Benefits of Developing DirectX Windows Applications

The primary goals of DirectX are to provide portable access to the features used with MS-DOS today, to meet or improve on the performance of MS-DOS console-based applications, and to remove the obstacles to hardware innovation on the personal computer.

Microsoft developed DirectX to provide Windows-based applications with high-performance, real-time access to available hardware on current and future computer systems. DirectX provides a consistent interface between hardware and applications, reducing the complexity of installation and configuration and using the hardware to its best advantage.

A high-performance Windows-based game will take advantage of the following technologies:

·Accelerator cards designed specifically for improving performance

·Plug and Play and other Windows hardware and software

·Communications services built into Windows, including DirectPlay