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DirectDraw (ddraw.dll) is an API that used to be a part ofMicrosoft'sDirectXAPI. DirectDraw is used to acceleraterendering of 2Dgraphics in applications. DirectDraw also allows applications to run fullscreen or embedded in a window such as most other MS Windows applications. DirectDraw useshardware acceleration if it is available on the client'scomputer. DirectDraw allows direct access tovideo memory,hardware overlays, hardwareblitters, andpage flipping. Itsvideo memory manager can manipulate video memory with ease, taking full advantage of theblitting and color decompression capabilities of different types ofdisplay adapters.
Because DirectDraw is a2D API, it contains commands for 2D rendering and does not support3D hardware acceleration. A programmer could use DirectDraw to draw 3D graphics, but the rendering would be slow compared to an API such asDirect3D which does support 3D hardware acceleration.
DirectDraw was introduced forWindows Mobile in Windows Mobile 5.0, replacing the graphics component ofGAPI, which was then deprecated.[1]
With the release of DirectX version 8.0, DirectDraw was merged into a new package calledDirectX Graphics, which extended Direct3D with a few DirectDraw API additions. DirectDraw can still be used by programmers, but they must use older DirectX interfaces (DirectX 7 and below).
In June 2010, DirectDraw was removed from the DirectX SDK package,[2] but in 2012, the DirectX SDK was merged into the Windows Platform SDK, and DirectDraw was included once again.
There has been a deterioration of Windows compatibility with old games that rely upon DirectDraw, withCommand & Conquer,Warcraft 2, andTheme Hospital among those affected. In newer Windows versions, some games will refuse to run under a 32-bitbit depth (Dangerous Waters for example), others showing a black screen or glitching when switched out. Re-implementation of DirectDraw has been observed to fix these compatibility problems. Commonly used replacements include:
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