SDLQuit

SDL_QUIT, commonly referred to as the quit event, is an event type in the SDL (Simple DirectMedia Layer) library used to signal that an application should terminate. It is part of SDL’s event system and is defined as part of the SDL events API.

Typically, SDL_QUIT is generated when the user attempts to close a window, for example by clicking the window’s close button, or when the operating system requests the application to terminate. When this occurs, SDL posts an SDL_QUIT event to the event queue for the application to handle.

In an SDL program, SDL_QUIT is handled in the main event loop. The usual pattern is to poll events (for example with SDL_PollEvent) and check if the event type is SDL_QUIT. When such an event is received, the program should exit the main loop and proceed to clean up resources, commonly by calling SDL_Quit before terminating.

Notes and considerations include the distinction between SDL_QUIT and other termination methods such as explicit program exits. SDL_QUIT represents a user or system-initiated request to terminate, rather than an ordinary key press or in-app shutdown. Although less common, it is possible to inject an SDL_QUIT event programmatically (for testing or controlled shutdown) using the SDL event-pushing API. In practice, handling SDL_QUIT is a standard part of gracefully closing an SDL-based application across supported platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux.