Allegro

The Allegro game development library was originally developed for DJGPP in DOS, but there are now ports to several Windows compilers using DirectX, as well as a Linux port and a MacOS port.

It is designed for source code to be 100% portable between different platforms. That has some negative effects, especially in the Windows ports where it makes it difficult if not impossible to use the lower-level DirectX functions.

Apart from that (and it's inability to match the efficiency of a lower-level library like DirectX or SDL), it is an excellent library with a huge amount of functions that greatly simplify the process of creating a game.

In music notation, Allegro means a quick, bright tempo, around 80-140 bpm. The word means "happy" in Italian.

Al*le"gro (#), a. [It., merry, gay, fr. L. alacer lively. Cf. Aleger.] Mus.

Brisk, lively.

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n.

An allegro movement; a quick, sprightly strain or piece.

 

© Webster 1913.