al_create_sample(3alleg5)

al_create_sample 💖✨

okay bestie, this is from the Allegro 5 API manual — yes, the audio one, and yes, it's giving main character energy because this is the function that literally makes samples exist. 🎀

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NAME 🦋

al_create_sample — Allegro 5 API

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SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <allegro5/allegro_audio.h>

ALLEGRO_SAMPLE *al_create_sample(void *buf, unsigned int samples,
   unsigned int freq, ALLEGRO_AUDIO_DEPTH depth,
   ALLEGRO_CHANNEL_CONF chan_conf, bool free_buf)

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DESCRIPTION 💅

So basically, this function builds a sample data structure out of the buffer you hand it. That's it, that's the vibe. 🌸

Now listen — free_buf is the one you have to pay attention to, fr fr. If free_buf is true, then the buffer gets freed with al_free(3alleg5) when the sample data structure gets destroyed. But for portability (and especially on Windows, no cap 👀), the buffer should have been allocated with al_malloc(3alleg5). If you don't do that, then you're on your own — you have to free the sample data yourself. Not me forgetting to free it and leaking memory 😭💀

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okay so what even IS a "sample" here 🧚

A sample that's referred to by the samples parameter refers to a sequence of channel intensities. Like, if you're making a stereo sample with samples set to 4, then the layout of the data in buf is gonna be:

LRLRLRLR

Where L and R are the intensities for the left and right channels respectively. So one single sample, in this example, refers to the LR pair. Iconic little pair, honestly. 🫶

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how to allocate a buffer of the right size 🌈

To allocate a buffer of the correct size, you can do something like this:

int sample_size = al_get_channel_count(chan_conf)
                  * al_get_audio_depth_size(depth);
int bytes = samples * sample_size;
void *buffer = al_malloc(bytes);

Slay. Now you got your bytes, now you got your buffer, now you go make a sample. 💖

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SEE ALSO ⭐

• al_destroy_sample(3alleg5)
• ALLEGRO_AUDIO_DEPTH(3alleg5)
• ALLEGRO_CHANNEL_CONF(3alleg5)

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and that's the whole page bestie, every flag, every arg, every byte, untouched, periodt 💅

mwah 💋 — this was the <b>Allegro reference manual</b> page for al_create_sample (that's the 3alleg5 fam, Allegro 5 era), and honestly? ate. bye bestie, go make some noise 🎧🔥