I-Operating_System
layer	I-Operating_System
(	O
HAL	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
the	O
team	O
had	O
named	O
it	O
the	O
"	O
Game	O
SDK	O
"	O
(	O
software	B-Application
development	I-Application
kit	I-Application
)	O
,	O
the	O
name	O
"	O
DirectX	O
"	O
came	O
from	O
one	O
journalist	O
that	O
had	O
mocked	O
the	O
naming	O
scheme	O
of	O
the	O
various	O
libraries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
DirectDraw	B-Device
component	O
was	O
the	O
Win32	B-Library
replacement	O
for	O
the	O
DCI	O
and	O
WinG	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
for	O
Windows	B-Application
3.1	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	O
allowed	O
all	O
versions	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
starting	O
with	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
,	O
to	O
incorporate	O
high-performance	O
multimedia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
get	O
more	O
developers	O
on	O
board	O
DirectX	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
approached	O
id	O
Software	O
's	O
John	O
Carmack	O
and	O
offered	O
to	O
port	O
Doom	B-Application
and	O
Doom	B-Application
2	I-Application
from	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
to	O
DirectX	O
,	O
free	O
of	O
charge	O
,	O
with	O
id	O
retaining	O
all	O
publishing	O
rights	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
game	O
was	O
released	O
as	O
Doom	B-Application
95	O
in	O
August	O
1996	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
published	O
DirectX	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	O
2.0	O
became	O
a	O
component	O
of	O
Windows	O
itself	O
with	O
the	O
releases	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
OSR2	O
and	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
4.0	I-Device
in	O
mid-1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
was	O
itself	O
still	O
new	O
and	O
few	O
games	O
had	O
been	O
released	O
for	O
it	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
engaged	O
in	O
heavy	O
promotion	O
of	O
DirectX	O
to	O
developers	O
who	O
were	O
generally	O
distrustful	O
of	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
ability	O
to	O
build	O
a	O
gaming	O
platform	O
in	O
Windows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alex	O
St.	O
John	O
,	O
the	O
evangelist	O
for	O
DirectX	O
,	O
staged	O
an	O
elaborate	O
event	O
at	O
the	O
1996	O
Computer	O
Game	O
Developers	O
Conference	O
which	O
game	O
developer	O
Jay	O
Barnson	O
described	O
as	O
a	O
Roman	O
theme	O
,	O
including	O
real	O
lions	B-Algorithm
,	O
togas	O
,	O
and	O
something	O
resembling	O
an	O
indoor	O
carnival	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
at	O
this	O
event	O
that	O
Microsoft	O
first	O
introduced	O
Direct3D	B-Application
,	O
and	O
demonstrated	O
multiplayer	O
MechWarrior	O
2	O
being	O
played	O
over	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
DirectX	O
team	O
faced	O
the	O
challenging	O
task	O
of	O
testing	O
each	O
DirectX	O
release	O
against	O
an	O
array	O
of	O
computer	B-Architecture
hardware	I-Architecture
and	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
DirectX	O
team	O
also	O
built	O
and	O
distributed	O
tests	O
that	O
allowed	O
the	O
hardware	B-Architecture
industry	O
to	O
confirm	O
that	O
new	O
hardware	B-Architecture
designs	O
and	O
driver	O
releases	O
would	O
be	O
compatible	O
with	O
DirectX	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
DirectX	O
Microsoft	O
had	O
added	O
OpenGL	B-Application
to	O
their	O
Windows	O
NT	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
OpenGL	B-Application
had	O
been	O
designed	O
as	O
a	O
cross-platform	O
,	O
window	B-Application
system	I-Application
independent	O
software	O
interface	O
to	O
graphics	O
hardware	B-Architecture
by	O
Silicon	O
Graphics	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
to	O
bring	O
3D	O
graphics	O
programming	O
into	O
the	O
mainstream	O
of	O
application	O
programming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Direct3D	B-Application
was	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
Microsoft	O
controlled	O
alternative	O
to	O
OpenGL	B-Application
,	O
focused	O
initially	O
on	O
game	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
3D	O
gaming	O
grew	O
game	O
developers	O
were	O
discovering	O
that	O
OpenGL	B-Application
could	O
be	O
used	O
effectively	O
for	O
game	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
that	O
point	O
a	O
"	O
battle	O
"	O
began	O
between	O
supporters	O
of	O
the	O
cross-platform	O
OpenGL	B-Application
and	O
the	O
Windows-only	O
Direct3D	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Incidentally	O
