DirectX 11 Effects Framework?

[rbwhitaker]

I'm going through the book 3D Game Programming with DirectX 11 (Frank Luna), and I got to a part that discusses using the effects framework. I'm comfortable using effects because of XNA, back in the day, and MonoGame since then.

In the book, it uses D3DX11CompileFromFile to get a blob for the effect in the HLSL file, and then calls D3DX11CreateEffectFromMemory to produce an ID3DX11Effect.

Though I got CompileFromFile to work, I can't find a CreateEffectFromMemory method. It seems to not exist. Is that true, or am I just missing something?

I saw a warning ("X4717: Effects deprecated for D3DCompiler_47") that seemed to say the effects framework is deprecated, so is that the explanation for why it is missing?

[jdfesa]

You're not overlooking a D3DCompiler.CreateEffectFromMemory overload. Compilation and the Effects runtime are two separate libraries.

Silk.NET exposes the D3DCompiler compilation API, but D3DX11CreateEffectFromMemory belongs to Effects 11 (FX11), alongside the ID3DX11Effect interfaces. It isn't a core ID3D11Device method or an export of d3dcompiler_47.dll. Microsoft's FX11 source/header and documentation provide that runtime separately.

That means there are two ways to proceed:

• Follow the book's effects-based code: add a separate managed binding to FX11, or a native wrapper around it, including the effect/pass/variable interfaces you use. Compiling the .fx into a blob is only the first half; Silk.NET's compiler bindings don't supply the Effects 11 runtime that consumes it.
• Stay with Silk.NET's core D3D11 APIs: compile individual vertex/pixel shader entry points (vs_5_0/ps_5_0), create the shader objects on the device, bind them on the context, and manage constant buffers and render states explicitly instead of using effect techniques/passes.

The X4717 warning is related but isn't what makes the method absent: D3DCompiler 47 still supports fx_5_0 with a deprecation warning. FX11's README also notes that DXC/DXIL doesn't support the effects profiles. FX11 is now archived and intended for legacy code/older educational material, so the second route is the better fit for new code; the first is what you need to keep those book examples structurally unchanged.

[rbwhitaker]

Perfect. That's all I needed to know. I think it will be an interesting challenge to try to figure out how to adapt what the book is doing into what's generally expected these days, so I'll skip the effect framework for now.