Lesson plan
DirectInput
DirectInput is a legacy application programming interface developed by American company Microsoft that collects user input via devices such as the mouse, keyboard, and gamepads. It also provides a system for action mapping, which allows the user to assign specific actions within a game to the buttons and axes of the input devices. Additionally it handles haptic feedback/force feedback (input/output) devices. Microsoft also introduced a input library called XInput specifically for the Xbox 360 controller. DirectInput supports up to 128 buttons, 8 axes, and 4 point of view hats. DirectInput and XInput provide benefits over normal Win32 input events: * they enable an application to retrieve data from input devices even when the application is in the background * they provide full support for any type of input device, as well as for haptic feedback * through action mapping, applications can retrieve input data without needing to know what kind of device generated that input While DirectInput forms a part of the DirectX library, it has not been significantly revised since DirectX 8 (2001–2002). Microsoft recommends that new applications make use of the Windows message loop for keyboard and mouse input instead of DirectInput (as indicated in the Meltdown 2005 slideshow ), and to use GameInput instead of legacy APIs such as DirectInput or XInput.
Article summary
DirectInput is a legacy application programming interface developed by American company Microsoft that collects user input via devices such as the mouse, keyboard, and gamepads. It also provides a system for action mapping, which allows the user to assign specific actions within a game to the buttons and axes of the input devices. Additionally it handles haptic feedback/force feedback (input/output) devices. Microsoft also introduced a input library called XInput specifically for the Xbox 360 controller. DirectInput supports up to 128 buttons, 8 axes, and 4 point of view hats. DirectInput and XInput provide benefits over normal Win32 input events: * they enable an application to retrieve data from input devices even when the application is in the background * they provide full support for any type of input device, as well as for haptic feedback * through action mapping, applications can retrieve input data without needing to know what kind of device generated that input While DirectInput forms a part of the DirectX library, it has not been significantly revised since DirectX 8 (2001–2002). Microsoft recommends that new applications make use of the Windows message loop for keyboard and mouse input instead of DirectInput (as indicated in the Meltdown 2005 slideshow ), and to use GameInput instead of legacy APIs such as DirectInput or XInput.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.