---
name: "al_get_backbuffer"
section: "3alleg5"
platform: "linux"
package: "allegro5-doc"
version: "2:5.2.10.1+dfsg-1"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/al_get_backbuffer/3alleg5"
---

# al\_get\_backbuffer(3alleg5)

Allegro 5 API

## NAME

al\_get\_backbuffer - Allegro 5 API

## SYNOPSIS

-

  ```
  #include <allegro5/allegro.h>
  ALLEGRO_BITMAP *al_get_backbuffer(ALLEGRO_DISPLAY *display)
  ```

## DESCRIPTION

Return a special bitmap representing the back-buffer of the display.

Care should be taken when using the backbuffer bitmap (and its sub-bitmaps) as the source bitmap (e.g as the bitmap argument to al\_draw\_bitmap(3alleg5)). Only untransformed operations are hardware accelerated. These consist of al\_draw\_bitmap(3alleg5) and al\_draw\_bitmap\_region(3alleg5) when the current transformation is the identity. If the transformation is not the identity, or some other drawing operation is used, the call will be routed through the memory bitmap routines, which are slow. If you need those operations to be accelerated, then first copy a region of the backbuffer into a temporary bitmap (via the al\_draw\_bitmap(3alleg5) and al\_draw\_bitmap\_region(3alleg5)), and then use that temporary bitmap as the source bitmap.