ABSTRACT
We introduce Direct3D retained mode by developing a simple, windowed mode application. In order to make clear the fundamentals of retained mode programming we have stripped off everything that is not essential. The result is that the processing described at this stage has minimal functionality: all we do in the code is render a static image from a file in DirectX format. The code executes by performing four clearly distinct steps:
• Initializing the software interface. That is, creating the Direct3D and DirectDraw components that are necessary to the program.
