DirectX 3 For Java Release Notes

Last update: March 27, 1997

(c) 1997 Microsoft Corp. All rights reserved.

Introduction

Welcome to the pre-release version of Microsoft's DirectX 3 for Java class libraries.

DirectX 3 for Java contains Java classes for the following DirectX multimedia APIs:

• DirectDraw(r) - provides 2-D graphics services and bitmap composition.
• Direct3D(tm) Retained Mode and Immediate Mode - high and low-level 3D graphics APIs, providing comprehensive 3-D graphics services.
• DirectSound(r) - provides sound-mixing and playback services.
• DirectPlay(r) - provides multiplayer game connectivity over the Internet.
• DirectInput(tm) - provides services for joysticks and other input devices.

No further documentation beyond these release notes is included with this Beta. Documentation for DirectX 3 for Java will be made available for subsequent betas.

For further information about the DirectX 3 multimedia APIs, please see the following sites:

• http://www.microsoft.com/imedia
• http://www.microsoft.com/mediadev

Redistribution Components

No component of the beta SDK is redistributable. The final release of the SDK will include a freely redistributable version of DirectX 3 for Java. The license accompanying the final SDK release needs to be accepted to get the right to redistribute parts of the SDK. Vendors can choose to refer their users to http://www.microsoft.com/java for the DirectX 2 Java class library.

Bug Reporting, Developer Support

Please read the beta license agreement before using the SDK. Send your comments using the public forum news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.java.sdk. Please send bug reports with repro steps following the instruction in the support section of this release note.

Please use the on-line bug report provided on our http://www.microsoft.com/java/sdk page. Microsoft will screen the bugs on a regular basis, and will be working on bug fixes. The bug fixes or work-around will be posted on the Web as soon as possible; news group may also be notified.

Runtime Installation:

The DirectX 3 runtime can be found in the ClassLib\DirectX3\Runtime directory on this CD or downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/java. You will need to install the DirectX 3 runtime to use DirectX3 for Java class libraries, view the samples etc.

Known Issues

• Windows NT: DirectX 3 for Java depends on the DirectX 3 runtime. Some elements of DirectX 3 (DirectSound) work on Windows NT in emulation only. Direct3D, which will also remain in emulation only until Windows NT v. 5.0, is currently available for Windows NT only in beta; the release version will be available with Windows NT Service Pack 3 (SP3) in Q2 '97. In the meantime the beta version of Direct3D for Windows NT can be found in the \extras\d3dfornt directory of the DirectX 3 SDK. The DirectX 3 SDK can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/mediadev.
• Documentation: No DirectX 3 for Java documentation is included on this CD. Please see the 'introduction' section above for more information.
• Samples: We have included samples for Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectSound and DirectInput. DirectPlay samples will be available in subsequent betas.
• APIs: We have implemented DirectX 3 for Java in a Java-centric fashion. Additional changes to the implementation will be made to ensure that the APIs are both cleaner and easier for Java developers to use in subsequent betas.
• Palettes: (Only relevant to 8-bit mode) - Palette implementation will be improved for subsequent betas
• DirectDraw: getClipList does not work - will be corrected.
• Direct3D:
  • D3dRMFrame: The addTransform and addTranslation methods fail and should not be used; this will be corrected for the next beta.
  • Execute buffers: Currently Execute Buffers only accept triangles. Subsequent betas will support line lists, point lists and span lists.
  • Matrix handling is not complete: matrixLoad and matrixMultiply are not yet implemented; also matrices cannot be treated as arrays of floats - this will be added for later betas and is working already for Retained Mode.
  • Unimplemented execute buffer instructions:
    • TEXTURELOAD
    • MATRIXLOAD
    • MATRIX_MULTIPLY_DATA
    • LINE_LIST
    • POINT_LIST
    • SPAN_LIST
    • BRANCH_FORWARD
  • Richer debugging functions will be made available for retrieving and viewing execute buffers.
  • Unimplemented functions: a very limited subset of functions has not yet been implemented; these are:
  • Unimplemented methods: not yet implemented in Direct3dViewport:
  • D3DTransformData
    • addlight
    • deleteLight
    • nextLight
  • DirectPlay: RunApplication is not enabled for this release; it will be enabled in future betas.

For further information on the Microsoft virtual machine and associated class libraries, please refer back to the main SDK 2.0 release notes.