MSDN Documentation

Getting Started with DirectX Programming

Welcome to the official Microsoft DirectX programming guide. This section provides you with the essential information and steps to begin your journey into high-performance graphics and multimedia development on Windows.

Before diving into DirectX, ensure you have the following:

• A solid understanding of C++: DirectX APIs are primarily C++ based. Familiarity with pointers, memory management, and object-oriented programming is crucial.
• Basic Linear Algebra and Trigonometry: Concepts like vectors, matrices, transformations, and rotations are fundamental to 3D graphics.
• An Integrated Development Environment (IDE): Visual Studio is the recommended IDE for DirectX development. Ensure you have a recent version installed.
• Windows SDK: The Windows SDK, which includes DirectX headers and libraries, is installed with Visual Studio.

To start coding, you'll need to configure your project correctly.

1. Create a New Project: In Visual Studio, create a new C++ project. A "Blank Project" or a "Windows Desktop Application" is a good starting point.
2. Include DirectX Headers: Ensure your project settings include the necessary DirectX headers. Typically, this is handled by the Windows SDK.
3. Link DirectX Libraries: You'll need to link against the DirectX libraries. For modern DirectX (Direct3D 11/12), this often involves linking to files like d3d11.lib or d3d12.lib.

For detailed steps and project templates, refer to the DirectX SDK Setup Guide.

The "Hello, World!" of DirectX often involves initializing the graphics device and creating a basic window to draw to.

Here's a conceptual outline of the initial steps:

1. Initialize a Window: Create a standard Windows application window.
2. Create a DirectX Device: This is the core object that represents your graphics hardware. You'll typically create a Direct3D device (e.g., ID3D11Device or ID3D12Device).
3. Create a Swap Chain: The swap chain manages how your rendered frames are presented to the screen.
4. Set Up Render Target: Define what you will draw onto, usually a back buffer provided by the swap chain.
5. Clear the Screen: Begin each frame by clearing the render target, often to a solid color.
6. Present the Frame: Display the completed frame to the user.

As you progress, focus on understanding these core concepts:

• Shaders: Programs that run on the GPU to process vertices and pixels.
• Meshes and Vertices: How 3D models are represented.
• Textures: Images applied to surfaces.
• Materials: Properties that define how surfaces interact with light.
• Lighting and Shading Models: How light affects the appearance of objects.
• Pipeline Stages: The sequence of operations in the graphics rendering pipeline.

Once you've got your environment set up and a basic application running, you're ready to explore more advanced topics.

• Read the Rendering Primitives guide.
• Learn about Shaders and how to write them.
• Explore Textures and Materials.
• Discover Lighting Techniques.

Happy coding!