DirectInput: This gaming input API first appeared in 1995 as part of DirectX 1.0 for gaming on Windows 95, then supported on subsequent versions of Windows.Here's a quick look at the origins of each one: If the game expects XInput but the controller only 'speaks' DirectInput, that controller won't work with that game, and vice-versa. Some controllers can only speak one 'language' (XInput or DirectInput), while others can 'speak' both APIs in different modes. To put it another way, these APIs are like two different languages that a game controller might speak. The two main gaming input APIs in Windows are called DirectInput and XInput. Related: How to Connect an Xbox One Controller to Windows with Bluetooth This lets Windows games easily support many different types of controllers instead of having a patchwork of custom controller drivers and interfaces. In this case, when you hook a controller up to your PC, Windows makes the connection to the controller hardware, then the API allows a game to read the controller's inputs in a standardized way. In computing, an API is an Application Programming Interface, which is a standardized way that two programs can talk to each other.

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