res_path.h

#ifndef RES_PATH_H
#define RES_PATH_H

#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <SDL2/SDL.h>

/*
 * Get the resource path for resources located in res/subDir
 * It's assumed the project directory is structured like:
 * bin/
 *  the executable
 * res/
 *  Lesson1/
 *  Lesson2/
 *
 * Paths returned will be Project_Root/res/subDir
 */
std::string getResourcePath(const std::string &subDir = ""){
#ifdef _WIN32
	const char PATH_SEP = '\\';
#else
	const char PATH_SEP = '/';
#endif
	static std::string baseRes;
	if (baseRes.empty()){
		char *basePath = SDL_GetBasePath();
		if (basePath){
			baseRes = basePath;
			SDL_free(basePath);
		}
		else {
			std::cerr << "Error getting resource path: " << SDL_GetError() << std::endl;
			return "";
		}
		//We replace the last bin/ with res/ to get the the resource path
		size_t pos = baseRes.rfind("bin");
		baseRes = baseRes.substr(0, pos) + "res" + PATH_SEP;
	}
	return subDir.empty() ? baseRes : baseRes + subDir + PATH_SEP;
}

#endif