GP2X Why Sdl?

[jimb]

First I must confess I only have a very limited understanding of C/C++.

Right, after having a play with DevC and SDL/Allegro I find Allegro much easier to get to grips with.

I'm therefore wondering why SDL has been chosen for GP2X?
Are there any significant benefits such as smaller code, faster execution, etc?

Do you guys think Allegro find its way onto GP2X?

 

[Squidge]

It is simply a matter of opinion. I think SDL is more popular however, and with the vast library of SDL extensions, it will be more capable.

However, for a beginner, Allegro will be easier to get to grips with.

Allrego already has a unix port, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get it to run.

 

[DijiTao]

Wikipedia Links for those interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegro_library
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_DirectMedia_Layer

 

[no_skill]

jimb i think sdl was choosen because it's more or less the equivalent to directx under linux.
and the majority of (newer) linux games uses sdl.

 

[Minkoff]

SDL is much, much easier to use than DirectX (especially now, since you're supposed to use D3D for 2D... yuck). I made some simple stuff with it and Ruby, and the only poblems I had were learning how to use surfaces properly and some pretty weird alpha support.

 

[fishybawb]

If you find Allegro easy, SDL's really not that bad This is worth a read, along with the numerous other tutorials:

http://gpwiki.org/index.php/C:SDL_tutorials

 

[skeezix]

SDL is more meant to be portable, and the API has been ported pretty much everywhere; Allegro is much more DOS-oriented, though its been hacked up and ported around over the years.

jeff

 

[K0K0NUT_h3lmut]

I think Allegro is much more useful for making original homebrew games than SDL. However, SDL is the king of porting.

I REALLY do hope someone gets Allegro to run on the GP2X. It's certainly at least as useful as Fenix, and in my opinion easier to use.

 

[Saido]

SDL is lower level than allegro wich means that with SDL you can do a little more, not that it is much.

 

[jimb]

Great info guys. I think its best if I get stuck into some tutorials (thanks fishybawb) and see how far I get. The SDL source code does look scary to me because I'm used to BlitzBasic/BlitzMax code.

I'll hold my breath and dive in.

 

[icurafu]

lol, you dont need to look at the soucecode, just the api.