Use of SDL_SetWindowTitle()

Changing the window title at runtime can provide useful feedback to users or developers and improve the experience of your application. Here are a few practical scenarios:

Debugging

During development, you might display diagnostic information in the window title. For example, you can show the current frames per second (FPS) or debug messages without cluttering the game window.

1void UpdateWindowTitle(
2  SDL_Window* window, int fps
3) {
4  std::string title = "Game - FPS: "
5    + std::to_string(fps);
6  SDL_SetWindowTitle(
7    window, title.c_str());
8}

User Feedback

You can use the title to convey important information, like the player’s score, the current level, or game state changes. For instance:

1void SetGameOverTitle(SDL_Window* window) {
2  SDL_SetWindowTitle(window,
3    "Game Over - Thanks for Playing!");
4}

Multi-Window Applications

If your application uses multiple windows, dynamic titles can help users distinguish between them. For example, a level editor might display the name of the level currently being edited.

1void SetWindowTitle(
2  SDL_Window* window,
3  const std::string& levelName
4) {
5  SDL_SetWindowTitle(
6    window,
7    ("Editing: " + levelName).c_str()
8  );
9}

Localization

You can update the title dynamically to match the user’s language preference:

1void SetLocalizedTitle(
2  SDL_Window* window,
3  const std::string& language
4) {
5  if (language == "en") {
6    SDL_SetWindowTitle(window, "Game");
7  } else if (language == "es") {
8    SDL_SetWindowTitle(window, "Juego");
9  }
10}

Dynamic window titles add polish to your application and can greatly enhance usability.