,	O
OpenGL	B-Application
was	O
supported	O
at	O
Microsoft	O
by	O
the	O
DirectX	O
team	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
a	O
developer	O
chose	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
OpenGL	B-Application
3D	O
graphics	O
API	B-General_Concept
in	O
computer	O
games	O
,	O
the	O
other	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
of	O
DirectX	O
besides	O
Direct3D	B-Application
were	O
often	O
combined	O
with	O
OpenGL	B-Application
because	O
OpenGL	B-Application
does	O
not	O
include	O
all	O
of	O
DirectX	O
's	O
functionality	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
sound	O
or	O
joystick	B-Device
support	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
console-specific	O
version	O
,	O
DirectX	O
was	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
basis	O
for	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
,	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
console	B-Device
API	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
API	B-General_Concept
was	O
developed	O
jointly	O
between	O
Microsoft	O
and	O
Nvidia	O
,	O
which	O
developed	O
the	O
custom	O
graphics	O
hardware	B-Architecture
used	O
by	O
the	B-Application
original	I-Application
Xbox	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
API	B-General_Concept
was	O
similar	O
to	O
DirectX	O
version	O
8.1	B-Device
,	O
but	O
is	O
non-updateable	O
like	O
other	O
console	B-Device
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
was	O
code	O
named	O
DirectXbox	O
,	O
but	O
this	O
was	O
shortened	O
to	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
for	O
its	O
commercial	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
has	O
continued	O
to	O
update	O
the	O
DirectX	O
suite	O
since	O
then	O
,	O
introducing	O
Shader	B-Language
Model	I-Language
3.0	I-Language
in	O
DirectX	O
9.0c	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
August	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
April	O
2005	O
,	O
DirectShow	B-Library
was	O
removed	O
from	O
DirectX	O
and	O
moved	O
to	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Platform	I-Application
SDK	I-Application
instead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Real-time	O
raytracing	B-Algorithm
was	O
announced	O
as	O
DXR	B-Algorithm
in	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
for	O
compiling	O
HLSL	B-Language
to	O
SPIR-V	B-Application
was	O
also	O
added	O
in	O
the	O
DirectX	O
Shader	O
Compiler	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	O
is	O
composed	O
of	O
multiple	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
:	O
</s>
<s>
DXGI	B-Device
:	O
Enumerates	O
adapters	O
and	O
monitors	O
and	O
manages	O
swap	O
chains	O
for	O
Direct3D	B-Application
10	O
and	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	B-Application
Media	I-Application
:	O
Consists	O
of	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	O
functionality	O
is	O
provided	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
COM-style	O
objects	O
and	O
interfaces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
while	O
not	O
DirectX	O
components	O
themselves	O
,	O
managed	O
objects	O
have	O
been	O
built	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
some	O
parts	O
of	O
DirectX	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Managed	O
Direct3D	B-Application
and	O
the	O
XNA	B-Device
graphics	O
library	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
Direct3D	B-Application
9	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	O
9	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
2002	O
for	O
Windows	B-Device
98	I-Device
,	O
Me	O
,	O
and	O
XP	B-Application
,	O
and	O
currently	O
is	O
supported	O
by	O
all	O
subsequent	O
versions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
continues	O
to	O
make	O
changes	O
in	O
DirectX	O
9.0c	O
,	O
causing	O
support	O
to	O
be	O
dropped	O
for	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
aforementioned	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
January	O
2007	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
or	O
XP	B-Application
is	O
required	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
also	O
introduced	O
Shader	B-Language
Model	I-Language
2.0	I-Language
containing	O
Pixel	O
Shader	O
2.0	O
and	O
Vertex	O
Shader	O
2.0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
SP2	O
and	O
newer	O
include	O
DirectX	O
9.0c	O
,	O
but	O
may	O
require	O
a	O
newer	O
DirectX	O
runtime	O
redistributable	O
installation	O
for	O
DirectX	O
9.0c	O
applications	O
compiled	O
with	O
the	O
February	O
2005	O
DirectX	O
9.0	O
