SDL_UCS4ToUTF8(3)

✨ SDL_UCS4ToUTF8(3) ✨

okay bestie so this one is a little function from the SDL3 FUNCTIONS crew and honestly? it's giving "tiny but mighty" 💅

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🌸 NAME 🌸

SDL_UCS4ToUTF8 — convert a single Unicode codepoint to UTF-8. one codepoint in, up to four UTF-8 bytes out. that's the whole gig, and she does it flawlessly. periodt. ✨

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

#include <SDL3/SDL_stdinc.h>

char * SDL_UCS4ToUTF8(Uint32 codepoint, char *dst);

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so the buffer that dst points at? it must be at least 4 bytes long, no discussion, because this function may generate anywhere between 1 and 4 bytes of output. like, a tiny little codepoint might only need one byte, but some of them need the whole four. she's unpredictable in the cutest way 💖

this function returns the first byte after the newly-written UTF-8 sequence. and the way that is SO useful, okay? it means you can encode a bunch of codepoints in a loop and just keep feeding the return value back in, or you know exactly where to drop a NULL-terminator to end your string. in either of those cases, plan to have a buffer of more than 4 bytes!! like, 4 is the minimum for one call, not for a whole loop, bestie, don't do that to yourself 😭

if codepoint is an invalid value (outside the Unicode range, or a UTF-16 surrogate value, etc.), this will use U+FFFD (REPLACEMENT CHARACTER) for the codepoint instead, and it will not set an error. she's not mad, she's just gonna quietly hand you the little � and move on 🙈

if dst is NULL, this returns NULL immediately without writing to the pointer and without setting an error. no drama, no side effects, she just leaves. icon behavior honestly 👑

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💜 FUNCTION PARAMETERS 💜

• codepoint — a Unicode codepoint to convert to UTF-8. the little number you want turned into bytes 🍓
• dst — the location to write the encoded UTF-8. must point to at least 4 bytes! like actually actually. don't skip this part. 😤

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🌈 RETURN VALUE 🌈

returns the first byte past the newly-written UTF-8 sequence. that's your little bookmark for "next write goes here" 🫶

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⭐ THREAD SAFETY ⭐

it is safe to call this function from any thread. no cap, go wild, every thread gets a turn 💅

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👑 AVAILABILITY 👑

this function is available since SDL 3.2.0. if you're on anything older she simply does not exist yet, sorry bestie 🌸

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ok that's the whole page, mwah 💖 go encode something cute and remember the 4-byte minimum, i'm begging you 😭

Simple Directmedia Layer • SDL 3.4.18 • SDL_UCS4ToUTF8(3) — that's the source, the version, and the page name all wrapped up in a lil sign-off, love u, bye! 🎀✨🦋