SDL_hid_open_path(3)

✨ SDL_hid_open_path(3) ✨

okay bestie, welcome to the SDL3 FUNCTIONS corner of the manual, where we're talking about SDL_hid_open_path 💖

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🎀 NAME 🎀

SDL_hid_open_path — open a HID device by its path name. that's it, that's the whole vibe 🦋

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <SDL3/SDL_hidapi.h>

SDL_hid_device * SDL_hid_open_path(const char *path);

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💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

so here's the tea ☕ — you wanna grab yourself a HID device, and you're gonna do it by path name.

where does that path come from, you ask? two options, queen:

• you call SDL_hid_enumerate() and let it hand you the path, or
• you just roll up with a platform-specific path name that you already know, like eg: /dev/hidraw0 on Linux 🐧

either way works. pick your fighter. no cap.

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🫶 FUNCTION PARAMETERS 🫶

• path — the path name of the device you wanna open. that's the one. the whole assignment. 🌈

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⭐ RETURN VALUE ⭐

• on success? you get a pointer to a SDL_hid_device object. iconic. we love to see it 👑
• on failure? you get NULL. tragic. devastating. not the moment. 😭

if you got that NULL, do not just sit there spiraling — call SDL_GetError() for more information, bestie. it'll tell you what went wrong fr fr.

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💜 AVAILABILITY 💜

this function has been available since SDL 3.2.0 ✨ so if you're on something older, sorry babe, you're out of luck.

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lowkey reminder: NULL is not a personality trait, it's an error state. check SDL_GetError() before you start blaming yourself 🙈

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and that's the whole page, bestie!! this was brought to you by Simple Directmedia Layer, running SDL 3.4.18, and yes we are literally still talking about SDL_hid_open_path(3) at the very end because consistency is main character energy 💅💖🌸