Ryan C. Gordon
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# Where an SDL program starts running.
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## History
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SDL has a long, complicated history with starting a program.
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In most of the civilized world, an application starts in a C-callable
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function named "main". You probably learned it a long time ago:
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```c
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int main(int argc, char **argv)
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{
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printf("Hello world!\n");
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return 0;
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}
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```
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But not all platforms work like this. Windows apps might want a different
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function named "WinMain", for example, so SDL set out to paper over this
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difference.
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Generally how this would work is: your app would always use the "standard"
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`main(argc, argv)` function as its entry point, and `#include` the proper
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SDL header before that, which did some macro magic. On platforms that used
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a standard `main`, it would do nothing and what you saw was what you got.
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But those other platforms! If they needed something that _wasn't_ `main`,
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SDL's macro magic would quietly rename your function to `SDL_main`, and
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provide its own entry point that called it. Your app was none the wiser and
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your code worked everywhere without changes.
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In SDL1, you linked with a static library that had startup code that _had_ to
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run before you hit SDL_main(). For example, on macOS it would do various
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magic to the process to make sure it was in the right state. Windows would
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register win32 window classes and such. Things would break if you tried to
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circumvent this, and you were in for a lot of trouble if you tried to use
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SDL on a platform that needed this when you didn't control the entry point
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(for example, as a plugin, or an SDL binding in a scripting language).
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In SDL2, the necessary support code moved into the main library, and the tiny
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static library _only_ handled the basics of getting from the platform's real
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entry point (like WinMain) to SDL_main; if the real entry was _already_
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standard main, the static library and macro magic was unnecessary. The goal
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was to make it so you didn't have to change _your_ code to work on multiple
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platforms and remove the original limitations.
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In SDL3, we've taken this much, much further.
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## The main entry point in SDL3
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SDL3 still has the same macro tricks, but the static library is gone. Now it's
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supplied by a "single-header library," which is to say you
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`#include <SDL3/SDL_main.h>` and that header will insert a small amount of
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code into the source file that included it, so you no longer have to worry
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about linking against an extra library that you might need on some platforms.
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You just build your app and it works.
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You should _only_ include SDL_main.h from one file (the umbrella header,
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SDL.h, does _not_ include it), and know that it will `#define main` to
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something else, so if you use this symbol elsewhere as a variable name, etc,
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it can cause you unexpected problems.
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SDL_main.h will also include platform-specific code (WinMain or whatnot) that
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calls your _actual_ main function. This is compiled directly into your
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program.
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If for some reason you need to include SDL_main.h in a file but also _don't_
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want it to generate this platform-specific code, you should define a special
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macro before includin the header:
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```c
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#define SDL_MAIN_NOIMPL
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```
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If you are moving from SDL2, remove any references to the SDLmain static
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library from your build system, and you should be done. Things should work as
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they always have.
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If you have never controlled your process's entry point (you are using SDL
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as a module from a general-purpose scripting language interpreter, or you're
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SDL in a plugin for some otherwise-unrelated app), then there is nothing
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required of you here; there is no startup code in SDL's entry point code that
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is required, so using SDL_main.h is completely optional. Just start using
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the SDL API when you are ready.
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## Main callbacks in SDL3
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There is a second option in SDL3 for how to structure your program. This is
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completly optional and you can ignore it if you're happy using a standard
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"main" function.
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Some platforms would rather your program operate in chunks. Most of the time,
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games tend to look like this at the highest level:
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```c
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int main(int argc, char **argv)
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{
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initialize();
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while (keep_running()) {
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handle_new_events();
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do_one_frame_of_stuff();
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}
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deinitialize();
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}
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```
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There are platforms that would rather be in charge of that `while` loop:
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iOS would rather you return from main() immediately and then it will let you
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know that it's time to update and draw the next frame of video. Emscripten
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(programs that run on a web page) absolutely requires this to function at all.
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Video targets like Wayland can notify the app when to draw a new frame, to
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save battery life and cooperate with the compositor more closely.
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In most cases, you can add special-case code to your program to deal with this
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on different platforms, but SDL3 offers a system to handle transparently on
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the app's behalf.
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To use this, you have to redesign the highest level of your app a little. Once
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you do, it'll work on all supported SDL platforms without problems and
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`#ifdef`s in your code.
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Instead of providing a "main" function, under this system, you would provide
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several functions that SDL will call as appropriate.
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Using the callback entry points works on every platform, because on platforms
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that don't require them, we can fake them with a simple loop in an internal
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implementation of the usual SDL_main.
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The primary way we expect people to write SDL apps is still with SDL_main, and
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this is not intended to replace it. If the app chooses to use this, it just
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removes some platform-specific details they might have to otherwise manage,
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and maybe removes a barrier to entry on some future platform. And you might
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find you enjoy structuring your program like this more!
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## How to use main callbacks in SDL3
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To enable the callback entry points, you include SDL_main with an extra define
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from a single source file in your project:
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```c
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#define SDL_MAIN_USE_CALLBACKS
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#include <SDL3/SDL_main.h>
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```
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Once you do this, you do not include a "main" function at all (and if you do,
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the app will likely fail to link). Instead, you provide the following
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functions:
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First:
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```c
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int SDL_AppInit(int argc, char **argv);
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```
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This will be called _once_ before anything else. argc/argv work like they
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always do. If this returns 0, the app runs. If it returns < 0, the app calls
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SDL_AppQuit and terminates with an exit code that reports an error to the
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platform. If it returns > 0, the app calls SDL_AppQuit and terminates with
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an exit code that reports success to the platform. This function should not
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go into an infinite mainloop; it should do any one-time startup it requires
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and then return.
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Then:
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```c
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int SDL_AppIterate(void);
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```
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This is called over and over, possibly at the refresh rate of the display or
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some other metric that the platform dictates. This is where the heart of your
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app runs. It should return as quickly as reasonably possible, but it's not a
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"run one memcpy and that's all the time you have" sort of thing. The app
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should do any game updates, and render a frame of video. If it returns < 0,
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SDL will call SDL_AppQuit and terminate the process with an exit code that
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reports an error to the platform. If it returns > 0, the app calls
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SDL_AppQuit and terminates with an exit code that reports success to the
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platform. If it returns 0, then SDL_AppIterate will be called again at some
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regular frequency. The platform may choose to run this more or less (perhaps
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less in the background, etc), or it might just call this function in a loop
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as fast as possible. You do not check the event queue in this function
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(SDL_AppEvent exists for that).
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Next:
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```c
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int SDL_AppEvent(const SDL_Event *event);
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```
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This will be called once for each event pushed into the SDL queue. This may be
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called from any thread, and possibly in parallel to SDL_AppIterate. The fields
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in `event` do not need to be free'd (as you would normally need to do for
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SDL_EVENT_DROP_FILE, etc), and your app should not call SDL_PollEvent,
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SDL_PumpEvent, etc, as SDL will manage this for you. Return values are the
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same as from SDL_AppIterate(), so you can terminate in response to
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SDL_EVENT_QUIT, etc.
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Finally:
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```c
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void SDL_AppQuit(void);
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```
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This is called once before terminating the app--assuming the app isn't being
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forcibly killed or crashed--as a last chance to clean up. After this returns,
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SDL will call SDL_Quit so the app doesn't have to (but it's safe for the app
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to call it, too). Process termination proceeds as if the app returned normally
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from main(), so atexit handles will run, if your platform supports that.
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