C++ Graphics Programming

I would highly recommend GLFW, I just started using it recently having used GLUT all the time before and I really like it. It leaves your code clean and leaves you in control.
I only used GLUT before because that is what I was taught but now I realise it is outdated and a bit rubbish.

...SFDL...

Hehe...is that what you get when you combine SDL, SFML, and GLFW? ;) (j/k)

EDIT: I have done some research and chose SFDL as my library.

Hello to all,
I would like to ask a few simple questions in hope to get straight answers.

1. I want to develop on Windows using OpenGL + C++. Should I use an engine that does the Win32 calls for me to create the window for me (like [s]GLUT[/s], GLFW, SDL, and others...) or should I do them myself?
2. If the answer to 1 is using an engine, than what is the best, AAA game engine out there that allows full control? If not then see 3.
3. If the answer to 1 is doing it myself, then I can't seem to find good enough documentation on how to initialize a simple Win32 window, even on MSDN, so I'm having a tough time.

Thanks in advance,
David D.

Neither of the libraries you listed are game engines, they're just fairly basic frameworks to abstract away some platform specific details, you don't really lose control of anything important by using an up to date framework. (SDL 1.3 or SFML are good choices in general)

Using a Game Engine is a better option if your goal is to make a game but will cause you to lose some control, AAA game engines come with AAA price tags (Which can be as high as a few hundred thousand dollars for a license), the closest you'll get here is probably UDK (Which is effectivly a restricted version of Unreal Engine 3 targeted at hobbyists and small indie studios) or Unity. (Neither of those allow you to code in C++ though (Unity Pro allows C++ plugins, the free version doesn't)).

as for 3. don't bother doing it yourself, Win32 is an ancient and awful API and if you ever intend to port your code to for example Linux you have to take that ancient and awful win32 code and port it to equally ancient and awful X11 code. (I don't know how bad Apples APIs are), the only reason Win32 still exists is because changing it would effectivly break compatibility with old software, Microsoft has provided .Net as a modern replacement for windows UI development.