What are the best practices for improving the frame rate in SDL2 applications?

Question

Ryan McCombe · Accepted Answer

Improving frame rate in SDL2 applications involves optimizing your game loop and handling resource-intensive tasks properly. Here are a few tips:

- **Limit Frame Rate**: Implement frame limiting to avoid overloading the CPU and GPU. You can do this by calculating the time it takes to complete each frame and delaying the next frame start using `SDL_Delay()` to maintain a consistent frame rate.
- **Optimize Rendering**: Only redraw parts of the screen that have changed. Use `SDL_RenderPresent()` on specific rectangles rather than the entire screen.
- **Use Hardware Acceleration**: Make sure to use hardware-accelerated rendering options in SDL, like using `SDL_RENDERER_ACCELERATED` when creating the renderer.

```c++
#include <SDL.h>

int main(int argc, char** argv) {
  SDL_Init(SDL_INIT_VIDEO);
  SDL_Window* window = SDL_CreateWindow(
    "Frame Rate Example", 100, 100, 640, 480, 0);

SDL_Renderer* renderer = SDL_CreateRenderer(
    window, -1, SDL_RENDERER_ACCELERATED);

bool running = true;
  SDL_Event event;
  const int targetFrameRate = 60;

// milliseconds per frame
  const int frameDelay = 1000 / targetFrameRate;

while (running) {
    auto frameStart = SDL_GetTicks();

while (SDL_PollEvent(&event)) {
      if (event.type == SDL_QUIT) running = false;
    }

SDL_SetRenderDrawColor(renderer, 0, 0, 0, 255);
    SDL_RenderClear(renderer);
    // Rendering code here
    SDL_RenderPresent(renderer);

auto frameTime = SDL_GetTicks() - frameStart;
    if (frameDelay > frameTime) {
      SDL_Delay(frameDelay - frameTime);
    }
  }

SDL_DestroyRenderer(renderer);
  SDL_DestroyWindow(window);
  SDL_Quit();
  return 0;
}
```

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