X-Git-Url: http://ncurses.scripts.mit.edu/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=doc%2Fhtml%2Fman%2Fncurses.3x.html;h=f732e3c66304680f25de2acd4b609a61c5a0ef1d;hb=2882050bf8b296813e7e026b1c5c45d4a23043e3;hp=64590f9d9a4d0943d6a379397cd2f2ab7e5f2e1b;hpb=bfe3845eb1a2ff02a740e917b537e939ec4e44cb;p=ncurses.git diff --git a/doc/html/man/ncurses.3x.html b/doc/html/man/ncurses.3x.html index 64590f9d..f732e3c6 100644 --- a/doc/html/man/ncurses.3x.html +++ b/doc/html/man/ncurses.3x.html @@ -1,7 +1,8 @@ -
--ncurses(3x) ncurses(3x) +ncurses(3x) Library calls ncurses(3x)
- ncurses - CRT screen handling and optimization package + ncurses - character-cell terminal interface with optimized output
@@ -59,38 +60,38 @@ 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 ncurses version 6.1 (patch 20181229). + This describes ncurses version 6.4 (patch 20231014). The ncurses library emulates the curses library of System V Release 4 UNIX, and XPG4 (X/Open Portability Guide) curses (also known as XSI curses). XSI stands for X/Open System Interfaces Extension. The ncurses library is freely redistributable in source form. Differences - from the SVr4 curses are summarized under the EXTENSIONS and PORTABIL- - ITY sections below and described in detail in the respective EXTEN- - SIONS, PORTABILITY and BUGS sections of individual man pages. + from the SVr4 curses are summarized under the EXTENSIONS and + PORTABILITY sections below and described in detail in the respective + EXTENSIONS, PORTABILITY and BUGS sections of individual man pages. - The ncurses library also provides many useful extensions, i.e., fea- - tures which cannot be implemented by a simple add-on library but which - require access to the internals of the library. + The ncurses library also provides many useful extensions, i.e., + features which cannot be implemented by a simple add-on library but + which require access to the internals of the library. A program using these routines must be linked with the -lncurses option, or (if it has been generated) with the debugging library -lncurses_g. (Your system integrator may also have installed these libraries under the names -lcurses and -lcurses_g.) The ncurses_g - library generates trace logs (in a file called 'trace' in the current + library generates trace logs (in a file called "trace" in the current directory) that describe curses actions. See also the section on ALTERNATE CONFIGURATIONS. - The ncurses package supports: overall screen, window and pad manipula- - tion; output to windows and pads; reading terminal input; control over - terminal and curses input and output options; environment query rou- - tines; color manipulation; use of soft label keys; terminfo capabili- - ties; and access to low-level terminal-manipulation routines. + The ncurses package supports: overall screen, window and pad + manipulation; output to windows and pads; reading terminal input; + control over terminal and curses input and output options; environment + query routines; color manipulation; use of soft label keys; terminfo + capabilities; and access to low-level terminal-manipulation routines.
The library uses the locale which the calling program has initialized. - That is normally done with setlocale: + That is normally done with setlocale(3): setlocale(LC_ALL, ""); @@ -101,8 +102,8 @@ The function initscr or newterm must be called to initialize the library before any of the other routines that deal with windows and - screens are used. The routine endwin(3x) must be called before exit- - ing. + screens are used. The routine endwin(3x) must be called before + exiting. To get character-at-a-time input without echoing (most interactive, screen oriented programs want this), the following sequence should be @@ -112,69 +113,70 @@ Most programs would additionally use the sequence: - nonl(); intrflush(stdscr, FALSE); keypad(stdscr, TRUE); Before a curses program is run, the tab stops of the terminal should be set and its initialization strings, if defined, must be output. This - can be done by executing the tput init command after the shell environ- - ment variable TERM has been exported. tset(1) is usually responsible - for doing this. [See terminfo(5) for further details.] + can be done by executing the tput init command after the shell + environment variable TERM has been exported. (The BSD-style tset(1) + utility also performs this function.) See subsection "Tabs and + Initialization" of terminfo(5).
- The ncurses library permits manipulation of data structures, called - windows, which can be thought of as two-dimensional arrays of charac- - ters representing all or part of a CRT screen. A default window called - stdscr, which is the size of the terminal screen, is supplied. Others - may be created with newwin. - - Note that curses does not handle overlapping windows, that's done by - the panel(3x) library. This means that you can either use stdscr or - divide the screen into tiled windows and not using stdscr at all. Mix- - ing the two will result in unpredictable, and undesired, effects. - - Windows are referred to by variables declared as WINDOW *. These data - structures are manipulated with routines described here and elsewhere - in the ncurses manual pages. Among those, the most basic routines are - move and addch. More general versions of these routines are included - with names beginning with w, allowing the user to specify a window. + The ncurses library permits manipulation of data structures, called + windows, which can be thought of as two-dimensional arrays of + characters representing all or part of a CRT screen. A default window + called stdscr, which is the size of the terminal screen, is supplied. + Others may be created with newwin. + + Note that curses does not handle overlapping windows, that's done by + the panel(3x) library. This means that you can either use stdscr or + divide the screen into tiled windows and not using stdscr at all. + Mixing the two will result in unpredictable, and undesired, effects. + + Windows are referred to by variables declared as WINDOW *. These data + structures are manipulated with routines described here and elsewhere + in the ncurses manual pages. Among those, the most basic routines are + move and addch. More general versions of these routines are included + with names beginning with w, allowing the user to specify a window. The routines not beginning with w affect stdscr. - After using routines to manipulate a window, refresh(3x) is called, - telling curses to make the user's CRT screen look like stdscr. The - characters in a window are actually of type chtype, (character and - attribute data) so that other information about the character may also + After using routines to manipulate a window, refresh(3x) is called, + telling curses to make the user's CRT screen look like stdscr. The + characters in a window are actually of type chtype, (character and + attribute data) so that other information about the character may also be stored with each character. Special windows called pads may also be manipulated. These are windows - which are not constrained to the size of the screen and whose contents - need not be completely displayed. See curs_pad(3x) for more informa- - tion. + which are not constrained to the size of the screen and whose contents + need not be completely displayed. See curs_pad(3x) for more + information. - In addition to drawing characters on the screen, video attributes and - colors may be supported, causing the characters to show up in such - modes as underlined, in reverse video, or in color on terminals that - support such display enhancements. Line drawing characters may be - specified to be output. On input, curses is also able to translate - arrow and function keys that transmit escape sequences into single val- - ues. The video attributes, line drawing characters, and input values - use names, defined in <curses.h>, such as A_REVERSE, ACS_HLINE, and - KEY_LEFT. + In addition to drawing characters on the screen, video attributes and + colors may be supported, causing the characters to show up in such + modes as underlined, in reverse video, or in color on terminals that + support such display enhancements. Line drawing characters may be + specified to be output. On input, curses is also able to translate + arrow and function keys that transmit escape sequences into single + values. The video attributes, line drawing characters, and input + values use names, defined in <curses.h>, such as A_REVERSE, ACS_HLINE, + and KEY_LEFT.
