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30   * @Id: form.3x,v 1.29 2017/02/18 16:46:53 tom Exp @
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37 <TITLE>form 3x</TITLE>
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42 <H1 class="no-header">form 3x</H1>
43 <PRE>
44 <STRONG><A HREF="form.3x.html">form(3x)</A></STRONG>                                                       <STRONG><A HREF="form.3x.html">form(3x)</A></STRONG>
45
46
47
48
49 </PRE><H2><a name="h2-NAME">NAME</a></H2><PRE>
50        <STRONG>form</STRONG> - curses extension for programming forms
51
52
53 </PRE><H2><a name="h2-SYNOPSIS">SYNOPSIS</a></H2><PRE>
54        <STRONG>#include</STRONG> <STRONG>&lt;form.h&gt;</STRONG>
55
56
57 </PRE><H2><a name="h2-DESCRIPTION">DESCRIPTION</a></H2><PRE>
58        The  <STRONG>form</STRONG> library provides terminal-independent facilities
59        for composing form screens  on  character-cell  terminals.
60        The  library  includes:  field  routines, which create and
61        modify form fields; and form routines, which group  fields
62        into forms, display forms on the screen, and handle inter-
63        action with the user.
64
65        The <STRONG>form</STRONG> library uses the <STRONG>curses</STRONG> libraries.   To  use  the
66        <STRONG>form</STRONG> library, link with the options <STRONG>-lform</STRONG> <STRONG>-lcurses</STRONG>.
67
68        Your program should set up the locale, e.g.,
69
70             <STRONG>setlocale(LC_ALL,</STRONG> <STRONG>"");</STRONG>
71
72        so that input/output processing will work.
73
74        A  curses  initialization  routine such as <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> must be
75        called before using any of these functions.
76
77
78 </PRE><H3><a name="h3-Current-Default-Values-for-Field-Attributes">Current Default Values for Field Attributes</a></H3><PRE>
79        The <STRONG>form</STRONG> library  maintains  a  default  value  for  field
80        attributes.   You  can  get or set this default by calling
81        the appropriate <STRONG>set_</STRONG> or  retrieval  routine  with  a  <STRONG>NULL</STRONG>
82        field pointer.  Changing this default with a <STRONG>set_</STRONG> function
83        affects future field creations, but does  not  change  the
84        rendering of fields already created.
85
86
87 </PRE><H3><a name="h3-Routine-Name-Index">Routine Name Index</a></H3><PRE>
88        The  following  table lists each <STRONG>form</STRONG> routine and the name
89        of the manual page on which it is described.
90
91        <STRONG>curses</STRONG> Routine Name     Manual Page Name
92        --------------------------------------------------
93        current_field           <STRONG><A HREF="form_page.3x.html">form_page(3x)</A></STRONG>
94        data_ahead              <STRONG><A HREF="form_data.3x.html">form_data(3x)</A></STRONG>
95        data_behind             <STRONG><A HREF="form_data.3x.html">form_data(3x)</A></STRONG>
96        dup_field               <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_new.3x.html">form_field_new(3x)</A></STRONG>
97        dynamic_field_info      <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_info.3x.html">form_field_info(3x)</A></STRONG>
98        field_arg               <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_validation.3x.html">form_field_validation(3x)</A></STRONG>
99        field_back              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_attributes.3x.html">form_field_attributes(3x)</A></STRONG>
100        field_buffer            <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_buffer.3x.html">form_field_buffer(3x)</A></STRONG>
101        field_count             <STRONG><A HREF="form_field.3x.html">form_field(3x)</A></STRONG>
102        field_fore              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_attributes.3x.html">form_field_attributes(3x)</A></STRONG>
103        field_index             <STRONG><A HREF="form_page.3x.html">form_page(3x)</A></STRONG>
104        field_info              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_info.3x.html">form_field_info(3x)</A></STRONG>
105        field_init              <STRONG><A HREF="form_hook.3x.html">form_hook(3x)</A></STRONG>
106        field_just              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_just.3x.html">form_field_just(3x)</A></STRONG>
107        field_opts              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_opts.3x.html">form_field_opts(3x)</A></STRONG>
108        field_opts_off          <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_opts.3x.html">form_field_opts(3x)</A></STRONG>
109        field_opts_on           <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_opts.3x.html">form_field_opts(3x)</A></STRONG>
110        field_pad               <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_attributes.3x.html">form_field_attributes(3x)</A></STRONG>
111        field_status            <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_buffer.3x.html">form_field_buffer(3x)</A></STRONG>
112        field_term              <STRONG><A HREF="form_hook.3x.html">form_hook(3x)</A></STRONG>
113        field_type              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_validation.3x.html">form_field_validation(3x)</A></STRONG>
114
115        field_userptr           <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_userptr.3x.html">form_field_userptr(3x)</A></STRONG>
116        form_driver             <STRONG><A HREF="form_driver.3x.html">form_driver(3x)</A></STRONG>
117        form_driver_w           <STRONG><A HREF="form_driver.3x.html">form_driver(3x)</A></STRONG>*
118        form_fields             <STRONG><A HREF="form_field.3x.html">form_field(3x)</A></STRONG>
119        form_init               <STRONG><A HREF="form_hook.3x.html">form_hook(3x)</A></STRONG>
