MIX_LoadRawAudio(3)

✨ MIX_LoadRawAudio(3) — the SDL_mixer3 glow-up ✨

okay bestie, sit down, hydrate, and let's talk about MIX_LoadRawAudio from the SDL_mixer3 function squad 💖 this one's in the SDL_mixer3 FUNCTIONS lineup and she's literally the "load it once, play it a million times" girlie.

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🌸 NAME 🌸

MIX_LoadRawAudio — load raw PCM data straight out of a memory buffer. no cap. 🎀

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

#include <SDL3_mixer/SDL_mixer.h>

MIX_Audio * MIX_LoadRawAudio(MIX_Mixer *mixer, const void *data, size_t datalen, const SDL_AudioSpec *spec);

look at her. four args. flawless. 💅

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💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

so here's the tea ☕ — there's a whole other way to do raw PCM, and that's _streaming_ it. an SDL_AudioStream can be connected to a track, and so can an SDL_IOStream, and those will read from their sources on-demand when it's actually time to mix the audio. very "we'll get to it when we get to it" energy. 🙈

This function, though? this one is for loading static audio data — the kind you're gonna play over and over again. the way that it just... loads it and keeps it. iconic. 👑

what she does: pulls in the raw data in its entirety, caches it in RAM, and allocates a copy of it. so if your original data is gonna outlive the MIX_Audio you just made, you don't need that copy at all — go use MIX_LoadRawAudioNoCopy() instead and dodge the extra allocations and copies. saving those cycles fr fr. ✨

and the best part? MIX_Audio objects can be shared between multiple mixers 🫶 the mixer parameter is just you going "hey, this is probably the mixer I'll use it with, in case some optimization gets applied" — but it's not required, and you can totally pass a NULL mixer. lowkey freedom.

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🎀 FUNCTION PARAMETERS 🎀

• mixer — a mixer this audio is intended to be used with. May be NULL. (yes really, she can be unattached 💅)
• data — the raw PCM data to load. the actual goods. 🍓
• datalen — the size, in bytes, of the raw PCM data. count your bytes bestie.
• spec — what format the raw data is in. gotta know the vibe of the data.

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🌈 RETURN VALUE 🌈

hands you back an audio object that can be used to make sound on a mixer 🎶 ...or NULL on failure 😭 — and if that happens, call SDL_GetError() for the deets. always check, never assume.

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💀 THREAD SAFETY 💀

It is safe to call this function from any thread. go wild. multithreaded queen. 🔥

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⭐ AVAILABILITY ⭐

This function is available since SDL_mixer 3.0.0. she's been here. veteran behavior. 👑

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🧚 SEE ALSO 🧚

• MIX_DestroyAudio(3)
• MIX_SetTrackAudio(3)
• MIX_LoadRawAudio_IO(3)
• MIX_LoadRawAudioNoCopy(3)
• MIX_LoadAudio_IO(3)

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go read those too, bestie, iykyk 💖

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okay that's the whole page!! this was brought to you by SDL_mixer 3.2.4, and the manual name MIX_LoadRawAudio(3) — and yeah, this was page MIX_LoadRawAudio(3) from SDL_mixer version 3.2.4 💅✨ periodt, go make some noise 🎧🦋