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30 * @Id: curs_terminfo.3x,v 1.16 2002/07/20 16:05:19 tom Exp @
34 <TITLE>curs_terminfo 3x</TITLE>
35 <link rev=made href="mailto:bug-ncurses@gnu.org">
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39 <H1>curs_terminfo 3x</H1>
42 <!-- Manpage converted by man2html 3.0.1 -->
46 <STRONG>del_curterm</STRONG>, <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG>, <STRONG>putp</STRONG>, <STRONG>restartterm</STRONG>, <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG>, <STRONG>set-</STRONG>
47 <STRONG>term</STRONG>, <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>, <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG>, <STRONG>tigetnum</STRONG>, <STRONG>tigetstr</STRONG>, <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>,
48 <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>, <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG>, <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG>, <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG>, <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> - <STRONG>curses</STRONG>
49 interfaces to terminfo database
53 <H2>SYNOPSIS</H2><PRE>
54 <STRONG>#include</STRONG> <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG>
55 <STRONG>#include</STRONG> <STRONG><term.h></STRONG>
57 <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>setupterm(char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>term</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <EM>fildes</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>errret</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
58 <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>setterm(char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>term</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
59 <STRONG>TERMINAL</STRONG> <STRONG>*set_curterm(TERMINAL</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>nterm</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
60 <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>del_curterm(TERMINAL</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>oterm</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
61 <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>restartterm(const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>term</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <EM>fildes</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>errret</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
62 <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*tparm(char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>str</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>...);</STRONG>
63 <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>tputs(const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>str</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <EM>affcnt</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>(*</STRONG><EM>putc</EM><STRONG>)(int));</STRONG>
64 <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>putp(const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>str</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
65 <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>vidputs(chtype</STRONG> <EM>attrs</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>(*</STRONG><EM>putc</EM><STRONG>)(int));</STRONG>
66 <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>vidattr(chtype</STRONG> <EM>attrs</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
67 <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>vid_puts(attr_t</STRONG> <EM>attrs</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>short</STRONG> <EM>pair</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>void</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>opts</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>(*</STRONG><EM>putc</EM><STRONG>)(char));</STRONG>
68 <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>vid_attr(attr_t</STRONG> <EM>attrs</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>short</STRONG> <EM>pair</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>void</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>opts</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
69 <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>mvcur(int</STRONG> <EM>oldrow</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <EM>oldcol</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <EM>newrow</EM>, int <EM>newcol</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
70 <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>tigetflag(char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>capname</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
71 <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>tigetnum(char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>capname</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
72 <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*tigetstr(char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>capname</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
76 <H2>DESCRIPTION</H2><PRE>
77 These low-level routines must be called by programs that
78 have to deal directly with the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> database to handle
79 certain terminal capabilities, such as programming func-
80 tion keys. For all other functionality, <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routines
81 are more suitable and their use is recommended.
83 Initially, <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> should be called. Note that
84 <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> is automatically called by <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> and <STRONG>newterm</STRONG>.
85 This defines the set of terminal-dependent variables
86 [listed in <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>]. The <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> variables <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and
87 <STRONG>columns</STRONG> are initialized by <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> as follows: If
88 <STRONG>use_env(FALSE)</STRONG> has been called, values for <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and
89 <STRONG>columns</STRONG> specified in <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> are used. Otherwise, if the
90 environment variables <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> and <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> exist, their val-
91 ues are used. If these environment variables do not exist
92 and the program is running in a window, the current window
93 size is used. Otherwise, if the environment variables do
94 not exist, the values for <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and <STRONG>columns</STRONG> specified in
95 the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> database are used.
97 The header files <STRONG>curses.h</STRONG> and <STRONG>term.h</STRONG> should be included
98 (in this order) to get the definitions for these strings,
99 numbers, and flags. Parameterized strings should be
100 passed through <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> to instantiate them. All <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG>
101 strings [including the output of <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>] should be printed
102 with <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> or <STRONG>putp</STRONG>. Call the <STRONG>reset_shell_mode</STRONG> to restore
103 the tty modes before exiting [see <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>]. Pro-
104 grams which use cursor addressing should output
105 <STRONG>enter_ca_mode</STRONG> upon startup and should output <STRONG>exit_ca_mode</STRONG>
106 before exiting. Programs desiring shell escapes should
109 <STRONG>reset_shell_mode</STRONG> and output <STRONG>exit_ca_mode</STRONG> before the shell
110 is called and should output <STRONG>enter_ca_mode</STRONG> and call
111 <STRONG>reset_prog_mode</STRONG> after returning from the shell.
