* sale, use or other dealings in this Software without prior written *
* authorization. *
****************************************************************************
- * @Id: ncurses.3x,v 1.148 2020/06/13 23:25:50 tom Exp @
+ * @Id: ncurses.3x,v 1.150 2020/11/07 23:48:27 tom Exp @
-->
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN">
<HTML>
method of updating character screens with reasonable optimization.
This implementation is "new curses" (ncurses) and is the approved
replacement for 4.4BSD classic curses, which has been discontinued.
- This describes <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> version 6.2 (patch 20200725).
+ This describes <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> version 6.2 (patch 20201212).
The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library emulates the curses library of System V Release 4
UNIX, and XPG4 (X/Open Portability Guide) curses (also known as XSI
Most programs would additionally use the sequence:
- <STRONG>nonl();</STRONG>
<STRONG>intrflush(stdscr,</STRONG> <STRONG>FALSE);</STRONG>
<STRONG>keypad(stdscr,</STRONG> <STRONG>TRUE);</STRONG>
standard place. For example, if <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> is set to <STRONG>att4424</STRONG>, then the com-
piled terminal definition is found in
- <STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo/a/att4424</STRONG>.
+ <STRONG>/usr/local/ncurses/lib/terminfo/a/att4424</STRONG>.
(The <STRONG>a</STRONG> is copied from the first letter of <STRONG>att4424</STRONG> to avoid creation of
huge directories.) However, if <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> is set to <STRONG>$HOME/myterms</STRONG>,
and if that fails, it then checks
- <STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo/a/att4424</STRONG>.
+ <STRONG>/usr/local/ncurses/lib/terminfo/a/att4424</STRONG>.
This is useful for developing experimental definitions or when write
- permission in <STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo</STRONG> is not available.
+ permission in <STRONG>/usr/local/ncurses/lib/terminfo</STRONG> is not available.
The integer variables <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> and <STRONG>COLS</STRONG> are defined in <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG> and will
be filled in by <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> with the size of the screen. The constants
bkgrnd <STRONG><A HREF="curs_bkgrnd.3x.html">curs_bkgrnd(3x)</A></STRONG>
bkgrndset <STRONG><A HREF="curs_bkgrnd.3x.html">curs_bkgrnd(3x)</A></STRONG>
border <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
border_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border_set.3x.html">curs_border_set(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
box <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
box_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border_set.3x.html">curs_border_set(3x)</A></STRONG>
can_change_color <STRONG><A HREF="curs_color.3x.html">curs_color(3x)</A></STRONG>
getnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getstr.3x.html">curs_getstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
getparx <STRONG><A HREF="curs_legacy.3x.html">curs_legacy(3x)</A></STRONG>*
getpary <STRONG><A HREF="curs_legacy.3x.html">curs_legacy(3x)</A></STRONG>*
-
getparyx <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getyx.3x.html">curs_getyx(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
getstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getstr.3x.html">curs_getstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
getsyx <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>
getwin <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>
killchar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termattrs.3x.html">curs_termattrs(3x)</A></STRONG>
killwchar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termattrs.3x.html">curs_termattrs(3x)</A></STRONG>
leaveok <STRONG><A HREF="curs_outopts.3x.html">curs_outopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
longname <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termattrs.3x.html">curs_termattrs(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
mcprint <STRONG><A HREF="curs_print.3x.html">curs_print(3x)</A></STRONG>*
meta <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
mouse_trafo <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG>*
mvwget_wstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_get_wstr.3x.html">curs_get_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwgetch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getch.3x.html">curs_getch(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwgetn_wstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_get_wstr.3x.html">curs_get_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
mvwgetnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getstr.3x.html">curs_getstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
mvwgetstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getstr.3x.html">curs_getstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwhline <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwhline_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border_set.3x.html">curs_border_set(3x)</A></STRONG>
nodelay <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
noecho <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
nofilter <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>*
- nonl <STRONG><A HREF="curs_outopts.3x.html">curs_outopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ nonl <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
noqiflush <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
noraw <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
notimeout <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
scr_dump <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scr_dump.3x.html">curs_scr_dump(3x)</A></STRONG>
