Direct3D 9 API Reference

This section provides detailed reference information for the Direct3D 9 Application Programming Interface (API).

Overview

Direct3D 9 is a powerful graphics API that allows developers to create high-performance 2D and 3D graphics for Windows. It offers extensive control over the rendering pipeline, from vertex processing to pixel shading.

Key Interfaces

Explore the core interfaces that form the foundation of Direct3D 9:

IDirect3D9: The primary interface for creating Direct3D devices and enumerating adapters.
IDirect3DDevice9: The interface representing the graphics adapter, used for rendering commands.
IDirect3DVertexBuffer9: Interface for vertex buffers.
IDirect3DIndexBuffer9: Interface for index buffers.
IDirect3DSurface9: Interface for surfaces, including render targets and back buffers.
IDirect3DTexture9: Interface for 2D textures.
D3DCAPS9: Structure describing the capabilities of a Direct3D device.

IDirect3D9 Interface

The IDirect3D9 interface is the entry point for Direct3D 9. You use it to query device capabilities, enumerate available hardware adapters, and create Direct3D devices.

Methods

Method	Description
`CreateDevice`	Creates a Direct3D device for rendering.
`GetAdapterCount`	Retrieves the number of display adapters present on the system.
`GetAdapterIdentifier9`	Retrieves the identifier of a display adapter.
`GetDeviceState`	Retrieves the current state of a Direct3D device.

`CreateDevice`

Creates a Direct3D device for rendering.

HRESULT CreateDevice(
  UINT Adapter,
  D3DDEVTYPE DeviceType,
  HWND hFocusWindow,
  DWORD BehaviorFlags,
  D3DPRESENT_PARAMETERS *pPresentationParameters,
  IDirect3DDevice9 **ppReturnedDevice
);

IDirect3DDevice9 Interface

The IDirect3DDevice9 interface represents a graphics adapter and is used to perform all rendering operations.

Methods

Method	Description
`BeginScene`	Marks the beginning of a scene.
`EndScene`	Marks the end of a scene.
`Clear`	Clears the render target or depth-stencil buffer.
`Present`	Presents the next frame to the user.
`SetVertexDeclaration`	Sets the current vertex declaration.
`DrawPrimitive`	Renders primitives.

`BeginScene`

Marks the beginning of a scene. All drawing commands should be issued between BeginScene and EndScene.

HRESULT BeginScene( void );

`EndScene`

Marks the end of a scene.

HRESULT EndScene( void );

`Clear`

Clears the render target or depth-stencil buffer.

HRESULT Clear(
  DWORD Count,
  const D3DRECT *pRects,
  DWORD Flags,
  D3DCOLOR Color,
  float Z,
  DWORD Stencil
);

`Present`

Presents the next frame to the user.

HRESULT Present(
  const RECT *pSourceRect,
  const RECT *pDestRect,
  HWND hDestWindowOverride,
  const RGNDATA *pDirtyRegion
);

`SetVertexDeclaration`

Sets the current vertex declaration, which defines the vertex data format.

HRESULT SetVertexDeclaration(
  IDirect3DVertexDeclaration9 *pDecl
);

`DrawPrimitive`

Renders a sequence of primitives using the current vertex data and vertex buffer.

HRESULT DrawPrimitive(
  D3DPRIMITIVETYPE PrimitiveType,
  UINT StartVertex,
  UINT PrimitiveCount
);

Structures

D3DPRESENT_PARAMETERS

Structure containing parameters for device creation and presentation.

typedef struct D3DPRESENT_PARAMETERS_ {
  UINT                BackBufferWidth;
  UINT                BackBufferHeight;
  D3DFORMAT           BackBufferFormat;
  UINT                BackBufferCount;
  D3DMULTISAMPLE_TYPE MultisampleType;
  DWORD               MultisampleQuality;
  D3DSWAPEFFECT       SwapEffect;
  HWND                hDeviceWindow;
  BOOL                Windowed;
  BOOL                EnableAutoDepthStencil;
  D3DFORMAT           AutoDepthStencilFormat;
  DWORD               Flags;
  UINT                FullScreen_RefreshRateInHz;
  UINT                PresentationInterval;
} D3DPRESENT_PARAMETERS, *LPD3DPRESENT_PARAMETERS;

D3DVIEWPORT9

Structure defining the viewport.

typedef struct D3DVIEWPORT9_ {
  DWORD X;
  DWORD Y;
  DWORD Width;
  DWORD Height;
  float MinZ;
  float MaxZ;
} D3DVIEWPORT9, *LPD3DVIEWPORT9;