SDL_GetWindowBordersSize(3)

💅 SDL_GetWindowBordersSize(3) — SDL3 FUNCTIONS, bestie edition 🎀

okay so this is a page from the SDL3 manual, and today we're talking about SDL_GetWindowBordersSize — the function that tells you how chunky your window's decorations are. 🪟✨

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✨ NAME ✨

SDL_GetWindowBordersSize — get the size of a window's borders (decorations) around the client area.

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <SDL3/SDL_video.h>

bool SDL_GetWindowBordersSize(SDL_Window *window, int *top, int *left, int *bottom, int *right);

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So basically, you hand it a window and four pointers, and it fills in the sizes of the decorations around the client area. Easy. But listen, there's lore. 👑

Note: if this function fails (returns false), the size values get initialized to 0, 0, 0, 0 (if a non-NULL pointer is provided), as if the window in question was borderless. So like… zero vibes. No decorations. Nothing. 🙈

Note: this function may fail on systems where the window has not yet been decorated by the display server — for example, immediately after calling SDL_CreateWindow. It is recommended that you wait at least until the window has been presented and composited, so that the window system has a chance to decorate the window and provide the border dimensions to SDL. fr fr, give the display server a sec to do its little outfit change. 💅

This function also returns false if getting the information is not supported. not every system wants to spill the tea, and that's just how it is. 😭

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🎀 FUNCTION PARAMETERS 🎀

• window — the window to query the size values of the border (decorations) from. the main character of this whole operation, obviously.
• top — pointer to variable for storing the size of the top border; NULL is permitted. yeah you can just. not care about the top. valid.
• left — pointer to variable for storing the size of the left border; NULL is permitted.
• bottom — pointer to variable for storing the size of the bottom border; NULL is permitted.
• right — pointer to variable for storing the size of the right border; NULL is permitted.

like, all four of them are optional-optional. pass NULL for whichever ones you don't want and it won't even be mad at you. 🫶

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⭐ RETURN VALUE ⭐

Returns true on success or false on failure — and if it's giving failure, call SDL_GetError() for more information. that's your group chat message telling you what actually went wrong. 📱

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💜 THREAD SAFETY 💜

This function should only be called on the main thread. only. the main thread. no side-quests, no background threads, no "but I thought it would be fine" — main thread only, periodt. 🚫🧵

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🌈 AVAILABILITY 🌈

This function is available since SDL 3.2.0. so if you're on something older, it's simply not there and no amount of manifesting will summon it. 💀

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

• SDL_GetWindowSize(3)

the sibling. the other one. go read it too, iykyk. 🔥

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and that's the whole page bestie!! this one came from Simple Directmedia Layer, version SDL 3.4.18 — and the date slot at the bottom is just vibing empty, so we're not even gonna pretend. mwah, go get those border sizes. 💖🎀🦋