scr_init <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scr_dump.3x.html">curs_scr_dump(3x)</A></STRONG>
scr_restore <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scr_dump.3x.html">curs_scr_dump(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
scr_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scr_dump.3x.html">curs_scr_dump(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
scrl <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scroll.3x.html">curs_scroll(3x)</A></STRONG>
scroll <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scroll.3x.html">curs_scroll(3x)</A></STRONG>
scrollok <STRONG><A HREF="curs_outopts.3x.html">curs_outopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
use_legacy_coding <STRONG><A HREF="legacy_coding.3x.html">legacy_coding(3x)</A></STRONG>*
use_tioctl <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>*
vid_attr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
vid_puts <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
vidattr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
vidputs <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
vline <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
winnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_instr.3x.html">curs_instr(3x)</A></STRONG>
winnwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inwstr.3x.html">curs_inwstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
wins_nwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_ins_wstr.3x.html">curs_ins_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
wins_wch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_ins_wch.3x.html">curs_ins_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
wins_wstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_ins_wstr.3x.html">curs_ins_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
winsch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_insch.3x.html">curs_insch(3x)</A></STRONG>
winsdelln <STRONG><A HREF="curs_deleteln.3x.html">curs_deleteln(3x)</A></STRONG>
<STRONG>o</STRONG> /usr/local/ncurses/share/terminfo:/usr/share/terminfo (corre-
sponding to the TERMINFO_DIRS variable)
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> /usr/share/terminfo (corresponding to the TERMINFO variable)
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> /usr/local/ncurses/lib/terminfo (corresponding to the TER-
+ MINFO variable)
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMINFO_DIRS">TERMINFO_DIRS</a></H3><PRE>
- Specifies a list of locations to search for terminal descriptions.
- Each location in the list is a terminal database as described in the
- section on the <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> variable. The list is separated by colons
+ Specifies a list of locations to search for terminal descriptions.
+ Each location in the list is a terminal database as described in the
+ section on the <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> variable. The list is separated by colons
(i.e., ":") on Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX.
There is no corresponding feature in System V terminfo; it is an exten-
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMPATH">TERMPATH</a></H3><PRE>
- If <STRONG>TERMCAP</STRONG> does not hold a file name then <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> checks the <STRONG>TERMPATH</STRONG>
- environment variable. This is a list of filenames separated by spaces
+ If <STRONG>TERMCAP</STRONG> does not hold a file name then <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> checks the <STRONG>TERMPATH</STRONG>
+ environment variable. This is a list of filenames separated by spaces
or colons (i.e., ":") on Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX.
- If the <STRONG>TERMPATH</STRONG> environment variable is not set, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> looks in the
+ If the <STRONG>TERMPATH</STRONG> environment variable is not set, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> looks in the
files
/etc/termcap, /usr/share/misc/termcap and $HOME/.termcap,
in that order.
The library may be configured to disregard the following variables when
- the current user is the superuser (root), or if the application uses
+ the current user is the superuser (root), or if the application uses
setuid or setgid permissions:
$TERMINFO, $TERMINFO_DIRS, $TERMPATH, as well as $HOME.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-ALTERNATE-CONFIGURATIONS">ALTERNATE CONFIGURATIONS</a></H2><PRE>
Several different configurations are possible, depending on the config-
- ure script options used when building <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>. There are a few main
- options whose effects are visible to the applications developer using
+ ure script options used when building <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>. There are a few main
+ options whose effects are visible to the applications developer using
<STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>:
--disable-overwrite
<STRONG>#include</STRONG> <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG>
- This option is used to avoid filename conflicts when <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> is
+ This option is used to avoid filename conflicts when <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> is
not the main implementation of curses of the computer. If <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>
- is installed disabling overwrite, it puts its headers in a subdi-
+ is installed disabling overwrite, it puts its headers in a subdi-
rectory, e.g.,
<STRONG>#include</STRONG> <STRONG><ncurses/curses.h></STRONG>
- It also omits a symbolic link which would allow you to use
+ It also omits a symbolic link which would allow you to use
<STRONG>-lcurses</STRONG> to build executables.
