tomato/external/sdl/SDL/docs/README-migration.md

66 KiB

Migrating to SDL 3.0

This guide provides useful information for migrating applications from SDL 2.0 to SDL 3.0.

Details on API changes are organized by SDL 2.0 header below.

Many functions and symbols have been renamed. We have provided a handy Python script rename_symbols.py to rename SDL2 functions to their SDL3 counterparts:

rename_symbols.py --all-symbols source_code_path

It's also possible to apply a semantic patch to migrate more easily to SDL3: SDL_migration.cocci

SDL headers should now be included as #include <SDL3/SDL.h>. Typically that's the only header you'll need in your application unless you are using OpenGL or Vulkan functionality. We have provided a handy Python script rename_headers.py to rename SDL2 headers to their SDL3 counterparts:

rename_headers.py source_code_path

The file with your main() function should also include <SDL3/SDL_main.h>, see below in the SDL_main.h section.

CMake users should use this snippet to include SDL support in their project:

find_package(SDL3 REQUIRED CONFIG REQUIRED COMPONENTS SDL3)
target_link_libraries(mygame PRIVATE SDL3::SDL3)

Autotools users should use this snippet to include SDL support in their project:

PKG_CHECK_MODULES([SDL3], [sdl3])

and then add $SDL3_CFLAGS to their project CFLAGS and $SDL3_LIBS to their project LDFLAGS

Makefile users can use this snippet to include SDL support in their project:

CFLAGS += $(shell pkg-config sdl3 --cflags)
LDFLAGS += $(shell pkg-config sdl3 --libs)

The SDL3test library has been renamed SDL3_test.

There is no SDLmain library anymore, it's now header-only, see below in the SDL_main.h section.

begin_code.h and close_code.h in the public headers have been renamed to SDL_begin_code.h and SDL_close_code.h. These aren't meant to be included directly by applications, but if your application did, please update your #include lines.

The vi format comments have been removed from source code. Vim users can use the editorconfig plugin to automatically set tab spacing for the SDL coding style.

SDL_atomic.h

The following structures have been renamed:

  • SDL_atomic_t => SDL_AtomicInt

SDL_audio.h

The audio subsystem in SDL3 is dramatically different than SDL2. The primary way to play audio is no longer an audio callback; instead you bind SDL_AudioStreams to devices.

The SDL 1.2 audio compatibility API has also been removed, as it was a simplified version of the audio callback interface.

SDL3 will not implicitly initialize the audio subsystem on your behalf if you open a device without doing so. Please explicitly call SDL_Init(SDL_INIT_AUDIO) at some point.

If your app depends on the callback method, there is a similar approach you can take. But first, this is the new approach:

In SDL2, you might have done something like this to play audio:

    void SDLCALL MyAudioCallback(void *userdata, Uint8 * stream, int len)
    {
        /* calculate a little more audio here, maybe using `userdata`, write it to `stream` */
    }

    /* ...somewhere near startup... */
    SDL_AudioSpec my_desired_audio_format;
    SDL_zero(my_desired_audio_format);
    my_desired_audio_format.format = AUDIO_S16;
    my_desired_audio_format.channels = 2;
    my_desired_audio_format.freq = 44100;
    my_desired_audio_format.samples = 1024;
    my_desired_audio_format.callback = MyAudioCallback;
    my_desired_audio_format.userdata = &my_audio_callback_user_data;
    SDL_AudioDeviceID my_audio_device = SDL_OpenAudioDevice(NULL, 0, &my_desired_audio_format, NULL, 0);
    SDL_PauseAudioDevice(my_audio_device, 0);

in SDL3:

    /* ...somewhere near startup... */
    SDL_AudioSpec spec = { SDL_AUDIO_S16, 2, 44100 };
    SDL_AudioDeviceID my_audio_device = SDL_OpenAudioDevice(SDL_AUDIO_DEVICE_DEFAULT_OUTPUT, &spec);
    SDL_AudioSteam *stream = SDL_CreateAndBindAudioStream(my_audio_device, &spec);

    /* ...in your main loop... */
    /* calculate a little more audio into `buf`, add it to `stream` */
    SDL_PutAudioStreamData(stream, buf, buflen);

If you absolutely require the callback method, SDL_AudioStreams can use a callback whenever more data is to be read from them, which can be used to simulate SDL2 semantics:

    void SDLCALL MyAudioCallback(SDL_AudioStream *stream, int len, void *userdata)
    {
        /* calculate a little more audio here, maybe using `userdata`, write it to `stream` */
        SDL_PutAudioStreamData(stream, newdata, len);
    }

    /* ...somewhere near startup... */
    SDL_AudioSpec spec = { SDL_AUDIO_S16, 2, 44100 };
    SDL_AudioDeviceID my_audio_device = SDL_OpenAudioDevice(SDL_AUDIO_DEVICE_DEFAULT_OUTPUT, &spec);
    SDL_AudioSteam *stream = SDL_CreateAndBindAudioStream(my_audio_device, &spec);
    SDL_SetAudioStreamGetCallback(stream, MyAudioCallback);

    /* MyAudioCallback will be called whenever the device requests more audio data. */

SDL_AudioInit() and SDL_AudioQuit() have been removed. Instead you can call SDL_InitSubSystem() and SDL_QuitSubSystem() with SDL_INIT_AUDIO, which will properly refcount the subsystems. You can choose a specific audio driver using SDL_AUDIO_DRIVER hint.

The SDL_AUDIO_ALLOW_* symbols have been removed; now one may request the format they desire from the audio device, but ultimately SDL_AudioStream will manage the difference. One can use SDL_GetAudioDeviceFormat() to see what the final format is, if any "allowed" changes should be accomodated by the app.

SDL_AudioDeviceID now represents both an open audio device's handle (a "logical" device) and the instance ID that the hardware owns as long as it exists on the system (a "physical" device). The separation between device instances and device indexes is gone.

Devices are opened by physical device instance ID, and a new logical instance ID is generated by the open operation; This allows any device to be opened multiple times, possibly by unrelated pieces of code. SDL will manage the logical devices to provide a single stream of audio to the physical device behind the scenes.

Devices are not opened by an arbitrary string name anymore, but by device instance ID (or magic numbers to request a reasonable default, like a NULL string in SDL2). In SDL2, the string was used to open both a standard list of system devices, but also allowed for arbitrary devices, such as hostnames of network sound servers. In SDL3, many of the backends that supported arbitrary device names are obsolete and have been removed; of those that remain, arbitrary devices will be opened with a default device ID and an SDL_hint, so specific end-users can set an environment variable to fit their needs and apps don't have to concern themselves with it.

Many functions that would accept a device index and an iscapture parameter now just take an SDL_AudioDeviceID, as they are unique across all devices, instead of separate indices into output and capture device lists.

Rather than iterating over audio devices using a device index, there is a new function, SDL_GetAudioDevices(), to get the current list of devices, and new functions to get information about devices from their instance ID:

{
    if (SDL_InitSubSystem(SDL_INIT_AUDIO) == 0) {
        int i, num_devices;
        SDL_AudioDeviceID *devices = SDL_GetAudioDevices(/*iscapture=*/SDL_FALSE, &num_devices);
        if (devices) {
            for (i = 0; i < num_devices; ++i) {
                SDL_AudioDeviceID instance_id = devices[i];
                char *name = SDL_GetAudioDeviceName(instance_id);
                SDL_Log("AudioDevice %" SDL_PRIu32 ": %s\n", instance_id, name);
                SDL_free(name);
            }
            SDL_free(devices);
        }
        SDL_QuitSubSystem(SDL_INIT_AUDIO);
    }
}

SDL_LockAudioDevice() and SDL_UnlockAudioDevice() have been removed, since there is no callback in another thread to protect. SDL's audio subsystem and SDL_AudioStream maintain their own locks internally, so audio streams are safe to use from any thread. If the app assigns a callback to a specific stream, it can use the stream's lock through SDL_LockAudioStream() if necessary.

SDL_PauseAudioDevice() no longer takes a second argument; it always pauses the device. To unpause, use SDL_ResumeAudioDevice().

Audio devices, opened by SDL_OpenAudioDevice(), no longer start in a paused state, as they don't begin processing audio until a stream is bound.

SDL_GetAudioDeviceStatus() has been removed; there is now SDL_IsAudioDevicePaused().

SDL_QueueAudio(), SDL_DequeueAudio, and SDL_ClearQueuedAudio and SDL_GetQueuedAudioSize() have been removed; an SDL_AudioStream bound to a device provides the exact same functionality.

APIs that use channel counts used to use a Uint8 for the channel; now they use int.

SDL_AudioSpec has been reduced; now it only holds format, channel, and sample rate. SDL_GetSilenceValueForFormat() can provide the information from the SDL_AudioSpec's silence field. The other SDL2 SDL_AudioSpec fields aren't relevant anymore.

SDL_GetAudioDeviceSpec() is removed; use SDL_GetAudioDeviceFormat() instead.

SDL_GetDefaultAudioInfo() is removed; SDL_GetAudioDeviceFormat() with SDL_AUDIO_DEVICE_DEFAULT_OUTPUT or SDL_AUDIO_DEVICE_DEFAULT_CAPTURE. There is no replacement for querying the default device name; the string is no longer used to open devices, and SDL3 will migrate between physical devices on the fly if the system default changes, so if you must show this to the user, a generic name like "System default" is recommended.

SDL_MixAudio() has been removed, as it relied on legacy SDL 1.2 quirks; SDL_MixAudioFormat() remains and offers the same functionality.

SDL_AudioInit() and SDL_AudioQuit() have been removed. Instead you can call SDL_InitSubSystem() and SDL_QuitSubSystem() with SDL_INIT_AUDIO, which will properly refcount the subsystems. You can choose a specific audio driver using SDL_AUDIO_DRIVER hint.

