Windows 95 did not launch with DirectX, but DirectX was included with Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2. Originally, the runtimes were only installed by games or explicitly by the user. The DirectX software development kit (SDK) consists of runtime libraries in redistributable binary form, along with accompanying documentation and headers for use in coding. As Direct3D is the most widely publicized component of DirectX, it is common to see the names 'DirectX' and 'Direct3D' used interchangeably. Direct3D is also used by other software applications for visualization and graphics tasks such as CAD/CAM engineering.

The X initial has been carried forward in the naming of APIs designed for the Xbox such as XInput and the Cross-platform Audio Creation Tool (XACT), while the DirectX pattern has been continued for Windows APIs such as Direct2D and DirectWrite.ĭirect3D (the 3D graphics API within DirectX) is widely used in the development of video games for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox line of consoles. When Microsoft later set out to develop a gaming console, the X was used as the basis of the name Xbox to indicate that the console was based on DirectX technology.

The name DirectX was coined as a shorthand term for all of these APIs (the X standing in for the particular API names) and soon became the name of the collection. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with 'Direct', such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay, DirectSound, and so forth. Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces (APIs) for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Microsoft Windows, Windows Phone 8, Dreamcast, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Linux (Gallium Nine) (DirectX 12 only, Exclusive to Windows Subsystem for Linux),

Directx software development kit