--enable-widec
- The configure script renames the library and (if the <STRONG>--dis-</STRONG>
- <STRONG>able-overwrite</STRONG> option is used) puts the header files in a differ-
+ The configure script renames the library and (if the <STRONG>--dis-</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>able-overwrite</STRONG> option is used) puts the header files in a differ-
ent subdirectory. All of the library names have a "w" appended to
them, i.e., instead of
<STRONG>-lncursesw</STRONG>
- You must also enable the wide-character features in the header
- file when compiling for the wide-character library to use the
- extended (wide-character) functions. The symbol which enables
+ You must also enable the wide-character features in the header
+ file when compiling for the wide-character library to use the
+ extended (wide-character) functions. The symbol which enables
these features has changed since XSI Curses, Issue 4:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Originally, the wide-character feature required the symbol
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Originally, the wide-character feature required the symbol
<STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED</STRONG> but that was only valid for XPG4
(1996).
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Later, that was deemed conflicting with <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE</STRONG> defined
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Later, that was deemed conflicting with <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE</STRONG> defined
to 500.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> As of mid-2018, none of the features in this implementation
- require a <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE</STRONG> feature greater than 600. However,
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> As of mid-2018, none of the features in this implementation
+ require a <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE</STRONG> feature greater than 600. However,
X/Open Curses, Issue 7 (2009) recommends defining it to 700.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Alternatively, you can enable the feature by defining
- <STRONG>NCURSES_WIDECHAR</STRONG> with the caveat that some other header file
- than <STRONG>curses.h</STRONG> may require a specific value for <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Alternatively, you can enable the feature by defining
+ <STRONG>NCURSES_WIDECHAR</STRONG> with the caveat that some other header file
+ than <STRONG>curses.h</STRONG> may require a specific value for <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE</STRONG>
(or a system-specific symbol).
- The <STRONG>curses.h</STRONG> file which is installed for the wide-character
- library is designed to be compatible with the normal library's
- header. Only the size of the <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG> structure differs, and very
+ The <STRONG>curses.h</STRONG> file which is installed for the wide-character
+ library is designed to be compatible with the normal library's
+ header. Only the size of the <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG> structure differs, and very
few applications require more than a pointer to <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG>s.
- If the headers are installed allowing overwrite, the wide-charac-
- ter library's headers should be installed last, to allow applica-
- tions to be built using either library from the same set of head-
+ If the headers are installed allowing overwrite, the wide-charac-
+ ter library's headers should be installed last, to allow applica-
+ tions to be built using either library from the same set of head-
ers.
--with-pthread
- The configure script renames the library. All of the library
- names have a "t" appended to them (before any "w" added by
+ The configure script renames the library. All of the library
+ names have a "t" appended to them (before any "w" added by
<STRONG>--enable-widec</STRONG>).
The global variables such as <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> are replaced by macros to allow
read-only access. At the same time, setter-functions are provided
- to set these values. Some applications (very few) may require
+ to set these values. Some applications (very few) may require
changes to work with this convention.
--with-shared
--with-debug
--with-profile
- The shared and normal (static) library names differ by their suf-
- fixes, e.g., <STRONG>libncurses.so</STRONG> and <STRONG>libncurses.a</STRONG>. The debug and pro-
- filing libraries add a "_g" and a "_p" to the root names respec-
+ The shared and normal (static) library names differ by their suf-
+ fixes, e.g., <STRONG>libncurses.so</STRONG> and <STRONG>libncurses.a</STRONG>. The debug and pro-
+ filing libraries add a "_g" and a "_p" to the root names respec-
tively, e.g., <STRONG>libncurses_g.a</STRONG> and <STRONG>libncurses_p.a</STRONG>.
