Quote Originally Posted by Chesso View Post
So from what I read, it does it's own 2D magic, and also cranks out Direct3D and OpenGL, so I assume you can combine them to some extent, and basically to move on and up I will not have to change libraries or anything like that.
Yes and then not quite. SDL is it's own graphics API, input API, sound API, etc... You can use OpenGL with it, but you have to set it up as such. It then has functions that will help support OpenGL textures(sprites, etc) and different image formats, but that's it. The setup is a little different. There aren't any functions that help with Direct3D nor does it actually use it at all.

It is it's own hardware interface for graphics.

This does not mean that you cannot use Direct3D for graphics just because you are using SDL for user input and sound, but it's nicer to use OpenGL as it integrates better with it.

That said, go to the Free Pascal meets SDL site and just read about the setup instructions. It tells you everything you need to know. It's super easy to use and I know of at least one high school that uses it to introduce kids to CS using Pascal that is catching onto it quite fast.