- If the environment variables LINES and COLUMNS are set, or if the pro- - gram is executing in a window environment, line and column information - in the environment will override information read by terminfo. This - would affect a program running in an AT&T 630 layer, for example, where - the size of a screen is changeable (see ENVIRONMENT). + If the environment variables LINES and COLUMNS are set, or if the + program is executing in a window environment, line and column + information in the environment will override information read by + terminfo. This would affect a program running in an AT&T 630 layer, + for example, where the size of a screen is changeable (see + ENVIRONMENT). If the environment variable TERMINFO is defined, any program using curses checks for a local terminal definition before checking in the - standard place. For example, if TERM is set to att4424, then the com- - piled terminal definition is found in + standard place. For example, if TERM is set to att4424, then the + compiled terminal definition is found in /usr/share/terminfo/a/att4424. @@ -197,13 +199,13 @@ The curses routines also define the WINDOW * variable curscr which is used for certain low-level operations like clearing and redrawing a - screen containing garbage. The curscr can be used in only a few rou- - tines. + screen containing garbage. The curscr can be used in only a few + routines.
Many curses routines have two or more versions. The routines prefixed - with w require a window argument. The routines prefixed with p require + with w require a window argument. The routines prefixed with p require a pad argument. Those without a prefix generally use stdscr. The routines prefixed with mv require a y and x coordinate to move to @@ -213,8 +215,8 @@ The upper left-hand corner is always (0,0), not (1,1). The routines prefixed with mvw take both a window argument and x and y - coordinates. The window argument is always specified before the coor- - dinates. + coordinates. The window argument is always specified before the + coordinates. In each case, win is the window affected, and pad is the pad affected; win and pad are always pointers to type WINDOW. @@ -225,14 +227,14 @@ defined in <curses.h>. Types used for the terminfo routines such as TERMINAL are defined in <term.h>. - This manual page describes functions which may appear in any configura- - tion of the library. There are two common configurations of the - library: + This manual page describes functions which may appear in any + configuration of the library. There are two common configurations of + the library: ncurses - the "normal" library, which handles 8-bit characters. The nor- - mal (8-bit) library stores characters combined with attributes - in chtype data. + the "normal" library, which handles 8-bit characters. The + normal (8-bit) library stores characters combined with + attributes in chtype data. Attributes alone (no corresponding character) may be stored in chtype or the equivalent attr_t data. In either case, the data @@ -241,11 +243,11 @@ Each cell (row and column) in a WINDOW is stored as a chtype. ncursesw - the so-called "wide" library, which handles multibyte charac- - ters (see the section on ALTERNATE CONFIGURATIONS). The "wide" - library includes all of the calls from the "normal" library. - It adds about one third more calls using data types which store - multibyte characters: + the so-called "wide" library, which handles multibyte + characters (see the section on ALTERNATE CONFIGURATIONS). The + "wide" library includes all of the calls from the "normal" + library. It adds about one third more calls using data types + which store multibyte characters: cchar_t corresponds to chtype. However it is a structure, because @@ -258,41 +260,34 @@ Each cell (row and column) in a WINDOW is stored as a cchar_t. + The setcchar(3x) and getcchar(3x) functions store and + retrieve the data from a cchar_t structure. + wchar_t - stores a "wide" character. Like chtype, this may be an + stores a "wide" character. Like chtype, this may be an integer. wint_t - stores a wchar_t or WEOF - not the same, though both may + stores a wchar_t or WEOF - not the same, though both may have the same size. - The "wide" library provides new functions which are analogous - to functions in the "normal" library. There is a naming con- - vention which relates many of the normal/wide variants: a "_w" - is inserted into the name. For example, waddch becomes + The "wide" library provides new functions which are analogous + to functions in the "normal" library. There is a naming + convention which relates many of the normal/wide variants: a + "_w" is inserted into the name. For example, waddch becomes wadd_wch.