SDL_FreeWAV has been removed and calls can be replaced with SDL_free.

SDL_LoadWAV() is a proper function now and no longer a macro (but offers the same functionality otherwise).

SDL_LoadWAV_RW() and SDL_LoadWAV() return an int now: zero on success, -1 on error, like most of SDL. They no longer return a pointer to an SDL_AudioSpec.

SDL_AudioCVT interface has been removed, the SDL_AudioStream interface (for audio supplied in pieces) or the new SDL_ConvertAudioSamples() function (for converting a complete audio buffer in one call) can be used instead.

Code that used to look like this:

    SDL_AudioCVT cvt;
    SDL_BuildAudioCVT(&cvt, src_format, src_channels, src_rate, dst_format, dst_channels, dst_rate);
    cvt.len = src_len;
    cvt.buf = (Uint8 *) SDL_malloc(src_len * cvt.len_mult);
    SDL_memcpy(cvt.buf, src_data, src_len);
    SDL_ConvertAudio(&cvt);
    do_something(cvt.buf, cvt.len_cvt);

should be changed to:

    Uint8 *dst_data = NULL;
    int dst_len = 0;
    const SDL_AudioSpec src_spec = { src_format, src_channels, src_rate };
    const SDL_AudioSpec dst_spec = { dst_format, dst_channels, dst_rate };
    if (SDL_ConvertAudioSamples(&src_spec, src_data, src_len, &dst_spec, &dst_data, &dst_len) < 0) {
        /* error */
    }
    do_something(dst_data, dst_len);
    SDL_free(dst_data);

AUDIO_U16, AUDIO_U16LSB, AUDIO_U16MSB, and AUDIO_U16SYS have been removed. They were not heavily used, and one could not memset a buffer in this format to silence with a single byte value. Use a different audio format.

If you need to convert U16 audio data to a still-supported format at runtime, the fastest, lossless conversion is to SDL_AUDIO_S16:

    /* this converts the buffer in-place. The buffer size does not change. */
    Sint16 *audio_ui16_to_si16(Uint16 *buffer, const size_t num_samples)
    {
        size_t i;
        const Uint16 *src = buffer;
        Sint16 *dst = (Sint16 *) buffer;

        for (i = 0; i < num_samples; i++) {
            dst[i] = (Sint16) (src[i] ^ 0x8000);
        }

        return dst;
    }

All remaining AUDIO_* symbols have been renamed to SDL_AUDIO_* for API consistency, but othewise are identical in value and usage.

In SDL2, SDL_AudioStream would convert/resample audio data during input (via SDL_AudioStreamPut). In SDL3, it does this work when requesting audio (via SDL_GetAudioStreamData, which would have been SDL_AudioStreamGet in SDL2). The way you use an AudioStream is roughly the same, just be aware that the workload moved to a different phase.

In SDL2, SDL_AudioStreamAvailable() returns 0 if passed a NULL stream. In SDL3, the equivalent SDL_GetAudioStreamAvailable() call returns -1 and sets an error string, which matches other audiostream APIs' behavior.

In SDL2, SDL_AUDIODEVICEREMOVED events would fire for open devices with the which field set to the SDL_AudioDeviceID of the lost device, and in later SDL2 releases, would also fire this event with a which field of zero for unopened devices, to signify that the app might want to refresh the available device list. In SDL3, this event works the same, except it won't ever fire with a zero; in this case it'll return the physical device's SDL_AudioDeviceID. Any still-open SDL_AudioDeviceIDs generated from this device with SDL_OpenAudioDevice() will also fire a separate event.

The following functions have been renamed:

  • SDL_AudioStreamAvailable() => SDL_GetAudioStreamAvailable()
  • SDL_AudioStreamClear() => SDL_ClearAudioStream()
  • SDL_AudioStreamFlush() => SDL_FlushAudioStream()
  • SDL_AudioStreamGet() => SDL_GetAudioStreamData()
  • SDL_AudioStreamPut() => SDL_PutAudioStreamData()
  • SDL_FreeAudioStream() => SDL_DestroyAudioStream()
  • SDL_NewAudioStream() => SDL_CreateAudioStream()

The following functions have been removed:

  • SDL_GetNumAudioDevices()
  • SDL_GetAudioDeviceSpec()
  • SDL_ConvertAudio()
  • SDL_BuildAudioCVT()
  • SDL_OpenAudio()
  • SDL_CloseAudio()
  • SDL_PauseAudio()
  • SDL_GetAudioStatus()
  • SDL_GetAudioDeviceStatus()
  • SDL_GetDefaultAudioInfo()
  • SDL_LockAudio()
  • SDL_LockAudioDevice()
  • SDL_UnlockAudio()
  • SDL_UnlockAudioDevice()
  • SDL_MixAudio()
  • SDL_QueueAudio()
  • SDL_DequeueAudio()
  • SDL_ClearAudioQueue()
  • SDL_GetQueuedAudioSize()

The following symbols have been renamed:

  • AUDIO_F32 => SDL_AUDIO_F32
  • AUDIO_F32LSB => SDL_AUDIO_F32LSB
  • AUDIO_F32MSB => SDL_AUDIO_F32MSB
  • AUDIO_F32SYS => SDL_AUDIO_F32SYS
  • AUDIO_S16 => SDL_AUDIO_S16
  • AUDIO_S16LSB => SDL_AUDIO_S16LSB
  • AUDIO_S16MSB => SDL_AUDIO_S16MSB
  • AUDIO_S16SYS => SDL_AUDIO_S16SYS
  • AUDIO_S32 => SDL_AUDIO_S32
  • AUDIO_S32LSB => SDL_AUDIO_S32LSB
  • AUDIO_S32MSB => SDL_AUDIO_S32MSB
  • AUDIO_S32SYS => SDL_AUDIO_S32SYS
  • AUDIO_S8 => SDL_AUDIO_S8
  • AUDIO_U8 => SDL_AUDIO_U8

SDL_cpuinfo.h

The intrinsics headers (mmintrin.h, etc.) have been moved to <SDL3/SDL_intrin.h> and are no longer automatically included in SDL.h.

SDL_Has3DNow() has been removed; there is no replacement.

SDL_SIMDAlloc(), SDL_SIMDRealloc(), and SDL_SIMDFree() have been removed. You can use SDL_aligned_alloc() and SDL_aligned_free() with SDL_SIMDGetAlignment() to get the same functionality.

SDL_events.h

The timestamp member of the SDL_Event structure now represents nanoseconds, and is populated with SDL_GetTicksNS()

The timestamp_us member of the sensor events has been renamed sensor_timestamp and now represents nanoseconds. This value is filled in from the hardware, if available, and may not be synchronized with values returned from SDL_GetTicksNS().

You should set the event.common.timestamp field before passing an event to SDL_PushEvent(). If the timestamp is 0 it will be filled in with SDL_GetTicksNS().

Mouse events use floating point values for mouse coordinates and relative motion values. You can get sub-pixel motion depending on the platform and display scaling.

The SDL_DISPLAYEVENT_* events have been moved to top level events, and SDL_DISPLAYEVENT has been removed. In general, handling this change just means checking for the individual events instead of first checking for SDL_DISPLAYEVENT and then checking for display events. You can compare the event >= SDL_EVENT_DISPLAY_FIRST and <= SDL_EVENT_DISPLAY_LAST if you need to see whether it's a display event.

The SDL_WINDOWEVENT_* events have been moved to top level events, and SDL_WINDOWEVENT has been removed. In general, handling this change just means checking for the individual events instead of first checking for SDL_WINDOWEVENT and then checking for window events. You can compare the event >= SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_FIRST and <= SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_LAST if you need to see whether it's a window event.

The SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_RESIZED event is always sent, even in response to SDL_SetWindowSize().

The SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_SIZE_CHANGED event has been removed, and you can use SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_PIXEL_SIZE_CHANGED to detect window backbuffer size changes.

The gamepad event structures caxis, cbutton, cdevice, ctouchpad, and csensor have been renamed gaxis, gbutton, gdevice, gtouchpad, and gsensor.

SDL_QUERY, SDL_IGNORE, SDL_ENABLE, and SDL_DISABLE have been removed. You can use the functions SDL_SetEventEnabled() and SDL_EventEnabled() to set and query event processing state.

The following symbols have been renamed:

  • SDL_APP_DIDENTERBACKGROUND => SDL_EVENT_DID_ENTER_BACKGROUND
  • SDL_APP_DIDENTERFOREGROUND => SDL_EVENT_DID_ENTER_FOREGROUND
  • SDL_APP_LOWMEMORY => SDL_EVENT_LOW_MEMORY
  • SDL_APP_TERMINATING => SDL_EVENT_TERMINATING
  • SDL_APP_WILLENTERBACKGROUND => SDL_EVENT_WILL_ENTER_BACKGROUND
  • SDL_APP_WILLENTERFOREGROUND => SDL_EVENT_WILL_ENTER_FOREGROUND
  • SDL_AUDIODEVICEADDED => SDL_EVENT_AUDIO_DEVICE_ADDED
  • SDL_AUDIODEVICEREMOVED => SDL_EVENT_AUDIO_DEVICE_REMOVED
  • SDL_CLIPBOARDUPDATE => SDL_EVENT_CLIPBOARD_UPDATE
  • SDL_CONTROLLERAXISMOTION => SDL_EVENT_GAMEPAD_AXIS_MOTION
  • SDL_CONTROLLERBUTTONDOWN => SDL_EVENT_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_DOWN
  • SDL_CONTROLLERBUTTONUP => SDL_EVENT_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_UP
  • SDL_CONTROLLERDEVICEADDED => SDL_EVENT_GAMEPAD_ADDED
  • SDL_CONTROLLERDEVICEREMAPPED => SDL_EVENT_GAMEPAD_REMAPPED
  • SDL_CONTROLLERDEVICEREMOVED => SDL_EVENT_GAMEPAD_REMOVED
  • SDL_CONTROLLERSENSORUPDATE => SDL_EVENT_GAMEPAD_SENSOR_UPDATE
  • SDL_CONTROLLERTOUCHPADDOWN => SDL_EVENT_GAMEPAD_TOUCHPAD_DOWN
  • SDL_CONTROLLERTOUCHPADMOTION => SDL_EVENT_GAMEPAD_TOUCHPAD_MOTION
  • SDL_CONTROLLERTOUCHPADUP => SDL_EVENT_GAMEPAD_TOUCHPAD_UP
  • SDL_DROPBEGIN => SDL_EVENT_DROP_BEGIN
  • SDL_DROPCOMPLETE => SDL_EVENT_DROP_COMPLETE
  • SDL_DROPFILE => SDL_EVENT_DROP_FILE
  • SDL_DROPTEXT => SDL_EVENT_DROP_TEXT
  • SDL_FINGERDOWN => SDL_EVENT_FINGER_DOWN
  • SDL_FINGERMOTION => SDL_EVENT_FINGER_MOTION
  • SDL_FINGERUP => SDL_EVENT_FINGER_UP
  • SDL_FIRSTEVENT => SDL_EVENT_FIRST
  • SDL_JOYAXISMOTION => SDL_EVENT_JOYSTICK_AXIS_MOTION
  • SDL_JOYBATTERYUPDATED => SDL_EVENT_JOYSTICK_BATTERY_UPDATED
  • SDL_JOYBUTTONDOWN => SDL_EVENT_JOYSTICK_BUTTON_DOWN
  • SDL_JOYBUTTONUP => SDL_EVENT_JOYSTICK_BUTTON_UP
  • SDL_JOYDEVICEADDED => SDL_EVENT_JOYSTICK_ADDED
  • SDL_JOYDEVICEREMOVED => SDL_EVENT_JOYSTICK_REMOVED
  • SDL_JOYHATMOTION => SDL_EVENT_JOYSTICK_HAT_MOTION
  • SDL_KEYDOWN => SDL_EVENT_KEY_DOWN
  • SDL_KEYMAPCHANGED => SDL_EVENT_KEYMAP_CHANGED
  • SDL_KEYUP => SDL_EVENT_KEY_UP
  • SDL_LASTEVENT => SDL_EVENT_LAST
  • SDL_LOCALECHANGED => SDL_EVENT_LOCALE_CHANGED
  • SDL_MOUSEBUTTONDOWN => SDL_EVENT_MOUSE_BUTTON_DOWN
  • SDL_MOUSEBUTTONUP => SDL_EVENT_MOUSE_BUTTON_UP
  • SDL_MOUSEMOTION => SDL_EVENT_MOUSE_MOTION
  • SDL_MOUSEWHEEL => SDL_EVENT_MOUSE_WHEEL
  • SDL_POLLSENTINEL => SDL_EVENT_POLL_SENTINEL
  • SDL_QUIT => SDL_EVENT_QUIT
  • SDL_RENDER_DEVICE_RESET => SDL_EVENT_RENDER_DEVICE_RESET
  • SDL_RENDER_TARGETS_RESET => SDL_EVENT_RENDER_TARGETS_RESET
  • SDL_SENSORUPDATE => SDL_EVENT_SENSOR_UPDATE
  • SDL_SYSWMEVENT => SDL_EVENT_SYSWM
  • SDL_TEXTEDITING => SDL_EVENT_TEXT_EDITING
  • SDL_TEXTEDITING_EXT => SDL_EVENT_TEXT_EDITING_EXT
  • SDL_TEXTINPUT => SDL_EVENT_TEXT_INPUT
  • SDL_USEREVENT => SDL_EVENT_USER

The following structures have been renamed:

  • SDL_ControllerAxisEvent => SDL_GamepadAxisEvent
  • SDL_ControllerButtonEvent => SDL_GamepadButtonEvent
  • SDL_ControllerDeviceEvent => SDL_GamepadDeviceEvent
  • SDL_ControllerSensorEvent => SDL_GamepadSensorEvent
  • SDL_ControllerTouchpadEvent => SDL_GamepadTouchpadEvent

The following functions have been removed:

  • SDL_EventState() - replaced with SDL_SetEventEnabled()
  • SDL_GetEventState() - replaced with SDL_EventEnabled()

SDL_gamecontroller.h

SDL_gamecontroller.h has been renamed SDL_gamepad.h, and all APIs have been renamed to match.

The SDL_EVENT_GAMEPAD_ADDED event now provides the joystick instance ID in the which member of the cdevice event structure.

The functions SDL_GetGamepads(), SDL_GetGamepadInstanceName(), SDL_GetGamepadInstancePath(), SDL_GetGamepadInstancePlayerIndex(), SDL_GetGamepadInstanceGUID(), SDL_GetGamepadInstanceVendor(), SDL_GetGamepadInstanceProduct(), SDL_GetGamepadInstanceProductVersion(), and SDL_GetGamepadInstanceType() have been added to directly query the list of available gamepads.

The gamepad binding structure has been removed in favor of exchanging bindings in text format.

SDL_GameControllerGetSensorDataWithTimestamp() has been removed. If you want timestamps for the sensor data, you should use the sensor_timestamp member of SDL_EVENT_GAMEPAD_SENSOR_UPDATE events.

SDL_CONTROLLER_TYPE_VIRTUAL has been removed, so virtual controllers can emulate other gamepad types. If you need to know whether a controller is virtual, you can use SDL_IsJoystickVirtual().

SDL_CONTROLLER_TYPE_AMAZON_LUNA has been removed, and can be replaced with this code:

SDL_bool SDL_IsJoystickAmazonLunaController(Uint16 vendor_id, Uint16 product_id)
{
    return ((vendor_id == 0x1949 && product_id == 0x0419) ||
            (vendor_id == 0x0171 && product_id == 0x0419));
}

SDL_CONTROLLER_TYPE_GOOGLE_STADIA has been removed, and can be replaced with this code:

SDL_bool SDL_IsJoystickGoogleStadiaController(Uint16 vendor_id, Uint16 product_id)
{
    return (vendor_id == 0x18d1 && product_id == 0x9400);
}

SDL_CONTROLLER_TYPE_NVIDIA_SHIELD has been removed, and can be replaced with this code:

SDL_bool SDL_IsJoystickNVIDIASHIELDController(Uint16 vendor_id, Uint16 product_id)
{
    return (vendor_id == 0x0955 && (product_id == 0x7210 || product_id == 0x7214));
}

The following enums have been renamed:

  • SDL_GameControllerAxis => SDL_GamepadAxis
  • SDL_GameControllerBindType => SDL_GamepadBindingType
  • SDL_GameControllerButton => SDL_GamepadButton
  • SDL_GameControllerType => SDL_GamepadType

The following structures have been renamed:

  • SDL_GameController => SDL_Gamepad
  • SDL_GameControllerButtonBind => SDL_GamepadBinding

The following functions have been renamed:

  • SDL_GameControllerAddMapping() => SDL_AddGamepadMapping()
  • SDL_GameControllerAddMappingsFromFile() => SDL_AddGamepadMappingsFromFile()
  • SDL_GameControllerAddMappingsFromRW() => SDL_AddGamepadMappingsFromRW()
  • SDL_GameControllerClose() => SDL_CloseGamepad()
  • SDL_GameControllerFromInstanceID() => SDL_GetGamepadFromInstanceID()
  • SDL_GameControllerFromPlayerIndex() => SDL_GetGamepadFromPlayerIndex()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetAppleSFSymbolsNameForAxis() => SDL_GetGamepadAppleSFSymbolsNameForAxis()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetAppleSFSymbolsNameForButton() => SDL_GetGamepadAppleSFSymbolsNameForButton()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetAttached() => SDL_GamepadConnected()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetAxis() => SDL_GetGamepadAxis()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetAxisFromString() => SDL_GetGamepadAxisFromString()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetBindForAxis() => SDL_GetGamepadBindForAxis()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetBindForButton() => SDL_GetGamepadBindForButton()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetButton() => SDL_GetGamepadButton()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetButtonFromString() => SDL_GetGamepadButtonFromString()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetFirmwareVersion() => SDL_GetGamepadFirmwareVersion()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetJoystick() => SDL_GetGamepadJoystick()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetNumTouchpadFingers() => SDL_GetNumGamepadTouchpadFingers()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetNumTouchpads() => SDL_GetNumGamepadTouchpads()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetPlayerIndex() => SDL_GetGamepadPlayerIndex()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetProduct() => SDL_GetGamepadProduct()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetProductVersion() => SDL_GetGamepadProductVersion()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetSensorData() => SDL_GetGamepadSensorData()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetSensorDataRate() => SDL_GetGamepadSensorDataRate()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetSerial() => SDL_GetGamepadSerial()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetStringForAxis() => SDL_GetGamepadStringForAxis()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetStringForButton() => SDL_GetGamepadStringForButton()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetTouchpadFinger() => SDL_GetGamepadTouchpadFinger()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetType() => SDL_GetGamepadType()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetVendor() => SDL_GetGamepadVendor()
  • SDL_GameControllerHasAxis() => SDL_GamepadHasAxis()
  • SDL_GameControllerHasButton() => SDL_GamepadHasButton()
  • SDL_GameControllerHasLED() => SDL_GamepadHasLED()
  • SDL_GameControllerHasRumble() => SDL_GamepadHasRumble()
  • SDL_GameControllerHasRumbleTriggers() => SDL_GamepadHasRumbleTriggers()
  • SDL_GameControllerHasSensor() => SDL_GamepadHasSensor()
  • SDL_GameControllerIsSensorEnabled() => SDL_GamepadSensorEnabled()
  • SDL_GameControllerMapping() => SDL_GetGamepadMapping()
  • SDL_GameControllerMappingForGUID() => SDL_GetGamepadMappingForGUID()
  • SDL_GameControllerMappingForIndex() => SDL_GetGamepadMappingForIndex()
  • SDL_GameControllerName() => SDL_GetGamepadName()
  • SDL_GameControllerNumMappings() => SDL_GetNumGamepadMappings()
  • SDL_GameControllerOpen() => SDL_OpenGamepad()
  • SDL_GameControllerPath() => SDL_GetGamepadPath()
  • SDL_GameControllerRumble() => SDL_RumbleGamepad()
  • SDL_GameControllerRumbleTriggers() => SDL_RumbleGamepadTriggers()
  • SDL_GameControllerSendEffect() => SDL_SendGamepadEffect()
  • SDL_GameControllerSetLED() => SDL_SetGamepadLED()
  • SDL_GameControllerSetPlayerIndex() => SDL_SetGamepadPlayerIndex()
  • SDL_GameControllerSetSensorEnabled() => SDL_SetGamepadSensorEnabled()
  • SDL_GameControllerUpdate() => SDL_UpdateGamepads()
  • SDL_IsGameController() => SDL_IsGamepad()