+ --with-termlib
+ Low-level functions which do not depend upon whether the library
+ supports wide-characters, are provided in the tinfo library.
+
+ By doing this, it is possible to share the tinfo library between
+ wide/normal configurations as well as reduce the size of the
+ library when only low-level functions are needed.
+
+ Those functions are described in these pages:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="curs_extend.3x.html">curs_extend(3x)</A></STRONG> - miscellaneous curses extensions
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG> - <STRONG>curses</STRONG> input options
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG> - low-level <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routines
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termattrs.3x.html">curs_termattrs(3x)</A></STRONG> - <STRONG>curses</STRONG> environment query routines
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termcap.3x.html">curs_termcap(3x)</A></STRONG> - <STRONG>curses</STRONG> emulation of termcap
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG> - <STRONG>curses</STRONG> interfaces to terminfo database
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG> - miscellaneous <STRONG>curses</STRONG> utility routines
+
--with-trace
The <STRONG>trace</STRONG> function normally resides in the debug library, but it
is sometimes useful to configure this in the shared library. Con-
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-FILES">FILES</a></H2><PRE>
/usr/share/tabset
directory containing initialization files for the terminal capa-
- bility database /usr/share/terminfo terminal capability database
+ bility database /usr/local/ncurses/lib/terminfo terminal capabil-
+ ity database
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></H2><PRE>
- <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG> and related pages whose names begin "curs_" for detailed
+ <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG> and related pages whose names begin "curs_" for detailed
routine descriptions.
<STRONG><A HREF="curs_variables.3x.html">curs_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>
<STRONG><A HREF="user_caps.5.html">user_caps(5)</A></STRONG> for user-defined capabilities
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-EXTENSIONS">EXTENSIONS</a></H2><PRE>
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library can be compiled with an option (<STRONG>-DUSE_GETCAP</STRONG>) that
- falls back to the old-style /etc/termcap file if the terminal setup
- code cannot find a terminfo entry corresponding to <STRONG>TERM</STRONG>. Use of this
- feature is not recommended, as it essentially includes an entire term-
- cap compiler in the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> startup code, at significant cost in core
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library can be compiled with an option (<STRONG>-DUSE_GETCAP</STRONG>) that
+ falls back to the old-style /etc/termcap file if the terminal setup
+ code cannot find a terminfo entry corresponding to <STRONG>TERM</STRONG>. Use of this
+ feature is not recommended, as it essentially includes an entire term-
+ cap compiler in the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> startup code, at significant cost in core
and startup cycles.
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library includes facilities for capturing mouse events on
- certain terminals (including xterm). See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG> manual
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library includes facilities for capturing mouse events on
+ certain terminals (including xterm). See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG> manual
page for details.
The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library includes facilities for responding to window resiz-
ing events, e.g., when running in an xterm. See the <STRONG><A HREF="resizeterm.3x.html">resizeterm(3x)</A></STRONG> and
- <STRONG><A HREF="wresize.3x.html">wresize(3x)</A></STRONG> manual pages for details. In addition, the library may be
+ <STRONG><A HREF="wresize.3x.html">wresize(3x)</A></STRONG> manual pages for details. In addition, the library may be
configured with a <STRONG>SIGWINCH</STRONG> handler.
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library extends the fixed set of function key capabilities
- of terminals by allowing the application designer to define additional
- key sequences at runtime. See the <STRONG><A HREF="define_key.3x.html">define_key(3x)</A></STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="key_defined.3x.html">key_defined(3x)</A></STRONG>, and
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library extends the fixed set of function key capabilities
+ of terminals by allowing the application designer to define additional
+ key sequences at runtime. See the <STRONG><A HREF="define_key.3x.html">define_key(3x)</A></STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="key_defined.3x.html">key_defined(3x)</A></STRONG>, and
<STRONG><A HREF="keyok.3x.html">keyok(3x)</A></STRONG> manual pages for details.