SDK	O
or	O
newer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
major	O
update	O
to	O
DirectX	O
API	B-General_Concept
,	O
DirectX	B-Application
10	I-Application
ships	O
with	O
and	O
is	O
only	O
available	O
with	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
(	O
launched	O
in	O
late	O
2006	O
)	O
and	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Previous	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	O
such	O
as	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
are	O
not	O
able	O
to	O
run	O
DirectX	O
10-exclusive	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rather	O
,	O
programs	O
that	O
are	O
run	O
on	O
a	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
system	O
with	O
DirectX	B-Application
10	I-Application
hardware	B-Architecture
simply	O
resort	O
to	O
the	O
DirectX	O
9.0c	O
code	O
path	O
,	O
the	O
latest	O
available	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Changes	O
for	O
DirectX	B-Application
10	I-Application
were	O
extensive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
former	O
parts	O
of	O
DirectX	O
API	B-General_Concept
were	O
deprecated	O
in	O
the	O
latest	O
DirectX	O
SDK	O
and	O
are	O
preserved	O
for	O
compatibility	O
only	O
:	O
DirectInput	O
was	O
deprecated	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
XInput	O
,	O
DirectSound	B-Device
was	O
deprecated	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
the	O
Cross-platform	B-Library
Audio	I-Library
Creation	I-Library
Tool	I-Library
system	O
(	O
XACT	O
)	O
and	O
additionally	O
lost	O
support	O
for	O
hardware	B-Architecture
accelerated	O
audio	O
,	O
since	O
the	O
Vista	B-Application
audio	O
stack	O
renders	O
sound	O
in	O
software	O
on	O
the	O
CPU	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
DirectPlay	B-Protocol
DPLAY.DLL	O
was	O
also	O
removed	O
and	O
was	O
replaced	O
with	O
dplayx.dll	O
;	O
games	O
that	O
rely	O
on	O
this	O
DLL	O
must	O
duplicate	O
it	O
and	O
rename	O
it	O
to	O
dplay.dll	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
achieve	O
backwards	O
compatibility	O
,	O
DirectX	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
contains	O
several	O
versions	O
of	O
Direct3D	B-Application
:	O
</s>
<s>
Direct3D	B-Application
9	O
:	O
emulates	O
Direct3D	B-Application
9	O
behavior	O
as	O
it	O
was	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Details	O
and	O
advantages	O
of	O
Vista	B-Application
's	O
Windows	B-Device
Display	I-Device
Driver	I-Device
Model	I-Device
are	O
hidden	O
from	O
the	O
application	O
if	O
WDDM	B-Device
drivers	O
are	O
installed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
the	O
only	O
API	B-General_Concept
available	O
if	O
there	O
are	O
only	O
XP	B-Application
graphic	O
drivers	O
(	O
XDDM	O
)	O
installed	O
,	O
after	O
an	O
upgrade	O
to	O
Vista	B-Application
for	O
example	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Direct3D	B-Application
9Ex	O
(	O
known	O
internally	O
during	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
development	O
as	O
9.0L	O
or	O
9.L	O
)	O
:	O
allows	O
full	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
capabilities	O
of	O
WDDM	B-Device
(	O
if	O
WDDM	B-Device
drivers	O
are	O
installed	O
)	O
while	O
maintaining	O
compatibility	O
for	O
existing	O
Direct3D	B-Application
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Direct3D	B-Application
10	O
:	O
Designed	O
around	O
the	O
new	O
driver	O
model	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
and	O
featuring	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
improvements	O
to	O
rendering	O
capabilities	O
and	O
flexibility	O
,	O
including	O
Shader	B-Language
Model	I-Language
4	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Direct3D	B-Application
10.1	O
is	O
an	O
incremental	O
update	O
of	O
Direct3D	B-Application
10.0	O
which	O
shipped	O
with	O
,	O
and	O
required	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
Service	O
Pack	O
1	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
February	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Direct3D	B-Application
10.1	O
still	O
fully	O
supports	O
Direct3D	B-Application
10	O
hardware	B-Architecture
,	O
but	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
utilize	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
new	O
features	O
,	O
updated	O
hardware	B-Architecture
is	O
required	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Final	O
Platform	O
Update	O
launched	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
on	O
October	O
27	O
,	O
2009	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
a	O
week	O
after	O
the	O
initial	O
release	O