The following functions have been removed:

  • SDL_GameControllerEventState() - replaced with SDL_SetGamepadEventsEnabled() and SDL_GamepadEventsEnabled()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetBindForAxis()
  • SDL_GameControllerGetBindForButton()
  • SDL_GameControllerMappingForDeviceIndex() - replaced with SDL_GetGamepadInstanceMapping()
  • SDL_GameControllerNameForIndex() - replaced with SDL_GetGamepadInstanceName()
  • SDL_GameControllerPathForIndex() - replaced with SDL_GetGamepadInstancePath()
  • SDL_GameControllerTypeForIndex() - replaced with SDL_GetGamepadInstanceType()

The following symbols have been renamed:

  • SDL_CONTROLLER_AXIS_INVALID => SDL_GAMEPAD_AXIS_INVALID
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_AXIS_LEFTX => SDL_GAMEPAD_AXIS_LEFTX
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_AXIS_LEFTY => SDL_GAMEPAD_AXIS_LEFTY
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_AXIS_MAX => SDL_GAMEPAD_AXIS_MAX
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_AXIS_RIGHTX => SDL_GAMEPAD_AXIS_RIGHTX
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_AXIS_RIGHTY => SDL_GAMEPAD_AXIS_RIGHTY
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_AXIS_TRIGGERLEFT => SDL_GAMEPAD_AXIS_LEFT_TRIGGER
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_AXIS_TRIGGERRIGHT => SDL_GAMEPAD_AXIS_RIGHT_TRIGGER
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BINDTYPE_AXIS => SDL_GAMEPAD_BINDTYPE_AXIS
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BINDTYPE_BUTTON => SDL_GAMEPAD_BINDTYPE_BUTTON
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BINDTYPE_HAT => SDL_GAMEPAD_BINDTYPE_HAT
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BINDTYPE_NONE => SDL_GAMEPAD_BINDTYPE_NONE
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_A => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_A
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_B => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_B
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_BACK => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_BACK
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_DPAD_DOWN => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_DPAD_DOWN
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_DPAD_LEFT => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_DPAD_LEFT
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_DPAD_RIGHT => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_DPAD_RIGHT
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_DPAD_UP => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_DPAD_UP
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_GUIDE => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_GUIDE
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_INVALID => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_INVALID
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_LEFTSHOULDER => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_LEFT_SHOULDER
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_LEFTSTICK => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_LEFT_STICK
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_MAX => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_MAX
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_MISC1 => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_MISC1
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_PADDLE1 => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_RIGHT_PADDLE1
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_PADDLE2 => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_LEFT_PADDLE1
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_PADDLE3 => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_RIGHT_PADDLE2
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_PADDLE4 => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_LEFT_PADDLE2
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_RIGHTSHOULDER => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_RIGHT_SHOULDER
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_RIGHTSTICK => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_RIGHT_STICK
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_START => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_START
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_TOUCHPAD => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_TOUCHPAD
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_X => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_X
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_Y => SDL_GAMEPAD_BUTTON_Y
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_TYPE_NINTENDO_SWITCH_JOYCON_LEFT => SDL_GAMEPAD_TYPE_NINTENDO_SWITCH_JOYCON_LEFT
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_TYPE_NINTENDO_SWITCH_JOYCON_PAIR => SDL_GAMEPAD_TYPE_NINTENDO_SWITCH_JOYCON_PAIR
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_TYPE_NINTENDO_SWITCH_JOYCON_RIGHT => SDL_GAMEPAD_TYPE_NINTENDO_SWITCH_JOYCON_RIGHT
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_TYPE_NINTENDO_SWITCH_PRO => SDL_GAMEPAD_TYPE_NINTENDO_SWITCH_PRO
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_TYPE_PS3 => SDL_GAMEPAD_TYPE_PS3
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_TYPE_PS4 => SDL_GAMEPAD_TYPE_PS4
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_TYPE_PS5 => SDL_GAMEPAD_TYPE_PS5
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_TYPE_UNKNOWN => SDL_GAMEPAD_TYPE_STANDARD
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_TYPE_VIRTUAL => SDL_GAMEPAD_TYPE_VIRTUAL
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_TYPE_XBOX360 => SDL_GAMEPAD_TYPE_XBOX360
  • SDL_CONTROLLER_TYPE_XBOXONE => SDL_GAMEPAD_TYPE_XBOXONE

SDL_gesture.h

The gesture API has been removed. There is no replacement planned in SDL3. However, the SDL2 code has been moved to a single-header library that can be dropped into an SDL3 or SDL2 program, to continue to provide this functionality to your app and aid migration. That is located in the SDL_gesture GitHub repository.

SDL_hints.h

SDL_AddHintCallback() now returns a standard int result instead of void, returning 0 if the function succeeds or a negative error code if there was an error.

Calling SDL_GetHint() with the name of the hint being changed from within a hint callback will now return the new value rather than the old value. The old value is still passed as a parameter to the hint callback.

The following hints have been removed:

  • SDL_HINT_VIDEO_HIGHDPI_DISABLED - high DPI support is always enabled

  • SDL_HINT_IDLE_TIMER_DISABLED - use SDL_DisableScreenSaver instead

  • SDL_HINT_MOUSE_RELATIVE_SCALING - mouse coordinates are no longer automatically scaled by the SDL renderer

  • SDL_HINT_RENDER_LOGICAL_SIZE_MODE - the logical size mode is explicitly set with SDL_SetRenderLogicalPresentation()

  • SDL_HINT_VIDEO_X11_FORCE_EGL - use SDL_HINT_VIDEO_FORCE_EGL instead

  • SDL_HINT_VIDEO_X11_XINERAMA - Xinerama no longer supported by the X11 backend

  • SDL_HINT_VIDEO_X11_XVIDMODE - Xvidmode no longer supported by the X11 backend

  • Renamed hints SDL_HINT_VIDEODRIVER and SDL_HINT_AUDIODRIVER to SDL_HINT_VIDEO_DRIVER and SDL_HINT_AUDIO_DRIVER

  • Renamed environment variables SDL_VIDEODRIVER and SDL_AUDIODRIVER to SDL_VIDEO_DRIVER and SDL_AUDIO_DRIVER

  • The environment variables SDL_VIDEO_X11_WMCLASS and SDL_VIDEO_WAYLAND_WMCLASS have been removed and replaced with the unified hint SDL_HINT_APP_ID

SDL_init.h

The following symbols have been renamed:

  • SDL_INIT_GAMECONTROLLER => SDL_INIT_GAMEPAD

The following symbols have been removed:

  • SDL_INIT_NOPARACHUTE

SDL_joystick.h

SDL_JoystickID has changed from Sint32 to Uint32, with an invalid ID being 0.

Rather than iterating over joysticks using device index, there is a new function SDL_GetJoysticks() to get the current list of joysticks, and new functions to get information about joysticks from their instance ID:

{
    if (SDL_InitSubSystem(SDL_INIT_JOYSTICK) == 0) {
        int i, num_joysticks;
        SDL_JoystickID *joysticks = SDL_GetJoysticks(&num_joysticks);
        if (joysticks) {
            for (i = 0; i < num_joysticks; ++i) {
                SDL_JoystickID instance_id = joysticks[i];
                const char *name = SDL_GetJoystickInstanceName(instance_id);
                const char *path = SDL_GetJoystickInstancePath(instance_id);

                SDL_Log("Joystick %" SDL_PRIu32 ": %s%s%s VID 0x%.4x, PID 0x%.4x\n",
                        instance_id, name ? name : "Unknown", path ? ", " : "", path ? path : "", SDL_GetJoystickInstanceVendor(instance_id), SDL_GetJoystickInstanceProduct(instance_id));
            }
            SDL_free(joysticks);
        }
        SDL_QuitSubSystem(SDL_INIT_JOYSTICK);
    }
}

The SDL_EVENT_JOYSTICK_ADDED event now provides the joystick instance ID in the which member of the jdevice event structure.

The functions SDL_GetJoysticks(), SDL_GetJoystickInstanceName(), SDL_GetJoystickInstancePath(), SDL_GetJoystickInstancePlayerIndex(), SDL_GetJoystickInstanceGUID(), SDL_GetJoystickInstanceVendor(), SDL_GetJoystickInstanceProduct(), SDL_GetJoystickInstanceProductVersion(), and SDL_GetJoystickInstanceType() have been added to directly query the list of available joysticks.

