Editing DirectX (section)

===DirectX 10===
{{See also|Direct3D#Direct3D 10|l1=Direct3D 10}}
[[File:Microsoft-DirectX-10-Logo-wordmark.svg|thumb|Microsoft DirectX 10 logo wordmark]]
A major update to DirectX API, DirectX 10 ships with and is only available with [[Windows Vista]] (launched in late 2006) and later. Previous versions of Windows such as Windows XP are not able to run DirectX 10-exclusive applications. Rather, programs that are run on a Windows XP system with DirectX 10 hardware simply resort to the DirectX 9.0c code path, the latest available for Windows XP computers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee416788.aspx#WILL_DIRECTX_10_BE_AVAILABLE_FOR_WINDOWS_XP__|title=DirectX Frequently Asked Questions|publisher=Microsoft|work=microsoft.com}}</ref>

[[Features new to Windows Vista#DirectX|Changes for DirectX 10]] were extensive. Many former parts of DirectX API were deprecated in the latest DirectX SDK and are preserved for compatibility only: [[DirectInput]] was deprecated in favor of [[XInput]], [[DirectSound]] was deprecated in favor of the [[Cross-platform Audio Creation Tool]] system (XACT) and additionally lost support for hardware accelerated audio, since the [[Windows Vista audio architecture|Vista audio stack]] renders sound in software on the CPU. The DirectPlay DPLAY.DLL was also removed and was replaced with dplayx.dll; games that rely on this DLL must duplicate it and rename it to dplay.dll.

In order to achieve backwards compatibility, DirectX in Windows Vista contains several versions of Direct3D:<ref>{{cite web | url=https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee417756.aspx | title=Graphics APIs in Windows | author=Chuck Walbourn |date=August 2009 | work=MSDN | access-date=2009-10-03}}</ref>
* '''Direct3D 9''': emulates Direct3D 9 behavior as it was on Windows XP. Details and advantages of Vista's [[Windows Display Driver Model]] are hidden from the application if WDDM drivers are installed. This is the only API available if there are only XP graphic drivers (XDDM) installed, after an upgrade to Vista for example.
* '''Direct3D 9Ex''' (known internally during Windows Vista development as 9.0L or 9.L): allows full access to the new capabilities of WDDM (if WDDM drivers are installed) while maintaining compatibility for existing Direct3D applications. The [[Windows Aero]] user interface relies on D3D 9Ex.
* '''Direct3D 10''': Designed around the new driver model in Windows Vista and featuring a number of improvements to rendering capabilities and flexibility, including [[High Level Shader Language|Shader Model 4]].
Direct3D 10.1 is an incremental update of Direct3D 10.0 which shipped with, and required, [[Windows Vista Service Pack 1]], which was released in February 2008.<ref name=Albanesius>{{cite news|last=Albanesius|first=Chloe|title=Microsoft Unleashes First Service Pack for Vista|url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2177205,00.asp|access-date=2007-08-29|newspaper=PC Magazine|date=2007-08-29|archive-date=March 19, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319115835/http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2177205,00.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref> This release mainly sets a few more image quality standards for graphics vendors, while giving developers more control over image quality.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,2168429,00.asp?kc=ETRSS02129TX1K0000532|title=Microsoft Presents DirectX 10.1 Details at SIGGRAPH|date=2007-08-07|access-date=2007-08-27|archive-date=September 9, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070909164250/http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0%2C1558%2C2168429%2C00.asp?kc=ETRSS02129TX1K0000532|url-status=dead}}</ref> It also adds support for cube map arrays, separate blend modes per-MRT, coverage mask export from a pixel shader, ability to run pixel shader per sample, access to multi-sampled depth buffers<ref>{{cite web|url=http://developer.amd.com/assets/GDC_2008_DirectX10.1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410174855/http://developer.amd.com/assets/GDC_2008_DirectX10.1.pdf|title=Learn Network Inspire |publisher=AMD |access-date=2012-12-30|archive-date=2012-04-10 }}</ref> and requires that the video card supports Shader Model 4.1 or higher and 32-bit floating-point operations. Direct3D 10.1 still fully supports Direct3D 10 hardware, but in order to utilize all of the new features, updated hardware is required.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://xyzzy-links.blogspot.com/2007/08/directx-101-requires-no-new-gpu.html |title=DirectX 10.1 Requires No New GPU |date=2008-03-05 |access-date=2008-03-05 |publisher=Windows Vista: The Complete Guide |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029115642/http://xyzzy-links.blogspot.com/2007/08/directx-101-requires-no-new-gpu.html |archive-date=2007-10-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref>