| Platform SDK: DirectX |
This documentation includes information about developing Microsoft® DirectX® applications in C, C++, and Microsoft® Visual Basic®.
DirectX fully supports both C and C++. Although this document most often uses the C++ syntax, some of the examples and tutorials (as well as some of the sample applications) are in C. In addition, the following topics provide information on using C with DirectX:
For the sake of simplicity, this documentation generally uses "C++" to mean "C or C++" when presenting information for those languages as opposed to Visual Basic. You can assume that discussions of C++ concepts are also valid for C, with the necessary changes in syntax.
To provide only the information that is relevant to your programming environment, this document implements language filtering. On the title bar of many topics (including this one) you will find a button for a pop-up language menu. This menu gives you the choice of seeing documentation tailored either to C++ (and C) or to Visual Basic. If you choose Show All, you will see the language-specific information for both languages. Regardless of your language selection, you will always see information (such as general concepts) that is relevant to all languages.
This text appears only if you have selected C++ or Show All from the language menu.
This text appears only if you have selected Visual Basic or Show All from the language menu.
The buttons that can appear on the title bar of topics are described as follows:
| Button | Meaning |
|---|---|
| L | Shows when language filtering is in the topic. Select your programming language from those available on the menu. |
| + | Denotes that additional information is available and provides links to those topics. This is called the See Also section. |
| ! | Shows the Requirements (previously known as QuickInfo) for using reference material. The information may include operating system versions and header information. |
The following conventions are used in the syntax of methods, functions, and other API elements, as well as typographic conventions used in explanatory material and sample code:
| Convention | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Italic text | Denotes a placeholder or variable. You must provide the actual value. For example, the statement SetCursorPos(X, Y) requires you to substitute values for the X and Y parameters. |
| Bold text | Denotes a function, procedure, structure, macro, interface, method, data type, or other keyword in the programming interface or language. |
| [] | Encloses optional parameters. |
| ... | Specifies that the preceding item may be repeated. |
| FULL BOLD CAPITALS | Used for most type and structure names. |
| FULL CAPITALS | Used for enumeration values, flags, and constants. |
monospace |
Sets off code examples and shows syntax spacing. |
| .
. . |
Represents an omitted portion of a sample application. |