SDL_AttachVirtualJoystick() and SDL_AttachVirtualJoystickEx() now return the joystick instance ID instead of a device index, and return 0 if there was an error.

The following functions have been renamed:

  • SDL_JoystickAttachVirtual() => SDL_AttachVirtualJoystick()
  • SDL_JoystickAttachVirtualEx() => SDL_AttachVirtualJoystickEx()
  • SDL_JoystickClose() => SDL_CloseJoystick()
  • SDL_JoystickCurrentPowerLevel() => SDL_GetJoystickPowerLevel()
  • SDL_JoystickDetachVirtual() => SDL_DetachVirtualJoystick()
  • SDL_JoystickFromInstanceID() => SDL_GetJoystickFromInstanceID()
  • SDL_JoystickFromPlayerIndex() => SDL_GetJoystickFromPlayerIndex()
  • SDL_JoystickGetAttached() => SDL_JoystickConnected()
  • SDL_JoystickGetAxis() => SDL_GetJoystickAxis()
  • SDL_JoystickGetAxisInitialState() => SDL_GetJoystickAxisInitialState()
  • SDL_JoystickGetButton() => SDL_GetJoystickButton()
  • SDL_JoystickGetFirmwareVersion() => SDL_GetJoystickFirmwareVersion()
  • SDL_JoystickGetGUID() => SDL_GetJoystickGUID()
  • SDL_JoystickGetGUIDFromString() => SDL_GetJoystickGUIDFromString()
  • SDL_JoystickGetGUIDString() => SDL_GetJoystickGUIDString()
  • SDL_JoystickGetHat() => SDL_GetJoystickHat()
  • SDL_JoystickGetPlayerIndex() => SDL_GetJoystickPlayerIndex()
  • SDL_JoystickGetProduct() => SDL_GetJoystickProduct()
  • SDL_JoystickGetProductVersion() => SDL_GetJoystickProductVersion()
  • SDL_JoystickGetSerial() => SDL_GetJoystickSerial()
  • SDL_JoystickGetType() => SDL_GetJoystickType()
  • SDL_JoystickGetVendor() => SDL_GetJoystickVendor()
  • SDL_JoystickInstanceID() => SDL_GetJoystickInstanceID()
  • SDL_JoystickIsVirtual() => SDL_IsJoystickVirtual()
  • SDL_JoystickName() => SDL_GetJoystickName()
  • SDL_JoystickNumAxes() => SDL_GetNumJoystickAxes()
  • SDL_JoystickNumButtons() => SDL_GetNumJoystickButtons()
  • SDL_JoystickNumHats() => SDL_GetNumJoystickHats()
  • SDL_JoystickOpen() => SDL_OpenJoystick()
  • SDL_JoystickPath() => SDL_GetJoystickPath()
  • SDL_JoystickRumble() => SDL_RumbleJoystick()
  • SDL_JoystickRumbleTriggers() => SDL_RumbleJoystickTriggers()
  • SDL_JoystickSendEffect() => SDL_SendJoystickEffect()
  • SDL_JoystickSetLED() => SDL_SetJoystickLED()
  • SDL_JoystickSetPlayerIndex() => SDL_SetJoystickPlayerIndex()
  • SDL_JoystickSetVirtualAxis() => SDL_SetJoystickVirtualAxis()
  • SDL_JoystickSetVirtualButton() => SDL_SetJoystickVirtualButton()
  • SDL_JoystickSetVirtualHat() => SDL_SetJoystickVirtualHat()
  • SDL_JoystickUpdate() => SDL_UpdateJoysticks()

The following symbols have been renamed:

  • SDL_JOYSTICK_TYPE_GAMECONTROLLER => SDL_JOYSTICK_TYPE_GAMEPAD

The following functions have been removed:

  • SDL_JoystickEventState() - replaced with SDL_SetJoystickEventsEnabled() and SDL_JoystickEventsEnabled()
  • SDL_JoystickGetDeviceGUID() - replaced with SDL_GetJoystickInstanceGUID()
  • SDL_JoystickGetDeviceInstanceID()
  • SDL_JoystickGetDevicePlayerIndex() - replaced with SDL_GetJoystickInstancePlayerIndex()
  • SDL_JoystickGetDeviceProduct() - replaced with SDL_GetJoystickInstanceProduct()
  • SDL_JoystickGetDeviceProductVersion() - replaced with SDL_GetJoystickInstanceProductVersion()
  • SDL_JoystickGetDeviceType() - replaced with SDL_GetJoystickInstanceType()
  • SDL_JoystickGetDeviceVendor() - replaced with SDL_GetJoystickInstanceVendor()
  • SDL_JoystickNameForIndex() - replaced with SDL_GetJoystickInstanceName()
  • SDL_JoystickNumBalls() - API has been removed, see https://github.com/libsdl-org/SDL/issues/6766
  • SDL_JoystickPathForIndex() - replaced with SDL_GetJoystickInstancePath()
  • SDL_NumJoysticks() - replaced with SDL_GetJoysticks()

The following symbols have been removed:

  • SDL_JOYBALLMOTION

SDL_keyboard.h

The following functions have been renamed:

  • SDL_IsScreenKeyboardShown() => SDL_ScreenKeyboardShown()
  • SDL_IsTextInputActive() => SDL_TextInputActive()
  • SDL_IsTextInputShown() => SDL_TextInputShown()

SDL_keycode.h

The following symbols have been renamed:

  • KMOD_ALT => SDL_KMOD_ALT
  • KMOD_CAPS => SDL_KMOD_CAPS
  • KMOD_CTRL => SDL_KMOD_CTRL
  • KMOD_GUI => SDL_KMOD_GUI
  • KMOD_LALT => SDL_KMOD_LALT
  • KMOD_LCTRL => SDL_KMOD_LCTRL
  • KMOD_LGUI => SDL_KMOD_LGUI
  • KMOD_LSHIFT => SDL_KMOD_LSHIFT
  • KMOD_MODE => SDL_KMOD_MODE
  • KMOD_NONE => SDL_KMOD_NONE
  • KMOD_NUM => SDL_KMOD_NUM
  • KMOD_RALT => SDL_KMOD_RALT
  • KMOD_RCTRL => SDL_KMOD_RCTRL
  • KMOD_RESERVED => SDL_KMOD_RESERVED
  • KMOD_RGUI => SDL_KMOD_RGUI
  • KMOD_RSHIFT => SDL_KMOD_RSHIFT
  • KMOD_SCROLL => SDL_KMOD_SCROLL
  • KMOD_SHIFT => SDL_KMOD_SHIFT

SDL_loadso.h

SDL_LoadFunction() now returns SDL_FunctionPointer instead of void *, and should be cast to the appropriate function type. You can define SDL_FUNCTION_POINTER_IS_VOID_POINTER in your project to restore the previous behavior.

SDL_main.h

SDL3 doesn't have a static libSDLmain to link against anymore. Instead SDL_main.h is now a header-only library and not included by SDL.h anymore.

Using it is really simple: Just #include <SDL3/SDL_main.h> in the source file with your standard int main(int argc, char* argv[]) function.

The rest happens automatically: If your target platform needs the SDL_main functionality, your main function will be renamed to SDL_main (with a macro, just like in SDL2), and the real main-function will be implemented by inline code from SDL_main.h - and if your target platform doesn't need it, nothing happens. Like in SDL2, if you want to handle the platform-specific main yourself instead of using the SDL_main magic, you can #define SDL_MAIN_HANDLED before #include <SDL3/SDL_main.h> - don't forget to call SDL_SetMainReady()

If you need SDL_main.h in another source file (that doesn't implement main()), you also need to #define SDL_MAIN_HANDLED there, to avoid that multiple main functions are generated by SDL_main.h

There is currently one platform where this approach doesn't always work: WinRT. It requires WinMain to be implemented in a C++ source file that's compiled with /ZW. If your main is implemented in plain C, or you can't use /ZW on that file, you can add another .cpp source file that just contains #include <SDL3/SDL_main.h> and compile that with /ZW - but keep in mind that the source file with your standard main also needs that include! See README-winrt.md for more details.

Furthermore, the different SDL_*RunApp() functions (SDL_WinRtRunApp, SDL_GDKRunApp, SDL_UIKitRunApp) have been unified into just int SDL_RunApp(int argc, char* argv[], void * reserved) (which is also used by additional platforms that didn't have a SDL_RunApp-like function before).

SDL_metal.h

SDL_Metal_GetDrawableSize() has been removed. SDL_GetWindowSizeInPixels() can be used in its place.

SDL_mouse.h

SDL_ShowCursor() has been split into three functions: SDL_ShowCursor(), SDL_HideCursor(), and SDL_CursorVisible()

SDL_GetMouseState(), SDL_GetGlobalMouseState(), SDL_GetRelativeMouseState(), SDL_WarpMouseInWindow(), and SDL_WarpMouseGlobal() all use floating point mouse positions, to provide sub-pixel precision on platforms that support it.

The following functions have been renamed:

  • SDL_FreeCursor() => SDL_DestroyCursor()

SDL_mutex.h

The following functions have been renamed:

  • SDL_CondBroadcast() => SDL_BroadcastCondition()
  • SDL_CondSignal() => SDL_SignalCondition()
  • SDL_CondWait() => SDL_WaitCondition()
  • SDL_CondWaitTimeout() => SDL_WaitConditionTimeout()
  • SDL_CreateCond() => SDL_CreateCondition()
  • SDL_DestroyCond() => SDL_DestroyCondition()
  • SDL_SemPost() => SDL_PostSemaphore()
  • SDL_SemTryWait() => SDL_TryWaitSemaphore()
  • SDL_SemValue() => SDL_GetSemaphoreValue()
  • SDL_SemWait() => SDL_WaitSemaphore()
  • SDL_SemWaitTimeout() => SDL_WaitSemaphoreTimeout()

The following symbols have been renamed:

  • SDL_cond => SDL_Condition
  • SDL_mutex => SDL_Mutex
  • SDL_sem => SDL_Semaphore

SDL_pixels.h

SDL_CalculateGammaRamp has been removed, because SDL_SetWindowGammaRamp has been removed as well due to poor support in modern operating systems (see SDL_video.h).

