What is the difference between the various DirectX versions?

For each new version of DirectX, Microsoft has been updating the technology such that the new dll's can communicate with the hardware faster and more efficiently with minimum latency. Also they are trying to support the latest features of graphics and sound cards that come on the market. Also the architecture is updated so as to suit the needs of the day while maintaining backward compatibility( For example, even though DirectDraw was erased from the DirectX API components after DirectX 7 even in DirectX9, you can access the old interfaces through a DirectDraw7 call.) This backward compatibility plays a significant role in DirectX's position as a leading API, as it helps the applications written in older versions to still work smoothly in the newer versions.

On DirectX6 there was 2 independent SDK's (DirectX SDK and DirectX Media SDK).Later Microsoft merged DirectShow- the significant part of Media SDK into the DirectX API and deprecated DirectX Media. On DirectX8 they merged DirectDraw and Direct3D into a single DirectX Graphics API for graphics programming and DirectSound and Direct Music was merged together as DirectX Audio for sound programming. They also introduced a programmable Pixel shader and Vertex Shader too. With DirectX9, Microsoft has introduced HLSL (High level shader language) a powerful new programming model that offers the easiest to use graphics creation toolset for developers. Thus the architecture is changing a lot on the way!

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