Notes on Microsoft DXGI

Introduction

• Microsoft DirectX Graphics Infrastructure (DXGI) handles enumerating graphics adapters, enumerating display modes, selecting buffer formats, sharing resources between processes (such as, between applications and the Desktop Window Manager (DWM)), and presenting rendered frames to a window or monitor for display

• Though most graphics programming is done using Direct3D, you can use DXGI to present frames to a window, monitor, or other graphics component for eventual composition and display. You can also use DXGI to read the contents on a monitor.

• The Microsoft DirectX Graphics Infrastructure (DXGI) manages low-level tasks that can be independent of the Direct3D graphics runtime. DXGI provides a common framework for several versions of Direct3D.

• Microsoft DirectX Graphics Infrastructure (DXGI) recognizes that some parts of graphics evolve more slowly than others. The primary goal of DXGI is to manage low-level tasks that can be independent of the DirectX graphics runtime. DXGI provides a common framework for future graphics components; the first component that takes advantage of DXGI is Microsoft Direct3D 10.

• In previous versions of Direct3D, low-level tasks like enumeration of hardware devices, presenting rendered frames to an output, controlling gamma, and managing a full-screen transition were included in the Direct3D runtime. These tasks are now implemented in DXGI.