of	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
,	O
which	O
launched	O
with	O
Direct3D	B-Application
11	O
as	O
a	O
base	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Major	O
scheduled	O
features	O
including	O
GPGPU	B-Architecture
support	O
(	O
DirectCompute	B-Library
)	O
,	O
and	O
Direct3D	B-Application
11	O
with	O
tessellation	B-Algorithm
support	O
and	O
improved	O
multi-threading	B-Operating_System
support	O
to	O
assist	O
video	O
game	O
developers	O
in	O
developing	O
games	O
that	O
better	O
utilize	O
multi-core	B-Architecture
processors	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Parts	O
of	O
the	O
new	O
API	B-General_Concept
such	O
as	O
multi-threaded	B-Operating_System
resource	O
handling	O
can	O
be	O
supported	O
on	O
Direct3D	B-Application
9/10/10.1	O
-class	O
hardware	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hardware	B-Architecture
tessellation	B-Algorithm
and	O
Shader	B-Language
Model	I-Language
5.0	O
require	O
Direct3D	B-Application
11	O
supporting	O
hardware	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
has	O
since	O
released	O
the	O
Direct3D	B-Application
11	O
Technical	O
Preview	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Direct3D	B-Application
11	O
is	O
a	O
strict	O
superset	O
of	O
Direct3D	B-Application
10.1	O
—	O
all	O
hardware	B-Architecture
and	O
API	B-General_Concept
features	O
of	O
version	O
10.1	O
are	O
retained	O
,	O
and	O
new	O
features	O
are	O
added	O
only	O
when	O
necessary	O
for	O
exposing	O
new	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	O
11.1	O
is	O
included	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
8	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
supports	O
WDDM	B-Device
1.2	I-Device
for	O
increased	O
performance	O
,	O
features	O
improved	O
integration	O
of	O
Direct2D	B-Library
(	O
now	O
at	O
version	O
1.1	O
)	O
,	O
Direct3D	B-Application
,	O
and	O
DirectCompute	B-Library
,	O
and	O
includes	O
DirectXMath	O
,	O
XAudio2	B-Device
,	O
and	O
XInput	O
libraries	O
from	O
the	O
XNA	B-Device
framework	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
features	O
stereoscopic	B-Algorithm
3D	I-Algorithm
support	O
for	O
gaming	O
and	O
video	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	O
11.1	O
was	O
also	O
partially	O
backported	O
to	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
,	O
via	O
the	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
platform	O
update	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	O
11.2	O
is	O
included	O
in	O
Windows	B-Device
8.1	I-Device
(	O
including	O
the	O
RT	O
version	O
)	O
and	O
Windows	B-Device
Server	I-Device
2012	I-Device
R2	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
added	O
some	O
new	O
features	O
to	O
Direct2D	B-Library
like	O
geometry	O
realizations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
added	O
swap	O
chain	O
composition	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
some	O
elements	O
of	O
the	O
scene	O
to	O
be	O
rendered	O
at	O
lower	O
resolutions	O
and	O
then	O
composited	O
via	O
hardware	B-Architecture
overlay	O
with	O
other	O
parts	O
rendered	O
at	O
higher	O
resolution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	O
11.X	O
is	O
a	O
superset	O
of	O
DirectX	O
11.2	O
running	O
on	O
the	B-Device
Xbox	I-Device
One	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
included	O
with	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	O
12	O
was	O
announced	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
at	O
GDC	O
on	O
March	O
20	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
officially	O
launched	O
alongside	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
on	O
July	O
29	O
,	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
primary	O
feature	O
highlight	O
for	O
the	O
new	O
release	O
of	O
DirectX	O
was	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
advanced	O
low-level	B-Language
programming	I-Language
APIs	B-General_Concept
for	O
Direct3D	B-Application
12	O
which	O
can	O
reduce	O
driver	O
overhead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developers	O
are	O
now	O
able	O
to	O
implement	O
their	O
own	O
command	O
lists	O
and	O
buffers	O
to	O
the	O
GPU	O
,	O
allowing	O
for	O
more	O
efficient	O
resource	O
utilization	O
through	O
parallel	B-Operating_System
computation	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lead	O
developer	O
Max	O
McMullen	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
main	O
goal	O
of	O
Direct3D	B-Application
12	O
is	O
to	O
achieve	O
"	O
console-level	O
efficiency	O
on	O
phone	O
,	O
tablet	O
and	O
PC	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
