<!--
- $Id: announce.html.in,v 1.102 2021/10/20 22:41:55 tom Exp $
+ $Id: announce.html.in,v 1.107 2024/04/27 16:45:27 tom Exp $
****************************************************************************
- * Copyright 2018-2020,2021 Thomas E. Dickey *
+ * Copyright 2018-2023,2024 Thomas E. Dickey *
* *
* Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a *
* copy of this software and associated documentation files (the *
<blockquote>
<p><a href=
- "ftp://ftp.invisible-island.net/ncurses/">ftp://ftp.invisible-island.net/ncurses/</a>
+ "https://invisible-island.net/archives/ncurses/">https://invisible-island.net/archives/ncurses/</a>
or<br>
<a href=
"https://invisible-mirror.net/archives/ncurses/">https://invisible-mirror.net/archives/ncurses/</a> .</p>
</blockquote>
- <p>It is also available via anonymous FTP at the GNU distribution
- site</p>
+ <p>It is also available at the GNU distribution site</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href=
- "ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/ncurses/">ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/ncurses/</a> .</p>
+ "https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/ncurses/">https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/ncurses/</a> .</p>
</blockquote>
<h2><a name="h2-release-notes" id="h2-release-notes">Release
Notes</a></h2>
<p>These notes are for <span class="main-name">ncurses</span>
- @VERSION@, released <strong>October 21, 2021</strong>.</p>
+ @VERSION@, released <strong>April 27, 2024</strong>.</p>
<p>This release is designed to be source-compatible with
- <span class="main-name">ncurses</span> 5.0 through 6.2; providing
+ <span class="main-name">ncurses</span> 5.0 through 6.4; providing
extensions to the application binary interface (ABI). Although
the source can still be configured to support the <span class=
"main-name">ncurses</span> 5 ABI, the reason for the release is
this announcement.</p>
<p>The most <a href="#h3-bug-fixes">important
- bug-fixes/improvements</a> dealt with portability issues. The
+ bug-fixes/improvements</a> dealt with robustness issues. The
release notes also mention some other bug-fixes, but are focused
on new features and improvements to existing features since
- <span class="main-name">ncurses</span> 6.2 release.</p>
+ <span class="main-name">ncurses</span> 6.4 release.</p>
<h3><a name="h3-library" id="h3-library">Library improvements</a></h3>
<h4><a name="h4-new-library" id="h4-new-library">New features</a></h4>
- <p>There are a few new features:</p>
+ <p>These are new features:</p>
<ul>
<li>
- <p>A new (experimental) driver, for the Windows Terminal
- configuration is provided.</p>
- </li>
+ <p>The low-level terminfo and termcap interfaces are used
+ both by the higher-level curses library, as well as by many
+ applications.</p>
- <li>
- <p>A script is provided which enables <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/ncurses-openbsd.html">OpenBSD</a> users to
- upgrade their system to use ncurses 6.3 (OpenBSD developers
- are also invited to do this).</p>
- </li>
- </ul>
+ <p>The functions which convert parameterized terminal
+ capability strings for output to the terminal
+ (<code>tiparm</code> and <code>tparm</code>) analyze the
+ capability string to determine which parameters are strings
+ (i.e., addresses), versus numbers (not addresses).</p>
- <p>Additionally, to improve performance other changes (and
- extensions) are provided in this release:</p>
+ <p>The library's analysis of a capability string may differ
+ from the calling application's design if environment
+ variables are used to point to an invalid terminal database.
