(This is the documentation for SDL3, which is the current stable version. SDL2 was the previous version!)

SDL_LockSurface

Set up a surface for directly accessing the pixels.

Header File

Syntax

bool SDL_LockSurface(SDL_Surface *surface);

Function Parameters

SDL_Surface *

surface

the SDL_Surface structure to be locked.

Return Value

(bool) Returns true on success or false on failure; call SDL_GetError() for more information.

Remarks

Between calls to SDL_LockSurface() / SDL_UnlockSurface(), you can write to and read from surface->pixels, using the pixel format stored in surface->format. Once you are done accessing the surface, you should use SDL_UnlockSurface() to release it.

Not all surfaces require locking. If SDL_MUSTLOCK(surface) evaluates to 0, then you can read and write to the surface at any time, and the pixel format of the surface will not change.

Version

This function is available since SDL 3.1.3.