Legacy D3D root lifetime

2026-09-22. Review items: shared COM lifetime implementations and silent-success handlers (P5 #5/#7).

Finding and fix

IDirect3D and IDirect3D3 AddRef returned 1 without changing ownership; Release returned 0 without retiring the object. Version 2/7 already used the shared DX reference-count handlers. The new public-dispatch regression failed on the first D3D1 AddRef (actual 1, expected internal count 2).

The four constant handlers are removed. API-table aliases route them to dx_com_addref / dx_com_release_basic. This follows the increment/decrement contract described by Microsoft: AddRef, Release. Exact internal counts in the test are emulator ownership assertions, not a claim that native implementations expose identical diagnostic counts.

The audit also found that a device stored its creator slot for GetDirect3D without owning a reference. Making root Release real without fixing this would expose an early-retirement bug. Shared device creation now retains the creator; nonfinal device release leaves it intact; final release clears the link and drops it. D3D3's duplicated creation body now delegates to that same core, preserving its distinct 24-byte stdcall cleanup.

Coverage

test/test-d3d-root-lifetime.js uses actual API-table dispatch for all four root interfaces and device versions 2/3/7. It checks AddRef/Release state, nonfinal/final retirement, GetDirect3D after the caller releases its creator, both parent/device release orders, intermediate device references, stack guards/cleanup and device-state allocation balance.

The existing device/viewport/light ownership regression, DirectDraw QueryInterface regression and 211-method D3DIM interface-spec check also pass. Fragment balance, handler ESP, generated epilogues, logical operands, quiet inventory, duplicate ratchet, test tiers, dispatch freshness, API hash table and whitespace checks pass.

Manual quiet handlers: 247 -> 243; metadata stubs remain 22. Exact duplicates: 123 groups unchanged, 491 -> 487 members.

Still open

This does not certify the whole DirectDraw/D3D ownership model. D3D root QueryInterface's DirectDraw-parent lookup has a slot-zero ambiguity and a fallback scan. DirectDraw-created D3D roots remain independent entries without a retained DirectDraw parent; cross-interface controlling-IUnknown identity and native Win98 generation rules need a dedicated review. Render-target/texture retention, thread-safe reference counts and retired-slot reuse are also outside this change.

No native Win98, browser/gameplay, full-build or performance claim is made.

Follow-up: the shared device-creation allocation-failure path is now transactional; see allocation review. This closes state/object allocation rollback, not the other limitations above.

Root full-GUID validation and IUnknown identity across the root's versioned wrappers are now covered by the QI review. Identity across the independent DirectDraw and D3D entries remains open.