From: lubaldo AT adinet DOT com DOT uy
Message-Id: <3.0.1.32.19980806002411.007a0100@adinet.com.uy>
Date: Thu, 06 Aug 1998 00:24:11 -0300
To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
Subject: Re: allegro == or != programming
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	Hello again...

	Another of my opinions :-)))

	I disagree with you Merlin in that by using Allegro you stop learning.
	I use Allegro and a lot of people does, but we are not stopping to learn!
I think that it is important to ever learn something! If you aren't
learning thats too bad! Someone has to learn and partially thats the fun of
programming! -> the discovering!
	If you think that Allegro is stoping you in your learning process, I think
you don't have to use Allegro and do an Allegro equivalent by yourself or
something else that teachs you something and seems interestingly for you.
	Someone has to find something interesant to do, something that you think
that you can learn with it.
	In my case (and in others cases), reinventing Allegro isn't interesant at
the moment, we are doing other things that are interesant to us and that
teach to us.
	If you find that doing something like Allegro is interesant (many people
thinks that too I think), then no wait more!!! Go now and do it! Because
you will enjoy it! After all: most of us are here to learn and have fun!
And if you do it, no matter if you do it as complete or better or worst
than Allegro, what matters is that you have fun with it and learn something
with it!
	I have to add that most of us (all?), users of Allegro, don't think we are
cheating: we are using a library that helps to us a lot, but we actually do
a HARD work to do what we do! I am working a lot on my current project with
Allegro! I am proud of the progress we (my friends and me) are achieving
with it. It is OUR game with the contribution of a LOT of people, including
Shawn and its contributors. But I don't think I am cheating. I am telling
everyone that I am using Allegro, if they don't know what it does, they
don't know anything about programing, so, they don't know anything about
the hard the programming is, so they will not evaluate the hard work
involved in the program anyway...
	If you *feel* like cheating with Allegro, that means that you are
unconfortable with it. If you are unconfortable with it, thats not good...
so I think you have to use something else or do your own library if thats
makes you feel good -> you have to feel good with your programs! I actually
don't understand why you feel like that (tryed to understand...), I am
trying to help you to clarify the things and answer to your email that you
have requested for opinions... opinions only.
	Please Merling, don't think of Allegro users like if we where lazy people,
or that we are cheating. In my case at least (and in all the cases I have
seen) I am not lazy, I spent hours and hours of work on my game together
with my friends and I will spend more hours!
	Also note: as a lot of other people said: you will ever be using others
tools, you cant escape to that. Imagine: someone has invented mathematics,
you will not use them? If someone codes for Windows, it will be using lots
of libraries, or if someone codes for Unix also, if someone codes for DOS
also, but it is all the same! You will ever be using others people code and
you have to try to feel good with the tools you use, thats inevitable.
Hopefully, DJGPP and Allegro users are proud to use freeware tools! I feel
very good knowing that all the tools I am using are maked with love and not
with money! Ok, I know that money doesn't mean that you don't have to do
something with love... but you sure understand my point.

	Ok... sorry... a big letter again... mmm... its because I don't want to go
to sleep: I have to wake up in the morning and go to study... ok, for some
things I am lazy :-))

	Good look and good bye Merlin and everyone reading this.


Ivan Baldo:
lubaldo AT adinet DOT com DOT uy - http://members.xoom.com/baldo - ICQ 10215364
Phone: (598) (2) 613 3223.
Caldas 1781, Malvin, Montevideo, Uruguay, South America.

(If you have problems with the previous addresses, try this ones:
ibaldo AT usa DOT net, http://baldo.home.ml.org).