packfile_password(3alleg4)

✨ packfile_password ✨

okay bestie, gather round, because this is the Allegro manual's page on packfile_password — yes it's from the Allegro game programming library, and yes it's giving "one tiny function, absolutely massive consequences" 💅

🌸 NAME 🌸

packfile_password — sets the global I/O encryption password. It's part of the Allegro game programming library, periodt.

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

#include <allegro.h>

void packfile_password(const char *password);

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

So like, this function sets the encryption password that's gonna be used for all read/write operations on files opened in the future using Allegro's packfile functions — whether those files are compressed or not, bestie, doesn't matter. And that includes all the save, load and config routines too. The way it works is lowkey intense: files written with an encryption password cannot be read unless the same password is selected, so be careful!! If you forget the key, nobody can make your data come back again 😭 that's not a vibe, that's a tragedy.

Wanna go back to normal, non-encrypted mode? Pass NULL or an empty string. Easy 🫶

And if you're using this function to stop people from getting access to your datafiles, be careful not to store an obvious copy of the password in your executable — like if there are any strings sitting in there like "I'm the password for the datafile", it would be fairly easy to get access to your data :-) not me calling you out but like. bestie. pls.

Note #1: when you're writing a packfile, you can change the password to whatever you want after opening the file, and it won't affect the write operation. On the contrary (iconic phrasing, keeping it), when you're writing a sub-chunk of a packfile, you must make sure that the password that was active at the time the sub-chunk was opened is still active before closing the sub-chunk. This is guaranteed to be true if you didn't call the packfile_password() routine in the meantime. Read operations — either on packfiles or sub-chunks — have no such restriction. slay, reads are chill.

Note #2: as explained above, the password is used for all read/write operations on files, including for several functions of the library that operate on files without explicitly using packfiles (e.g. load_bitmap()). The unencrypted mode is mandatory in order for those functions to work. So remember to call packfile_password(NULL) before using them if you previously changed the password. As a rule of thumb: always call packfile_password(NULL) when you're done with operations on packfiles. The only exception to this is custom packfiles created with pack_fopen_vtable(). iykyk ✨

🚨 bestie PSA: forget your password and your data is gone gone. no undo, no backup, no "wait let me try again". guard that string with your life 👑

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

• pack_fopen(3alleg4)
• load_datafile(3alleg4)
• pack_fopen_vtable(3alleg4)

k bye bestie, go encrypt responsibly 💖✨🎀 this was the Allegro manual, version 4.4.3 — mwah, catch you on the next page 🌸🦋💅