- The following table lists each curses routine and the name of the man- - ual page on which it is described. Routines flagged with "*" are - ncurses-specific, not described by XPG4 or present in SVr4. + The following table lists the curses routines provided in the "normal" + and "wide" libraries and the names of the manual pages on which they + are described. Routines flagged with "*" are ncurses-specific, not + described by XPG4 or present in SVr4. curses Routine Name Manual Page Name --------------------------------------------- COLOR_PAIR curs_color(3x) PAIR_NUMBER curs_attr(3x) - _nc_free_and_exit curs_memleaks(3x)* - _nc_freeall curs_memleaks(3x)* - _nc_tracebits curs_trace(3x)* - _traceattr curs_trace(3x)* - _traceattr2 curs_trace(3x)* - _tracechar curs_trace(3x)* - _tracechtype curs_trace(3x)* - _tracechtype2 curs_trace(3x)* - _tracedump curs_trace(3x)* - _tracef curs_trace(3x)* - _tracemouse curs_trace(3x)* add_wch curs_add_wch(3x) add_wchnstr curs_add_wchstr(3x) add_wchstr curs_add_wchstr(3x) @@ -312,13 +307,13 @@ attroff curs_attr(3x) attron curs_attr(3x) attrset curs_attr(3x) - baudrate curs_termattrs(3x) beep curs_beep(3x) bkgd curs_bkgd(3x) bkgdset curs_bkgd(3x) bkgrnd curs_bkgrnd(3x) bkgrndset curs_bkgrnd(3x) + border curs_border(3x) border_set curs_border_set(3x) box curs_border(3x) @@ -334,6 +329,7 @@ color_set curs_attr(3x) copywin curs_overlay(3x) curs_set curs_kernel(3x) + curses_trace curs_trace(3x)* curses_version curs_extend(3x)* def_prog_mode curs_kernel(3x) def_shell_mode curs_kernel(3x) @@ -354,6 +350,8 @@ erase curs_clear(3x) erasechar curs_termattrs(3x) erasewchar curs_termattrs(3x) + exit_curses curs_memleaks(3x)* + exit_terminfo curs_memleaks(3x)* extended_color_content curs_color(3x)* extended_pair_content curs_color(3x)* extended_slk_color curs_slk(3x)* @@ -378,10 +376,10 @@ getmaxy curs_legacy(3x)* getmaxyx curs_getyx(3x) getmouse curs_mouse(3x)* - getn_wstr curs_get_wstr(3x) getnstr curs_getstr(3x) getparx curs_legacy(3x)* + getpary curs_legacy(3x)* getparyx curs_getyx(3x) getstr curs_getstr(3x) @@ -393,6 +391,7 @@ has_ic curs_termattrs(3x) has_il curs_termattrs(3x) has_key curs_getch(3x)* + has_mouse curs_mouse(3x)* hline curs_border(3x) hline_set curs_border_set(3x) idcok curs_outopts(3x) @@ -422,16 +421,20 @@ instr curs_instr(3x) intrflush curs_inopts(3x) inwstr curs_inwstr(3x) + is_cbreak curs_inopts(3x)* is_cleared curs_opaque(3x)* + is_echo curs_inopts(3x)* is_idcok curs_opaque(3x)* is_idlok curs_opaque(3x)* is_immedok curs_opaque(3x)* is_keypad curs_opaque(3x)* is_leaveok curs_opaque(3x)* is_linetouched curs_touch(3x) + is_nl curs_inopts(3x)* is_nodelay curs_opaque(3x)* is_notimeout curs_opaque(3x)* is_pad curs_opaque(3x)* + is_raw curs_inopts(3x)* is_scrollok curs_opaque(3x)* is_subwin curs_opaque(3x)* is_syncok curs_opaque(3x)* @@ -442,9 +445,9 @@ key_name curs_util(3x) keybound keybound(3x)* keyname curs_util(3x) + keyok keyok(3x)* keypad curs_inopts(3x) - killchar curs_termattrs(3x) killwchar curs_termattrs(3x) leaveok curs_outopts(3x) @@ -508,9 +511,9 @@ mvwaddstr curs_addstr(3x) mvwaddwstr curs_addwstr(3x) mvwchgat curs_attr(3x) + mvwdelch curs_delch(3x) mvwget_wch curs_get_wch(3x) - mvwget_wstr curs_get_wstr(3x) mvwgetch curs_getch(3x) mvwgetn_wstr curs_get_wstr(3x) @@ -543,18 +546,19 @@ newpad curs_pad(3x) newterm curs_initscr(3x) newwin curs_window(3x) - nl curs_outopts(3x) + nl curs_inopts(3x) nocbreak curs_inopts(3x) nodelay curs_inopts(3x) noecho curs_inopts(3x) nofilter curs_util(3x)* - nonl curs_outopts(3x) + nonl curs_inopts(3x) noqiflush curs_inopts(3x) noraw curs_inopts(3x) notimeout curs_inopts(3x) overlay curs_overlay(3x) overwrite curs_overlay(3x) pair_content curs_color(3x) + pecho_wchar curs_pad(3x) pechochar curs_pad(3x) pnoutrefresh curs_pad(3x) prefresh curs_pad(3x) @@ -565,6 +569,7 @@ raw curs_inopts(3x) redrawwin curs_refresh(3x) refresh curs_refresh(3x) + reset_color_pairs curs_color(3x)* reset_prog_mode curs_kernel(3x) reset_shell_mode curs_kernel(3x) resetty curs_kernel(3x) @@ -572,11 +577,11 @@ resizeterm resizeterm(3x)* restartterm curs_terminfo(3x) ripoffline curs_kernel(3x) + savetty curs_kernel(3x) scanw curs_scanw(3x) scr_dump curs_scr_dump(3x) scr_init curs_scr_dump(3x) - scr_restore curs_scr_dump(3x) scr_set curs_scr_dump(3x) scrl curs_scroll(3x) @@ -587,7 +592,6 @@ setcchar curs_getcchar(3x) setscrreg curs_outopts(3x) setsyx curs_kernel(3x) - setterm curs_terminfo(3x) setupterm curs_terminfo(3x) slk_attr curs_slk(3x)* slk_attr_off curs_slk(3x) @@ -605,6 +609,7 @@ slk_restore curs_slk(3x) slk_set curs_slk(3x) slk_touch curs_slk(3x) + slk_wset curs_slk(3x) standend curs_attr(3x) standout curs_attr(3x) start_color curs_color(3x) @@ -623,7 +628,9 @@ tigetnum curs_terminfo(3x) tigetstr curs_terminfo(3x) timeout curs_inopts(3x) - tiparm curs_terminfo(3x)* + tiparm curs_terminfo(3x) + tiparm_s curs_terminfo(3x)* + tiscan_s curs_terminfo(3x)* touchline curs_touch(3x) touchwin curs_touch(3x) tparm curs_terminfo(3x) @@ -636,13 +643,13 @@ ungetch curs_getch(3x) ungetmouse curs_mouse(3x)* untouchwin curs_touch(3x) + use_default_colors default_colors(3x)* use_env curs_util(3x) use_extended_names curs_extend(3x)* use_legacy_coding legacy_coding(3x)* - use_tioctl curs_util(3x) + use_tioctl curs_util(3x)* vid_attr curs_terminfo(3x) - vid_puts curs_terminfo(3x) vidattr curs_terminfo(3x) vidputs curs_terminfo(3x) @@ -702,13 +709,13 @@ win_wch curs_in_wch(3x) win_wchnstr curs_in_wchstr(3x) win_wchstr curs_in_wchstr(3x) + winch curs_inch(3x) winchnstr curs_inchstr(3x) winchstr curs_inchstr(3x) winnstr curs_instr(3x) winnwstr curs_inwstr(3x) wins_nwstr curs_ins_wstr(3x) - wins_wch curs_ins_wch(3x) wins_wstr curs_ins_wstr(3x) winsch curs_insch(3x) @@ -738,34 +745,51 @@ wvline curs_border(3x) wvline_set curs_border_set(3x) + Depending on the configuration, additional sets of functions may be + available: + + curs_memleaks(3x) - curses memory-leak checking + + curs_sp_funcs(3x) - curses screen-pointer extension + + curs_threads(3x) - curses thread support + + curs_trace(3x) - curses debugging routines +
- Routines that return an integer return ERR upon failure and an integer + Routines that return an integer return ERR upon failure and an integer value other than ERR upon successful completion, unless otherwise noted in the routine descriptions. - As a general rule, routines check for null pointers passed as parame- - ters, and handle this as an error. + As a general rule, routines check for null pointers passed as + parameters, and handle this as an error. - All macros return the value of the w version, except setscrreg, - wsetscrreg, getyx, getbegyx, and getmaxyx. The return values of - setscrreg, wsetscrreg, getyx, getbegyx, and getmaxyx are undefined - (i.e., these should not be used as the right-hand side of assignment + All macros return the value of the w version, except setscrreg, + wsetscrreg, getyx, getbegyx, and getmaxyx. The return values of + setscrreg, wsetscrreg, getyx, getbegyx, and getmaxyx are undefined + (i.e., these should not be used as the right-hand side of assignment statements). + Functions with a "mv" prefix first perform a cursor movement using + wmove, and return an error if the position is outside the window, or if + the window pointer is null. Most "mv"-prefixed functions (except + variadic functions such as mvprintw) are provided both as macros and + functions. + Routines that return pointers return NULL on error.
