Question

I am making a small 2d GAME PACK as my University project. I am using Turboc 3.0 as the compiler. I am at a stage where I need better graphics and sound. Ive spent days looking for a workaround on the net and by myself too including audio and better graphics.Can you please tell me which Ide can be learnt quickly, as time is a constraint here?

Answer 1

Turbo C is just an IDE + compiler for the C programming language. C does not have any audio or graphics capabilities on its own, which means that you will not find a C IDE that readily incorporates such functionality. What you need is a library with a C API that will allow you to do such things.

IIRC Turbo C did come with a rudimentary graphics library for DOS, but I do not believe that there was any support for audio. Unfortunately (or not) Turbo C is pretty much obsolete these days. Most programs written in it would have issues on modern operating systems and handling audio and graphics on DOS essentially means talking straight to the hardware – definitely not something trivial.

If you are after a modern audio/graphics library, SDL is a popular choice for 2D games and, from my experience, rather easy to work with. You will probably need to couple it with a more modern programming environment though – I doubt Turbo C will cut it. You might want to have a look at one or more of the following for a compiler and/or IDE that will be fully functional on modern systems.:

• Codeblocks

• Dev-C++

  Warning: this IDE has not been updated for quite some time. I have used it successfully in the past, but I would not recommend investing time and resources on it at this point.

• Mingw32

• Eclipse CDT, downloadable here

  Warning: Eclipse is mostly targeted to professional developers. It is very powerful, but it can occasionally be rather confusing to use. While it will save you a lot of time in the long run, it may not be perfectly suitable for someone that needs to get work done right here, right now.

• Visual Studio Express