Question involving Graphics?

[Nikoru]

Okay, so I want to add some graphics to a c++ program. However, I am having trouble getting my compiler to load up the pictures. I have added the pics into the project folder but when I try to call the function to make the picture come up nothing happens. A friend told me I can't do it that way..that i need to have OpenGL to do that. Is he right?

[Bazzy]

There are many graphic libraries for C++.
You must use one of them to display anything different from text on the console window.
OpenGL is one of them but it's mainly designed for 3D things.
If the only thing you want to do is showing some pictures you can try SDL

[foobarbaz]

I found this interesting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_OpenGL_and_Direct3D

Even so, there are functional differences in how the two APIs work. Direct3D expects the application to manage hardware resources; OpenGL makes the implementation do it. This tradeoff for OpenGL decreases difficulty in developing for the API, while at the same time increasing the complexity of creating an implementation (or driver) that performs well. With Direct3D, the developer must manage hardware resources independently; however, the implementation is simpler, and developers have the flexibility to allocate resources in the most efficient way possible for their application.