- The following environment symbols are useful for customizing the run- - time behavior of the ncurses library. The most important ones have + The following environment symbols are useful for customizing the + runtime behavior of the ncurses library. The most important ones have been already discussed in detail.
- When set, change occurrences of the command_character (i.e., the cmdch - capability) of the loaded terminfo entries to the value of this vari- - able. Very few terminfo entries provide this feature. + When set, change occurrences of the command_character (i.e., the cmdch + capability) of the loaded terminfo entries to the value of this + variable. Very few terminfo entries provide this feature. Because this name is also used in development environments to represent the C compiler's name, ncurses ignores it if it does not happen to be a @@ -773,34 +797,34 @@
- The debugging library checks this environment variable when the appli- - cation has redirected output to a file. The variable's numeric value - is used for the baudrate. If no value is found, ncurses uses 9600. - This allows testers to construct repeatable test-cases that take into - account costs that depend on baudrate. + The debugging library checks this environment variable when the + application has redirected output to a file. The variable's numeric + value is used for the baudrate. If no value is found, ncurses uses + 9600. This allows testers to construct repeatable test-cases that take + into account costs that depend on baudrate.
Specify the width of the screen in characters. Applications running in - a windowing environment usually are able to obtain the width of the - window in which they are executing. If neither the COLUMNS value nor - the terminal's screen size is available, ncurses uses the size which + a windowing environment usually are able to obtain the width of the + window in which they are executing. If neither the COLUMNS value nor + the terminal's screen size is available, ncurses uses the size which may be specified in the terminfo database (i.e., the cols capability). - It is important that your application use a correct size for the - screen. This is not always possible because your application may be - running on a host which does not honor NAWS (Negotiations About Window - Size), or because you are temporarily running as another user. How- - ever, setting COLUMNS and/or LINES overrides the library's use of the - screen size obtained from the operating system. + It is important that your application use a correct size for the + screen. This is not always possible because your application may be + running on a host which does not honor NAWS (Negotiations About Window + Size), or because you are temporarily running as another user. + However, setting COLUMNS and/or LINES overrides the library's use of + the screen size obtained from the operating system. - Either COLUMNS or LINES symbols may be specified independently. This - is mainly useful to circumvent legacy misfeatures of terminal descrip- - tions, e.g., xterm which commonly specifies a 65 line screen. For best - results, lines and cols should not be specified in a terminal descrip- - tion for terminals which are run as emulations. + Either COLUMNS or LINES symbols may be specified independently. This + is mainly useful to circumvent legacy misfeatures of terminal + descriptions, e.g., xterm which commonly specifies a 65 line screen. + For best results, lines and cols should not be specified in a terminal + description for terminals which are run as emulations. - Use the use_env function to disable all use of external environment + Use the use_env function to disable all use of external environment (but not including system calls) to determine the screen size. Use the use_tioctl function to update COLUMNS or LINES to match the screen size obtained from system calls or the terminal database. @@ -808,31 +832,31 @@
Specifies the total time, in milliseconds, for which ncurses will await - a character sequence, e.g., a function key. The default value, 1000 - milliseconds, is enough for most uses. However, it is made a variable + a character sequence, e.g., a function key. The default value, 1000 + milliseconds, is enough for most uses. However, it is made a variable to accommodate unusual applications. - The most common instance where you may wish to change this value is to - work with slow hosts, e.g., running on a network. If the host cannot - read characters rapidly enough, it will have the same effect as if the - terminal did not send characters rapidly enough. The library will + The most common instance where you may wish to change this value is to + work with slow hosts, e.g., running on a network. If the host cannot + read characters rapidly enough, it will have the same effect as if the + terminal did not send characters rapidly enough. The library will still see a timeout. - Note that xterm mouse events are built up from character sequences - received from the xterm. If your application makes heavy use of multi- - ple-clicking, you may wish to lengthen this default value because the - timeout applies to the composed multi-click event as well as the indi- - vidual clicks. + Note that xterm mouse events are built up from character sequences + received from the xterm. If your application makes heavy use of + multiple-clicking, you may wish to lengthen this default value because + the timeout applies to the composed multi-click event as well as the + individual clicks. In addition to the environment variable, this implementation provides a - global variable with the same name. Portable applications should not - rely upon the presence of ESCDELAY in either form, but setting the - environment variable rather than the global variable does not create + global variable with the same name. Portable applications should not + rely upon the presence of ESCDELAY in either form, but setting the + environment variable rather than the global variable does not create problems when compiling an application.
