HLSL (High Level Shading Language) shader nodes allow you to create and configure native HLSL hardware shaders in Maya. HLSL is the native shading language of Direct X, and as such, is the preferred shading language for many Direct X based target applications, including games on the XBOX family of consoles. Unlike previous HLSL support in Maya, the HLSL shader provides native Direct X compilation rendering.
For more information regarding the HLSL shader, please see HLSL shaders and Work with HLSL shaders