release	O
of	O
Direct3D	B-Application
12	O
comes	O
alongside	O
other	O
initiatives	O
for	O
low-overhead	O
graphics	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
including	O
AMD	O
's	O
Mantle	B-Application
for	O
AMD	O
graphics	O
cards	O
,	O
Apple	O
's	O
Metal	B-Library
for	O
iOS	O
and	O
macOS	O
and	O
Khronos	B-Library
Group	I-Library
's	O
cross-platform	O
Vulkan	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multiadapter	O
support	O
will	O
feature	O
in	O
DirectX	O
12	O
allowing	O
developers	O
to	O
utilize	O
multiple	O
GPUs	O
on	O
a	O
system	O
simultaneously	O
;	O
multi-GPU	O
support	O
was	O
previously	O
dependent	O
on	O
vendor	O
implementations	O
such	O
as	O
AMD	O
CrossFireX	O
or	O
NVIDIA	B-Device
SLI	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Explicit	O
Multiadapter	O
will	O
provide	O
two	O
distinct	O
API	B-General_Concept
patterns	O
to	O
developers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	O
12	O
is	O
supported	O
on	O
all	O
Fermi	B-General_Concept
and	O
later	O
Nvidia	O
GPUs	O
,	O
on	O
AMD	O
's	O
GCN-based	O
chips	O
and	O
on	O
Intel	O
's	O
Haswell	B-Device
and	O
later	O
processors	O
 '	O
graphics	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ashes	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Singularity	I-Application
was	O
the	O
first	O
publicly	O
available	O
game	O
to	O
utilize	O
DirectX	O
12	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Testing	O
by	O
Ars	O
Technica	O
in	O
August	O
2015	O
revealed	O
slight	O
performance	O
regressions	O
in	O
DirectX	O
12	O
over	O
DirectX	O
11	O
mode	O
for	O
the	O
Nvidia	O
GeForce	O
980	O
Ti	O
,	O
whereas	O
the	O
AMD	B-Device
Radeon	I-Device
R9	I-Device
290x	I-Device
achieved	O
consistent	O
performance	O
improvements	O
of	O
up	O
to	O
70%	O
under	O
DirectX	O
12	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
some	O
scenarios	O
the	O
AMD	O
outperformed	O
the	O
more	O
powerful	O
Nvidia	O
under	O
DirectX	O
12	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
performance	O
discrepancies	O
may	O
be	O
due	O
to	O
poor	O
Nvidia	O
driver	O
optimizations	O
for	O
DirectX	O
12	O
,	O
or	O
even	O
hardware	B-Architecture
limitations	O
of	O
the	O
card	O
which	O
was	O
optimized	O
for	O
DirectX	O
11	O
serial	O
execution	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
the	O
exact	O
cause	O
remains	O
unclear	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
performance	O
improvements	O
of	O
DirectX	O
12	O
on	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
are	O
not	O
as	O
substantial	O
as	O
on	O
the	O
PC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2018	O
,	O
DirectX	B-Algorithm
Raytracing	I-Algorithm
(	O
DXR	B-Algorithm
)	O
was	O
announced	O
,	O
capable	O
of	O
real-time	O
ray-tracing	B-Algorithm
on	O
supported	O
hardware	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
the	O
DXR	B-Algorithm
API	B-General_Concept
was	O
added	O
in	O
the	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
October	O
2018	O
update	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2019	O
Microsoft	O
announced	O
the	O
arrival	O
of	O
DirectX	O
12	O
to	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
but	O
only	O
as	O
a	O
plug-in	O
for	O
certain	O
game	O
titles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	O
12	O
Ultimate	O
will	O
unify	O
to	O
a	O
common	O
library	O
on	O
both	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
computers	O
and	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Device
Series	I-Device
X	I-Device
and	O
other	O
ninth-generation	O
Xbox	B-Application
consoles	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
the	O
new	O
features	O
in	O
Ultimate	O
includes	O
DirectX	B-Algorithm
Raytracing	I-Algorithm
1.1	O
,	O
Variable	O
Rate	O
Shading	O
,	O
which	O
gives	O
programmers	O
control	O
over	O
the	O
level	O
of	O
detail	O
of	O
shading	O
depending	O
on	O
design	O
choices	O
,	O
Mesh	O
Shaders	O
,	O
and	O
Sampler	O
Feedback	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
+DirectX	O
versionsVersionRelease	O
dateNotesMajor	O
Minor	O
Number11.0	O
4.02.0095	O
September	O
30	O
,	O
1995	O
Initially	O
released	O
as	O
Windows	O
Game	O
SDK	O
,	O
replacing	O
WinG	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
onwards22.0	O
1996	O
Was	O
shipped	O
only	O
with	O
a	O
few	O
3rd	O
party	O
applications2.0a	O
4.03.00.1096	O
June	O
5	O
,	O
1996	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
OSR2	O
and	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
4.0	I-Device
exclusive3	O
3.0	O
4.04.00.0068	O
September	O
15	O
,	O
1996	O
4.04.00.0069	O
1996	O
Later	O
package	O
of	O
DirectX	O
