al_get_allegro_version(3alleg5)

✨ al_get_allegro_version ✨

okay bestie, welcome to the Allegro reference manual page for al_get_allegro_version — yes the whole manual name is in the title up there, al_get_allegro_version(3alleg5), we're not hiding it 💖. This one's short and sweet and it's giving "I just want to know what version I'm running" energy. Let's go 🦋

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🌸 NAME 🌸

al_get_allegro_version — the Allegro 5 API function that tells you what version you've got, no cap 💅

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

#include <allegro5/allegro.h>

uint32_t al_get_allegro_version(void)

look at her. no arguments, just vibes. she takes void and gives you back a uint32_t 🫶

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

So basically, al_get_allegro_version returns the compiled version of the Allegro library — as in, the version you actually built against, not some runtime surprise — and it squishes the whole thing into one single integer like the little packing genius it is. The bits are grouped in chunks of 8, in this exact shape:

(major << 24) | (minor << 16) | (revision << 8) | release

four little 8-bit besties stacked in one uint32_t. iconic behaviour, honestly 🌈

Wanna crack it open? Here's the code, copy it exactly, no editing the recipe:

uint32_t version = al_get_allegro_version();
int major = version >> 24;
int minor = (version >> 16) & 255;
int revision = (version >> 8) & 255;
int release = version & 255;

and now the part you actually need to know for the vibe check 🍓 — that release number? It's 0 for an unofficial version, and 1 or greater for an official release. So for example, "5.0.2[1]" would be the (first) official 5.0.2 release, while "5.0.2[0]" would be a compile of a version from the "5.0.2" branch before the official release dropped. so like… the pre-release era, the beta era, the "we're still cooking" era 🧚

lowkey important: 0 in that release slot means it's not an official release, so don't be out here treating it like one, bestie 😭

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and that's the whole page, periodt 👑

bye bestie, go forth and version-check 💜 — this was the Allegro reference manual, al_get_allegro_version(3alleg5), signing off 🎀