+ This is a longstanding problem with <em>all</em>
+ implementations of terminfo, dating from the early 1980s.</p>
- <ul>
- <li>
- <p>modify lib_mouse.c to check for out-of-range button
- numbers, convert those to position reports.</p>
+ <p>Two new functions address this problem: by providing a
+ function which allows the calling application to tell ncurses
+ how many string-parameters to expect:</p>
+
+ <ul>
+ <li><code>tiscan_s</code> helps applications check
+ formatting capabilities that would be passed to
+ <code>tiparm_s</code>.</li>
+
+ <li><code>tiparm_s</code> provides applications a way to
+ tell ncurses what the expected parameters are for a
+ capability.</li>
+ </ul>
</li>
<li>
- <p>add sp-funcs for <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_termattrs.3x.html#h3-erasechar_-erasewchar">
- erasewchar</a>, <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_termattrs.3x.html#h3-killchar_-killwchar">
- killwchar</a>.</p>
+ <p>The ncurses library supports a compile-time feature
+ (enabled with the configure <code>--enable-check-size</code>
+ option) which simplifies initialization with terminals which
+ do not negotiate window (screen) size. This is done in
+ <code>setupterm</code>, by providing for using ANSI
+ cursor-position report (in user6/user7 terminfo capabilities)
+ to obtain the screen size if neither environment variables or
+ ioctl is used.</p>
+
+ <p>The ncurses test-program with options
+ “<code>-E -T</code>” demonstrates this
+ feature.</p>
</li>
+
+ <li>add functions to query tty-flags in
+ <code>SCREEN</code></li>
</ul>
+ <p>This release drops compatibility with obsolete versions of
+ <a href="@HOMEPAGE@/tack/">tack</a>, e.g., pre-1.08</p>
+
<h4><a name="h4-fixes-library" id="h4-fixes-library">Other
improvements</a></h4>
- <p>These are revised features:</p>
-
- <ul>
- <li>modify wgetnstr, wgetn_wstr to improve compatibility with
- SVr4 curses in its treatment of interrupt and quit
- characters</li>
- </ul>
-
- <p>These were done to limit or ultimately deprecate features:</p>
+ <p>These are improvements to existing features:</p>
<ul>
<li>
- <p>mark wgetch-events feature as deprecated.</p>
+ <p>In addition to the new, safer function
+ <code>tiparm_s</code>, ncurses adds checks to make the older
+ <code>tiparm</code>, <code>tparm</code> and
+ <code>tgoto</code> functions safer:</p>
<ul>
<li>
- <p>prevent <tt>KEY_EVENT</tt> from appearing in
- <tt>curses.h</tt> unless the configure option
- <code>--enable-wgetch-events</code> is used.</p>
+ <p>the terminfo functions <code>tiparm</code> and
+ <code>tparm</code> ensure that the capability string
+ comes from the terminal description which ncurses loads,
+ rather than from random data which the application
+ happens to have.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>the <code>tgoto</code> function disallows capabilities
+ which its analysis shows will attempt to use string
+ parameters.</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>modify <tt>MKkey_defs.sh</tt> to hide ncurses'
- definition of <tt>KEY_EVENTS</tt> to reduce <em>Visual
- Studio C++</em> redefinition warnings.</p>
+ <p>ncurses uses internal functions which correspond to
+ <code>tiparm</code>, and <code>tgoto</code> which ensure
+ that the capability strings which are passed to these
+ functions come from the loaded terminal description.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
- <p>reduce build-warnings by excluding ncurses-internals from
- deprecation warnings.</p>
+ <p>improve check in <code>lib_tparm.c</code>, ensuring that a
+ char* fits into a <code>TPARM_ARG</code></p>
</li>
- </ul>
- <p>These are improvements to existing features:</p>
+ <li>
+ <p>modify <code>_nc_syserr_abort</code> to use
+ <code>_nc_env_access</code>, rather than only checking root
+ uid</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>improve thread lock in <code>lib_trace.c</code></p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>modify <code>flushinp</code> to use file descriptors in
+ <code>SCREEN</code>, rather than from <code>TERMINAL</code>,
+ and check if they are for a terminal, like SVr4</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>modify <code>mcprint</code> to use file descriptor in
+ <code>SCREEN</code>, for consistency</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>modify internal function <code>_nc_read_file_entry</code>
+ to show relevant filename in warnings</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>improve checks in internal function
+ <code>convert_string</code> for corrupt terminfo entry</p>
+ </li>
- <ul>
<li>
- <p>drop symbols <em>GCC_PRINTF</em> and <em>GCC_SCANF</em>
- from <curses.h>, to simplify use.</p>
+ <p>review/improve handling of out-of-memory conditions</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>apply gcc format attribute to prototypes which use a
- va_list parameter rather than a “<tt>...</tt>”
- variable-length parameter list.</p>
+ <p>limit delays to 30 seconds, i.e., padding delays in