120        form_opts               <STRONG><A HREF="form_opts.3x.html">form_opts(3x)</A></STRONG>
121        form_opts_off           <STRONG><A HREF="form_opts.3x.html">form_opts(3x)</A></STRONG>
122        form_opts_on            <STRONG><A HREF="form_opts.3x.html">form_opts(3x)</A></STRONG>
123        form_page               <STRONG><A HREF="form_page.3x.html">form_page(3x)</A></STRONG>
124        form_request_by_name    <STRONG><A HREF="form_requestname.3x.html">form_requestname(3x)</A></STRONG>
125        form_request_name       <STRONG><A HREF="form_requestname.3x.html">form_requestname(3x)</A></STRONG>
126        form_sub                <STRONG><A HREF="form_win.3x.html">form_win(3x)</A></STRONG>
127        form_term               <STRONG><A HREF="form_hook.3x.html">form_hook(3x)</A></STRONG>
128        form_userptr            <STRONG><A HREF="form_userptr.3x.html">form_userptr(3x)</A></STRONG>
129        form_win                <STRONG><A HREF="form_win.3x.html">form_win(3x)</A></STRONG>
130        free_field              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_new.3x.html">form_field_new(3x)</A></STRONG>
131        free_fieldtype          <STRONG><A HREF="form_fieldtype.3x.html">form_fieldtype(3x)</A></STRONG>
132        free_form               <STRONG><A HREF="form_new.3x.html">form_new(3x)</A></STRONG>
133        link_field              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_new.3x.html">form_field_new(3x)</A></STRONG>
134        link_fieldtype          <STRONG><A HREF="form_fieldtype.3x.html">form_fieldtype(3x)</A></STRONG>
135        move_field              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field.3x.html">form_field(3x)</A></STRONG>
136        new_field               <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_new.3x.html">form_field_new(3x)</A></STRONG>
137        new_fieldtype           <STRONG><A HREF="form_fieldtype.3x.html">form_fieldtype(3x)</A></STRONG>
138        new_form                <STRONG><A HREF="form_new.3x.html">form_new(3x)</A></STRONG>
139        new_page                <STRONG><A HREF="form_new_page.3x.html">form_new_page(3x)</A></STRONG>
140        pos_form_cursor         <STRONG><A HREF="form_cursor.3x.html">form_cursor(3x)</A></STRONG>
141        post_form               <STRONG><A HREF="form_post.3x.html">form_post(3x)</A></STRONG>
142        scale_form              <STRONG><A HREF="form_win.3x.html">form_win(3x)</A></STRONG>
143        set_current_field       <STRONG><A HREF="form_page.3x.html">form_page(3x)</A></STRONG>
144        set_field_back          <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_attributes.3x.html">form_field_attributes(3x)</A></STRONG>
145        set_field_buffer        <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_buffer.3x.html">form_field_buffer(3x)</A></STRONG>
146        set_field_fore          <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_attributes.3x.html">form_field_attributes(3x)</A></STRONG>
147        set_field_init          <STRONG><A HREF="form_hook.3x.html">form_hook(3x)</A></STRONG>
148        set_field_just          <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_just.3x.html">form_field_just(3x)</A></STRONG>
149        set_field_opts          <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_opts.3x.html">form_field_opts(3x)</A></STRONG>
150        set_field_pad           <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_attributes.3x.html">form_field_attributes(3x)</A></STRONG>
151        set_field_status        <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_buffer.3x.html">form_field_buffer(3x)</A></STRONG>
152        set_field_term          <STRONG><A HREF="form_hook.3x.html">form_hook(3x)</A></STRONG>
153        set_field_type          <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_validation.3x.html">form_field_validation(3x)</A></STRONG>
154        set_field_userptr       <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_userptr.3x.html">form_field_userptr(3x)</A></STRONG>
155        set_fieldtype_arg       <STRONG><A HREF="form_fieldtype.3x.html">form_fieldtype(3x)</A></STRONG>
156        set_fieldtype_choice    <STRONG><A HREF="form_fieldtype.3x.html">form_fieldtype(3x)</A></STRONG>
157        set_form_fields         <STRONG><A HREF="form_field.3x.html">form_field(3x)</A></STRONG>
158        set_form_init           <STRONG><A HREF="form_hook.3x.html">form_hook(3x)</A></STRONG>
159        set_form_opts           <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_opts.3x.html">form_field_opts(3x)</A></STRONG>
160        set_form_page           <STRONG><A HREF="form_page.3x.html">form_page(3x)</A></STRONG>
161        set_form_sub            <STRONG><A HREF="form_win.3x.html">form_win(3x)</A></STRONG>
162        set_form_term           <STRONG><A HREF="form_hook.3x.html">form_hook(3x)</A></STRONG>
163        set_form_userptr        <STRONG><A HREF="form_userptr.3x.html">form_userptr(3x)</A></STRONG>
164        set_form_win            <STRONG><A HREF="form_win.3x.html">form_win(3x)</A></STRONG>
165        set_max_field           <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_buffer.3x.html">form_field_buffer(3x)</A></STRONG>
166        set_new_page            <STRONG><A HREF="form_new_page.3x.html">form_new_page(3x)</A></STRONG>
167        unfocus_current_field   <STRONG><A HREF="form_page.3x.html">form_page(3x)</A></STRONG>
168        unpost_form             <STRONG><A HREF="form_post.3x.html">form_post(3x)</A></STRONG>
169
170
171 </PRE><H2><a name="h2-RETURN-VALUE">RETURN VALUE</a></H2><PRE>
172        Routines that return pointers return <STRONG>NULL</STRONG>  on  error,  and
173        set  errno  to  the  corresponding  error-code returned by
174        functions returning an integer.  Routines that  return  an
175        integer return one of the following error codes:
176
177        <STRONG>E_OK</STRONG> The routine succeeded.
