[ ]-----Networking----->[ ]

[CoderWalker]

This is my first post on this forum, so if
it's not in the correct place please move it
or let me know.

I want to make a program that can connect to a
forum and get all of the new posts. I want the
program to display a list so that I will be
able to just leave this program running and
not have to bring up Firefox. Also, I want it
to be able to make posts.

I will be using C++ with SDL for the graphical
portion, and I am using the Dev C++ Compiler.
So I got the programs GUI down pretty well.

What should I use for the Network connectivity
part? This program has to be cross-platfrom,
supporting osX, Linux, and Windows at the
least. So I am asking what Library do I need?

I have looked into WinSock and HTTP Packets,
however I just can't understand what's going
on for some reason. I think the programs I
have looked at are just too complex and have
alot of features I don't need.

So I am basically looking for sample Source
or Learn as I write it or something like
that. If someone does understand this and
wouldn't mind helping me out I use this iM:
[e-mail].

Also: I am not a C++ noob, I have been
using it longer than a year, and have
completed the C++ Programming class at my
College.

Program Flow:
Sign in to Website
Every 30 seconds, check for updates:
updates()
{
get new HTML page
use String to get updates
}
upon typing and clicking:
post()
{
send data back to post
}

Thanks in advance,
CoderWalker

Does anyone have any practical ideas? Has
anyone attempted anything like this before?

[CoderWalker]

no one has any idea?

is my post confusing?

[Athar]

To download the threads and post replies, you can use libcurl.
SDL is unsuitable for the visual part (unless you want to do everything from scratch, which you don't), so I recomment Qt. You can display HTML pages with it, so that allows you to display posts with formatting, images etc.
Both libcurl and Qt are cross-platform.