SDL_GetKeyboardState(3)

📦
version 3.4.18 · 9 versions
, in fedora 43, fedora 44

💖 SDL_GetKeyboardState 💖

okay bestie, so this is a page from the SDL3 FUNCTIONS manual, and it's genuinely one of the most useful little gremlins in the whole keyboard family. let's get into it 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

SDL_GetKeyboardState — grab a snapshot of the current state of the keyboard 📸⌨️

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <SDL3/SDL_keyboard.h>

const bool * SDL_GetKeyboardState(int *numkeys);

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so the pointer you get back? it's a pointer to an internal SDL array. like, SDL's own array. it stays valid for the whole lifetime of the application, and you should not free it yourself — not your array, not your problem, hands off 💅

if an element in that array is true, that key is pressed. if it's false, it is not. periodt. and the way you index into it is by using SDL_Scancode values. iykyk 🔑

want the state array to actually update? call SDL_PumpEvents(). that's the vibe check that refreshes everything 🫶

this function hands you the current state after all events have been processed. which means — and this is the important part, don't skip it — if a key or button got pressed and released before you ever processed events, then that pressed state will never show up in your SDL_GetKeyboardState() calls. it's gone. poof. not coming back 😭

Note: this function doesn't take into account whether shift has been pressed or not. like, shift is simply not part of the conversation here 🙈

✨ FUNCTION PARAMETERS ✨

  • numkeys — if it's non-NULL, it receives the length of the returned array. if it's NULL, she just doesn't tell you the length, no biggie 🌸

✨ RETURN VALUE ✨

Returns a pointer to an array of key states. that's the whole gift 🎁

✨ THREAD SAFETY ✨

it is safe to call this function from any thread. yes bestie, any. go off 👑

✨ AVAILABILITY ✨

this function is available since SDL 3.2.0 ⭐

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

Simple Directmedia Layer • SDL 3.4.18 • SDL_GetKeyboardState(3)

and that's the whole page, bestie 🦋 mwah, go press some keys — this doc is from Simple Directmedia Layer, SDL 3.4.18, and it's literally titled SDL_GetKeyboardState(3). slay 💖✨

📦 where this page comes from