113 The <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> routine reads in the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> database, ini-
114 tializing the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> structures, but does not set up the
115 output virtualization structures used by <STRONG>curses</STRONG>. The ter-
116 minal type is the character string <EM>term</EM>; if <EM>term</EM> is null,
117 the environment variable <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> is used. All output is to
118 file descriptor <STRONG>fildes</STRONG> which is initialized for output.
119 If <EM>errret</EM> is not null, then <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> returns <STRONG>OK</STRONG> or <STRONG>ERR</STRONG>
120 and stores a status value in the integer pointed to by
121 <EM>errret</EM>. A return value of <STRONG>OK</STRONG> combined with status of <STRONG>1</STRONG> in
122 <EM>errret</EM> is normal. If <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> is returned, examine <EM>errret</EM>:
124 <STRONG>1</STRONG> means that the terminal is hardcopy, cannot be
125 used for curses applications.
127 <STRONG>0</STRONG> means that the terminal could not be found, or
128 that it is a generic type, having too little
129 information for curses applications to run.
131 <STRONG>-1</STRONG> means that the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> database could not be
134 If <EM>errret</EM> is null, <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> prints an error message upon
135 finding an error and exits. Thus, the simplest call is:
137 <STRONG>setupterm((char</STRONG> <STRONG>*)0,</STRONG> <STRONG>1,</STRONG> <STRONG>(int</STRONG> <STRONG>*)0);</STRONG>,
139 which uses all the defaults and sends the output to <STRONG>std-</STRONG>
140 <STRONG>out</STRONG>.
142 The <STRONG>setterm</STRONG> routine is being replaced by <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>. The
145 <STRONG>setupterm(</STRONG><EM>term</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>1,</STRONG> <STRONG>(int</STRONG> <STRONG>*)0)</STRONG>
147 provides the same functionality as <STRONG>setterm(</STRONG><EM>term</EM><STRONG>)</STRONG>. The
148 <STRONG>setterm</STRONG> routine is included here for BSD compatibility,
149 and is not recommended for new programs.
151 The <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG> routine sets the variable <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG> to
152 <EM>nterm</EM>, and makes all of the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> boolean, numeric, and
153 string variables use the values from <EM>nterm</EM>. It returns
154 the old value of <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG>.
156 The <STRONG>del_curterm</STRONG> routine frees the space pointed to by
157 <EM>oterm</EM> and makes it available for further use. If <EM>oterm</EM> is
158 the same as <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG>, references to any of the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG>
159 boolean, numeric, and string variables thereafter may
160 refer to invalid memory locations until another <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>
163 The <STRONG>restartterm</STRONG> routine is similar to <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> and
164 <STRONG>initscr</STRONG>, except that it is called after restoring memory
165 to a previous state (for example, when reloading a game
166 saved as a core image dump). It assumes that the windows
167 and the input and output options are the same as when mem-
168 ory was saved, but the terminal type and baud rate may be
169 different. Accordingly, it saves various tty state bits,
170 does a setupterm, and then restores the bits.
172 The <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> routine instantiates the string <EM>str</EM> with parame-
173 ters <EM>pi</EM>. A pointer is returned to the result of <EM>str</EM> with
174 the parameters applied.
176 The <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> routine applies padding information to the
177 string <EM>str</EM> and outputs it. The <EM>str</EM> must be a terminfo
178 string variable or the return value from <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>, <STRONG>tgetstr</STRONG>,
179 or <STRONG>tgoto</STRONG>. <EM>affcnt</EM> is the number of lines affected, or 1 if
180 not applicable. <EM>putc</EM> is a <STRONG>putchar</STRONG>-like routine to which
181 the characters are passed, one at a time.
183 The <STRONG>putp</STRONG> routine calls <STRONG>tputs(</STRONG><EM>str</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>1,</STRONG> <STRONG>putchar)</STRONG>. Note that
184 the output of <STRONG>putp</STRONG> always goes to <STRONG>stdout</STRONG>, not to the
185 <EM>fildes</EM> specified in <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>.
187 The <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> routine displays the string on the terminal in
188 the video attribute mode <EM>attrs</EM>, which is any combination
189 of the attributes listed in <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG>. The characters
190 are passed to the <STRONG>putchar</STRONG>-like routine <EM>putc</EM>.
