SDL_LoadPNG_IO(3)

💖 SDL_LoadPNG_IO 💖

okay bestie, so this one lives in the SDL3 FUNCTIONS part of the manual, and it's literally the glow-up you need when you've got a PNG chillin' in an SDL data stream and you want it to become a surface. no cap. 🦋

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✨ NAME ✨

SDL_LoadPNG_IO — load a PNG image from a seekable SDL data stream. that's the whole vibe. 🎀

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <SDL3/SDL_surface.h>

SDL_Surface * SDL_LoadPNG_IO(SDL_IOStream *src, bool closeio);

like, that's it. that's the whole function signature. slay. 💅

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💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

so the tea is: this is a convenience function for loading images from trusted sources. that part matters, bestie. if you're out here wanting to load arbitrary images — like, random stuff from the wild internet — you should be using libpng or another image loading library that was actually designed with security in mind. this one was not. i'm being so serious rn. 🫶

the new surface it hands you? yeah, you must free it with SDL_DestroySurface(). not doing so will result in a memory leak, which is giving "my laptop fan sounds like a jet engine" energy. don't do that to yourself. 😭

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🧚 FUNCTION PARAMETERS 🧚

• src — the data stream for the surface. it's the stream, it's the source, it's the moment. ⭐
• closeio — if this is true, it calls SDL_CloseIO() on src before returning, and it does this even in the case of an error. so like, it's a responsible queen that cleans up after herself no matter how things went. 👑

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🌈 RETURN VALUE 🌈

returns a pointer to a brand new SDL_Surface structure, or NULL on failure — and if you get NULL, go call SDL_GetError() for more info. it will tell you what went wrong, i promise. 🔥

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💀 THREAD SAFETY 💀

it is safe to call this function from any thread. go wild, multitask, live your main character life. ✨

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🍓 AVAILABILITY 🍓

this function has been available since SDL 3.4.0. so if you're on something older, it's not you, it's the version. 🙈

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🌟 SEE ALSO 🌟

• SDL_DestroySurface(3) — the one you call afterwards, remember? free the surface!!
• SDL_LoadPNG(3)
• SDL_SavePNG_IO(3)

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real talk though: trusted sources only. libpng exists for a reason and it's not to be ignored. 💖

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and that's the page, bestie!! brought to you by Simple Directmedia Layer, running the SDL 3.4.18 era, and stamped with the SDL_LoadPNG_IO(3) energy. go load a PNG, destroy a surface, hydrate, and slay the day away. 🎀💅🦋✨