DirectX

DirectX, formally known as the Game SDK, is a set of development libraries for high performance games under Windows95 and WindowsNT. DirectDraw allows direct access to the bits on the video card and stores surfaces directly on the video card. DirectSound allows low latency mixing of sound, as well as some basic sound manipulations. DirectPlay allows multi-player games to connect via modem or other networks. DirectInput lets the player use all the latest joysticks with ease. Direct3D’s Retained Mode retains the graphics data while its Immediate Mode explicitly streams the data out to an execute buffer. The links included herein relate specifically to DirectX games.