- Tells ncurses where your home directory is. That is where it may read + Tells ncurses where your home directory is. That is where it may read and write auxiliary terminal descriptions: $HOME/.termcap @@ -840,51 +864,51 @@
- Like COLUMNS, specify the height of the screen in characters. See COL- - UMNS for a detailed description. + Like COLUMNS, specify the height of the screen in characters. See + COLUMNS for a detailed description.
- This applies only to the OS/2 EMX port. It specifies the order of but- - tons on the mouse. OS/2 numbers a 3-button mouse inconsistently from - other platforms: + This applies only to the OS/2 EMX port. It specifies the order of + buttons on the mouse. OS/2 numbers a 3-button mouse inconsistently + from other platforms: 1 = left 2 = right 3 = middle. This variable lets you customize the mouse. The variable must be three - numeric digits 1-3 in any order, e.g., 123 or 321. If it is not speci- - fied, ncurses uses 132. + numeric digits 1-3 in any order, e.g., 123 or 321. If it is not + specified, ncurses uses 132.
- Override the compiled-in assumption that the terminal's default colors - are white-on-black (see default_colors(3x)). You may set the fore- - ground and background color values with this environment variable by - proving a 2-element list: foreground,background. For example, to tell - ncurses to not assume anything about the colors, set this to "-1,-1". - To make it green-on-black, set it to "2,0". Any positive value from - zero to the terminfo max_colors value is allowed. + Override the compiled-in assumption that the terminal's default colors + are white-on-black (see default_colors(3x)). You may set the + foreground and background color values with this environment variable + by proving a 2-element list: foreground,background. For example, to + tell ncurses to not assume anything about the colors, set this to + "-1,-1". To make it green-on-black, set it to "2,0". Any positive + value from zero to the terminfo max_colors value is allowed.
This applies only to the MinGW port of ncurses. - The Console2 program's handling of the Microsoft Console API call Cre- - ateConsoleScreenBuffer is defective. Applications which use this will - hang. However, it is possible to simulate the action of this call by - mapping coordinates, explicitly saving and restoring the original - screen contents. Setting the environment variable NCGDB has the same + The Console2 program's handling of the Microsoft Console API call + CreateConsoleScreenBuffer is defective. Applications which use this + will hang. However, it is possible to simulate the action of this call + by mapping coordinates, explicitly saving and restoring the original + screen contents. Setting the environment variable NCGDB has the same effect.
This applies only to ncurses configured to use the GPM interface. - If present, the environment variable is a list of one or more terminal - names against which the TERM environment variable is matched. Setting - it to an empty value disables the GPM interface; using the built-in + If present, the environment variable is a list of one or more terminal + names against which the TERM environment variable is matched. Setting + it to an empty value disables the GPM interface; using the built-in support for xterm, etc. If the environment variable is absent, ncurses will attempt to open GPM @@ -892,40 +916,40 @@
- Ncurses may use tabs as part of the cursor movement optimization. In - some cases, your terminal driver may not handle these properly. Set - this environment variable to disable the feature. You can also adjust - your stty settings to avoid the problem. + Ncurses may use tabs as part of the cursor movement optimization. In + some cases, your terminal driver may not handle these properly. Set + this environment variable to disable the feature. You can also adjust + your stty(1) settings to avoid the problem.
- Some terminals use a magic-cookie feature which requires special han- - dling to make highlighting and other video attributes display properly. - You can suppress the highlighting entirely for these terminals by set- - ting this environment variable. + Some terminals use a magic-cookie feature which requires special + handling to make highlighting and other video attributes display + properly. You can suppress the highlighting entirely for these + terminals by setting this environment variable.
- Most of the terminal descriptions in the terminfo database are written - for real "hardware" terminals. Many people use terminal emulators + Most of the terminal descriptions in the terminfo database are written + for real "hardware" terminals. Many people use terminal emulators which run in a windowing environment and use curses-based applications. - Terminal emulators can duplicate all of the important aspects of a - hardware terminal, but they do not have the same limitations. The - chief limitation of a hardware terminal from the standpoint of your - application is the management of dataflow, i.e., timing. Unless a - hardware terminal is interfaced into a terminal concentrator (which - does flow control), it (or your application) must manage dataflow, pre- - venting overruns. The cheapest solution (no hardware cost) is for your - program to do this by pausing after operations that the terminal does - slowly, such as clearing the display. - - As a result, many terminal descriptions (including the vt100) have - delay times embedded. You may wish to use these descriptions, but not + Terminal emulators can duplicate all of the important aspects of a + hardware terminal, but they do not have the same limitations. The + chief limitation of a hardware terminal from the standpoint of your + application is the management of dataflow, i.e., timing. Unless a + hardware terminal is interfaced into a terminal concentrator (which + does flow control), it (or your application) must manage dataflow, + preventing overruns. The cheapest solution (no hardware cost) is for + your program to do this by pausing after operations that the terminal + does slowly, such as clearing the display. + + As a result, many terminal descriptions (including the vt100) have + delay times embedded. You may wish to use these descriptions, but not want to pay the performance penalty. - Set the NCURSES_NO_PADDING environment variable to disable all but - mandatory padding. Mandatory padding is used as a part of special con- - trol sequences such as flash. + Set the NCURSES_NO_PADDING environment variable to disable all but + mandatory padding. Mandatory padding is used as a part of special + control sequences such as flash.
@@ -935,44 +959,44 @@ o continued though 5.9 patch 20130126 - ncurses enabled buffered output during terminal initialization. This - was done (as in SVr4 curses) for performance reasons. For testing pur- - poses, both of ncurses and certain applications, this feature was made - optional. Setting the NCURSES_NO_SETBUF variable disabled output - buffering, leaving the output in the original (usually line buffered) + ncurses enabled buffered output during terminal initialization. This + was done (as in SVr4 curses) for performance reasons. For testing + purposes, both of ncurses and certain applications, this feature was + made optional. Setting the NCURSES_NO_SETBUF variable disabled output + buffering, leaving the output in the original (usually line buffered) mode. - In the current implementation, ncurses performs its own buffering and - does not require this workaround. It does not modify the buffering of + In the current implementation, ncurses performs its own buffering and + does not require this workaround. It does not modify the buffering of the standard output. - The reason for the change was to make the behavior for interrupts and - other signals more robust. One drawback is that certain nonconven- - tional programs would mix ordinary stdio calls with ncurses calls and - (usually) work. This is no longer possible since ncurses is not using - the buffered standard output but its own output (to the same file - descriptor). As a special case, the low-level calls such as putp still - use the standard output. But high-level curses calls do not. + The reason for the change was to make the behavior for interrupts and + other signals more robust. One drawback is that certain + nonconventional programs would mix ordinary stdio calls with ncurses + calls and (usually) work. This is no longer possible since ncurses is + not using the buffered standard output but its own output (to the same + file descriptor). As a special case, the low-level calls such as putp + still use the standard output. But high-level curses calls do not.
