set_uformat(3)

📦 version 4.4.3.1, in fedora 43, fedora 44

💖 set_uformat 💖

okay bestie, gather round, because this is the Allegro manual page for set_uformat, and she is lowkey a queen 👑

✨ NAME ✨

set_uformat — sets the global current text encoding format, and she is part of the Allegro game programming library 🌸

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

#include <allegro.h>

void set_uformat(int type);

👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

So like, this function sets the current text encoding format. And when I say it affects everything, I mean it — this touches every single part of Allegro, literally anywhere you see a function that hands you back a char *, or that takes a char * as a parameter. all of it. the whole vibe shifts 💅

That type you're passing in? It's gotta be one of these four icons:

  • U_ASCII — fixed size, 8-bit ASCII characters ✨
  • U_ASCII_CP — alternative 8-bit codepage (peep set_ucodepage() for that one 👀)
  • U_UNICODE — fixed size, 16-bit Unicode characters 💜
  • U_UTF8 — variable size, UTF-8 format Unicode characters 🌈

💀 THE BIG WARNING 💀

okay so here's the thing, and I need you to actually hear me on this one. You can change the text format on the fly. Technically. But this is not a good idea. Not even a little. 🙈

Here's why, bestie: a bunch of strings — like the names of your hardware drivers, and any language translations — get loaded the moment you call allegro_init(). So if you go and change the encoding format after that? Those strings are now sitting there in the wrong format, and things will not work properly. like, at all. it's giving chaos 😭

So the move, the only move, the main character move is: call set_uformat() once, before allegro_init(), and then just… leave it on that same setting for the entire duration of your program. periodt. 🫶

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

k bye bestie, go set your format once and never touch it again, mwah 💖

this whole thing came to you straight from the Allegro manual, version 4.4.3, and yeah, it's set_uformat(3) — slay, that's a wrap ⭐ 🎀

📦 where this page comes from