The following functions have been renamed:

  • SDL_AllocFormat() => SDL_CreatePixelFormat()
  • SDL_AllocPalette() => SDL_CreatePalette()
  • SDL_FreeFormat() => SDL_DestroyPixelFormat()
  • SDL_FreePalette() => SDL_DestroyPalette()
  • SDL_MasksToPixelFormatEnum() => SDL_GetPixelFormatEnumForMasks()
  • SDL_PixelFormatEnumToMasks() => SDL_GetMasksForPixelFormatEnum()

The following symbols have been renamed:

  • SDL_DISPLAYEVENT_DISCONNECTED => SDL_EVENT_DISPLAY_DISCONNECTED
  • SDL_DISPLAYEVENT_MOVED => SDL_EVENT_DISPLAY_MOVED
  • SDL_DISPLAYEVENT_ORIENTATION => SDL_EVENT_DISPLAY_ORIENTATION
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_CLOSE => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_CLOSE_REQUESTED
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_DISPLAY_CHANGED => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_DISPLAY_CHANGED
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_ENTER => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_ENTER
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_EXPOSED => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_EXPOSED
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_FOCUS_GAINED => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_FOCUS_GAINED
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_FOCUS_LOST => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_FOCUS_LOST
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_HIDDEN => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_HIDDEN
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_HIT_TEST => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_HIT_TEST
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_ICCPROF_CHANGED => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_ICCPROF_CHANGED
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_LEAVE => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_LEAVE
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_MAXIMIZED => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_MAXIMIZED
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_MINIMIZED => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_MINIMIZED
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_MOVED => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_MOVED
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_RESIZED => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_RESIZED
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_RESTORED => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_RESTORED
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_SHOWN => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_SHOWN
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_SIZE_CHANGED => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_SIZE_CHANGED
  • SDL_WINDOWEVENT_TAKE_FOCUS => SDL_EVENT_WINDOW_TAKE_FOCUS

SDL_platform.h

The preprocessor symbol __MACOSX__ has been renamed __MACOS__, and __IPHONEOS__ has been renamed __IOS__

SDL_rect.h

The following functions have been renamed:

  • SDL_EncloseFPoints() => SDL_GetRectEnclosingPointsFloat()
  • SDL_EnclosePoints() => SDL_GetRectEnclosingPoints()
  • SDL_FRectEmpty() => SDL_RectEmptyFloat()
  • SDL_FRectEquals() => SDL_RectsEqualFloat()
  • SDL_FRectEqualsEpsilon() => SDL_RectsEqualEpsilon()
  • SDL_HasIntersection() => SDL_HasRectIntersection()
  • SDL_HasIntersectionF() => SDL_HasRectIntersectionFloat()
  • SDL_IntersectFRect() => SDL_GetRectIntersectionFloat()
  • SDL_IntersectFRectAndLine() => SDL_GetRectAndLineIntersectionFloat()
  • SDL_IntersectRect() => SDL_GetRectIntersection()
  • SDL_IntersectRectAndLine() => SDL_GetRectAndLineIntersection()
  • SDL_PointInFRect() => SDL_PointInRectFloat()
  • SDL_RectEquals() => SDL_RectsEqual()
  • SDL_UnionFRect() => SDL_GetRectUnionFloat()
  • SDL_UnionRect() => SDL_GetRectUnion()

SDL_render.h

SDL_GetRenderDriverInfo() has been removed, since most of the information it reported were estimates and could not be accurate before creating a renderer. Often times this function was used to figure out the index of a driver, so one would call it in a for-loop, looking for the driver named "opengl" or whatnot. SDL_GetRenderDriver() has been added for this functionality, which returns only the name of the driver.

Additionally, SDL_CreateRenderer()'s second argument is no longer an integer index, but a const char * representing a renderer's name; if you were just using a for-loop to find which index is the "opengl" or whatnot driver, you can just pass that string directly here, now. Passing NULL is the same as passing -1 here in SDL2, to signify you want SDL to decide for you.

The SDL_RENDERER_TARGETTEXTURE flag has been removed, all current renderers support target texture functionality.

When a renderer is created, it will automatically set the logical size to the size of the window in points. For high DPI displays, this will set up scaling from points to pixels. You can disable this scaling with:

    SDL_SetRenderLogicalPresentation(renderer, 0, 0, SDL_LOGICAL_PRESENTATION_DISABLED, SDL_SCALEMODE_NEAREST);

Mouse and touch events are no longer filtered to change their coordinates, instead you can call SDL_ConvertEventToRenderCoordinates() to explicitly map event coordinates into the rendering viewport.

SDL_RenderWindowToLogical() and SDL_RenderLogicalToWindow() have been renamed SDL_RenderCoordinatesFromWindow() and SDL_RenderCoordinatesToWindow() and take floating point coordinates in both directions.

The viewport, clipping state, and scale for render targets are now persistent and will remain set whenever they are active.

The following functions have been renamed:

  • SDL_GetRendererOutputSize() => SDL_GetCurrentRenderOutputSize()
  • SDL_RenderCopy() => SDL_RenderTexture()
  • SDL_RenderCopyEx() => SDL_RenderTextureRotated()
  • SDL_RenderCopyExF() => SDL_RenderTextureRotated()
  • SDL_RenderCopyF() => SDL_RenderTexture()
  • SDL_RenderDrawLine() => SDL_RenderLine()
  • SDL_RenderDrawLineF() => SDL_RenderLine()
  • SDL_RenderDrawLines() => SDL_RenderLines()
  • SDL_RenderDrawLinesF() => SDL_RenderLines()
  • SDL_RenderDrawPoint() => SDL_RenderPoint()
  • SDL_RenderDrawPointF() => SDL_RenderPoint()
  • SDL_RenderDrawPoints() => SDL_RenderPoints()
  • SDL_RenderDrawPointsF() => SDL_RenderPoints()
  • SDL_RenderDrawRect() => SDL_RenderRect()
  • SDL_RenderDrawRectF() => SDL_RenderRect()
  • SDL_RenderDrawRects() => SDL_RenderRects()
  • SDL_RenderDrawRectsF() => SDL_RenderRects()
  • SDL_RenderFillRectF() => SDL_RenderFillRect()
  • SDL_RenderFillRectsF() => SDL_RenderFillRects()
  • SDL_RenderGetClipRect() => SDL_GetRenderClipRect()
  • SDL_RenderGetIntegerScale() => SDL_GetRenderIntegerScale()
  • SDL_RenderGetLogicalSize() => SDL_GetRenderLogicalPresentation()
  • SDL_RenderGetMetalCommandEncoder() => SDL_GetRenderMetalCommandEncoder()
  • SDL_RenderGetMetalLayer() => SDL_GetRenderMetalLayer()
  • SDL_RenderGetScale() => SDL_GetRenderScale()
  • SDL_RenderGetViewport() => SDL_GetRenderViewport()
  • SDL_RenderGetWindow() => SDL_GetRenderWindow()
  • SDL_RenderIsClipEnabled() => SDL_RenderClipEnabled()
  • SDL_RenderLogicalToWindow() => SDL_RenderCoordinatesToWindow()
  • SDL_RenderSetClipRect() => SDL_SetRenderClipRect()
  • SDL_RenderSetIntegerScale() => SDL_SetRenderIntegerScale()
  • SDL_RenderSetLogicalSize() => SDL_SetRenderLogicalPresentation()
  • SDL_RenderSetScale() => SDL_SetRenderScale()
  • SDL_RenderSetVSync() => SDL_SetRenderVSync()
  • SDL_RenderSetViewport() => SDL_SetRenderViewport()
  • SDL_RenderWindowToLogical() => SDL_RenderCoordinatesFromWindow()

The following functions have been removed:

  • SDL_RenderGetIntegerScale()
  • SDL_RenderSetIntegerScale() - this is now explicit with SDL_LOGICAL_PRESENTATION_INTEGER_SCALE
  • SDL_RenderTargetSupported() - render targets are always supported

The following symbols have been renamed:

  • SDL_ScaleModeBest => SDL_SCALEMODE_BEST
  • SDL_ScaleModeLinear => SDL_SCALEMODE_LINEAR
  • SDL_ScaleModeNearest => SDL_SCALEMODE_NEAREST

SDL_rwops.h

The following symbols have been renamed:

  • RW_SEEK_CUR => SDL_RW_SEEK_CUR
  • RW_SEEK_END => SDL_RW_SEEK_END
  • RW_SEEK_SET => SDL_RW_SEEK_SET

SDL_RWread and SDL_RWwrite (and SDL_RWops::read, SDL_RWops::write) have a different function signature in SDL3.

Previously they looked more like stdio:

size_t SDL_RWread(SDL_RWops *context, void *ptr, size_t size, size_t maxnum);
size_t SDL_RWwrite(SDL_RWops *context, const void *ptr, size_t size, size_t maxnum);

But now they look more like POSIX:

size_t SDL_RWread(SDL_RWops *context, void *ptr, size_t size);
size_t SDL_RWwrite(SDL_RWops *context, const void *ptr, size_t size);

Code that used to look like this:

size_t custom_read(void *ptr, size_t size, size_t nitems, SDL_RWops *stream)
{
    return SDL_RWread(stream, ptr, size, nitems);
}

should be changed to:

size_t custom_read(void *ptr, size_t size, size_t nitems, SDL_RWops *stream)
{
    if (size > 0 && nitems > 0) {
        return SDL_RWread(stream, ptr, size * nitems) / size;
    }
    return 0;
}

SDL_RWFromFP has been removed from the API, due to issues when the SDL library uses a different C runtime from the application.

