SDL_SIZE_MAX(3)

SDL_SIZE_MAX 💖

okay bestie, so this is a page from the SDL3 FUNCTIONS manual, and it's a tiny one but it's important, so lock in for like thirty seconds 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

SDL_SIZE_MAX — the absolute biggest value that a size_t can hold on whatever platform you're targeting. that's it. that's the whole job. 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <SDL3/SDL_stdinc.h>

#define SDL_SIZE_MAX SIZE_MAX

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so, size_t? in modern times it's generally the same size as a pointer. cute, consistent, iconic. but — and this is the part where it gets weird — on very old and very esoteric machines, that whole "same size as a pointer" thing can get deeply unhinged. 😭

take the example in the original: on a 16-bit Intel 286, you might have a 32-bit "far" pointer — that's a 16-bit segment plus a 16-bit offset, bestie — but size_t is only 16 bits there. why?? because it can only deal with the offset into an individual segment. like. it literally cannot see past its own segment. it's giving nearsighted. 💀

in modern times, though, it's generally expected to cover an entire linear address space. slay. but be careful! ⚠️

no cap, do not assume size_t is pointer-sized on every machine you'll ever touch. the vibes are modern, the edge cases are ancient. 🙈

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👑 AVAILABILITY 👑

this macro has been available since SDL 3.2.0. so if you're on anything older than that, she is simply not there yet, sorry bestie. 💜

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💜 SEE ALSO 💜

(the original page has no SEE ALSO section, so there's nothing to link here — go read the rest of SDL_stdinc.h if you want the full friend group ✨)

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kisses, this page came to you from Simple Directmedia Layer, version SDL 3.4.18, dated SDL_SIZE_MAX(3) — and yes, the whole thing is filed under SDL3 FUNCTIONS because that's her house 🏠 💖🎀🦋🌸⭐