- During initialization, the ncurses library checks for special cases + During initialization, the ncurses library checks for special cases where VT100 line-drawing (and the corresponding alternate character set - capabilities) described in the terminfo are known to be missing. - Specifically, when running in a UTF-8 locale, the Linux console emula- - tor and the GNU screen program ignore these. Ncurses checks the TERM - environment variable for these. For other special cases, you should - set this environment variable. Doing this tells ncurses to use Unicode - values which correspond to the VT100 line-drawing glyphs. That works - for the special cases cited, and is likely to work for terminal emula- - tors. - - When setting this variable, you should set it to a nonzero value. Set- - ting it to zero (or to a nonnumber) disables the special check for + capabilities) described in the terminfo are known to be missing. + Specifically, when running in a UTF-8 locale, the Linux console + emulator and the GNU screen program ignore these. Ncurses checks the + TERM environment variable for these. For other special cases, you + should set this environment variable. Doing this tells ncurses to use + Unicode values which correspond to the VT100 line-drawing glyphs. That + works for the special cases cited, and is likely to work for terminal + emulators. + + When setting this variable, you should set it to a nonzero value. + Setting it to zero (or to a nonnumber) disables the special check for "linux" and "screen". - As an alternative to the environment variable, ncurses checks for an - extended terminfo capability U8. This is a numeric capability which + As an alternative to the environment variable, ncurses checks for an + extended terminfo capability U8. This is a numeric capability which can be compiled using tic -x. For example # linux console, if patched to provide working @@ -984,67 +1008,67 @@ xterm-utf8|xterm relying on UTF-8 line-graphics, U8#1, use=xterm, - The name "U8" is chosen to be two characters, to permit it to be used + The name "U8" is chosen to be two characters, to permit it to be used by applications that use ncurses' termcap interface.
- During initialization, the ncurses debugging library checks the - NCURSES_TRACE environment variable. If it is defined, to a numeric - value, ncurses calls the trace function, using that value as the argu- - ment. + During initialization, the ncurses debugging library checks the + NCURSES_TRACE environment variable. If it is defined, to a numeric + value, ncurses calls the trace function, using that value as the + argument. - The argument values, which are defined in curses.h, provide several - types of information. When running with traces enabled, your applica- - tion will write the file trace to the current directory. + The argument values, which are defined in curses.h, provide several + types of information. When running with traces enabled, your + application will write the file trace to the current directory. See curs_trace(3x) for more information.
- Denotes your terminal type. Each terminal type is distinct, though + Denotes your terminal type. Each terminal type is distinct, though many are similar. - TERM is commonly set by terminal emulators to help applications find a - workable terminal description. Some of those choose a popular approxi- - mation, e.g., "ansi", "vt100", "xterm" rather than an exact fit. Not - infrequently, your application will have problems with that approach, - e.g., incorrect function-key definitions. + TERM is commonly set by terminal emulators to help applications find a + workable terminal description. Some of those choose a popular + approximation, e.g., "ansi", "vt100", "xterm" rather than an exact fit. + Not infrequently, your application will have problems with that + approach, e.g., incorrect function-key definitions. - If you set TERM in your environment, it has no effect on the operation - of the terminal emulator. It only affects the way applications work - within the terminal. Likewise, as a general rule (xterm being a rare - exception), terminal emulators which allow you to specify TERM as a - parameter or configuration value do not change their behavior to match - that setting. + If you set TERM in your environment, it has no effect on the operation + of the terminal emulator. It only affects the way applications work + within the terminal. Likewise, as a general rule (xterm(1) being a + rare exception), terminal emulators which allow you to specify TERM as + a parameter or configuration value do not change their behavior to + match that setting.
- If the ncurses library has been configured with termcap support, - ncurses will check for a terminal's description in termcap form if it + If the ncurses library has been configured with termcap support, + ncurses will check for a terminal's description in termcap form if it is not available in the terminfo database. The TERMCAP environment variable contains either a terminal description - (with newlines stripped out), or a file name telling where the informa- - tion denoted by the TERM environment variable exists. In either case, - setting it directs ncurses to ignore the usual place for this informa- - tion, e.g., /etc/termcap. + (with newlines stripped out), or a file name telling where the + information denoted by the TERM environment variable exists. In either + case, setting it directs ncurses to ignore the usual place for this + information, e.g., /etc/termcap.
