DirectX 8 introduced the first versions of a programmable shading language with Shader Model 1. This meant that the implementation of the rendering algorithms were fixed in the graphics hardware. Prior to DirectX 8.0, the graphics programmer was restricted to a fixed-function rendering pipeline. Subsequent major revisions saw a release on an annual schedule until DirectX 9 which wasn’t introduced until two years after DirectX 8. Through the period of 1995-1997, the DirectX library went through several version changes to reach version 5. The first version of DirectX was released in September 1995 shortly after the release of Windows 95 under the name Windows Game SDK. The developers at Microsoft realized that in order to facilitate access to these low-level devices, APIs needed to be developed to provide an abstract way to access these low-level hardware devices. In Windows 95, access to these low-level hardware devices was restricted. Prior to the release of Windows 95, application programmers had direct access to low-level hardware devices such as video, mouse, and keyboards. The components of the DirectX API provides low-level access to the hardware running on a Windows based Operating System.
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