+ terminfo, as well as <code>napms</code> and
+ <code>delay_output</code> functions</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>modify <term.h> so that it is not necessary to
- include <curses.h> before <term.h>.</p>
+ <p>fix reallocation loop for <code>vsnprintf</code> in
+ <code>_nc_sprintf_string</code> by copying the va_list
+ variable</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>provide for wide-characters as background character in
- wbkgrnd</p>
+ <p>modify <code>delscreen</code> to limit the windows which
+ it creates to just those associated with the screen</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>improve parameter-checking for tparm, adding function
- _nc_tiparm() to handle the most-used case, which accepts only
- numeric parameters.</p>
+ <p>modify <code>endwin</code> to return an error if it is
+ called again without an intervening screen update</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>use return-value from <em>vsnprintf</em> to reallocate as
- needed to allow for buffers larger than the screen size.</p>
+ <p>modify <code>wenclose</code> to handle pads</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>add another <em>fflush(stdout)</em> in <em>_nc_flush</em>
- to handle time-delays in the middle of strings such as flash
- when the application uses low-level calls rather than
- curses.</p>
+ <p>eliminate use of <code>PATH_MAX</code> in
+ <code>lib_trace.c</code></p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>provide for any <code>CCHARW_MAX</code> greater than 1</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
- <p>add a check to guard against <em>repeat_char</em> emitting
- digits which could be interpreted as BSD-style padding when
- <tt>--enable-bsdpad</tt> is configured.</p>
+ <p>correct loop termination condition in
+ <code>waddnstr</code> and <code>waddnwstr</code></p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>check for screen size-change in <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_scr_dump.3x.html">scr_init</a> and
- <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_scr_dump.3x.html">scr_restore</a>, in
- case a screen dump does not match the current screen
- dimensions</p>
+ <p>improve parsing in internal function
+ <code>_nc_msec_cost</code>, allowing a single decimal
+ point</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>amend parameter check for entire string versus specific
+ length in <code>winsnstr</code> and <code>wins_nwstr</code>
+ to match Solaris; make similar correction to
+ <code>wins_nwstr</code></p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>correct internal function <code>wadd_wch_literal</code>
+ when adding a non-spacing character to a double-width
+ character</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>correct definition of <code>Charable</code> macro for
+ non-wide ncurses library .</p>
</li>
</ul>
improvements</a></h3>
<p id="h4-utilities">Several improvements were made to the
- utility programs:</p>
+ utility programs. Some were done to make the <code>infocmp</code>
+ option “<tt>-u</tt>” option help refactor the
+ terminal database.</p>
<dl>
<dt><span class="part-name"><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/tabs.1.html">tabs</a></span>
- </dt>
-
- <dd>
- <ul>
- <li>
- <p>implement “<tt>+m</tt>” option</p>
- </li>
- </ul>
- </dd>
-
- <dt><span class="part-name"><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/tic.1m.html">tic</a></span>
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/man/infocmp.1m.html">infocmp</a></span>
</dt>
<dd>
<ul>
<li>
- <p>add check for duplicate “<tt>use=</tt>”
- clauses.</p>
- </li>
-
- <li>
- <p>add check to report instances where <tt>tparm</tt>
- would detect an error in an expression.</p>
- </li>
-
- <li>
- <p>add user-defined capabilities from <em>mintty</em> to
- <tt>Caps-ncurses</tt>, for checking consistency.</p>
+ <p>add limit checks for processing extended capabilities
+ with the “<code>-u</code>” option</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>improve warning when oc/op do not mention SGR 39/49
- for <em>xterm</em> compatible <code>XT</code> flag.</p>
+ <p>correct initial alignment of extended capabilities, so
+ that the “<code>-u</code>” option can be used
+ for more than two terminal types</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>improve checks for number of parameters of
- <code>smglp</code>, <code>smgrp</code>,
- <code>smgtp</code>, and <code>smgbp</code>.</p>
+ <p>modify “<code>-u</code>” option to not
+ report cancels for strings which were already cancelled
+ in a use'd chunk.</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>improve “<tt>-c</tt>” option to validate
- the number and type of parameters and compare against
- expected number/type before deciding which set of
- parameter-lists to use in tparm calls.</p>
- </li>
-
- <li>
- <p>improve check for errors detected in
- <code>tparm</code>.</p>
- </li>
-
- <li>
- <p>improve format of output, to ensure that the messages
- contain only printable text.</p>
