How do I take C programming beyond the console?

Question

I'm trying to learn some graphics programming using C. What would be the best way for a beginner to start? I'd like to how to make programs that use graphics and images that can be run directly from a command line prompt, and don't rely on a windowing system like X to execute.

Thanks,

Mike

Answer 1

Look into libsdl - Simple DirectMedia Layer. Although on Linux it can use X11 for displaying output, it can also directly use a framebuffer device. It's designed to be simple for pixel-bashing game-type programming, and supports a wide variety of platforms.

Answer 2

There's also Allegro if you're not a fan of SDL. It's somewhat more fully-featured for simple vector graphics; SDL is mainly a cross-platform framebuffer until you add extension libraries.