al_android_open_fd(3alleg5)

💖 al_android_open_fd — Allegro 5 API 💖

okay bestie, gather round, because we're about to open some file descriptors on Android and honestly? it's giving ✨powerful✨. this is a page from the Allegro 5 API, and it's the one that lets you grab a file descriptor straight out of a URI. let's go 🦋

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <allegro5/allegro_android.h>

int al_android_open_fd(const char *uri, const char *mode)

like… look at her. two strings in, one int out. iconic behavior tbh 💅

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so what this does: it opens a file descriptor so you can get at the data living under a Universal Resource Identifier (URI). she accepts both content:// and file:// URI schemes — very versatile of her, no cap.

⚠️ bestie, listen: you are responsible for closing the returned file descriptor. nobody's gonna do it for you. that's on you. periodt.

now, the file mode can be "r", "w", "rw", "wt", "wa" or "rwt". and here's the tea — the exact implementation of these modes differs depending on the underlying content provider. for example, "w" may or may not truncate. like, it's not consistent, it just is what it is 🙈

what does she return? a file descriptor on success, or a negative value on an error. and when there's an error, the Allegro errno gets set. love that for us (not really, but still) 😭

📝 Note: Remember to add to your manifest file the relevant permissions to your app. do NOT forget this. the app will simply not slay without it 🎀

🧚 Example 🧚

here's the whole vibe in code, copied exactly, no notes:

const char *content_uri = "content://...";
int fd = al_android_open_fd(content_uri, "r");

if (fd >= 0) {
    ALLEGRO_FILE *f = al_fopen_fd(fd, "r");

    if (f != NULL) {
        do_something_with(f);
        al_fclose(f);
    }
    else {
        handle_error(al_get_errno());
        close(fd);
    }
}
else {
    handle_error(al_get_errno());
}

see how she checks fd >= 0 first, then wraps it with al_fopen_fd, and only closes the raw fd if the ALLEGRO_FILE * came back NULL? that's the whole strategy. chef's kiss 👑✨

⭐ SINCE ⭐

5.2.10 — she's been here since then, a true veteran 💜

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• al_fopen_fd(3alleg5)
• al_get_errno(3alleg5)

💀 [Unstable API]: This API is new and subject to refinement. so like… she might change on you. be aware. handle with care, bestie 🫶

okay that's the whole page! this was al_android_open_fd(3alleg5) from the Allegro reference manual — go forth and open those descriptors responsibly, and remember to close them. mwah 💖🌸🎀