- </li>
-
- <li>
- <p>modify to eliminate unnecessary
- “<code>\</code>” to escape
- “<code>:</code>” in terminfo format.</p>
- </li>
-
- <li>
- <p>remove check that assumes that none or both
- parameterized and non-parameterized margin-setting
- capabilities are present.</p>
+ <p>correct an assignment “<code>-u</code>”
+ for detecting if a boolean is unset in a base entry and
+ set in a use'd chunk, i.e., if it was cancelled.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><span class="part-name"><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/toe.1m.html">toe</a></span>
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/man/tic.1m.html">tic</a></span>
</dt>
<dd>
<ul>
<li>
- <p>modify output of “<tt>toe -as</tt>” to
- show first description found rather than the last.</p>
+ <p>correct limit-check when dumping tc/use clause via
+ “<code>-I</code>”</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>add a check to ensure that a “termcap
- file” is text rather than binary.</p>
+ <p>check return value of <code>_nc_save_str</code>, in
+ special case where extended capabilities are processed
+ but the terminal description was not initialized</p>
</li>
- </ul>
- </dd>
- <dt><span class="part-name"><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/tput.1.html">tput</a></span>
- </dt>
-
- <dd>
- <ul>
<li>
- <p>modify to allow multiple commands per line.</p>
+ <p>modify check for multiply defined aliases to report
+ problems within the current runtime rather than for
+ conflicts with pre-existing terminal descriptions.</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>improve parameter-checking by analyzing all extended
- string capabilities, e.g., as used in the <code>Cs</code>
- and <code>Ms</code> capabilities of the <em>tmux</em>
- description.</p>
+ <p>disallow using <code>$TERMINFO</code> or
+ <code>$HOME/.terminfo</code> when
+ “<code>-o</code>” option is used</p>
</li>
+ </ul>
+ </dd>
+ <dt><span class="part-name"><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/man/tput.1.html">tput</a></span> and <span class=
+ "part-name"><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/man/tset.1.html">tset</a></span></dt>
+
+ <dd>
+ <ul>
<li>
- <p>make warning messages consistently using alias names
- when those are used, rather than the underlying program's
- name.</p>
+ <p>add “<code>-v</code>” option to tput, to
+ show warnings</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>improve usage message for aliases such as
- <em>clear</em>, by eliminating <em>tput</em>-specific
- portions.</p>
+ <p>modify <em>reset</em> command to avoid altering clocal
+ if the terminal uses a modem</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>modify initialization to avoid opening
- <tt>/dev/tty</tt> for cases other than
- <em>reset/init</em>, e.g., for <em>clear</em>.</p>
+ <p>modify <em>reset</em> feature to avoid 1-second sleep
+ if running in a pseudo-terminal</p>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<p>Along with the library and utilities, improvements were made
to the <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/ncurses-examples.html">ncurses-examples</a>. Most of
- this activity aimed at improving the test-packages. A few changes
- are more generally useful, e.g., for the main ncurses
- test-program, and for analyzing traces using the
- <em>tracemunch</em> script:</p>
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/ncurses-examples.html">ncurses-examples</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li>
- <p>add “<tt>-r</tt>” option to the <em>dots</em>
- test-programs, to help with scripting a performance
- comparison.</p>
+ <p>modify <code>test_tparm</code> to account for extended
+ capabilities</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>build-fix for <em>test_opaque</em>, for configurations
- without opaque curses structs, e.g., ncurses 5.7.</p>
+ <p>corrected mouse mask in <code>test/testcurs.c</code></p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>improve <em>tracemunch</em> logic for "RUN"
- compaction.</p>
+ <p>modify <code>test/clip_printw.c</code> to optionally test
+ non-wrapped updates</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>improve <em>tracemunch</em>'s coverage of form/menu/panel
- libraries.</p>
+ <p>modify <code>test/test_mouse.c</code> to use curses api
+ for raw/noraw</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>improve <em>tracemunch</em>'s checking/reporting the type
- for the first parameter, e.g., "WINDOW*" rather than
- "#1".</p>
- </li>
-
- <li>
- <p>modify <em>tracemunch</em> and the panel library to show
- readable traces for panel- and user-pointers.</p>
+ <p>modify <code>test/clip_printw.c</code> to optionally test
+ non-wrapped updates</p>
</li>
</ul>
- <p>There are other new demo/test programs and reusable
- examples:</p>
+ <p>There is one new demo/test programs:</p>
<dl>
- <dt><span class="part-name"><em>back_ground</em></span>
- </dt>
-
- <dd>to exercise the wide-character background functions.</dd>
