PHYSFS_init

Initialize the PhysicsFS library.

Header File

Syntax

int PHYSFS_init(const char *argv0);

Function Parameters

const char *

argv0

the argv[0] string passed to your program's mainline, or some other system-specific values.

Return Value

(int) Returns nonzero on success, zero on error. Specifics of the error can be gleaned from PHYSFS_getLastError().

Remarks

This must be called before any other PhysicsFS function.

This should be called prior to any attempts to change your process's current working directory.

argv0 may be NULL on most platforms (such as ones without a standard main() function), but you should always try to pass something in here when reasonable. Many Unix-like systems need to pass argv[0] from main() in here. However several platforms have special needs:

On Android, argv0 should be a non-NULL pointer to a PHYSFS_AndroidInit struct. This struct must hold a valid JNIEnv * and a JNI jobject of a Context (either the application context or the current Activity is fine). Both are cast to a void * so we don't need jni.h included wherever physfs.h is. PhysicsFS uses these objects to query some system details. PhysicsFS does not hold a reference to the JNIEnv or Context past the call to PHYSFS_init(). If you pass a NULL here, PHYSFS_init can still succeed, but PHYSFS_getBaseDir() and PHYSFS_getPrefDir() will be incorrect.
On Playdate, argv0 should be a non-NULL pointer to a PlaydateAPI struct. PhysicsFS uses this object for system-level access and will hold it until PHYSFS_deinit is called. If you pass a NULL here, PhysicsFS will crash.
On libretro, argv0 should be a non-NULL pointer to the retro_environment_t callback. PhysicsFS will use this callback to get libretro's virtual file system interface, along with any other related directory paths.

If argv0 is NULL, PhysicsFS will attempt to work without it, if possible.

Thread Safety

This function is not thread safe.

Version

This function is available since PhysicsFS 1.0.0.