SFML Q/A

[nfries88]

Being as I'm a C++ developer with most of my programming experience being with Object-Oriented code, I really like [the idea of] SFML, but have yet to use it and am not really interested in switching from SDL until I have a few questions answered:

1) Does SFML support multiple graphics backends on Linux? Specifically I'm interested in porting SFML to Google Android to develop programs for smartphones using Android, but I know nothing about using linux fbcon so if this backend already exists in SFML it makes that much easier.

2) Is there any plan in the future for SFML to support multiple displays, like is planned for SDL 1.3 and already present in libggi?

3) Does SFML, or will it ever, support multiple mice and detect when mice are attached or detached? From my understanding SDL 1.3-SVN already has this, and it's a feature that I personally would have a purpose for.

[Laurent]

Hi

1) For now, only X11 / OpenGL is supported for Linux. I don't know much about what Android uses, but I'd be glad to help you I you want to try porting SFML to this OS

2) Probably in the future, but right now it's not in the roadmap.

3) This is an interesting feature, and I guess it's mandatory for multi-touch devices like the iPhone. So yes, SFML will support it one day.

[Groogy]

About Android. If I remember right, Google uses a modified version of Gnome Mobile for the Android System so I recommend that you use that API to work with the Mobile in order to get a good and compatible interface with the cellphone. Though it was long ago I read about Android so I might be wrong about GNOME.

Anyway I do know that Android hands a SDK specifically to develop applications for the Android OS. I think that is much more powerful than SFML or SDL if you want to develop for Android.

[nfries88]

Hi

1) For now, only X11 / OpenGL is supported for Linux. I don't know much about what Android uses, but I'd be glad to help you I you want to try porting SFML to this OS

2) Probably in the future, but right now it's not in the roadmap.

3) This is an interesting feature, and I guess it's mandatory for multi-touch devices like the iPhone. So yes, SFML will support it one day.

1) From what I understand it uses Linux framebuffer, but all I have to support that is what I've found with google.

2) OK

3) Good, although I'd also have a use for it with computer gaming [multiplayer] too.

About Android. If I remember right, Google uses a modified version of Gnome Mobile for the Android System so I recommend that you use that API to work with the Mobile in order to get a good and compatible interface with the cellphone. Though it was long ago I read about Android so I might be wrong about GNOME.

Anyway I do know that Android hands a SDK specifically to develop applications for the Android OS. I think that is much more powerful than SFML or SDL if you want to develop for Android.

Thing with that is I'd also want to develop the same thing for the iPhone (which someone is already porting SFML too) and probably a prettier version for the computer. So simply using the system's own API instead of SFML would only make my project bigger than it needs to be.

And the Android SDK is for Java developers, and Android's default Java VM does not JIT compile; so if I want to make an application that demands at least decent performance then that is definitely not the right path for me. Besides that, I haven't touched Java since I first started learning how to program, and I don't really want to touch it again as developing in it was not fun to me.

[Groogy]

Android also have a C compiler but Google says: "Avoid when possible!" cause with Java they can control more or less what is possible to do. While C is converted to binary code and let's the developer "touch" any part of the hardware/OS if they got the right knowledge.

Isn't the SDK available there too?