https://cppcon.org​
---

Why Every C++ Game Developer Should Learn SDL 3 Now - Mike Shah - CppCon 2025
---

The C++ programming language does not have a standard graphics library, However, there exists many popular graphics frameworks for cross-platform graphics. In this talk, I will provide an introduction to the Simple Directmedia Layer (SDL) library, which has at the start of 2025 released version 3. This library for several decades has been a standard in the games and graphics industry. Throughout this talk, I will show how to get started with the library, some more advanced examples (including compiling graphics applications to web), and then talk about what a standard graphics library could look like in C++, or if it is even necessary. I will also talk about the 3D GPU library in SDL3. Attendees will leave this talk ready to build multimedia / game applications and with an understanding on if SDL3 is the right tool for them. 
---

Slides: https://github.com/CppCon/CppCon2025/blob/main/Presentations/Graphics_Programming_with_SDL_3.pdf

Work at Hudson River Trading (HRT): https://tinyurl.com/safxfctf
---

Mike Shah
 
Mike Shah is currently a teaching faculty at Yale University with primary teaching interests  in computer systems, computer graphics, and game engines. Mike's research interests are related to performance engineering (dynamic analysis), software visualization, and computer graphics. Along with teaching and research work, Mike juggles occasional consulting work as a 3D Senior Graphics Engineer in C++ and producing programming content at his YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@MikeShah
---


CppCon is the annual, week-long face-to-face gathering for the entire C++ community. The conference is organized by the C++ community for the community. You will enjoy inspirational talks and a friendly atmosphere designed to help attendees learn from each other, meet interesting people, and generally have a stimulating experience. Taking place this year in Aurora, Colorado, near the Denver airport, and including multiple diverse tracks, the conference will appeal to anyone from C++ novices to experts.
Annual CppCon Conference - https://www.cppcon.org
https://www.linkedin.com/company/cppcon
https://x.com/cppcon
https://www.facebook.com/CppConference
https://www.reddit.com/r/cppcon/
https://mastodon.social/@CppCon
---

Videos Filmed & Edited by Bash Films: http://www.BashFilms.com
YouTube Channel Managed by Digital Medium Ltd: https://events.digital-medium.co.uk
---

#cpp #cplusplus #cppcon #cppprogramming #cplusplusprogramming #softwaredevelopment #softwareengineering #coding #code #computerscience #technology #technews #programming #programmer

ISO C++ is the official website for the C++ programming language standardization committee, providing information, resources, and updates on the evolution of the C++ language. With a focus on language features, library enhancements, and standardization efforts, ISO C++ keeps developers informed about the latest developments in C++ programming. Developers can learn about upcoming language features, review proposals for language changes, and contribute to the evolution of the C++ language through active participation in the standardization process.

A CppCon 2025 talk by Mike Shah introducing SDL3 (Simple DirectMedia Layer) for C++ game developers. Covers SDL3's cross-platform value proposition, basic window creation and event handling, 2D rendering with surfaces and textures, hardware-accelerated rendering via the SDL renderer, and the new SDL GPU API that provides a higher-level abstraction over Vulkan, Metal, and Direct3D 12. Includes live demos showing window creation, sprite animation, and GPU-rendered quads. Also touches on shader basics (vertex, fragment, compute), SPIR-V compilation, and the broader question of whether C++ should have a standard graphics library.