As maintainer I won't be able to give you an unbiased response. The biggest difference is, that SFML is a C++ library.
What motivates me to work on SFML is, that we're building something separate from SDL. I don't think, we - as in the general developer world - do anyone a favor in consolidating everything into one library (why use X, when Y does the same?). Additionally, I think it's a very interesting "field" of trying to provide a common API across different OS; and sadly it seems to be an area where few resources exist and fewer developer actually understand it, as "everyone" just uses SDL. Finally, I really like the open and welcoming community we've built over the years and at the same time, I'm happy we're not getting as much attention/pressure as SDL.
I appreciate the response. I've actually got my own platform-layer which can be a bit like SDL/SFML in shape at times, so I totally understand the desire to work on that kind of problem. I'm good with different competing solutions in similar spaces, as well. I don't think one library to rule them all is necessarily a good idea.
Lately I've been doing the experiment of just forgoing the library entirely for this kind of code. It's a bit like gradually building up my own SDL/SFML directly in-place. I'm sure people would find that wasteful or odd, but I enjoy learning the differences in the platforms, and being better positioned to integrate with a particular platform. I'm also shipping way less code. Although admittedly I'm not sure if I'd do this if I were a C++ dev, I write Odin and part of the experiment is putting Odin through its paces and seeing how well it fits in this part of the stack (very happy so far.)
Comments
As maintainer I won't be able to give you an unbiased response. The biggest difference is, that SFML is a C++ library.
What motivates me to work on SFML is, that we're building something separate from SDL. I don't think, we - as in the general developer world - do anyone a favor in consolidating everything into one library (why use X, when Y does the same?). Additionally, I think it's a very interesting "field" of trying to provide a common API across different OS; and sadly it seems to be an area where few resources exist and fewer developer actually understand it, as "everyone" just uses SDL. Finally, I really like the open and welcoming community we've built over the years and at the same time, I'm happy we're not getting as much attention/pressure as SDL.
I appreciate the response. I've actually got my own platform-layer which can be a bit like SDL/SFML in shape at times, so I totally understand the desire to work on that kind of problem. I'm good with different competing solutions in similar spaces, as well. I don't think one library to rule them all is necessarily a good idea.
Lately I've been doing the experiment of just forgoing the library entirely for this kind of code. It's a bit like gradually building up my own SDL/SFML directly in-place. I'm sure people would find that wasteful or odd, but I enjoy learning the differences in the platforms, and being better positioned to integrate with a particular platform. I'm also shipping way less code. Although admittedly I'm not sure if I'd do this if I were a C++ dev, I write Odin and part of the experiment is putting Odin through its paces and seeing how well it fits in this part of the stack (very happy so far.)