I'm really honored to write the first words of this book, the very first one about SFML. When I started to write this library, in 2006, I couldn't imagine that it would become so much popular. Around 100,000 visitors per month, 100 new forum posts everyday... this is huge! And this is just the beginning; with the release of SFML 2.0, the library makes an important step forward. While SFML 1 is a constantly evolving (understand "unstable") API, SFML 2.0 is meant to be a robust, stable, and mature foundation for the future. And hopefully a solid base for more and more great games.
Increasing popularity also means more effort from the authors to provide complete and quality documentation. Sadly, this is often overlooked by developers.
Although I do my best to provide detailed tutorials for SFML, they are nothing more than an improved API documentation. Users often ask me where they can find a more complete guide to start programming games with SFML. And until today, I had nowhere to direct them to. But Artur, Henrik, and Jan did a great job to fill this hole. They have gathered their wisdom and experience into a unique book that covers the basics of game programming, as well as everything that SFML has to offer—from audio to network, through advanced graphics. What I really appreciate about this book is that it is written with the same philosophy that is behind SFML: good design, simplicity, and modern code.
I hope you will enjoy reading this book as much as I did and find what you're looking for; whether you're a beginner who wants to learn game programming with SFML, or a more experienced programmer who wants to improve his design and technical skills. And don't hesitate to come to the SFML forum if you have questions or comments. I, the authors of this book, and all the community will be glad to answer you.
Laurent Gomila
Author of SFML
Software Engineer, Tegesoft, France
