Next generation DirectX – WGF almost finished

Version 0.99 currently available



MICROSOFT’S GRAPHIC group is very close to finally releasing the long awaited next generation DirectX. You can forget the name DirectX as Microsoft has decided to call this one WGF (Windows Graphic Foundation). The interface will, for the first time, reunite Direct Draw part that was mainly used for drawing 2D windows and Direct 3D part of DirectX used to draw 3D scene.

WGF will unite them into one item. It is intended to change things by allowing graphics subsystems to be served with as much performance as you will need.

Windows always had rather good looking graphical user interfaces and that’s not going to change. But Microsoft also wants to give 2D elements some special features and effects to snazz things up.

Why is it important to have the WGF 1.0 specification? If you are a hardware vendor such are Nvidia or ATI or even S3 and XGI you need this final specification to allow your engineers to experiment with hardware designs in order to bring WGF 1.0 compliant hardware when things are good and ready.

As for the next generation of cards such as NV50 and R520, if the vendors feel like it they could theoretically make them WGF compliant. I am certain that at least one of those chips won’t be WGF compliant as it does not make any sense. Longhorn is two years away.

WGF will bring Shader Model 4.0 to life.

News Source : Inquirer