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SDL vs SFML

Started by Ferazu Apr 1, 2013 at 9:16 PM 7 replies 15.8k views

Original Post

Apr 1, 2013 at 9:16 PM

Hi all!
I've been studying C++ for a while now and I want to start with 2d-programming and then work my way towards 3d-programming (heard opengl is a good way to start). I have some background in C# and XNA where I have programmed couple of small games such as Asteroids, Pac-man and a 2d-platformer. I've heard alot about SDL and SFML but can't really decide which one to choose. The main goal is to learn more C++ through game-programming.

Any recommendations from you guys? Would appreciate if you could share your own personal experience and perhaps some good tutorials etc.

Sorry for my english btw, it's not my native language :)

EddieV223

Apr 1, 2013 at 9:35 PM

If I were you I would use SFML, since it's object oriented. Will be good for you to see a well designed object oriented library.

Servant of the Lord

Apr 1, 2013 at 9:51 PM

Both are really good libraries. Either one will work for you. I'd lean more to SFML, though. It's very cleanly written. My full opinion is written up in this thread.

Currently, I use SFML for my projects, but I've also used SDL extensively, and if I was forced to use SDL again, I wouldn't mind at all.

The official SFML tutorials are excellent (though not fully updated for 2.0 yet). For SDL, Lazy Foo's SDL tutorials are fantastic.

Ferazu

Apr 2, 2013 at 4:03 PM

Thx all! Decided to look into sfml. Seems like it's not compatible with VS2012? Do you use VS2010 or is there an easy way to make with work with VS2012? Or is it just better to use VS2010 when working with sfml?

Cornstalks

Apr 2, 2013 at 4:22 PM

Thx all! Decided to look into sfml. Seems like it's not compatible with VS2012? Do you use VS2010 or is there an easy way to make with work with VS2012? Or is it just better to use VS2010 when working with sfml?

It's compatible with VS2012, though you might have to build the libraries yourself. It's a fairly simple process, if you follow the tutorial for building.

EddieV223

Apr 2, 2013 at 4:45 PM

Get on the sfml forum, search for "nightly" you should find a thread with sfml 2.0 built from the repo, there is a package for vs2012.

Cornstalks

Apr 2, 2013 at 5:12 PM

Get on the sfml forum, search for "nightly" you should find a thread with sfml 2.0 built from the repo, there is a package for vs2012.

This. Here, I'll even provide the link to eXpl0it3r's builds: linky. If you're using VS 2012, you want the "Visual C++ 11" binaries.

Ferazu

Apr 2, 2013 at 5:34 PM

Guys, you have all been really helpful, thanks alot! Will start using sfml tonight :)

Serapth

Apr 2, 2013 at 8:41 PM

Thx all! Decided to look into sfml. Seems like it's not compatible with VS2012? Do you use VS2010 or is there an easy way to make with work with VS2012? Or is it just better to use VS2010 when working with sfml?

It's compatible with VS2012, though you might have to build the libraries yourself. It's a fairly simple process, if you follow the tutorial for building.

I did a somewhat more detailed tutorial on building for Visual Studio 2010 with CMake, but other than changing a value in the drop down, I think the process is identical for 2012.

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