- ncurses can be configured to read from multiple terminal databases. - The TERMINFO variable overrides the location for the default terminal - database. Terminal descriptions (in terminal format) are stored in + ncurses can be configured to read from multiple terminal databases. + The TERMINFO variable overrides the location for the default terminal + database. Terminal descriptions (in terminal format) are stored in terminal databases: o Normally these are stored in a directory tree, using subdirectories named by the first letter of the terminal names therein. This is the scheme used in System V, which legacy Unix systems use, - and the TERMINFO variable is used by curses applications on those + and the TERMINFO variable is used by curses applications on those systems to override the default location of the terminal database. - o If ncurses is built to use hashed databases, then each entry in + o If ncurses is built to use hashed databases, then each entry in this list may be the path of a hashed database file, e.g., /usr/share/terminfo.db @@ -1053,30 +1077,30 @@ /usr/share/terminfo/ - The hashed database uses less disk-space and is a little faster - than the directory tree. However, some applications assume the - existence of the directory tree, reading it directly rather than + The hashed database uses less disk-space and is a little faster + than the directory tree. However, some applications assume the + existence of the directory tree, reading it directly rather than using the terminfo library calls. - o If ncurses is built with a support for reading termcap files - directly, then an entry in this list may be the path of a termcap + o If ncurses is built with a support for reading termcap files + directly, then an entry in this list may be the path of a termcap file. o If the TERMINFO variable begins with "hex:" or "b64:", ncurses uses - the remainder of that variable as a compiled terminal description. + the remainder of that variable as a compiled terminal description. You might produce the base64 format using infocmp(1m): TERMINFO="$(infocmp -0 -Q2 -q)" export TERMINFO - The compiled description is used if it corresponds to the terminal + The compiled description is used if it corresponds to the terminal identified by the TERM variable. - Setting TERMINFO is the simplest, but not the only way to set location - of the default terminal database. The complete list of database loca- - tions in order follows: + Setting TERMINFO is the simplest, but not the only way to set location + of the default terminal database. The complete list of database + locations in order follows: - o the last terminal database to which ncurses wrote, if any, is + o the last terminal database to which ncurses wrote, if any, is searched first o the location specified by the TERMINFO environment variable @@ -1085,31 +1109,31 @@ o locations listed in the TERMINFO_DIRS environment variable - o one or more locations whose names are configured and compiled + o one or more locations whose names are configured and compiled into the ncurses library, i.e., - o /usr/local/ncurses/share/terminfo:/usr/share/terminfo (corre- - sponding to the TERMINFO_DIRS variable) + o /usr/share/terminfo (corresponding to the TERMINFO_DIRS + variable) o /usr/share/terminfo (corresponding to the TERMINFO variable)
- 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 TERMINFO 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 TERMINFO 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- - sion developed for ncurses. + There is no corresponding feature in System V terminfo; it is an + extension developed for ncurses.
- If TERMCAP does not hold a file name then ncurses checks the TERMPATH - environment variable. This is a list of filenames separated by spaces + If TERMCAP does not hold a file name then ncurses checks the TERMPATH + environment variable. This is a list of filenames separated by spaces or colons (i.e., ":") on Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX. - If the TERMPATH environment variable is not set, ncurses looks in the + If the TERMPATH environment variable is not set, ncurses looks in the files /etc/termcap, /usr/share/misc/termcap and $HOME/.termcap, @@ -1117,38 +1141,38 @@ 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.
- Several different configurations are possible, depending on the config- - ure script options used when building ncurses. There are a few main - options whose effects are visible to the applications developer using - ncurses: + Several different configurations are possible, depending on the + configure script options used when building ncurses. There are a few + main options whose effects are visible to the applications developer + using ncurses: --disable-overwrite The standard include for ncurses is as noted in SYNOPSIS: #include <curses.h> - This option is used to avoid filename conflicts when ncurses is + This option is used to avoid filename conflicts when ncurses is not the main implementation of curses of the computer. If ncurses - is installed disabling overwrite, it puts its headers in a subdi- - rectory, e.g., + is installed disabling overwrite, it puts its headers in a + subdirectory, e.g., #include <ncurses/curses.h> - It also omits a symbolic link which would allow you to use + It also omits a symbolic link which would allow you to use -lcurses to build executables. --enable-widec - The configure script renames the library and (if the --dis- - able-overwrite 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 + The configure script renames the library and (if the + --disable-overwrite option is used) puts the header files in a + different subdirectory. All of the library names have a "w" + appended to them, i.e., instead of -lncurses @@ -1156,45 +1180,45 @@ -lncursesw - 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: - o Originally, the wide-character feature required the symbol + o Originally, the wide-character feature required the symbol _XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED but that was only valid for XPG4 (1996). - o Later, that was deemed conflicting with _XOPEN_SOURCE defined + o Later, that was deemed conflicting with _XOPEN_SOURCE defined to 500. - o As of mid-2018, none of the features in this implementation - require a _XOPEN_SOURCE feature greater than 600. However, + o As of mid-2018, none of the features in this implementation + require a _XOPEN_SOURCE feature greater than 600. However, X/Open Curses, Issue 7 (2009) recommends defining it to 700. - o Alternatively, you can enable the feature by defining - NCURSES_WIDECHAR with the caveat that some other header file - than curses.h may require a specific value for _XOPEN_SOURCE + o Alternatively, you can enable the feature by defining + NCURSES_WIDECHAR with the caveat that some other header file + than curses.h may require a specific value for _XOPEN_SOURCE (or a system-specific symbol). - The curses.h 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 WINDOW structure differs, and very + The curses.h 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 WINDOW structure differs, and very few applications require more than a pointer to WINDOWs. - 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. + If the headers are installed allowing overwrite, the wide- + character library's headers should be installed last, to allow + applications to be built using either library from the same set of + headers. --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 --enable-widec). The global variables such as LINES 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 @@ -1204,47 +1228,66 @@ --with-debug --with-profile - The shared and normal (static) library names differ by their suf- - fixes, e.g., libncurses.so and libncurses.a. The debug and pro- - filing libraries add a "_g" and a "_p" to the root names respec- - tively, e.g., libncurses_g.a and libncurses_p.a. + The shared and normal (static) library names differ by their + suffixes, e.g., libncurses.so and libncurses.a. The debug and + profiling libraries add a "_g" and a "_p" to the root names + respectively, e.g., libncurses_g.a and libncurses_p.a. + + --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: + + o curs_extend(3x) - miscellaneous curses extensions + + o curs_inopts(3x) - curses input options + + o curs_kernel(3x) - low-level curses routines + + o curs_termattrs(3x) - curses environment query routines + + o curs_termcap(3x) - curses emulation of termcap + + o curs_terminfo(3x) - curses interfaces to terminfo database + + o curs_util(3x) - miscellaneous curses utility routines --with-trace The trace function normally resides in the debug library, but it - is sometimes useful to configure this in the shared library. Con- - figure scripts should check for the function's existence rather + is sometimes useful to configure this in the shared library. + Configure scripts should check for the function's existence rather than assuming it is always in the debug library.
