curs_variables 3x

curs_variables(3x)                                   curs_variables(3x)




NAME

       COLORS, COLOR_PAIRS, COLS, ESCDELAY, LINES, TABSIZE,
       curscr, newscr, stdscr - curses global variables


SYNOPSIS

       #include <curses.h>

       int COLOR_PAIRS;
       int COLORS;
       int COLS;
       int ESCDELAY;
       int LINES;
       int TABSIZE;
       WINDOW * curscr;
       WINDOW * newscr;
       WINDOW * stdscr;


DESCRIPTION

       This page summarizes variables provided by the curses  li-
       brary.   A more complete description is given in the curs-
       es(3x) manual page.

       Depending on the configuration, these may be actual  vari-
       ables,     or    macros    (see    curs_threads(3x)    and
       curs_opaque(3x)) which provide read-only access  to  curs-
       es's  state.   In  either  case, applications should treat
       them as read-only to avoid confusing the library.


COLOR_PAIRS

       After initializing curses, this variable contains the num-
       ber of color pairs which the terminal can support.  Usual-
       ly the number of color pairs  will  be  the  product  COL-
       ORS*COLORS, however this is not always true:

       o   a  few  terminals  use HLS colors, which do not follow
           this rule

       o   terminals supporting a large number of colors are lim-
           ited  by  the number of color pairs that can be repre-
           sented in a signed short value.


COLORS

       After initializing curses, this variable contains the num-
       ber of colors which the terminal can support.


COLS

       After  initializing  curses,  this  variable  contains the
       width of the screen, i.e., the number of columns.


ESCDELAY

       This variable holds the number of milliseconds to wait af-
       ter reading an escape character, to distinguish between an
       individual escape character entered on the  keyboard  from
       escape  sequences  sent  by cursor- and function-keys (see
       curses(3x).


LINES

       After initializing  curses,  this  variable  contains  the
       height of the screen, i.e., the number of lines.


TABSIZE

       This  variable  holds  the  number  of columns used by the
       curses library when converting a tab character  to  spaces
       as it adds the tab to a window (see curs_addch(3x).


The Current Screen

       This implementation of curses uses a special window curscr
       to record its updates to the terminal screen.


The New Screen

       This implementation of curses uses a special window newscr
       to  hold  updates  to  the terminal screen before applying
       them to curscr.


The Standard Screen

       Upon initializing curses, a default window called  stdscr,
       which  is  the  size  of  the terminal screen, is created.
       Many curses functions use this window.


NOTES

       The   curses   library   is   initialized   using   either
       initscr(3x), or newterm(3x).

       If  curses  is  configured to use separate curses/terminfo
       libraries, most of these variables reside  in  the  curses
       library.


PORTABILITY

       ESCDELAY  and TABSIZE are extensions, not provided in most
       other implementations of curses.

       ESCDELAY is an extension in AIX curses:

       o   In AIX, the units for ESCDELAY are fifths  of  a  mil-
           lisecond.

       o   The default value for AIX's ESCDELAY is 0.1 seconds.

       o   AIX also enforces a limit of 10,000 seconds for ESCDE-
           LAY; this implementation currently has no upper limit.

       This implementation has long used ESCDELAY with  units  of
       milliseconds,  making  it impossible to be completely com-
       patible with AIX.  Likewise, most users have either decid-
       ed to override the value, or rely upon its default value.


SEE ALSO

       curses(3x),       curs_opaque(3x),      curs_terminfo(3x),
       curs_threads(3x), term_variables(3x), terminfo(5).



                                                     curs_variables(3x)