-
- <dt><span class="part-name"><em>move_field</em></span>
- </dt>
-
- <dd>to demonstrate <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/form_field.3x.html">move_field</a>, and a stub
- for a corresponding demo of <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/form_field_new.3x.html">dup_field</a>.</dd>
-
- <dt><span class="part-name"><em>test_tparm</em></span>
+ <dt><span class="part-name"><em>test/test_endwin.c</em></span>
</dt>
- <dd>for checking <em>tparm</em> changes.</dd>
+ <dd>
+ <p>This program shows the return-status from
+ <code>endwin</code> with different combinations of
+ <code>endwin</code> (repeated), <code>initscr</code>,
+ <code>newterm</code>.</p>
+ </dd>
</dl>
<h3><a name="h3-database" id="h3-database">Terminal database</a></h3>
<p>There are several new terminal descriptions:</p>
- <blockquote style="word-break:keep-all">
- <p><tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-absolute">absolute</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-att610_cvis">att610+cvis</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-foot">foot</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-foot-direct">foot-direct</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-hp98550-color">hp98550-color</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-hpterm-color2">hpterm-color2</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-hterm">hterm</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-hterm-256color">hterm-256color</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-linux-s">linux-s</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-putty_keypad">putty+keypad</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-putty_screen">putty+screen</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-putty-screen">putty-screen</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-screen.linux-s">screen.linux-s</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-scrt/securecrt">scrt/securecrt</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-tmux-direct">tmux-direct</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-vt220_cvis">vt220+cvis</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-vt220_cvis8">vt220+cvis8</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-vt220_pcedit">vt220+pcedit</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-vt220_vtedit">vt220+vtedit</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-vt220-base">vt220-base</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-vt52_keypad">vt52+keypad</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-xterm_256color2">xterm+256color2</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-xterm_88color2">xterm+88color2</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-xterm-direct16">xterm-direct16</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-xterm-direct256">xterm-direct256</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-xterm_nofkeys">xterm+nofkeys</a></tt>,
- and <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-xterm_nopcfkeys">xterm+nopcfkeys</a></tt>.</p>
- </blockquote>
-
- <p>There are many changes to existing terminal descriptions. Some
- were updates to several descriptions:</p>
-
<ul>
- <li>correct use-ordering in some <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-xterm-direct">xterm-direct</a>
- flavors</li>
-
- <li>fix some sgr inconsistencies in <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-d230c">d230c</a>, <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-ibm6153">ibm6153</a>,
- <a href="@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-ibm6154">ibm6154</a>,
- <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-ncrvt100an">ncrvt100an</a></li>
-
- <li>improve <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-vt50h">vt50h</a> and <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-vt52">vt52</a> based on
- DECScope manual</li>
-
- <li>use <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-hp_arrows">hp+arrows</a> in a
- few places</li>
-
- <li>use <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-hp_pfk-cr">hp+pfk-cr</a> in a
- few places</li>
-
- <li>use <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-vt220_cvis">vt220+cvis</a> in
- <tt>st</tt>, <tt>terminology</tt>, <tt>termite</tt> since they
- ignore blinking-cursor detail in <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-att610_cvis">att610+cvis</a></li>
- </ul>
-
- <p>while others affected specific descriptions. These were
- retested, to take into account changes by their developers:</p>
-
- <blockquote>
- <p><tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-kitty_common">kitty+common</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-mlterm3">mlterm3</a></tt>,
- <tt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-ms-terminal">ms-terminal</a></tt></p>
- </blockquote>
-
- <p>while these are specific fixes based on reviewing
- documentation, user reports, or warnings from <span class=
- "part-name">tic</span>:</p>
-
