Sound Programming

I want to write a software synthesizer. I understand concepts like samples, the basic math, etc. I just need to learn a sound API now so I can actually hear something.

Which one is the least retarded to work with? Cross-platform would be a plus, but I wouldn't mind using DirectSound if it's easy to work with. SDL is pretty retarded.

>>23

I was browsing 4-ch's /code/ board and found this:

http://4-ch.net/code/kareha.pl/1216806037/10
I like the portaudio API (and the related portmidi), but there's no pulse-support, and the fact that the GCC+MINGW builds are crippled is annoying.

Granted, the post is a little out of date, but perhaps my problem is not an uncommon one? Perhaps the reason that I can't find anything precompiled is because no one can figure out how to do?