Fastest/efficient library for (2D) graphical application in C++?

[tomz6]

Hi all,

I need to make a windows application nothing fancy - just simple menu etc.

However, I also need to be able to draw pixel colors to the screen (perhaps load from a bitmap image).

It must be as fast and efficient as possible - and if possible, easy to use.

What would you guys recommend?

EDIT: By 'fast' I mean fast execution/processing speeds.

Thanks!
Tomz.

[DELOCH]

I have the same problem, there are many libraries, namely
OpenGL (C)
DirectX (C)
SDL (C)
Allegro (C)
SFML (C++)
and more

OpenGL and DirectX are really efficient but they are so low level that it is not realistic to use them for big projects for most people.
SDL Allegro and SFML are fast and efficient and very convenient, but they are a pain to set up at times, SDL is the simplest to set up.

I have only succeeded setting up DirectX and SDL, everything else is spitting in my face
every time I try to set it up... it is very discouraging...

hopefully this helped...