how to display score using SDL in c++

To display a score using SDL in C++, you can follow these steps:

  1. Include the necessary headers: In order to use SDL functions, you need to include the appropriate headers. For displaying graphics, you need to include the SDL graphics header file:
#include <SDL.h>
  1. Initialize SDL: Before using any SDL functions, you need to initialize the SDL library. This can be done using the SDL_Init() function. The SDL_INIT_VIDEO flag initializes the video subsystem, which is required for graphics:
SDL_Init(SDL_INIT_VIDEO);
  1. Create a window: To display graphics, you need to create a window using the SDL_CreateWindow() function. Specify the window title, position, and size as parameters:
SDL_Window* window = SDL_CreateWindow("Score Display", SDL_WINDOWPOS_UNDEFINED, SDL_WINDOWPOS_UNDEFINED, 800, 600, SDL_WINDOW_SHOWN);
  1. Create a renderer: A renderer is responsible for rendering graphics on the window. Create a renderer using the SDL_CreateRenderer() function. Pass the window and the index of the rendering driver (usually -1 for the first available driver) as parameters:
SDL_Renderer* renderer = SDL_CreateRenderer(window, -1, 0);
  1. Load a font: To display text, you need to load a font. SDL provides the TTF_OpenFont() function to load TrueType fonts. Specify the font file path and the font size as parameters:
TTF_Font* font = TTF_OpenFont("font.ttf", 24);
  1. Create a surface: A surface is a 2D image that can be used for rendering. To display the score, create a surface using the TTF_RenderText_Solid() function. Pass the font, score text, and color as parameters:
SDL_Surface* scoreSurface = TTF_RenderText_Solid(font, "Score: 100", {255, 255, 255});
  1. Create a texture: A texture is a GPU-accelerated image that can be rendered on the screen. Create a texture using the SDL_CreateTextureFromSurface() function. Pass the renderer and the score surface as parameters:
SDL_Texture* scoreTexture = SDL_CreateTextureFromSurface(renderer, scoreSurface);
  1. Clear the renderer: Before rendering new graphics, clear the renderer using the SDL_RenderClear() function:
SDL_RenderClear(renderer);
  1. Render the texture: Render the score texture on the renderer using the SDL_RenderCopy() function. Pass the renderer, score texture, source rectangle (NULL for the entire texture), and destination rectangle (where to render the texture) as parameters:
SDL_RenderCopy(renderer, scoreTexture, NULL, NULL);
  1. Present the renderer: After rendering all graphics, present the renderer on the window using the SDL_RenderPresent() function:
SDL_RenderPresent(renderer);
  1. Delay and quit: Add a delay to display the score for a certain amount of time, and then quit the program. Use the SDL_Delay() function to introduce a delay, and SDL_Quit() function to clean up SDL resources:
SDL_Delay(3000); // Delay for 3 seconds
SDL_Quit();

Remember to include the necessary SDL libraries and link against them during compilation. For example, using g++ compiler:

g++ main.cpp -o main -lSDL2 -lSDL2_ttf

That's it! By following these steps, you should be able to display a score using SDL in C++.