3.0	O
included	O
Direct3D	B-Application
4.04.00.00693.0a	O
4.04.00.0070	O
December	O
1996	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
4.0	I-Device
SP3	O
(	O
and	O
above	O
)	O
Third	O
3.0	O
version	O
and	O
last	O
supported	O
version	O
for	O
Windows	O
NT	O
4.03.0b	O
4.04.00.0070	O
December	O
1996	O
This	O
was	O
a	O
very	O
minor	O
update	O
to	O
3.0a	O
that	O
fixed	O
a	O
cosmetic	O
problem	O
with	O
the	O
Japanese	O
version	O
of	O
Windows	O
9544.0	O
Never	O
released	O
DirectX	O
4	O
was	O
never	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
lack	O
of	O
interest	O
from	O
game	O
developers	O
in	O
the	O
features	O
stated	O
for	O
DirectX	O
4	O
resulted	O
in	O
it	O
being	O
shelved	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
large	O
amount	O
of	O
documents	O
that	O
already	O
distinguished	O
the	O
two	O
new	O
versions	O
resulted	O
in	O
Microsoft	O
choosing	O
to	O
not	O
re-use	O
version	O
4	O
to	O
describe	O
features	O
intended	O
for	O
version	O
5.55.0	O
4.05.00.0155	O
(	O
RC55	O
)	O
August	O
4	O
,	O
1997	O
Available	O
as	O
a	O
beta	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
that	O
would	O
install	O
on	O
Windows	O
NT	O
4.05.2	O
4.05.01.1600	O
(	O
RC00	O
)	O
May	O
5	O
,	O
1998	O
DirectX	O
5.2	O
release	O
for	O
Windows	O
954.05.01.1998	O
(	O
RC0	O
)	O
June	O
25	O
,	O
1998	O
Windows	B-Device
98	I-Device
exclusive66.0	O
4.06.00.0318	O
(	O
RC3	O
)	O
August	O
7	O
,	O
1998	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
CE	I-Operating_System
as	O
implemented	O
on	O
Dreamcast	B-Operating_System
and	O
other	O
devices6.1	O
4.06.02.0436	O
(	O
RC0	O
)	O
February	O
3	O
,	O
1999	O
6.1a	O
4.06.03.0518	O
(	O
RC0	O
)	O
May	O
5	O
,	O
1999	O
Windows	B-Device
98	I-Device
Second	O
Edition	O
exclusive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
last	O
version	O
that	O
runs	O
on	O
486	O
or	O
older	O
CPU.77.0	O
4.07.00.0700	O
(	O
RC1	O
)	O
September	O
22	O
,	O
1999	O
4.07.00.0700	O
February	O
17	O
,	O
2000	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
exclusive7.0a	O
December	O
17	O
,	O
1999	O
Released	O
only	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
to	O
984.07.00.0716	O
(	O
RC0	O
)	O
March	O
8	O
,	O
2000	O
4.07.00.0716	O
(	O
RC1	O
)	O
2000	O
7.1	O
4.07.01.3000	O
(	O
RC1	O
)	O
September	O
14	O
,	O
2000	O
Windows	B-Device
Me	I-Device
exclusive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Last	O
version	O
to	O
have	O
built-in	O
RGB	O
software	O
rendering	O
support88.0	O
4.08.00.0400	O
(	O
RC10	O
)	O
November	O
10	O
,	O
2000	O
8.0a	O
4.08.00.0400	O
(	O
RC14	O
)	O
January	O
24	O
,	O
2001	O
Second	O
8.0	O
version	O
,	O
last	O
supported	O
version	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
and	O
last	O
version	O
to	O
have	O
software	O
rendering	O
support	O
in	O
dxdiag.exe8.1	O
4.08.01.0810	O
October	O
25	O
,	O
2001	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
SP1	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	I-Application
2003	I-Application
and	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
exclusive4.08.01.0881	O
(	O
RC7	O
)	O
November	O
8	O
,	O
2001	O
This	O
version	O
is	O
for	O
the	O
down	O
level	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
(	O
Windows	B-Device
98	I-Device
,	O
Windows	B-Device
Me	I-Device
and	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
)	O
8.1a	O
4.08.01.0901	O
(	O
RC	O
?	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
2002	O
This	O
release	O
includes	O
an	O
update	O
to	O
Direct3D	B-Application
(	O
D3d8.dll	O
)	O
8.1b	O
4.08.01.0901	O
(	O
RC7	O
)	O
June	O
25	O
,	O
2002	O
This	O
update	O
includes	O
a	O
fix	O
to	O
DirectShow	B-Library
on	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
(	O
Quartz.dll	B-Library
)	O
8.2	O
4.08.02.0134	O
(	O
RC0	O
)	O
2002	O
Same	O
as	O
the	O
DirectX	O
8.1b	O
but	O
includes	O
DirectPlay	B-Protocol
8.299.0	O
4.09.00.0900	O
(	O
RC4	O
)	O
December	O
19	O
,	O
2002	O
Periodic	O
hybrid	O
32-bit/64	O
-bit	O
updates	O
were	O
released	O
for	O
DirectX	O
9	O
,	O
starting	O
from	O
4.09.00.0904	O
(	O
RC0	O
for	O
DX	O
9.0c	O
)	O
in	O
October	O
2004	O
,	O
released	O
bimonthly	O
until	O
August	O
2007	O
,	O
and	O
quarterly	O
thereafter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
version	O
number	O
as	O
reported	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
DxDiag	B-Application
tool	O
(	O
version	O
4.09.0000.0900	O
and	O
higher	O
)	O
use	O
the	O
x.xx.xxxx.xxxx	O
format	O
for	O
version	O
numbers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
DirectX	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
MSDN	O
page	O
claims	O
that	O
the	O
registry	O
always	O
has	O
