Desktop Window Manager

Desktop Window Manager (DWM, previously Desktop Compositing Engine or DCE also ) is a composite -enabled window manager that was introduced in Microsoft Windows Vista. DWM enables the Windows Aero user interface. In the Windows Vista Starter Edition, DWM is not included ( thus not the Windows Aero - optics).

The DWM is implemented in Windows as a service. Since Windows Vista, the program no longer draws directly on the screen. Instead, the drawing commands are cached on the graphics card memory. This allows the DWM a preview window to draw 3D program change and desktop preview. In addition, the DWM is responsible for the entity specified by Microsoft Windows Aero look.

DWM and Windows Presentation Foundation are based on the same implementation of the Media Integration Layer as a Dynamic Link Library, not directly to DirectX.