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library can exploit the capabilities of terminals which
- implement the ISO-6429 SGR 39 and SGR 49 controls, which allow an
- application to reset the terminal to its original foreground and back-
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library can exploit the capabilities of terminals which
+ implement the ISO-6429 SGR 39 and SGR 49 controls, which allow an
+ application to reset the terminal to its original foreground and back-
ground colors. From the users' perspective, the application is able to
- draw colored text on a background whose color is set independently,
- providing better control over color contrasts. See the <STRONG>default_col-</STRONG>
+ draw colored text on a background whose color is set independently,
+ providing better control over color contrasts. See the <STRONG>default_col-</STRONG>
<STRONG><A HREF="default_colors.3x.html">ors(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library includes a function for directing application out-
- put to a printer attached to the terminal device. See the
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library includes a function for directing application out-
+ put to a printer attached to the terminal device. See the
<STRONG><A HREF="curs_print.3x.html">curs_print(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-PORTABILITY">PORTABILITY</a></H2><PRE>
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library is intended to be BASE-level conformant with XSI
- Curses. The EXTENDED XSI Curses functionality (including color sup-
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library is intended to be BASE-level conformant with XSI
+ Curses. The EXTENDED XSI Curses functionality (including color sup-
port) is supported.
- A small number of local differences (that is, individual differences
- between the XSI Curses and <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> calls) are described in <STRONG>PORTABILITY</STRONG>
+ A small number of local differences (that is, individual differences
+ between the XSI Curses and <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> calls) are described in <STRONG>PORTABILITY</STRONG>
sections of the library man pages.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Error-checking">Error checking</a></H3><PRE>
- In many cases, X/Open Curses is vague about error conditions, omitting
+ In many cases, X/Open Curses is vague about error conditions, omitting
some of the SVr4 documentation.
Unlike other implementations, this one checks parameters such as point-
- ers to WINDOW structures to ensure they are not null. The main reason
- for providing this behavior is to guard against programmer error. The
- standard interface does not provide a way for the library to tell an
+ ers to WINDOW structures to ensure they are not null. The main reason
+ for providing this behavior is to guard against programmer error. The
+ standard interface does not provide a way for the library to tell an
application which of several possible errors were detected. Relying on
this (or some other) extension will adversely affect the portability of
curses applications.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Extensions-versus-portability">Extensions versus portability</a></H3><PRE>
- Most of the extensions provided by ncurses have not been standardized.
+ Most of the extensions provided by ncurses have not been standardized.
Some have been incorporated into other implementations, such as
PDCurses or NetBSD curses. Here are a few to consider:
<STRONG>o</STRONG> The routine <STRONG>has_key</STRONG> is not part of XPG4, nor is it present in SVr4.
See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getch.3x.html">curs_getch(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> The routine <STRONG>slk_attr</STRONG> is not part of XPG4, nor is it present in
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The routine <STRONG>slk_attr</STRONG> is not part of XPG4, nor is it present in
SVr4. See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> The routines <STRONG>getmouse</STRONG>, <STRONG>mousemask</STRONG>, <STRONG>ungetmouse</STRONG>, <STRONG>mouseinterval</STRONG>, and
- <STRONG>wenclose</STRONG> relating to mouse interfacing are not part of XPG4, nor
- are they present in SVr4. See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The routines <STRONG>getmouse</STRONG>, <STRONG>mousemask</STRONG>, <STRONG>ungetmouse</STRONG>, <STRONG>mouseinterval</STRONG>, and
+ <STRONG>wenclose</STRONG> relating to mouse interfacing are not part of XPG4, nor
+ are they present in SVr4. See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for
details.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> The routine <STRONG>mcprint</STRONG> was not present in any previous curses imple-
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The routine <STRONG>mcprint</STRONG> was not present in any previous curses imple-
mentation. See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_print.3x.html">curs_print(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> The routine <STRONG>wresize</STRONG> is not part of XPG4, nor is it present in SVr4.
tion programs. See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG> for the discussion of <STRONG>is_scrol-</STRONG>
<STRONG>lok</STRONG>, etc.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> This implementation can be configured to provide rudimentary sup-
- port for multi-threaded applications. See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_threads.3x.html">curs_threads(3x)</A></STRONG> for
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> This implementation can be configured to provide rudimentary sup-
+ port for multi-threaded applications. See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_threads.3x.html">curs_threads(3x)</A></STRONG> for
details.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> This implementation can also be configured to provide a set of
- functions which improve the ability to manage multiple screens.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> This implementation can also be configured to provide a set of
+ functions which improve the ability to manage multiple screens.