been	O
in	O
the	O
x.xx.xx.xxxx	O
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Therefore	O
,	O
when	O
the	O
above	O
table	O
lists	O
a	O
version	O
as	O
'	O
4.09.00.0904	O
'	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
DxDiag	B-Application
tool	O
may	O
have	O
it	O
as	O
'	O
4.09.0000.0904	O
'	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Various	O
releases	O
of	O
Windows	O
have	O
included	O
and	O
supported	O
various	O
versions	O
of	O
DirectX	O
,	O
allowing	O
newer	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
to	O
continue	O
running	O
applications	O
designed	O
for	O
earlier	O
versions	O
of	O
DirectX	O
until	O
those	O
versions	O
can	O
be	O
gradually	O
phased	O
out	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
newer	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
,	O
drivers	O
,	O
and	O
hardware	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
APIs	B-General_Concept
such	O
as	O
Direct3D	B-Application
and	O
DirectSound	B-Device
need	O
to	O
interact	O
with	O
hardware	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
they	O
do	O
this	O
through	O
a	O
device	B-Application
driver	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hardware	B-Architecture
manufacturers	O
have	O
to	O
write	O
these	O
drivers	O
for	O
a	O
particular	O
DirectX	O
version	O
's	O
device	B-Application
driver	I-Application
interface	I-Application
(	O
or	O
DDI	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
test	O
each	O
individual	O
piece	O
of	O
hardware	B-Architecture
to	O
make	O
them	O
DirectX	O
compatible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
hardware	B-Architecture
devices	O
have	O
only	O
DirectX	O
compatible	O
drivers	O
(	O
in	O
other	O
words	O
,	O
one	O
must	O
install	O
DirectX	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
use	O
that	O
hardware	B-Architecture
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
practice	O
was	O
stopped	O
however	O
,	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
the	O
web-based	O
Windows	O
Update	O
driver-update	O
system	O
,	O
which	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
download	O
only	O
the	O
drivers	O
relevant	O
to	O
their	O
hardware	B-Architecture
,	O
rather	O
than	O
the	O
entire	O
library	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
DirectX	B-Application
10	I-Application
,	O
DirectX	O
runtime	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
backward	O
compatible	O
with	O
older	O
drivers	O
,	O
meaning	O
that	O
newer	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
were	O
designed	O
to	O
interoperate	O
with	O
older	O
drivers	O
written	O
against	O
a	O
previous	O
version	O
's	O
DDI	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
application	O
programmer	O
had	O
to	O
query	O
the	O
available	O
hardware	B-Architecture
capabilities	O
using	O
a	O
complex	O
system	O
of	O
"	O
cap	O
bits	O
"	O
each	O
tied	O
to	O
a	O
particular	O
hardware	B-Architecture
feature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Direct3D	B-Application
7	O
and	O
earlier	O
would	O
work	O
on	O
any	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
DDI	O
,	O
Direct3D	B-Application
8	O
requires	O
a	O
minimum	O
DDI	O
level	O
of	O
6	O
and	O
Direct3D	B-Application
9	O
requires	O
a	O
minimum	O
DDI	O
level	O
of	O
7	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
Direct3D	B-Application
10	O
runtime	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
cannot	O
run	O
on	O
older	O
hardware	B-Application
drivers	I-Application
due	O
to	O
the	O
significantly	O
updated	O
DDI	O
,	O
which	O
requires	O
a	O
unified	O
feature	O
set	O
and	O
abandons	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
"	O
cap	O
bits	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Direct3D	B-Application
10.1	O
introduces	O
"	O
feature	O
levels	O
"	O
10_0	O
and	O
10_1	O
,	O
which	O
allow	O
use	O
of	O
only	O
the	O
hardware	B-Architecture
features	O
defined	O
in	O
the	O
specified	O
version	O
of	O
Direct3D	B-Application
API	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Direct3D	B-Application
11	O
adds	O
level	O
11_0	O
and	O
"	O
10	O
Level	O
9	O
"	O
-	O
a	O
subset	O
of	O
the	O
Direct3D	B-Application
10	O
API	B-General_Concept
designed	O
to	O
run	O
on	O
Direct3D	B-Application
9	O
hardware	B-Architecture
,	O
which	O
has	O
three	O
feature	O
levels	O
(	O
9_1	O
,	O
9_2	O
and	O
9_3	O
)	O
grouped	O
by	O
common	O
capabilities	O
of	O
"	O
low	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
med	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
high-end	O
"	O
video	O
cards	O
;	O
the	O
runtime	O
directly	O
uses	O
Direct3D	B-Application
