Thread: Game programming with SDL

  1. #1
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    403

    Game programming with SDL

    Let's talk about the SDL. http://libsdl.org
    Who on these boards uses it? It's good by itself and adding Direct X or OGL to it makes it 100x more powerful.

  2. #2
    Hamster without a wheel iain's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    1,385
    ive never used it, how does it make DX more powerful?
    Monday - what a way to spend a seventh of your life

  3. #3
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    403

    misworded

    using openGL or direct X with it makes SDL more powerful, i don't think it'd really help the power of direct x any.

  4. #4
    Registered User minime6696's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    267

    okay

    SDL... Sounds like another DB, but I like the portabuility, one thing tho is that you allready have that portabuility in C++, why not just use C++?

    SPH

  5. #5
    C > C++ duders ggs's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    435

    portability

    SDL isn't a language, it's a library designed for C. C/C++ doesn't have any built in portable graphics functions; to use graphics you normally have to provide your own functions or grab a library. You may have noticed that DirectX only works on windows; the idea behind SDL is to create a simple, fast graphics library that will work on any given system by wrapping around the available graphics libraries (DirectX, SVGALib, *GL, etc..)

    It's just as fast as making a straight DirectX program (unless you are mr. optimizing genius), it'll be portable and your coding time should decrease because SDL needs fewer function calls to achieve what DirectX achieves. Plus, the API is pretty clean..
    .sect signature

  6. #6
    Registered User minime6696's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    267

    ?

    So what exactly does this thing do?

    SPH

  7. #7
    .
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    598
    >So what exactly does this thing do?

    Ok lets see

    Go to www.libsdl.org and look at the programs made with it.

    It is an multi-platform api that allows you to easly port programs from one os to anouther. It is used by loki so It is not some api out of noware.
    To Err Is To Be Human. To Game Is Divine!"

  8. #8
    Registered User minime6696's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    267
    If it has no graphics functions, and it requires an OS specific API to work with it... I dont see the worth in it.

    SPH

  9. #9
    .
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    598
    >If it has no graphics functions
    Um what about
    Choosing and setting video modes (the easy way)
    Drawing pixels on the screen
    Loading and displaying images

    also you can use opengl with it.

    >and it requires an OS specific API to work with it...
    So it is better to write your game first using the windows api, then the mac api then the linux api then the BeOS api. As well as other OS api's.
    To Err Is To Be Human. To Game Is Divine!"

  10. #10
    C > C++ duders ggs's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    435
    sean, reread my post a couple more times CAREFULLY, don't just briefly scan over it.
    .sect signature

Popular pages Recent additions subscribe to a feed

Similar Threads

  1. C# - Building a SCUMM-like game.. questions
    By Iyouboushi in forum Game Programming
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 05-24-2008, 10:54 PM
  2. my upcoming UNO card game :)
    By Hussain Hani in forum Game Programming
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 01-24-2008, 01:19 AM
  3. HELP!wanting to make full screen game windowed
    By rented in forum Game Programming
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 06-11-2004, 04:19 AM
  4. Game Programmer's AIM Circle: Join Today
    By KingZoolerius66 in forum A Brief History of Cprogramming.com
    Replies: 28
    Last Post: 12-20-2003, 12:12 PM
  5. My Maze Game --- A Few Questions
    By TechWins in forum Game Programming
    Replies: 18
    Last Post: 04-24-2002, 11:00 PM