You can implement this in your own code easily:

#include <stdio.h>


static Sint64 SDLCALL stdio_seek(SDL_RWops *context, Sint64 offset, int whence)
{
    int stdiowhence;

    switch (whence) {
    case SDL_RW_SEEK_SET:
        stdiowhence = SEEK_SET;
        break;
    case SDL_RW_SEEK_CUR:
        stdiowhence = SEEK_CUR;
        break;
    case SDL_RW_SEEK_END:
        stdiowhence = SEEK_END;
        break;
    default:
        return SDL_SetError("Unknown value for 'whence'");
    }

    if (fseek((FILE *)context->hidden.stdio.fp, (fseek_off_t)offset, stdiowhence) == 0) {
        Sint64 pos = ftell((FILE *)context->hidden.stdio.fp);
        if (pos < 0) {
            return SDL_SetError("Couldn't get stream offset");
        }
        return pos;
    }
    return SDL_Error(SDL_EFSEEK);
}

static size_t SDLCALL stdio_read(SDL_RWops *context, void *ptr, size_t size)
{
    size_t bytes;

    bytes = fread(ptr, 1, size, (FILE *)context->hidden.stdio.fp);
    if (bytes == 0 && ferror((FILE *)context->hidden.stdio.fp)) {
        SDL_Error(SDL_EFREAD);
    }
    return bytes;
}

static size_t SDLCALL stdio_write(SDL_RWops *context, const void *ptr, size_t size)
{
    size_t bytes;

    bytes = fwrite(ptr, 1, size, (FILE *)context->hidden.stdio.fp);
    if (bytes == 0 && ferror((FILE *)context->hidden.stdio.fp)) {
        SDL_Error(SDL_EFWRITE);
    }
    return bytes;
}

static int SDLCALL stdio_close(SDL_RWops *context)
{
    int status = 0;
    if (context->hidden.stdio.autoclose) {
        if (fclose((FILE *)context->hidden.stdio.fp) != 0) {
            status = SDL_Error(SDL_EFWRITE);
        }
    }
    SDL_DestroyRW(context);
    return status;
}

SDL_RWops *SDL_RWFromFP(void *fp, SDL_bool autoclose)
{
    SDL_RWops *rwops = NULL;

    rwops = SDL_CreateRW();
    if (rwops != NULL) {
        rwops->seek = stdio_seek;
        rwops->read = stdio_read;
        rwops->write = stdio_write;
        rwops->close = stdio_close;
        rwops->hidden.stdio.fp = fp;
        rwops->hidden.stdio.autoclose = autoclose;
        rwops->type = SDL_RWOPS_STDFILE;
    }
    return rwops;
}

The functions SDL_ReadU8(), SDL_ReadU16LE(), SDL_ReadU16BE(), SDL_ReadU32LE(), SDL_ReadU32BE(), SDL_ReadU64LE(), and SDL_ReadU64BE() now return SDL_TRUE if the read succeeded and SDL_FALSE if it didn't, and store the data in a pointer passed in as a parameter.

The following functions have been renamed:

  • SDL_AllocRW() => SDL_CreateRW()
  • SDL_FreeRW() => SDL_DestroyRW()
  • SDL_ReadBE16() => SDL_ReadU16BE()
  • SDL_ReadBE32() => SDL_ReadU32BE()
  • SDL_ReadBE64() => SDL_ReadU64BE()
  • SDL_ReadLE16() => SDL_ReadU16LE()
  • SDL_ReadLE32() => SDL_ReadU32LE()
  • SDL_ReadLE64() => SDL_ReadU64LE()
  • SDL_WriteBE16() => SDL_WriteU16BE()
  • SDL_WriteBE32() => SDL_WriteU32BE()
  • SDL_WriteBE64() => SDL_WriteU64BE()
  • SDL_WriteLE16() => SDL_WriteU16LE()
  • SDL_WriteLE32() => SDL_WriteU32LE()
  • SDL_WriteLE64() => SDL_WriteU64LE()

SDL_sensor.h

SDL_SensorID has changed from Sint32 to Uint32, with an invalid ID being 0.

Rather than iterating over sensors using device index, there is a new function SDL_GetSensors() to get the current list of sensors, and new functions to get information about sensors from their instance ID:

{
    if (SDL_InitSubSystem(SDL_INIT_SENSOR) == 0) {
        int i, num_sensors;
        SDL_SensorID *sensors = SDL_GetSensors(&num_sensors);
        if (sensors) {
            for (i = 0; i < num_sensors; ++i) {
                SDL_Log("Sensor %" SDL_PRIu32 ": %s, type %d, platform type %d\n",
                        sensors[i],
                        SDL_GetSensorInstanceName(sensors[i]),
                        SDL_GetSensorInstanceType(sensors[i]),
                        SDL_GetSensorInstanceNonPortableType(sensors[i]));
            }
            SDL_free(sensors);
        }
        SDL_QuitSubSystem(SDL_INIT_SENSOR);
    }
}

Removed SDL_SensorGetDataWithTimestamp(), if you want timestamps for the sensor data, you should use the sensor_timestamp member of SDL_EVENT_SENSOR_UPDATE events.

The following functions have been renamed:

  • SDL_SensorClose() => SDL_CloseSensor()
  • SDL_SensorFromInstanceID() => SDL_GetSensorFromInstanceID()
  • SDL_SensorGetData() => SDL_GetSensorData()
  • SDL_SensorGetInstanceID() => SDL_GetSensorInstanceID()
  • SDL_SensorGetName() => SDL_GetSensorName()
  • SDL_SensorGetNonPortableType() => SDL_GetSensorNonPortableType()
  • SDL_SensorGetType() => SDL_GetSensorType()
  • SDL_SensorOpen() => SDL_OpenSensor()
  • SDL_SensorUpdate() => SDL_UpdateSensors()

The following functions have been removed:

  • SDL_LockSensors()
  • SDL_NumSensors() - replaced with SDL_GetSensors()
  • SDL_SensorGetDeviceInstanceID()
  • SDL_SensorGetDeviceName() - replaced with SDL_GetSensorInstanceName()
  • SDL_SensorGetDeviceNonPortableType() - replaced with SDL_GetSensorInstanceNonPortableType()
  • SDL_SensorGetDeviceType() - replaced with SDL_GetSensorInstanceType()
  • SDL_UnlockSensors()

SDL_stdinc.h

The standard C headers like stdio.h and stdlib.h are no longer included, you should include them directly in your project if you use non-SDL C runtime functions. M_PI is no longer defined in SDL_stdinc.h, you can use the new symbols SDL_PI_D (double) and SDL_PI_F (float) instead.

The following functions have been renamed:

  • SDL_strtokr() => SDL_strtok_r()

SDL_surface.h

Removed unused 'flags' parameter from SDL_ConvertSurface and SDL_ConvertSurfaceFormat.

SDL_CreateRGBSurface() and SDL_CreateRGBSurfaceWithFormat() have been combined into a new function SDL_CreateSurface(). SDL_CreateRGBSurfaceFrom() and SDL_CreateRGBSurfaceWithFormatFrom() have been combined into a new function SDL_CreateSurfaceFrom().

You can implement the old functions in your own code easily:

SDL_Surface *SDL_CreateRGBSurface(Uint32 flags, int width, int height, int depth, Uint32 Rmask, Uint32 Gmask, Uint32 Bmask, Uint32 Amask)
{
    return SDL_CreateSurface(width, height,
            SDL_GetPixelFormatEnumForMasks(depth, Rmask, Gmask, Bmask, Amask));
}

SDL_Surface *SDL_CreateRGBSurfaceWithFormat(Uint32 flags, int width, int height, int depth, Uint32 format)
{
    return SDL_CreateSurface(width, height, format);
}

SDL_Surface *SDL_CreateRGBSurfaceFrom(void *pixels, int width, int height, int depth, int pitch, Uint32 Rmask, Uint32 Gmask, Uint32 Bmask, Uint32 Amask)
{
    return SDL_CreateSurfaceFrom(pixels, width, height, pitch,
            SDL_GetPixelFormatEnumForMasks(depth, Rmask, Gmask, Bmask, Amask));
}

SDL_Surface *SDL_CreateRGBSurfaceWithFormatFrom(void *pixels, int width, int height, int depth, int pitch, Uint32 format)
{
    return SDL_CreateSurfaceFrom(pixels, width, height, pitch, format);
}

But if you're migrating your code which uses masks, you probably have a format in mind, possibly one of these:

// Various mask (R, G, B, A) and their corresponding format:
0xFF000000 0x00FF0000 0x0000FF00 0x000000FF => SDL_PIXELFORMAT_RGBA8888
0x00FF0000 0x0000FF00 0x000000FF 0xFF000000 => SDL_PIXELFORMAT_ARGB8888
0x0000FF00 0x00FF0000 0xFF000000 0x000000FF => SDL_PIXELFORMAT_BGRA8888
0x000000FF 0x0000FF00 0x00FF0000 0xFF000000 => SDL_PIXELFORMAT_ABGR8888
0x0000F800 0x000007E0 0x0000001F 0x00000000 => SDL_PIXELFORMAT_RGB565

The following functions have been renamed:

  • SDL_FillRect() => SDL_FillSurfaceRect()
  • SDL_FillRects() => SDL_FillSurfaceRects()
  • SDL_FreeSurface() => SDL_DestroySurface()
  • SDL_GetClipRect() => SDL_GetSurfaceClipRect()
  • SDL_GetColorKey() => SDL_GetSurfaceColorKey()
  • SDL_HasColorKey() => SDL_SurfaceHasColorKey()
  • SDL_HasSurfaceRLE() => SDL_SurfaceHasRLE()
  • SDL_LowerBlit() => SDL_BlitSurfaceUnchecked()
  • SDL_LowerBlitScaled() => SDL_BlitSurfaceUncheckedScaled()
  • SDL_SetClipRect() => SDL_SetSurfaceClipRect()
  • SDL_SetColorKey() => SDL_SetSurfaceColorKey()
  • SDL_UpperBlit() => SDL_BlitSurface()
  • SDL_UpperBlitScaled() => SDL_BlitSurfaceScaled()

SDL_system.h

SDL_AndroidGetExternalStorageState() takes the state as an output parameter and returns 0 if the function succeeds or a negative error code if there was an error.