9	O
DDI	O
provided	O
in	O
all	O
WDDM	B-Device
drivers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Feature	O
level	O
11_1	O
has	O
been	O
introduced	O
with	O
Direct3D	B-Application
11.1	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2002	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
released	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
DirectX	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
.NET	I-Application
Framework	I-Application
,	O
thus	O
allowing	O
programmers	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
DirectX	O
functionality	O
from	O
within	O
.NET	B-Application
applications	O
using	O
compatible	O
languages	O
such	O
as	O
managed	O
C++	O
or	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
C#	B-Application
programming	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
API	B-General_Concept
was	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
Managed	B-Application
DirectX	I-Application
"	O
(	O
or	O
MDX	O
for	O
short	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
claimed	O
to	O
operate	O
at	O
98%	O
of	O
performance	O
of	O
the	O
underlying	O
native	O
DirectX	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2005	O
,	O
February	O
2006	O
,	O
April	O
2006	O
,	O
and	O
August	O
2006	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
released	O
successive	O
updates	O
to	O
this	O
library	O
,	O
culminating	O
in	O
a	O
beta	O
version	O
called	O
Managed	B-Application
DirectX	I-Application
2.0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Managed	B-Application
DirectX	I-Application
2.0	O
consolidated	O
functionality	O
that	O
had	O
previously	O
been	O
scattered	O
over	O
multiple	O
assemblies	O
into	O
a	O
single	O
assembly	O
,	O
thus	O
simplifying	O
dependencies	O
on	O
it	O
for	O
software	O
developers	O
,	O
development	O
on	O
this	O
version	O
has	O
subsequently	O
been	O
discontinued	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
is	O
no	O
longer	O
supported	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Managed	B-Application
DirectX	I-Application
2.0	O
library	O
expired	O
on	O
October	O
5	O
,	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
GDC	O
2006	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
presented	O
the	O
XNA	B-Device
Framework	I-Device
,	O
a	O
new	O
managed	O
version	O
of	O
DirectX	O
(	O
similar	O
but	O
not	O
identical	O
to	O
Managed	B-Application
DirectX	I-Application
)	O
that	O
is	O
intended	O
to	O
assist	O
development	O
of	O
games	O
by	O
making	O
it	O
easier	O
to	O
integrate	O
DirectX	O
,	O
HLSL	B-Language
and	O
other	O
tools	O
in	O
one	O
package	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
supports	O
the	O
execution	O
of	O
managed	O
code	O
on	O
the	B-Operating_System
Xbox	I-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
XNA	B-Device
Game	I-Device
Studio	I-Device
Express	O
RTM	O
was	O
made	O
available	O
on	O
December	O
11	O
,	O
2006	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
free	O
download	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
DirectX	O
runtime	O
,	O
Managed	B-Application
DirectX	I-Application
,	O
XNA	B-Device
Framework	I-Device
or	O
the	B-Operating_System
Xbox	I-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
APIs	B-General_Concept
(	O
XInput	O
,	O
XACT	O
etc	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
Microsoft	O
product	O
including	O
the	O
latest	O
XNA	B-Device
releases	O
provides	O
DirectX	B-Application
10	I-Application
support	O
for	O
the	O
.NET	B-Application
Framework	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
alternatives	O
to	O
the	O
DirectX	O
family	O
of	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
,	O
with	O
OpenGL	B-Application
,	O
its	O
successor	O
Vulkan	B-Application
,	O
Metal	B-Library
and	O
Mantle	B-Application
having	O
the	O
most	O
features	O
comparable	O
to	O
Direct3D	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
of	O
other	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
include	O
SDL	B-Operating_System
,	O
Allegro	B-Language
,	O
OpenMAX	B-Application
,	O
OpenML	O
,	O
OpenAL	B-Application
,	O
OpenCL	B-Application
,	O
FMOD	B-Application
,	O
SFML	B-Language
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
also	O
alternative	O
implementations	O
that	O
aim	O
to	O
provide	O
the	O
same	O
API	B-General_Concept
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
one	O
in	O
Wine	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
the	O
developers	O
of	O
ReactOS	B-Application
are	O
trying	O
to	O
reimplement	O
DirectX	O
under	O
the	O
name	O
"	O
ReactX	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
