DRAFT

Byte Order and Byte Swapping

Include File(s): SDL_endian.h

Contents

Introduction

This category contains functions for handling endian-specific values.

Endianness comes in two forms - big and little.

SDL_LIL_ENDIAN means byte order is 1234, where the smaller (little) numbered position comes first
SDL_BIG_ENDIAN means byte order is 4321, where the larger (big) numbered position comes first
Example: Imagine the hexadecimal sequence in byte form of DE AD BE EF
- When the bytes are read as a little-endian value, the bytes are read lowest byte first, producing the value:
  - 0xEFBEADDE
  When the bytes are read as a big-endian value, the bytes are read highest byte first, producing the value:
  - 0xDEADBEEF

SDL_BYTEORDER is a macro that corresponds to the byte order used by the processor type it was compiled for.

SDL_BYTEORDER is SDL_LIL_ENDIAN for x86, x64, and similar systems that use the little endian byte order.
SDL_BYTEORDER is SDL_BIG_ENDIAN for PowerPC Mac and similar systems that use the big endian byte order.