Managed DirectX® 9 Kick Start: Graphics and Game Programming

Chapter 11. Introducing the Programmable Pipeline with the High Level Shader Language

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Rendering a Single Triangle Without Using the Fixed-function Pipeline

• Rendering Shader Programs with Techniques

• Rendering Meshes Using the Programmable Pipeline

• Using HLSL to Write a Pixel Shader

• In Brief

Up to this point, you've been using the fixed-function pipeline to do all of your rendering. Back in the “old days” (before the release of DirectX 8.0) this was the only way to render anything. The fixed-function pipeline is essentially a set of rules and behaviors that govern how particular types of data will be rendered. While sufficient for many things, it lacks the control some developers need to fully take advantage of the features they plan ...