Re: [Plib-devel] PLIB/PPE loaders/writers

[<Va...@t-...>]

Steve Baker wrote:
> 
> I didn't even know this 'X' format existed.  Is it widely used?

Dunno. I just know that it exists and I've seen a modeler for it a long
time ago.

> Is it documented anywhere on the web?   I've found that most
> M$ file formats are poorly documented because people generally
> read or write them with a Win32 API call...is that the case here?

I dunno about the web. But let me have a look in my chrystal ball (the
MSDN Library CD):
I see a section that says:

---
The Microsoft® DirectX® file format is an architecture- and context-free
file format. It is template driven and is free of any usage knowledge.
The file format may be used by any client application and currently is
used by Microsoft® Direct3D® Retained Mode to describe geometry data,
frame hierarchies and animations. 

The rest of this section will deal with the content and syntax of the
file format. The file format uses the extension .x when used with the
DirectX Software Development Kit. 
---

I also see a a section that says:

---
This document specifies the file format introduced with Microsoft®
DirectX® 2. A binary version of this format was subsequently released
with DirectX 3, which is also detailed in this reference. 

The DirectX file format provides a rich template-driven file format that
enables the storage of meshes, textures, animations, and user-definable
objects. Support for animation sets allows predefined paths to be stored
for playback in real time. Instancing and hierarchies are also
supported. Instancing allows multiple references to an object, such as a
mesh, while storing its data only once per file. Hierarchies are used to
express relationships between data records. The DirectX file format is
used natively by the Microsoft® Direct3D® Retained Mode API, providing
support for reading predefined objects into an application or writing
mesh information constructed by the application in real time. 

The DirectX file format provides low-level data primitives, upon which
applications define higher-level primitives through templates. This is
the method by which Direct3D defines higher-level primitives such as
vectors, meshes, matrices and colors. 

This document details the API-independent features of the file format
and also the method by which Direct3D Retained Mode uses the file
format. It includes the following topics: 

DirectX File Format Architecture 
Appendix A: Templates 
Appendix B: Example 
Appendix C: Binary Format 
Appendix D: The Conv3ds.exe Utility 
---

I guess that everybody can get those informations through the M$ MSDN
web page (http://msdn.microsoft.com ?) by downloading the DirectX SDK

CU,
Christian