It just makes the whole process easier. Why code a whole way of doing this, when one already exists :o) Saves you lots of time and lets you concentrate on actually making your game.
Oh, and remember your textures must be dimentioned on powers of 2. eg: 1,2,4,8,16,32,64...etc 512,1024
2x16
32x256
512x128
etc etc
And try and keep the ratio 8 to 1 for the sizes if using a different sized dimensions for your texture.
Older video cards have problems, or introduce scaling if you don't adhere to the above.
Oh, and remember your textures must be dimentioned on powers of 2. eg: 1,2,4,8,16,32,64...etc 512,1024
2x16
32x256
512x128
etc etc
And try and keep the ratio 8 to 1 for the sizes if using a different sized dimensions for your texture.
Older video cards have problems, or introduce scaling if you don't adhere to the above.