In SDL2, SDL_Renderer
and SDL_Surface
are two different ways to render graphics, each with its own use cases and advantages.
An SDL_Surface
is a pixel buffer that represents an image in memory. It contains the pixel data and format information. You can manipulate the pixels directly and perform software-based rendering using an SDL_Surface
.
Here's an example of creating an SDL_Surface
and filling it with a solid color:
SDL_Surface* surface{SDL_CreateRGBSurface(
0, width, height, 32, 0, 0, 0, 0)};
SDL_FillRect(surface, nullptr, SDL_MapRGB(
surface->format, 255, 0, 0));
An SDL_Renderer
is a rendering context that provides hardware-accelerated 2D rendering. It abstracts the rendering process and allows you to draw primitives, textures, and perform transformations efficiently.
Here's an example of creating an SDL_Renderer
and drawing a rectangle:
SDL_Renderer* renderer{SDL_CreateRenderer(
window, -1, 0)};
SDL_SetRenderDrawColor(renderer, 255, 0, 0, 255);
SDL_RenderClear(renderer);
SDL_Rect rect = {100, 100, 200, 150};
SDL_RenderFillRect(renderer, &rect);
SDL_RenderPresent(renderer);
SDL_Surface
 is suitable for software rendering and direct pixel manipulation, while SDL_Renderer
 provides hardware-accelerated rendering.SDL_Surface
 is generally slower for rendering compared to SDL_Renderer
 but offers more low-level control over pixels.SDL_Renderer
 is preferred for efficient rendering of complex graphics, such as textures, primitives, and transformations.SDL_Surface
 can be converted to a texture using SDL_CreateTextureFromSurface
 for rendering with an SDL_Renderer
.In most cases, using SDL_Renderer
is recommended for better performance and modern rendering techniques. However, SDL_Surface
is still useful for specific tasks like pixel-level manipulations or software-based rendering algorithms.
Answers to questions are automatically generated and may not have been reviewed.
This guide walks you through the process of compiling SDL2, SDL_image, and SDL_ttf libraries from source