DirectX for Windows

An APIs collection for free

DirectX is Microsoft's program programming interface that facilitates complex multimedia-related tasks, particularly video programming.

Microsoft can claim to have created the PC gaming industry's monopoly by introducing DirectX into its Windows operating system. DirectX, an interface for application programming, allows the user to access the system hardware directly. This facilitates multimedia tasks like video programming and game development.

Before Windows 95 was available, it was difficult to play computer games on a personal computer. To access the system's hardware, DOS needed to be booted using specific configuration files like config.sys and autoexec.bat. All this, plus several boot disks.

Microsoft was quick to recognize the needs of the user and found a way for game developers to have direct access to Windows hardware resources.

DirectX's first version was released for Windows 95 and NT 4.0 in June 1996. Although DirectX was initially slow to get off the ground, it became more popular. OpenGL was a popular alternative that gained a good reputation. Its interface had many advantages, including a more efficient use hardware, a standard, multi-platform royalty-free API, and no restriction to one operating system like DirectX or Windows.

Despite its pros and cons DirectX has become the most popular option. Windows is still the most used operating system on desktop computers. This is in addition other uses, like the Xbox One.

DirectX is a collection APIs that were created to support multimedia tasks related to computer and game programming on Microsoft Windows.

An API is an interface for programming applications. This is a set of subroutines and methods that can be used to create games and other content. It is used by other software as an abstraction layer.

It has been integrated into the Windows operating system and the Xbox Ecosystem, allowing it to hold the monopoly in PC gaming. Vulkan, the most recent version of OpenGL available, is currently its direct competitor. DirectX is still the standard for personal computers, as Windows has a greater presence than Linux or OS X.

Direct 3D. This API is the most used for three-dimensional graphics programming. Direct Input Processing data from the keyboard, mouse, joystick, and other controls to computer games. Direct Play. Useful in network communications. Direct Graphics. This allows images to be drawn both in flat and three-dimensional dimensions. Direct Music. Plays music tracks created with the Direct Music Producer. Direct Sound. Direct Sound. Direct Show. Direct Show. Direct Compute. It provides instructions and jargon that allows different processing threads on the massive core processors. Direct Setup. This allows you to install additional DirectX components. Direct ML. This allows for artificial intelligence and AI processing, along with other features. These features were added to the 2019 Windows 10 update. DirectX Raytracing. This feature, also known as DXR is a feature that allows real-time hardware radiation tracing. It is a breakthrough in consumer-level computer graphic on GPUs such as the Nvidia GeForce 20 series of 2018. This feature is not available in DirectX 12 but can be downloaded as an extension.

DirectX Raytracing was included in the 2018 Windows 10 update. It was developed for Windows only, but it can also be used in open source on Linux Unix systems and Wine HP using the X Window System.

DirectX is not compatible with all versions of Windows. It is important to verify each version. Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7 have major differences compared to previous versions.

DirectX 12 includes a specific optimization that increases performance. DirectX 12 includes a specific optimization that improves performance by using more cores and multiple multi-GPU configurations to take advantage of the system resources.

The initial reception was not as good as expected. It was necessary to wait for future updates to see the benefits. DirectX 12's complexity in extracting its full potential, particularly in memory management and multiGPU, and technology that allows asynchronous computing, is what has made it difficult to download.

The system's search engine, or the tool execute' (Windows + R), can be used to access the diagnosis. The system tab shows which version is currently installed and the most active driver or DX parameters.

It is possible to have different versions of a game installed. For example, a DirectX 11 update would not work with higher versions if it was used by a developer. The API versions are updated when installing new games.

DirectX must be installed in the latest version. This is necessary to know which version of Windows you are using. Microsoft has included the APIs in Windows 8 since its release. Windows 8.1 supports DirectX 11.2 and, like Windows 10, there's no need to manually download it. This works only with DirectX 12. It can be accessed via Windows Update through the tab Update Settings > Safety > Windows Update > Check For Updates.

Windows 7 supports 11.1. It can be manually updated or with Windows Update. The service pack or the update KB267083838 are available. Microsoft has a page that allows you to download older versions.

DirectX's latest version allows developers to add high-visual impact graphics effects. GeForce graphics cards allow for special features like shading and raytracing to create realistic effects at higher frame rates.

Its acceptance by developers has been positive, which reduces cost and consumption, improves the use and performance of available resources, and even integrates widely used frameworks like.NET.

OpenGL is an alternative to DirectX. It is a software that is very similar to DirectX, but has different specifications.