- <dl>
- <dt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-aaa_dec">aaa+dec</a>,
- aaa+rv</dt>
-
- <dd>correct rmacs/smacs</dd>
-
- <dt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-aaa_rv">aaa+rv</a>
- </dt>
-
- <dd>correct sgr</dd>
-
- <dt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-icl6404">icl6404</a>
- </dt>
-
- <dd>correct csr</dd>
-
- <dt><a href="@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-kitty">kitty</a>
- </dt>
-
- <dd>use att610+cvis, xterm+tmux and ansi+enq</dd>
-
- <dt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-konsole-base">konsole-base</a>
- </dt>
-
- <dd>re-enable "bel"</dd>
-
- <dt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-linux2.6">linux2.6</a>
- </dt>
-
- <dd>fix pound-sign mapping in acsc</dd>
-
- <dt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-linux3.0">linux3.0</a>
- </dt>
+ <li>
+ <p><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-ansi_apparrows"><tt>ansi+apparrows</tt></a></p>
+ </li>
- <dd>modify to reflect default mapping of shift-tab by kbd
- 1.14</dd>
+ <li>
+ <p><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-contour"><tt>contour</tt></a></p>
+ </li>
- <dt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-pccons">pccons</a>
- </dt>
+ <li>
+ <p><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-linux_kbs"><tt>linux+kbs</tt></a>
+ for terminals which imitate xterm's behavior with Linux</p>
+ </li>
- <dd>fill in some missing pieces, to make it comparable to the
- vt220 entry</dd>
+ <li>
+ <p><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-rio"><tt>rio</tt></a>,
+ <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-rio-direct"><tt>rio-direct</tt></a></p>
+ </li>
- <dt><a href="@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-putty">putty</a>
- </dt>
+ <li>
+ <p><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-mostlike"><tt>mostlike</tt></a></p>
+ </li>
- <dd>use vt100+fnkeys, add rep</dd>
+ <li>
+ <p><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-ms-vt100-16color"><tt>ms-vt100-16color</tt></a>,
+ <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-winconsole"><tt>winconsole</tt></a></p>
+ </li>
- <dt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-screen">screen</a>
- </dt>
+ <li>
+ <p><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-vt100_noapp"><tt>vt100+noapp</tt></a>,
+ <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-vt100_noapp_pc"><tt>vt100+noapp+pc</tt></a>,
+ <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-xterm_app_pc"><tt>xterm+app+pc</tt></a>,
+ <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-xterm_decedit"><tt>xterm+decedit</tt></a>
+ from <a href="@WEBSITE@/xterm/xterm.log.html#xterm_389">xterm
+ #389</a></p>
+ </li>
- <dd>use vt100+enq</dd>
+ <li>
+ <p><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-putty_cursor"><tt>putty+cursor</tt></a>
+ to reflect amending of modified cursor-keys in 2021</p>
+ </li>
- <dt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-terminator">terminator</a>
- </dt>
+ <li>
+ <p><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-wezterm"><tt>wezterm</tt></a></p>
+ </li>
+ </ul>
- <dd>corrected tsl capability</dd>
+ <p>There are many changes to existing terminal descriptions. Some
+ were updates to several descriptions, using the
+ <code>infocmp</code> “<code>-u</code>” option in a
+ script to determine which <em>building-block</em> entries could
+ be used to replace multiple capability settings (and trim
+ redundant information).</p>
- <dt><a href="@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-ti916">ti916</a>
- </dt>
+ <p>Other changes include:</p>
- <dd>correct cup</dd>
+ <ul>
+ <li>
+ <p><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#toc-_X_T_E_R_M__Extensions_">document</a>
+ XF, kxIN and kxOUT</p>
+ </li>
- <dt><a href="@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-tmux">tmux</a>
- </dt>
+ <li>
+ <p>add note on <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-sun"><tt>sun</tt></a>
+ regarding wscons/cmdtool/shelltool</p>
+ </li>
- <dd>change kbs to ^?</dd>
+ <li>
+ <p>remove DECCOLM+DECSCLM from <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-foot"><tt>foot</tt></a></p>
+ </li>
- <dt><a href="@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-vt220">vt220</a>
- </dt>
+ <li>
+ <p>add xterm+focus to <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-foot_base"><tt>foot+base</tt></a></p>
+ </li>
- <dd>use vt220+cvis</dd>
+ <li>
+ <p>add ecma+strikeout to <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-putty"><tt>putty</tt></a></p>
+ </li>
- <dt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-vt420_lrmm">vt420+lrmm</a>
- </dt>
+ <li>
+ <p>use CSI 3J in <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-vte-2017"><tt>vte-2017</tt></a></p>
+ </li>
- <dd>add smglp and smgrp</dd>
+ <li>
+ <p>use oldxterm+sm+1006 in <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-vte-2014"><tt>vte-2014</tt></a></p>
+ </li>
- <dt><a href="@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-vt420">vt420</a>
