What's the equivalent of XInput* functions in Linux?

Question

I'm porting an application that uses the Xbox controller to Linux. On windows, it essentially just uses XInputGetState() to read the state of the controller, so I'm looking for a replacement for that function on Linux.

I see that wine hasn't implemented XInputGetState(), but at the same time there are a large number of games supporting the Xbox controller on Linux, so it's doable.

Does anyone know what library can be used to interact with an Xbox controller on Linux?

SDL is at the top of your list, GLFW or SFML also work. – Dietrich Epp Feb 03 '16 at 23:08 — Dietrich Epp, Feb 03 '16 at 23:08

smerlin · Accepted Answer · 2016-02-03T23:21:22.157

4

You can either:

use the SDL library
use the functions in linux/joystick.h yourself
find some other library which abstracts (3) for you like this or the one linked by user3716731.

The (1-2) solutions are mainly C, but so is the XInput API, so you probably can deal with it.

I would probably go with number 1, because that approach should have the best documentation.

edited Feb 03 '16 at 23:21

answered Feb 03 '16 at 23:07

smerlin

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Didn't know SDL supports it. If it works, I agree, that would be the best option. – Shahbaz Feb 03 '16 at 23:15

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 03 '16 at 22:56

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So I know its not pure C++ however there is a great addon for openFrameworks called ofxGamePad that is compatible with linux. I have had success using it with linux for a gamepad.

answered Feb 03 '16 at 22:56

gdunstone

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`ofxGamePad` _is_ C++. I'd have to study how it works, but it seems promising! – Shahbaz Feb 03 '16 at 23:05

What's the equivalent of XInput* functions in Linux?

2 Answers2