<s>
In	O
computer	B-Application
music	I-Application
and	O
professional	O
audio	O
creation	O
,	O
a	O
DirectX	B-Library
plugin	I-Library
is	O
a	O
software	O
processing	O
component	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
loaded	O
as	O
a	O
plugin	O
into	O
host	O
applications	O
to	O
allow	O
real-time	O
processing	O
,	O
audio	O
effects	O
,	O
mixing	O
audio	O
or	O
act	O
as	O
virtual	B-Application
synthesizers	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	B-Library
plugins	I-Library
allow	O
the	O
replacement	O
of	O
traditional	O
recording	O
studio	O
hardware	O
and	O
rack	O
units	O
used	O
in	O
professional	O
studios	O
with	O
software-based	O
counterparts	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
connected	O
together	O
in	O
a	O
modular	O
way	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allows	O
host	O
manufacturers	O
to	O
focus	O
on	O
the	O
conviviality	O
and	O
efficiency	O
of	O
their	O
products	O
while	O
specialized	O
manufacturers	O
can	O
focus	O
on	O
the	O
digital	B-General_Concept
signal	I-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
aspect	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
to	O
Virtual	B-Application
Studio	I-Application
Technology	I-Application
and	O
later	O
,	O
Audio	B-Operating_System
Units	I-Operating_System
in	O
Apple	B-Operating_System
Mac	I-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
,	O
DirectX	B-Library
plugins	I-Library
have	O
an	O
open	O
standard	O
architecture	O
for	O
connecting	O
audio	O
synthesizers	O
and	O
effect	O
plugins	O
to	O
audio	O
editors	O
and	O
hard-disk	O
recording	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	B-Application
plug-ins	O
are	O
based	O
on	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
Component	B-Application
Object	I-Application
Model	I-Application
(	O
COM	O
)	O
which	O
allows	O
plugins	O
to	O
be	O
recognised	O
and	O
used	O
by	O
other	O
applications	O
via	O
common	O
interfaces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Architecturally	O
,	O
DirectX	B-Library
plugins	I-Library
are	O
DirectShow	B-Library
filters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	B-Library
plugins	I-Library
are	O
also	O
of	O
two	O
types	O
,	O
DirectX	B-Application
effect	O
plugins	O
(	O
DX	O
)	O
and	O
DirectX	B-Application
Instrument	O
plugins	O
(	O
DXi	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instrument	O
plugins	O
are	O
MIDI	O
controllable	O
DirectX	B-Library
plugins	I-Library
,	O
generally	O
used	O
to	O
synthesize	O
sound	O
or	O
playback	O
sampled	O
audio	O
using	O
virtual	B-Application
synthesizers	I-Application
,	O
samplers	O
or	O
drum	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	B-Application
effect	O
plugins	O
were	O
developed	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
DirectShow	B-Library
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	B-Application
instruments	O
were	O
developed	O
by	O
Cakewalk	O
in	O
co-operation	O
with	O
Microsoft	O
and	O
are	O
available	O
on	O
Windows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
wrapper	O
plugins	O
are	O
available	O
so	O
that	O
DirectX	B-Library
plugins	I-Library
can	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
applications	O
which	O
only	O
support	O
VST	O
and	O
vice	O
versa	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	B-Library
plugins	I-Library
can	O
be	O
developed	O
in	O
C++	O
using	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
DirectX	B-Application
SDK	O
,	O
Sony	O
's	O
Audio	O
Plug-In	O
Development	O
Kit	O
or	O
Cakewalk	O
's	O
DirectX	B-Application
Wizard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
also	O
a	O
Delphi	B-Language
SDK	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	B-Library
plugins	I-Library
are	O
superseded	O
by	O
DMO-based	O
signal	O
processing	O
filters	O
and	O
more	O
recently	O
,	O
by	O
Media	O
Foundation	O
Transforms	O
.	O
</s>
