What Are DirectX 9 Graphics?

DirectX is essentially a standardized series of commands programmers can use when developing for Windows. It is most commonly associated with video games, however. DirectX 9 is a previous version of DirectX -- the most recent is DirectX 11.

What Does DirectX Do?

• DirectX is an application programming interface (API) that gives developers access to a predefined series of commands they can use to control graphics, audio and controller (e.g. mouse, joystick) input. In order to use a DirectX program, a user must have the appropriate version of DirectX "End-User Runtime" installed on his computer.

DirectX 9

• DirectX 9 was simply one iteration of the DirectX API (the most recent is 11). Microsoft released it in 2002, and it was notable primarily for including pixel and vertex shader version 2.0, which supported longer shading programs than previous versions. DirectX 9 graphics, therefore, could refer to the visuals of any program created with that version of DirectX.

Getting the Latest Version of DirectX

• Since all versions of DirectX are designed to be backwards-compatible, it is best to obtain the latest version. For Windows XP users, this is DirectX 10, for Windows 7, DirectX 11. Both are available free at www.techmixer.com.