Microsoft® DirectX® provides a finely tuned set of application programming interfaces (APIs) that provide you with the resources you need to design high-performance, real-time applications. DirectX technology will help build the next generation of computer games and multimedia applications.
Microsoft developed DirectX so that the performance of applications running in the Microsoft Windows® operating system can rival or exceed the performance of applications running in the MS-DOS® operating system or on game consoles. This Programmer's Reference was developed to promote game development for Windows by providing you with a robust, standardized, and well-documented operating environment for which to write games.
DirectX provides you with two important benefits: