SDL_GetError

Use this function to retrieve a message about the last error that occurred.

Syntax

const char* SDL_GetError(void)

Return Value

Returns a message with information about the specific error that occurred, or an empty string if there hasn't been an error since the last call to SDL_ClearError(). Without calling SDL_ClearError(), the message is only applicable when an SDL function has signaled an error. You must check the return values of SDL function calls to determine when to appropriately call SDL_GetError().

Code Examples

if (SDL_Init(SDL_INIT_EVERYTHING) < 0) {
    // Unrecoverable error, exit here.
    printf("SDL_Init failed: %s\n", SDL_GetError());
}

Note: Although this example uses SDL_Init(), SDL_GetError() provides an error message for any failed SDL operation which supports error reporting, see the wiki page for each particular SDL function.

Remarks

It is possible for multiple errors to occur before calling SDL_GetError(). Only the last error is returned.

The returned string is statically allocated and must not be freed by the application.

Related Functions

• SDL_ClearError

• SDL_SetError

CategoryAPI, CategoryError