SDL Wiki

FAQ: Using SDL

How do I choose a specific video driver?

You can set the environment variable "SDL_VIDEODRIVER" to the name of the driver you want to use. The drivers available depend on the platform and SDL compile-time options. Here is a partial list for some platforms:

Linux

Name

Description

1.2

2.0

x11

(default) Use the X11 windowing system

yes

yes

dga

Use XFree86 DGA 2.0 for fullscreen hardware acceleration

yes

fbcon

Use the framebuffer console

yes

directfb

Use the DirectFB API

yes

yes

svgalib

Use the SVGAlib API

yes

ggi

Use the General Graphics Interface API

yes

aalib

Use the Ascii Art library

yes

wayland

Use Wayland protocol for hardware acceleration

yes

kmsdrm

Use Direct Rendering Manager / Kernel Mode Setting

yes

Win32

Name

Description

1.2

2.0

directx

(default) Use the DirectDraw API

yes

windib

Use the standard Win32 GDI

yes

windows

Use SDL Windows video driver

yes

How do I choose a specific audio driver?

You can set the environment variable "SDL_AUDIODRIVER" to the name of the driver you want to use. The drivers available depend on the platform and SDL compile-time options. Here is a partial list for some platforms:

Linux

Name

Description

1.2

2.0

pulseaudio

(default) Use PulseAudio

yes

pulse

Use PulseAudio

yes

alsa

Use ALSA PCM audio

yes

yes

artsc

Connect to the ARTS audio daemon

yes

arts

Use Analog RealTime Synthesizer

yes

yes

esd

Connect to the ESound audio daemon

yes

yes

jack

Use Jack Audio Connection Kit

yes

pipewire

Use PipeWire

yes

disk

Write audio output to sdlaudio.raw file

yes

yes

dsp

Use the OSS API by opening /dev/dsp

yes

yes

dma

Use the OSS API to perform DMA access on /dev/dsp

yes

Win32

Name

Description

1.2

2.0

dsound

(default) Use the DirectSound API

yes

waveout

Use the Win32 MultiMedia API

yes

directsound

Use DirectSound

yes

winmm

Use Windows Waveform Audio

yes

What environment variables are used by SDL?

Mattias EngdegÄrd has made a partial list of the environment variables that SDL may use. Keep in mind that these environment variables are not officially supported, and may change or go away at any time. ftp://ptah.lnf.kth.se/pub/misc/sdl-env-vars

Why does SDL disable my screensaver by default?

Many applications using SDL are games or screensavers or media players where the user is either watching something for an extended period of time or using joystick input which generally does not prevent the screensaver from kicking on.

You can disable this behavior by setting the environment variable: SDL_VIDEO_ALLOW_SCREENSAVER=1 This can be set globally for the user or on a per-application basis in code.

In SDL 2.0.2 this can also be changed by setting the hint SDL_HINT_VIDEO_ALLOW_SCREENSAVER.

Additionally, SDL 2.0 provides the function SDL_EnableScreenSaver().


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