192 The <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> routine is like the <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> routine, except
193 that it outputs through <STRONG>putchar</STRONG>.
195 The <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG> routines correspond to vidattr
196 and vidputs, respectively. They use a set of arguments
197 for representing the video attributes plus color, i.e.,
198 one of type attr_t for the attributes and one of short for
199 the color_pair number. The <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG> routines
200 are designed to use the attribute constants with the <EM>WA</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG>
201 prefix. The opts argument is reserved for future use.
202 Currently, applications must provide a null pointer for
205 The <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> routine provides low-level cursor motion. It
206 takes effect immediately (rather than at the next
209 The <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG>, <STRONG>tigetnum</STRONG> and <STRONG>tigetstr</STRONG> routines return the
210 value of the capability corresponding to the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG>
211 <EM>capname</EM> passed to them, such as <STRONG>xenl</STRONG>.
213 The <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG> routine returns the value <STRONG>-1</STRONG> if <EM>capname</EM> is
214 not a boolean capability, or <STRONG>0</STRONG> if it is canceled or absent
215 from the terminal description.
217 The <STRONG>tigetnum</STRONG> routine returns the value <STRONG>-2</STRONG> if <EM>capname</EM> is
218 not a numeric capability, or <STRONG>-1</STRONG> if it is canceled or
219 absent from the terminal description.
221 The <STRONG>tigetstr</STRONG> routine returns the value <STRONG>(char</STRONG> <STRONG>*)-1</STRONG> if <EM>cap-</EM>
222 <EM>name</EM> is not a string capability, or <STRONG>0</STRONG> if it is canceled or
223 absent from the terminal description.
225 The <EM>capname</EM> for each capability is given in the table col-
226 umn entitled <EM>capname</EM> code in the capabilities section of
227 <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>.
229 <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*boolnames</STRONG>, <STRONG>*boolcodes</STRONG>, <STRONG>*boolfnames</STRONG>
231 <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*numnames</STRONG>, <STRONG>*numcodes</STRONG>, <STRONG>*numfnames</STRONG>
233 <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*strnames</STRONG>, <STRONG>*strcodes</STRONG>, <STRONG>*strfnames</STRONG>
235 These null-terminated arrays contain the <EM>capnames</EM>, the
236 <STRONG>termcap</STRONG> codes, and the full C names, for each of the <STRONG>ter-</STRONG>
237 <STRONG>minfo</STRONG> variables.
241 <H2>RETURN VALUE</H2><PRE>
242 Routines that return an integer return <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> upon failure
243 and <STRONG>OK</STRONG> (SVr4 only specifies "an integer value other than
244 <STRONG>ERR</STRONG>") upon successful completion, unless otherwise noted
245 in the preceding routine descriptions.
247 Routines that return pointers always return <STRONG>NULL</STRONG> on error.
252 The <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> routine should be used in place of <STRONG>setterm</STRONG>.
253 It may be useful when you want to test for terminal capa-
254 bilities without committing to the allocation of storage
255 involved in <STRONG>initscr</STRONG>.
257 Note that <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> may be macros.
261 <H2>PORTABILITY</H2><PRE>
262 The function <STRONG>setterm</STRONG> is not described in the XSI Curses
263 standard and must be considered non-portable. All other
264 functions are as described in the XSI curses standard.
266 In System V Release 4, <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG> has an <STRONG>int</STRONG> return type
267 and returns <STRONG>OK</STRONG> or <STRONG>ERR</STRONG>. We have chosen to implement the
268 XSI Curses semantics.
270 In System V Release 4, the third argument of <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> has the
271 type <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>(*putc)(char)</STRONG>.
273 The XSI Curses standard prototypes <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> with a fixed num-
274 ber of parameters, rather than a variable argument list.
275 This implementation uses a variable argument list.
276 Portable applications should provide 9 parameters after
277 the format; zeroes are fine for this purpose.
279 XSI notes that after calling <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG>, the curses state may
280 not match the actual terminal state, and that an applica-
281 tion should touch and refresh the window before resuming
282 normal curses calls. Both ncurses and System V Release 4
283 curses implement <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> using the SCREEN data allocated in
284 either <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> or <STRONG>newterm</STRONG>. So though it is documented as
285 a terminfo function, <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> is really a curses function
286 which is not well specified.
290 <H2>SEE ALSO</H2><PRE>
291 <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">curs_initscr(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG>curs_term-</STRONG>
292 <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termcap.3x.html">cap(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="putc.3S.html">putc(3S)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>
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