See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_sp_funcs.3x.html">curs_sp_funcs(3x)</A></STRONG> for details.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Padding-differences">Padding differences</a></H3><PRE>
- In historic curses versions, delays embedded in the capabilities <STRONG>cr</STRONG>,
- <STRONG>ind</STRONG>, <STRONG>cub1</STRONG>, <STRONG>ff</STRONG> and <STRONG>tab</STRONG> activated corresponding delay bits in the UNIX
+ In historic curses versions, delays embedded in the capabilities <STRONG>cr</STRONG>,
+ <STRONG>ind</STRONG>, <STRONG>cub1</STRONG>, <STRONG>ff</STRONG> and <STRONG>tab</STRONG> activated corresponding delay bits in the UNIX
tty driver. In this implementation, all padding is done by sending NUL
- bytes. This method is slightly more expensive, but narrows the inter-
- face to the UNIX kernel significantly and increases the package's
+ bytes. This method is slightly more expensive, but narrows the inter-
+ face to the UNIX kernel significantly and increases the package's
portability correspondingly.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Header-files">Header files</a></H3><PRE>
- The header file <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG> automatically includes the header files
+ The header file <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG> automatically includes the header files
<STRONG><stdio.h></STRONG> and <STRONG><unctrl.h></STRONG>.
X/Open Curses has more to say, but does not finish the story:
- The inclusion of <curses.h> may make visible all symbols from the
+ The inclusion of <curses.h> may make visible all symbols from the
headers <stdio.h>, <term.h>, <termios.h>, and <wchar.h>.
Here is a more complete story:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Starting with BSD curses, all implementations have included
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Starting with BSD curses, all implementations have included
<stdio.h>.
- BSD curses included <curses.h> and <unctrl.h> from an internal
+ BSD curses included <curses.h> and <unctrl.h> from an internal
header "curses.ext" ("ext" was a short name for <EM>externs</EM>).
- BSD curses used <stdio.h> internally (for <STRONG>printw</STRONG> and <STRONG>scanw</STRONG>), but
+ BSD curses used <stdio.h> internally (for <STRONG>printw</STRONG> and <STRONG>scanw</STRONG>), but
nothing in <curses.h> itself relied upon <stdio.h>.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> SVr2 curses added <STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">newterm(3x)</A></STRONG>, which relies upon <stdio.h>. That
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> SVr2 curses added <STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">newterm(3x)</A></STRONG>, which relies upon <stdio.h>. That
is, the function prototype uses <STRONG>FILE</STRONG>.
SVr4 curses added <STRONG>putwin</STRONG> and <STRONG>getwin</STRONG>, which also use <stdio.h>.
X/Open Curses documents all three of these functions.
- SVr4 curses and X/Open Curses do not require the developer to
+ SVr4 curses and X/Open Curses do not require the developer to
include <stdio.h> before including <curses.h>. Both document
curses showing <curses.h> as the only required header.
As a result, standard <curses.h> will always include <stdio.h>.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses is inconsistent with respect to SVr4 regarding <unc-
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses is inconsistent with respect to SVr4 regarding <unc-
trl.h>.
- As noted in <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>, ncurses includes <unctrl.h> from
+ As noted in <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>, ncurses includes <unctrl.h> from
<curses.h> (like SVr4).
<STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open's comments about <term.h> and <termios.h> may refer to HP-UX
HP-UX curses includes <term.h> from <curses.h> to declare <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>
in curses.h, but ncurses (and Solaris curses) do not.