- </dt>
+ <li>
+ <p>modify <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-xgterm"><tt>xgterm</tt></a>
+ to work around line-drawing bug</p>
+ </li>
- <dd>use vt420+lrmm</dd>
+ <li>
+ <p>add xterm focus mode 1004 to <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-xterm_focus"><tt>xterm+focus</tt></a>
+ as fe/fd capabilities, like vim.</p>
+ </li>
- <dt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-xterm-new">xterm-new</a>
- </dt>
+ <li>
+ <p>add xterm+focus to <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-alacritty_common"><tt>alacritty+common</tt></a></p>
+ </li>
- <dd>add nel</dd>
+ <li>
+ <p>add XR/xr, to work with vim, and use RV/rv to denote DA2
+ and its response</p>
+ </li>
- <dt><a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-xterm-vt52">xterm-vt52</a>
- </dt>
+ <li>
+ <p>add XF flag to <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-xterm_focus"><tt>xterm+focus</tt></a>
+ so that termcap applications can be aware of terminals which
+ may support focus in/out</p>
+ </li>
- <dd>use vt52+keypad</dd>
- </dl>
+ <li>
+ <p>use xterm+focus in <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-xterm-p370"><tt>xterm-p370</tt></a>
+ and <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-tmux"><tt>tmux</tt></a></p>
+ </li>
- <p>A few entries use extensions (user-defined terminal
- capabilities):</p>
+ <li>
+ <p>remove xterm+sm+1006 from <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-tmux"><tt>tmux</tt></a></p>
+ </li>
- <ul>
- <li>add shifted Linux console keys in <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-linux_sfkeys">linux+sfkeys</a>
- entry for <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-screen.linux">screen.linux</a></li>
-
- <li>add Smulx to <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-alacritty">alacritty</a></li>
-
- <li>add kbeg to <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-xterm_keypad">xterm+keypad</a>
- to accommodate termcap applications</li>
-
- <li>add extensions in <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-xterm_tmux">xterm+tmux</a>
- and <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-ecma_strikeout">ecma+strikeout</a>
- to <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-ms-terminal">ms-terminal</a>,
- but cancel the non-working Cr and Ms capabilities</li>
+ <li>
+ <p>NetBSD-related fixes for <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-x68k"><tt>x68k</tt></a> and
+ <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/terminfo.src.html#tic-wsvt25"><tt>wsvt25</tt></a></p>
+ </li>
</ul>
<h3><a name="h3-documentation" id=
<ul>
<li>
- <p>make <em>opts</em> extension for <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_getcchar.3x.html#h3-getcchar"><tt>getcchar</tt></a>
- work as documented for <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/announce-6.1.htmll#h4-new-library">ncurses
- 6.1</a>, adding “<tt>-g</tt>” flag to
- <em>demo_new_pair</em> to illustrate.</p>
+ <p>add assignment in <code>CF_MAN_PAGES</code> to fill in
+ value for <code>TERMINFO_DIRS</code> in ncurses, terminfo
+ and tic manpages.</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>modify <a href="@HOMEPAGE@/man/tset.1.html">tset</a>
- “-q” option to refrain from modifying
- terminal modes, to match the documentation.</p>
+ <p>clarify interaction of <code>-R</code> option versus
+ <code>-C</code>, <code>-I</code> and <code>-r</code> in
+ <code>infocmp</code> manpage.</p>
</li>
- </ul>
- </li>
-
- <li>
- <p>New/improved history and portability sections:</p>
- <ul>
<li>
- <p>improve documentation for <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/terminfo.5.html#h3-Parameterized-Strings">
- tparm</a> and static/dynamic variables.</p>
+ <p>correct manpage description of panel_hidden.</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>add history note to <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_scanw.3x.html#h2-HISTORY">curs_scanw.3x</a>
- for <stdarg.h> and <varargs.h></p>
+ <p>improve manpage description for addch versus unctrl
+ format used for non-printable characters.</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>add history note to <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_printw.3x.html#h2-HISTORY">curs_printw.3x</a>
- for <stdarg.h> and <varargs.h></p>
+ <p>improve manpages discussing file descriptors in
+ low-level functions.</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>add portability note to <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/ncurses.3x.html#h3-Header-files">ncurses.3x</a>
- regarding <stdarg.h></p>
+ <p>improve description of search rules for terminal
+ descriptions in terminfo manpage.</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>add historical notes to <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/tput.1.html#h2-HISTORY">tput</a>,
- <a href="@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_terminfo.3x.html#h2-HISTORY">
