Roadmap

Information on DirectX Audio is presented in the following sections:

• What's New in DirectX Audio. New features and functionality of this component in Microsoft® DirectX® 8.0. If you've used Microsoft® DirectSound® or Microsoft® DirectMusic® before, read this section first, because much has changed since DirectX 7.0.
• Introduction to DirectX Audio. An overview of what DirectX Audio is and what it can do for your application, together with a first look at some important objects and the steps involved in playing audio.
• Understanding DirectX Audio. A deeper look at the underlying mechanisms. This section won't teach you how to implement audio playback or capture in your application, but it will help you understand the application programming interface (API).
• Using DirectX Audio. A guide to using the API. You'll probably want to familiarize yourself with the table of contents for this section, and then refer to parts of it as you need specific information. Use it in conjunction with the reference section.
• Advanced Topics in DirectX Audio. Information of interest mostly for developing specialized applications or applications that need highly optimized performance.
• Programming Tips and Tools. Miscellaneous information about compiling and debugging DirectX Audio applications.
• DirectX Audio Visual Basic Tutorials. Step-by-step implementation of basic functionality. If you're the kind of person who learns best by doing, this is a good place to start.
• DirectX Audio Visual Basic Samples. A guide to the sample applications in the SDK, to point you to the sample code you need. As well as showing how to implement basic functionality, each sample demonstrates one or more particular features of DirectX Audio.
• DirectMusic Visual Basic Reference. Detailed information on the DirectMusic API elements in the DirectX for Visual Basic® type library.
• DirectSound Visual Basic Reference. Detailed information on the DirectSound API elements in the DirectX for Visual Basic type library.

DirectMusic Producer

Microsoft DirectMusic Producer is a powerful authoring application included with the DirectX SDK. It enables composers to create dynamic musical elements that can be incorporated in an application.

If your focus is more on sound design than on application development, you might want to start with DirectMusic Producer Help, which is installed with that application.

If you're an application developer and just want an overview of the material you'll be working with, see Compositional Music Elements.