I know I have posted this before, but I'm asking a different question this time.

I would like to know what I can really use structs for, as I have no idea what to do.

I understand that they can be used for special functions and whatnot, but I don't know how I would do this.

Basically what I'm asking is, "How do I make a struct actually put something on-screen?"

Like, I could have a struct called WORD*, and I want it to put a word on the screen.

Code:

---

typedef struct
{
	char word[20];
} WORD;

WORD* test_word=
{
	word= "Word.";
}

---

The only way I can think of to put that word on-screen is to use two pre-defined structs, STRING* and TEXT*:

Code:

---

STRING* show_struct_content= "";

typedef struct
{
	char word[20];
} WORD;

WORD* test_word=
{
	word= "Word.";
}

TEXT* show_test_word=
{
	string= show_struct_content;
	flags= VISIBLE;
}

void show_word()
{
	str_cpy(show_struct_content,test_word.word);
}

---

Just add the "#include <acknex.h>" and you have a script that will display the content of struct WORD* on the screen.

Is this the preferred way, or is there something different that I'm not understanding?

You should not use it to create functionality that is already there. A struct WORD would be useles in lite-c; we already have STRING and TEXT. What you want to use structs for is create something on a "higher level".

Say you are creating a multiplayer RPG and you want a character with many properties and a name above his head on screen. You could create a Character type that contains an ENTITY*, some built in types for its properties (int level, float health) and a TEXT* for the name. This way you don't have to write code to know which TEXT* name belongs to which ENTITY* character. You can pass a pointer to the struct to a function, so the function can change any parameter.

Structs don't really make new things possible that wheren't possible before, but they make it possible to create a more structured program.

F.e. i use structs to store tricks data in my game(sport simulator). there is a struct called TRICK, and it has parameters like type, speed, difficulty, animation, and so on. i've got a TRICK array that stores all tricks. Without structs it would be more complicated