January 2022

# Direct3D 12: Long Way to Access Data

Sun
30
Jan 2022

One reason the new graphics APIs – Direct3D 12 and Vulkan – are so complicated is that there are so many levels of indirection in accessing data. Having some data prepared in a normal C++ CPU variable, we have to go a long way before we can access it in a shader. Some time ago I’ve written an article: “Vulkan: Long way to access data”. Because I have a privilege of working with both APIs in my everyday job, I thought I could also write a D3D12 equivalent, so here it is. If you are a graphics or game programmer who already know the basics of D3D12, but may feel some confusion about all the concepts defined there, this article is for you.

Here is a diagram, followed by an explanation of all its elements:

Comments | #directx Share