- AIX curses includes <term.h> and <termios.h>. Again, ncurses (and
+ AIX curses includes <term.h> and <termios.h>. Again, ncurses (and
Solaris curses) do not.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open says that <curses.h> <EM>may</EM> include <term.h>, but there is no
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open says that <curses.h> <EM>may</EM> include <term.h>, but there is no
requirement that it do that.
Some programs use functions declared in both <curses.h> and
- <term.h>, and must include both headers in the same module. Very
- old versions of AIX curses required including <curses.h> before
+ <term.h>, and must include both headers in the same module. Very
+ old versions of AIX curses required including <curses.h> before
including <term.h>.
- Because ncurses header files include the headers needed to define
+ Because ncurses header files include the headers needed to define
datatypes used in the headers, ncurses header files can be included
- in any order. But for portability, you should include <curses.h>
+ in any order. But for portability, you should include <curses.h>
before <term.h>.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses says <EM>"may</EM> <EM>make</EM> <EM>visible"</EM> because including a header
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses says <EM>"may</EM> <EM>make</EM> <EM>visible"</EM> because including a header
file does not necessarily make all symbols in it visible (there are
ifdef's to consider).
- For instance, in ncurses <wchar.h> <EM>may</EM> be included if the proper
- symbol is defined, and if ncurses is configured for wide-character
- support. If the header is included, its symbols may be made visi-
+ For instance, in ncurses <wchar.h> <EM>may</EM> be included if the proper
+ symbol is defined, and if ncurses is configured for wide-character
+ support. If the header is included, its symbols may be made visi-
ble. That depends on the value used for <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE</STRONG> feature test
macro.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses documents one required header, in a special case:
- <stdarg.h> before <curses.h> to prototype the <STRONG>vw_printw</STRONG> and
- <STRONG>vw_scanw</STRONG> functions (as well as the obsolete the <STRONG>vwprintw</STRONG> and <STRONG>vws-</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses documents one required header, in a special case:
+ <stdarg.h> before <curses.h> to prototype the <STRONG>vw_printw</STRONG> and
+ <STRONG>vw_scanw</STRONG> functions (as well as the obsolete the <STRONG>vwprintw</STRONG> and <STRONG>vws-</STRONG>
<STRONG>canw</STRONG> functions). Each of those uses a <STRONG>va_list</STRONG> parameter.
- The two obsolete functions were introduced in SVr3. The other
- functions were introduced in X/Open Curses. In between, SVr4
- curses provided for the possibility that an application might
+ The two obsolete functions were introduced in SVr3. The other
+ functions were introduced in X/Open Curses. In between, SVr4
+ curses provided for the possibility that an application might
include either <varargs.h> or <stdarg.h>. Initially, that was done
- by using <STRONG>void*</STRONG> for the <STRONG>va_list</STRONG> parameter. Later, a special type
- (defined in <stdio.h>) was introduced, to allow for compiler type-
+ by using <STRONG>void*</STRONG> for the <STRONG>va_list</STRONG> parameter. Later, a special type
+ (defined in <stdio.h>) was introduced, to allow for compiler type-
checking. That special type is always available, because <stdio.h>
is always included by <curses.h>.
None of the X/Open Curses implementations require an application to
- include <stdarg.h> before <curses.h> because they either have
- allowed for a special type, or (like ncurses) include <stdarg.h>
+ include <stdarg.h> before <curses.h> because they either have
+ allowed for a special type, or (like ncurses) include <stdarg.h>
directly to provide a portable interface.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-NOTES">NOTES</a></H2><PRE>
- If standard output from a <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> program is re-directed to something
- which is not a tty, screen updates will be directed to standard error.
+ If standard output from a <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> program is re-directed to something
+ which is not a tty, screen updates will be directed to standard error.
This was an undocumented feature of AT&T System V Release 3 curses.
projects / ncurses.git / blobdiff