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hi. im at allegro.cc

is it a good, easy, game making language? while im waiting for my c++ book, i want to do something else. this just might be it. also, i dont know where to download it. i didnt see it in files, but ill look again.

Hey,

Allegro is NOT a game making language. You MUST know C or C++. It is a game library. It is a set of functions that you use for making games ;D

What compiler do you use??

Just ask me anything you want to know about allegro, and i will try and answer it. I will tell you how to impement it into your programs. After you tell me what compiler you use. I HIGHLY recommend Visual C++ for Windows Programming.

As far as games go, Allegro is your best bet

Ciao

nah forget allegro anyway. i was just curious, im not interested in it.

Well, then i don't know HOW you are going to make games... are you gonna use something like SCI Studio?

Doing it in C/C++ without something like Allegro is VERY hard. That's if you want to make graphical games

Allegro isn't the only library around. Try SDL... it's portable and free.

http://www.libsdl.org

- Nick

I know that allegro isn't the only library he can use. But it is one of the best, and it is also portable

wait, so what exactly is a library? is it all this code made to help you with a certain thing?

That's right, you're only learning C++ now, aren't you? OK, the book you are reading will probably explain this soon, anyway, but here's a quick overview on external compiling and libraries.

In many languages, including C and C++, it is possible to write and compile several different parts of a program separately, and then combine them into final executable using a program called a linker. This let's you build yor programs in pieces, and test each piece in turn so that the complexity of the whole program is reduced. It also allows you to build general-purpose functions which you only need to compile when you create them, and which then can be used by several different programs.

A library is a special file containing a collection of functions for a specific purpose. For example, in C, the standard I/O library (stdio) contains functions such as printf() and getchar().

C only has a small number of built-in operations; the majority of the 'language' is actually the standard library that comes with it. While the C++ core language is much more complex, the majority of the tools you will use are still library functions and templates.

In addition to the standard libraries, it is possible for programmers to create new libraries for various special purposes, which can then be used be used by any other programmer who has a (licensed) copy of it. Allegro is just such a 'third-party' library (and since it is distributed under a public license, it can be used for free, so long as you follow the terms of the license).

Hey,

Well, Almost everything has been explained by Schol-R-Lea, I'll just add this :

In MSVC++, To include a library in the compilers lib folder, without changing linker settings, put this compiler directive at the top of your code: As for 3D, If you do start 3D (In a couple of years) I recommend OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) It's much simpler to learn than Direct3D

Good Luck.

oh ok. thats what stdio is. but it is stdio.h right? so are .h files library files?

also, i am not learning c++ YET. im waiting to get the book. i asked for it for christmas. so hopefully ill get it in a week or so. i may work with that book i rented from the library while im waiting. (the book is Learn C++ Weekend Crash Course) I may use that for a bit.

Did you read the text from Learn C++ Today! I typed up for you? How did you like it? Its in your Visual C++ selling games thread.

Joey wrote: oh ok. thats what stdio is. but it is stdio.h right? so are .h files library files?

Not exactly, but they do make it possible to use the libraries. The header files (*.h) contain function prototypes (which show how the function should be called) and external variable references (so that global variables declared in the library can be used by the calling programs). Think of them as a description or synopsis of the libraries they represent, so that the programs know how to connect to them correctly.

ok. oh and tom, i didnt see the code yet. ill check it out.

also, with allegro, this just saves a lot of coding? i really dont get what it does though. if it has code for a game you will make, how does it know what code to code? im confused.

(im new at c++ guys, i havent read learn c++ today yet, cause i didnt get it yet. so please have patience with these easy questions for you.)

Well, yea...it saves weeks, months, maybe years of coding! Code librarys help alot!

sweet. im glad i have found out about this. thanks.