Using SDL with Microsoft Visual C++ =================================== ### by Lion Kimbro with additions by James Turk You can either use the precompiled libraries from the [SDL](https://www.libsdl.org/download.php) web site, or you can build SDL yourself. ### Building SDL 0. To build SDL, your machine must, at a minimum, have the DirectX9.0c SDK installed. It may or may not be retrievable from the [Microsoft](https://www.microsoft.com) website, so you might need to locate it [online](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=directx9.0c+sdk+download&t=h_&ia=web). _Editor's note: I've been able to successfully build SDL using Visual Studio 2019 **without** the DX9.0c SDK_ 1. Open the Visual Studio solution file at `./VisualC/SDL.sln`. 2. Your IDE will likely prompt you to upgrade this solution file to whatever later version of the IDE you're using. In the `Retarget Projects` dialog, all of the affected project files should be checked allowing you to use the latest `Windows SDK Version` you have installed, along with the `Platform Toolset`. If you choose *NOT* to upgrade to use the latest `Windows SDK Version` or `Platform Toolset`, then you'll need the `Visual Studio 2010 Platform Toolset`. 3. Build the `.dll` and `.lib` files by right clicking on each project in turn (Projects are listed in the _Workspace_ panel in the _FileView_ tab), and selecting `Build`. You may get a few warnings, but you should not get any errors. Later, we will refer to the following `.lib` and `.dll` files that have just been generated: - `./VisualC/Win32/Debug/SDL3.dll` or `./VisualC/Win32/Release/SDL3.dll` - `./VisualC/Win32/Debug/SDL3.lib` or `./VisualC/Win32/Release/SDL3.lib` _Note for the `x64` versions, just replace `Win32` in the path with `x64`_ ### Creating a Project with SDL - Create a project as a `Win32 Application`. - Create a C++ file for your project. - Set the C runtime to `Multi-threaded DLL` in the menu: `Project|Settings|C/C++ tab|Code Generation|Runtime Library `. - Add the SDL `include` directory to your list of includes in the menu: `Project|Settings|C/C++ tab|Preprocessor|Additional include directories ` *VC7 Specific: Instead of doing this, I find it easier to add the include and library directories to the list that VC7 keeps. Do this by selecting Tools|Options|Projects|VC++ Directories and under the "Show Directories For:" dropbox select "Include Files", and click the "New Directory Icon" and add the [SDLROOT]\\include directory (e.g. If you installed to c:\\SDL\\ add c:\\SDL\\include). Proceed to change the dropbox selection to "Library Files" and add [SDLROOT]\\lib.* The "include directory" I am referring to is the `./include` folder. Now we're going to use the files that we had created earlier in the *Build SDL* step. Copy the following file into your Project directory: - `SDL3.dll` Add the following file to your project (It is not necessary to copy it to your project directory): - `SDL3.lib` To add them to your project, right click on your project, and select `Add files to project`. **Instead of adding the files to your project, it is more desirable to add them to the linker options: Project|Properties|Linker|Command Line and type the names of the libraries to link with in the "Additional Options:" box. Note: This must be done for each build configuration (e.g. Release,Debug).** ### Hello SDL Here's a sample SDL snippet to verify everything is setup in your IDE: ``` #include #include // only include this one in the source file with main()! int main( int argc, char* argv[] ) { const int WIDTH = 640; const int HEIGHT = 480; SDL_Window* window = NULL; SDL_Renderer* renderer = NULL; SDL_Init(SDL_INIT_VIDEO); window = SDL_CreateWindow("Hello SDL", WIDTH, HEIGHT, 0); renderer = SDL_CreateRenderer(window, NULL, SDL_RENDERER_ACCELERATED | SDL_RENDERER_PRESENTVSYNC); SDL_DestroyRenderer(renderer); SDL_DestroyWindow(window); SDL_Quit(); return 0; } ``` ### That's it! I hope that this document has helped you get through the most difficult part of using the SDL: installing it. Suggestions for improvements should be posted to the [Github Issues](https://github.com/libsdl-org/SDL/issues). ### Credits Thanks to [Paulus Esterhazy](mailto:pesterhazy@gmx.net), for the work on VC++ port. This document was originally called "VisualC.txt", and was written by [Sam Lantinga](mailto:slouken@libsdl.org). Later, it was converted to HTML and expanded into the document that you see today by [Lion Kimbro](mailto:snowlion@sprynet.com). Minor Fixes and Visual C++ 7 Information (In Green) was added by [James Turk](mailto:james@conceptofzero.net)