Extension Libraries and Loading Other Image Formats

Last Updated: May 25th, 2024

SDL extension libraries allow you do things like load image files besides BMP, render TTF fonts, and play music. You can set up SDL_image to load PNG files, which can save you a lot of disk space. In this tutorial we'll be covering how to install SDL_image.

SDL itself is an extension library since it adds game and media functionality that doesn't come standard with your C++ compiler. As you're setting up your extension library, you'll realize it's nearly identical to installing SDL by itself. We'll be specifically installing SDL_image, but if you can install that extension library you should be able to install any of them.

After you set up SDL_image, we'll cover how to load a PNG with SDL.