178
179        <STRONG>E_BAD_ARGUMENT</STRONG>
180             Routine  detected  an incorrect or out-of-range argu-
181             ment.
182
183        <STRONG>E_BAD_STATE</STRONG>
184             Routine was called from an initialization or termina-
185             tion function.
186
187        <STRONG>E_CONNECTED</STRONG>
188             The field is already connected to a form.
189
190        <STRONG>E_INVALID_FIELD</STRONG>
191             Contents of a field are not valid.
192
193        <STRONG>E_NOT_CONNECTED</STRONG>
194             No fields are connected to the form.
195
196        <STRONG>E_NOT_POSTED</STRONG>
197             The form has not been posted.
198
199        <STRONG>E_NO_ROOM</STRONG>
200             Form is too large for its window.
201
202        <STRONG>E_POSTED</STRONG>
203             The form is already posted.
204
205        <STRONG>E_REQUEST_DENIED</STRONG>
206             The form driver could not process the request.
207
208        <STRONG>E_SYSTEM_ERROR</STRONG>
209             System error occurred (see <STRONG>errno</STRONG>).
210
211        <STRONG>E_UNKNOWN_COMMAND</STRONG>
212             The form driver code saw an unknown request code.
213
214
215 </PRE><H2><a name="h2-NOTES">NOTES</a></H2><PRE>
216        The header file <STRONG>&lt;form.h&gt;</STRONG> automatically includes the header
217        files <STRONG>&lt;curses.h&gt;</STRONG> and <STRONG>&lt;eti.h&gt;</STRONG>.
218
219        In your library list, libform.a  should  be  before  libn-
220        curses.a; that is, you want to say "-lform -lncurses", not
221        the other way around (which would give you  a  link  error
222        when using static libraries).
223
224
225 </PRE><H2><a name="h2-PORTABILITY">PORTABILITY</a></H2><PRE>
226        These  routines  emulate the System V forms library.  They
227        were not supported on Version 7 or BSD versions.
228
229        A few functions are extensions added  for  ncurses,  e.g.,
230        <STRONG>form_driver_w</STRONG>, <STRONG>unfocus_current_field</STRONG>.
231
232
233 </PRE><H2><a name="h2-AUTHORS">AUTHORS</a></H2><PRE>
234        Juergen  Pfeifer.  Manual pages and adaptation for ncurses
235        by Eric S. Raymond.
236
237
238 </PRE><H2><a name="h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></H2><PRE>
239        <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG> and related pages whose names begin "form_" for
240        detailed descriptions of the entry points.
241
242        This describes <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> version 6.0 (patch 20170429).
243
244
245
246                                                                <STRONG><A HREF="form.3x.html">form(3x)</A></STRONG>
247 </PRE>
248 <div class="nav">
249 <ul>
250 <li><a href="#h2-NAME">NAME</a></li>
251 <li><a href="#h2-SYNOPSIS">SYNOPSIS</a></li>
252 <li><a href="#h2-DESCRIPTION">DESCRIPTION</a>
253 <ul>
254 <li><a href="#h3-Current-Default-Values-for-Field-Attributes">Current Default Values for Field Attributes</a></li>
255 <li><a href="#h3-Routine-Name-Index">Routine Name Index</a></li>
256 </ul>
257 </li>
258 <li><a href="#h2-RETURN-VALUE">RETURN VALUE</a></li>
259 <li><a href="#h2-NOTES">NOTES</a></li>
260 <li><a href="#h2-PORTABILITY">PORTABILITY</a></li>
261 <li><a href="#h2-AUTHORS">AUTHORS</a></li>
262 <li><a href="#h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></li>
263 </ul>
264 </div>
265 </BODY>
266 </HTML>