- /usr/share/tabset - directory containing initialization files for the terminal capa- - bility database /usr/share/terminfo terminal capability database - + /usr/share/tabset + tab stop initialization database -
- terminfo(5) and related pages whose names begin "curs_" for detailed - routine descriptions. - curs_variables(3x) - user_caps(5) for user-defined capabilities + /usr/share/terminfo + compiled terminal capability database
The ncurses library can be compiled with an option (-DUSE_GETCAP) that falls back to the old-style /etc/termcap file if the terminal setup code cannot find a terminfo entry corresponding to TERM. Use of this - feature is not recommended, as it essentially includes an entire term- - cap compiler in the ncurses startup code, at significant cost in core - and startup cycles. + feature is not recommended, as it essentially includes an entire + termcap compiler in the ncurses startup code, at significant cost in + core and startup cycles. The ncurses library includes facilities for capturing mouse events on certain terminals (including xterm). See the curs_mouse(3x) manual page for details. - The ncurses library includes facilities for responding to window resiz- - ing events, e.g., when running in an xterm. See the resizeterm(3x) and - wresize(3x) manual pages for details. In addition, the library may be - configured with a SIGWINCH handler. + The ncurses library includes facilities for responding to window + resizing events, e.g., when running in an xterm. See the + resizeterm(3x) and wresize(3x) manual pages for details. In addition, + the library may be configured with a SIGWINCH handler. The ncurses library extends the fixed set of function key capabilities of terminals by allowing the application designer to define additional @@ -1253,89 +1296,195 @@ The ncurses 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 default_col- - ors(3x) manual page for details. - - The ncurses library includes a function for directing application out- - put to a printer attached to the terminal device. See the + application to reset the terminal to its original foreground and + background 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 + default_colors(3x) manual page for details. + + The ncurses library includes a function for directing application + output to a printer attached to the terminal device. See the curs_print(3x) manual page for details.
The ncurses library is intended to be BASE-level conformant with XSI - Curses. The EXTENDED XSI Curses functionality (including color sup- - port) is supported. + Curses. The EXTENDED XSI Curses functionality (including color + support) is supported. A small number of local differences (that is, individual differences between the XSI Curses and ncurses calls) are described in PORTABILITY sections of the library man pages. - 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 - application which of several possible errors were detected. Relying on - this (or some other) extension will adversely affect the portability of - curses applications. - This implementation also contains several extensions: +
+ 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 + pointers 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. + + +
+ 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: o The routine has_key is not part of XPG4, nor is it present in SVr4. See the curs_getch(3x) manual page for details. - o The routine slk_attr is not part of XPG4, nor is it present in + o The routine slk_attr is not part of XPG4, nor is it present in SVr4. See the curs_slk(3x) manual page for details. - o The routines getmouse, mousemask, ungetmouse, mouseinterval, and - wenclose relating to mouse interfacing are not part of XPG4, nor - are they present in SVr4. See the curs_mouse(3x) manual page for + o The routines getmouse, mousemask, ungetmouse, mouseinterval, and + wenclose relating to mouse interfacing are not part of XPG4, nor + are they present in SVr4. See the curs_mouse(3x) manual page for details. - o The routine mcprint was not present in any previous curses imple- - mentation. See the curs_print(3x) manual page for details. + o The routine mcprint was not present in any previous curses + implementation. See the curs_print(3x) manual page for details. o The routine wresize is not part of XPG4, nor is it present in SVr4. See the wresize(3x) manual page for details. - o The WINDOW structure's internal details can be hidden from applica- - tion programs. See curs_opaque(3x) for the discussion of is_scrol- - lok, etc. + o The WINDOW structure's internal details can be hidden from + application programs. See curs_opaque(3x) for the discussion of + is_scrollok, etc. - o This implementation can be configured to provide rudimentary sup- - port for multi-threaded applications. See curs_threads(3x) for + o This implementation can be configured to provide rudimentary + support for multi-threaded applications. See curs_threads(3x) for details. - o This implementation can also be configured to provide a set of - functions which improve the ability to manage multiple screens. + o This implementation can also be configured to provide a set of + functions which improve the ability to manage multiple screens. See curs_sp_funcs(3x) for details. - In historic curses versions, delays embedded in the capabilities cr, - ind, cub1, ff and tab activated corresponding delay bits in the UNIX + +
+ In historic curses versions, delays embedded in the capabilities cr, + ind, cub1, ff and tab 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 + interface to the UNIX kernel significantly and increases the package's portability correspondingly. -
- The header file <curses.h> automatically includes the header files +
+ The header file <curses.h> automatically includes the header files <stdio.h> and <unctrl.h>. - If standard output from a ncurses program is re-directed to something - which is not a tty, screen updates will be directed to standard error. + 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 + headers <stdio.h>, <term.h>, <termios.h>, and <wchar.h>. + + Here is a more complete story: + + o Starting with BSD curses, all implementations have included + <stdio.h>. + + BSD curses included <curses.h> and <unctrl.h> from an internal + header "curses.ext" ("ext" was a short name for externs). + + BSD curses used <stdio.h> internally (for printw and scanw), but + nothing in <curses.h> itself relied upon <stdio.h>. + + o SVr2 curses added newterm(3x), which relies upon <stdio.h>. That + is, the function prototype uses FILE. + + SVr4 curses added putwin and getwin, 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 + 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>. + + o X/Open Curses is inconsistent with respect to SVr4 regarding + <unctrl.h>. + + As noted in curs_util(3x), ncurses includes <unctrl.h> from + <curses.h> (like SVr4). + + o X/Open's comments about <term.h> and <termios.h> may refer to HP-UX + and AIX: + + HP-UX curses includes <term.h> from <curses.h> to declare setupterm + in curses.h, but ncurses (and Solaris curses) do not. + + AIX curses includes <term.h> and <termios.h>. Again, ncurses (and + Solaris curses) do not. + + o X/Open says that <curses.h> may 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 + including <term.h>. + + 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> + before <term.h>. + + o X/Open Curses says "may make visible" 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> may 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 + visible. That depends on the value used for _XOPEN_SOURCE feature + test macro. + + o X/Open Curses documents one required header, in a special case: + <stdarg.h> before <curses.h> to prototype the vw_printw and + vw_scanw functions (as well as the obsolete the vwprintw and + vwscanw functions). Each of those uses a va_list 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 + include either <varargs.h> or <stdarg.h>. Initially, that was done + by using void* for the va_list 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> + directly to provide a portable interface. + + +
+ If standard output from a ncurses 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.
- Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey. Based on pcurses + Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey. Based on pcurses by Pavel Curtis. +
+ terminfo(5) and related pages whose names begin "curs_" for detailed + routine descriptions. + curs_variables(3x) + user_caps(5) for user-defined capabilities + - ncurses(3x) + +ncurses 6.4 2023-10-14 ncurses(3x)