The following functions have been renamed:

  • SDL_RenderGetD3D11Device() => SDL_GetRenderD3D11Device()
  • SDL_RenderGetD3D9Device() => SDL_GetRenderD3D9Device()

SDL_syswm.h

The structures in this file are versioned separately from the rest of SDL, allowing better backwards compatibility and limited forwards compatibility with your application. Instead of calling SDL_VERSION(&info.version) before calling SDL_GetWindowWMInfo(), you pass the version in explicitly as SDL_SYSWM_CURRENT_VERSION so SDL knows what fields you expect to be filled out.

SDL_GetWindowWMInfo

This function now returns a standard int result instead of SDL_bool, returning 0 if the function succeeds or a negative error code if there was an error. You should also pass SDL_SYSWM_CURRENT_VERSION as the new third version parameter. The version member of the info structure will be filled in with the version of data that is returned, the minimum of the version you requested and the version supported by the runtime SDL library.

SDL_thread.h

The following functions have been renamed:

  • SDL_TLSCleanup() => SDL_CleanupTLS()
  • SDL_TLSCreate() => SDL_CreateTLS()
  • SDL_TLSGet() => SDL_GetTLS()
  • SDL_TLSSet() => SDL_SetTLS()

SDL_timer.h

SDL_GetTicks() now returns a 64-bit value. Instead of using the SDL_TICKS_PASSED macro, you can directly compare tick values, e.g.

Uint32 deadline = SDL_GetTicks() + 1000;
...
if (SDL_TICKS_PASSED(SDL_GetTicks(), deadline)) {
    ...
}

becomes:

Uint64 deadline = SDL_GetTicks() + 1000
...
if (SDL_GetTicks() >= deadline) {
    ...
}

If you were using this macro for other things besides SDL ticks values, you can define it in your own code as:

#define SDL_TICKS_PASSED(A, B)  ((Sint32)((B) - (A)) <= 0)

SDL_touch.h

SDL_GetNumTouchFingers() returns a negative error code if there was an error.

SDL_version.h

SDL_GetRevisionNumber() has been removed from the API, it always returned 0 in SDL 2.0.

SDL_video.h

SDL_VideoInit() and SDL_VideoQuit() have been removed. Instead you can call SDL_InitSubSystem() and SDL_QuitSubSystem() with SDL_INIT_VIDEO, which will properly refcount the subsystems. You can choose a specific video driver using SDL_VIDEO_DRIVER hint.

Rather than iterating over displays using display index, there is a new function SDL_GetDisplays() to get the current list of displays, and functions which used to take a display index now take SDL_DisplayID, with an invalid ID being 0.

{
    if (SDL_InitSubSystem(SDL_INIT_VIDEO) == 0) {
        int i, num_displays = 0;
        SDL_DisplayID *displays = SDL_GetDisplays(&num_displays);
        if (displays) {
            for (i = 0; i < num_displays; ++i) {
                SDL_DisplayID instance_id = displays[i];
                const char *name = SDL_GetDisplayName(instance_id);

                SDL_Log("Display %" SDL_PRIu32 ": %s\n", instance_id, name ? name : "Unknown");
            }
            SDL_free(displays);
        }
        SDL_QuitSubSystem(SDL_INIT_VIDEO);
    }
}

SDL_CreateWindow() has been simplified and no longer takes a window position. You can use SDL_CreateWindowWithPosition() if you need to set the window position when creating it.

The SDL_WINDOWPOS_UNDEFINED_DISPLAY() and SDL_WINDOWPOS_CENTERED_DISPLAY() macros take a display ID instead of display index. The display ID 0 has a special meaning in this case, and is used to indicate the primary display.

The SDL_WINDOW_SHOWN flag has been removed. Windows are shown by default and can be created hidden by using the SDL_WINDOW_HIDDEN flag.

The SDL_WINDOW_SKIP_TASKBAR flag has been replaced by the SDL_WINDOW_UTILITY flag, which has the same functionality.

SDL_DisplayMode now includes the pixel density which can be greater than 1.0 for display modes that have a higher pixel size than the mode size. You should use SDL_GetWindowSizeInPixels() to get the actual pixel size of the window back buffer.

The refresh rate in SDL_DisplayMode is now a float.

Rather than iterating over display modes using an index, there is a new function SDL_GetFullscreenDisplayModes() to get the list of available fullscreen modes on a display.

{
    SDL_DisplayID display = SDL_GetPrimaryDisplay();
    int num_modes = 0;
    SDL_DisplayMode **modes = SDL_GetFullscreenDisplayModes(display, &num_modes);
    if (modes) {
        for (i = 0; i < num_modes; ++i) {
            SDL_DisplayMode *mode = modes[i];
            SDL_Log("Display %" SDL_PRIu32 " mode %d: %dx%d@%gx %gHz\n",
                    display, i, mode->w, mode->h, mode->pixel_density, mode->refresh_rate);
        }
        SDL_free(modes);
    }
}

SDL_GetDesktopDisplayMode() and SDL_GetCurrentDisplayMode() return pointers to display modes rather than filling in application memory.

Windows now have an explicit fullscreen mode that is set, using SDL_SetWindowFullscreenMode(). The fullscreen mode for a window can be queried with SDL_GetWindowFullscreenMode(), which returns a pointer to the mode, or NULL if the window will be fullscreen desktop. SDL_SetWindowFullscreen() just takes a boolean value, setting the correct fullscreen state based on the selected mode.

SDL_WINDOW_FULLSCREEN_DESKTOP has been removed, and you can call SDL_GetWindowFullscreenMode() to see whether an exclusive fullscreen mode will be used or the fullscreen desktop mode will be used when the window is fullscreen.

SDL_SetWindowBrightness and SDL_SetWindowGammaRamp have been removed from the API, because they interact poorly with modern operating systems and aren't able to limit their effects to the SDL window.

Programs which have access to shaders can implement more robust versions of those functions using custom shader code rendered as a post-process effect.

Removed SDL_GL_CONTEXT_EGL from OpenGL configuration attributes. You can instead use SDL_GL_SetAttribute(SDL_GL_CONTEXT_PROFILE_MASK, SDL_GL_CONTEXT_PROFILE_ES);

SDL_GL_GetProcAddress() and SDL_EGL_GetProcAddress() now return SDL_FunctionPointer instead of void *, and should be cast to the appropriate function type. You can define SDL_FUNCTION_POINTER_IS_VOID_POINTER in your project to restore the previous behavior.

SDL_GL_SwapWindow() returns 0 if the function succeeds or a negative error code if there was an error.

SDL_GL_GetSwapInterval() takes the interval as an output parameter and returns 0 if the function succeeds or a negative error code if there was an error.

SDL_GL_GetDrawableSize() has been removed. SDL_GetWindowSizeInPixels() can be used in its place.

The SDL_WINDOW_TOOLTIP and SDL_WINDOW_POPUP_MENU window flags are now supported on Windows, Mac (Cocoa), X11, and Wayland. Creating windows with these flags must happen via the SDL_CreatePopupWindow() function. This function requires passing in the handle to a valid parent window for the popup, and the popup window is positioned relative to the parent.

The following functions have been renamed:

  • SDL_GetClosestDisplayMode() => SDL_GetClosestFullscreenDisplayMode()
  • SDL_GetDisplayOrientation() => SDL_GetCurrentDisplayOrientation()
  • SDL_GetPointDisplayIndex() => SDL_GetDisplayForPoint()
  • SDL_GetRectDisplayIndex() => SDL_GetDisplayForRect()
  • SDL_GetWindowDisplayIndex() => SDL_GetDisplayForWindow()
  • SDL_GetWindowDisplayMode() => SDL_GetWindowFullscreenMode()
  • SDL_IsScreenSaverEnabled() => SDL_ScreenSaverEnabled()
  • SDL_SetWindowDisplayMode() => SDL_SetWindowFullscreenMode()

The following functions have been removed:

  • SDL_GetClosestFullscreenDisplayMode()
  • SDL_GetDisplayDPI() - not reliable across platforms, approximately replaced by multiplying display_scale in the structure returned by SDL_GetDesktopDisplayMode() times 160 on iPhone and Android, and 96 on other platforms.
  • SDL_GetDisplayMode()
  • SDL_GetNumDisplayModes() - replaced with SDL_GetFullscreenDisplayModes()
  • SDL_GetNumVideoDisplays() - replaced with SDL_GetDisplays()

SDL_Window id type is named SDL_WindowID

The following symbols have been renamed:

  • SDL_WINDOW_ALLOW_HIGHDPI => SDL_WINDOW_HIGH_PIXEL_DENSITY
  • SDL_WINDOW_INPUT_GRABBED => SDL_WINDOW_MOUSE_GRABBED

SDL_vulkan.h

SDL_Vulkan_GetInstanceExtensions() no longer takes a window parameter.

SDL_Vulkan_GetVkGetInstanceProcAddr() now returns SDL_FunctionPointer instead of void *, and should be cast to PFN_vkGetInstanceProcAddr.

SDL_Vulkan_GetDrawableSize() has been removed. SDL_GetWindowSizeInPixels() can be used in its place.