From: "Thomas Harte" <T DOT Harte AT btinternet DOT _c_o_m_>
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Subject: Re: Need advice on which graphics library to use
Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2000 19:56:48 +0100
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To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
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Reply-To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com


>>even cards with broken VESA drivers (not mine!) usually support
>>linear 320x240 in DirectX, so they certainly have the potential.
>
>The OP is using a clone of DOS in a ROM, not Windows with DirectX.


Perhaps that could be what I meant by 'so they certainly have the
potential'? Of course, I can't remember now because it was so long ago, but
that a DOS clone is being used rather than DirectX could have been why I did
not write '. . . 320x240 in DirectX, so use that'.

And Allegro even offers you 320x240 in its built in mode select dialogue if
you chose any of the VESA drivers (2.0+ at least).

> Depends on how you define "stable":  Allegro 3.12 is the last release
> on the "stable" branch.  Allegro 3.9.32 is the latest release that is
> stable.  3.9.33 is admittedly beta.

How about one that sticks to the design aims without causing your programs
to crash due to undocumented elements?

One of the design aims of Allegro is to maintain full backward
compatibility, hence things like adding 'set_bitdepth' rather than a bit
depth call variable on the set_gfx_mode function. Well, in Allegro 3.9.33,
calling 'destroy_bitmap' after 'allegro_exit' now causes a crash. On older
versions it did not. And I know this because my program which was previously
fine destroying bitmaps in a C++ destructor suddenly stopped being fine.

-Thomas