What package should I be using for 2d animation?

I am working with a client on a 2d map. The map is centered on the user's position and marks various headings and points of interest. As the user moves, the headings change and the points of interest move.

My client is insistent on using OpenGL for this, but 开发者_运维知识库this seems like overkill.

He has mentioned he thinks GDI+ and SDL are too slow for this purpose, but I disagree. Flash is not being considered, due to costs.

Could anyone give some advice on a good 2d, free animation solution?

Qt has fully featured, OpenGL accelerated 2D painting/animation, it's free, also for commercial applications (LGPL license), cross-platform and generally a joy to use.

On a side note: why anyone would consider SDL slow is really beyond me, how much faster can it get?

The first library we used to make a game was Allegro. I checked the website just now and they do support animation (among other things).

Unfortunately I do not remember how to use it or how long it took to get started (my knowledge of programming was just evolving at that point) but I do remember that the results looked good :) Hope that this helps!