DirectX File Format
Microsoft® DirectX® version 6.0 introduced interfaces and methods that enable reading from and writing to DirectX (.x) files. For more information, see the DirectX File Reference.
This section specifies the file format introduced with DirectX 2.0. A binary version of this format was subsequently released with DirectX 3.0, which is also detailed in this reference.
The DirectX file format provides a rich, template-driven format that enables the storage of meshes, textures, animations, and user-definable objects. Support for animation sets enables you to store predefined paths for playback in real time. Instancing and hierarchies are also supported. Instancing enables multiple references to an object, such as a mesh, while storing its data only once per file. Hierarchies are used to express relationships between data records. The DirectX file format is used natively by the Microsoft Direct3D® Retained Mode API, providing support for reading predefined objects into an application or for writing mesh information constructed by the application in real time.
The DirectX file format provides low-level data primitives upon which applications define higher-level primitives through templates. This is the method by which Direct3D Retained Mode defines higher-level primitives such as vectors, meshes, matrices, and colors.
The following sections detail the API-independent features of the file format and also the method by which Direct3D Retained Mode uses the file format.
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