- curses-terminfo</a> and <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_color.3x.html#h2-HISTORY">curses-color</a>
- manpages based on source-code for SVr2, SVr3 and
- SVr4.</p>
+ <p>modify dist.mk to avoid passing developer's comments
+ in manpages into the generated html documentation.</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>improve history section for <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/tset.1.html#h2-HISTORY">tset</a> manpage
- based on the 1BSD tarball, which preceded BSD's SCCS
- checkins by more than three years.</p>
+ <p>modify test-package "ncurses6-doc" to use
+ manpage-aliases, which in turn required a change to the
+ configure script to factor in the extra-suffix option
+ when deriving alias names.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
- <p>Other improvements:</p>
+ <p>New/improved history and portability sections:</p>
<ul>
<li>
- <p>explain in <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/ncurses.3x.html#h2-ALTERNATE-CONFIGURATIONS">
- ncurses.3x</a> that functions in the tinfo library do not
- rely upon wide-characters.</p>
- </li>
-
- <li>
- <p>improve manual page for <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/panel.3x.html#h2-PORTABILITY">panel</a>
- library, extending the portability section as well as
- documenting error-returns.</p>
- </li>
-
- <li>
- <p>add section on margins to <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/terminfo.5.html#h3-Margins">terminfo.5</a>,
- adapted from X/Open Curses.</p>
+ <p>add information about "ttycap", termcap's forerunner,
+ to tset.1</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>improve <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/term.5.html#h3-LEGACY-STORAGE-FORMAT">man/term.5</a>
- section on legacy storage format.</p>
+ <p>document limitations of tparm, and error-returns in
+ curs_terminfo.3x</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>add a note in <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/terminfo.5.html#h3-Predefined-Capabilities">
- terminfo.5</a> explaining that no-parameter strings such
- as <em><tt>sgr0</tt></em> or <em><tt>cnorm</tt></em>
- should not be used with tparm.</p>
+ <p>document limitations of tgoto, and error-returns in
+ curs_termcap.3x</p>
</li>
+ </ul>
+ </li>
- <li>
- <p>improve description of BSD-style padding in <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_termcap.3x.html#h2-BUGS">curs_termcap.3x</a></p>
- </li>
+ <li>
+ <p>Other improvements:</p>
+ <ul>
<li>
- <p>improve discussion of padding versus <tt>tparm</tt>
- and <tt>tputs</tt> in <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_terminfo.3x.html#h3-Formatting-Output">
- man/curs_terminfo.3x</a></p>
+ <p>This release has many changes to improve the
+ formatting and style of the manpages.</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>add a note in manual page to explain <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_getch.3x.html#h3-Ungetting-characters">
- ungetch</a> vs <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_get_wch.3x.html#h3-unget_wch">unget_wch</a>.</p>
+ <p>Manpages now use consistent section-naming, page
+ headers and footers (including the modification date for
+ each page).</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>improve description of error-returns in <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_addch.3x.html#h2-RETURN-VALUE">waddch</a>
- and <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_addstr.3x.html#h2-RETURN-VALUE">waddnstr</a>
- manual pages.</p>
+ <p>Table layout has been revised.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<p>There are no new manual pages (all of the manual page updates
are to existing pages).</p>
- <p>Some of the improvements are more subtle, relating to the way
- the information is presented. For instance, hyphenation is
- suppressed in the HTML files generated from manual pages because
- an upgrade to <em>groff</em> gave noticeably poorer results,
- interfering with the process of creating links between the
- resulting webpages.</p>
-
<h3><a name="h3-bug-fixes" id="h3-bug-fixes">Interesting
bug-fixes</a></h3>
- <p>While there were many bugs fixed during development of ncurses
- 6.3, only a few (the reason for this release) were both important
- and interesting. Most of the bug-fixes were for local issues
- which did not affect compatibility across releases. Since those
- are detailed in the <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/NEWS.html#t20211018">NEWS</a> file no elaboration is
- needed here.</p>
+ <p>The changes to <tt>tparm</tt>, <tt>tgoto</tt> which improve
+ the design of the low-level interfaces are <em>interesting</em>,
+ but are not bug-fixes <em>per se</em>.</p>
+
+ <h3><a name="h3-config-config" id=
+ "h3-config-config">Configuration changes</a></h3>
+
+ <h4><a name="h4-config-major" id="h4-config-major">Major
+ changes</a></h4>
- <p>The interesting bugs were:</p>
+ <p>These are the major changes (aside from introducing <a href=
+ "#h4-new-library"><tt>tiparm_s</tt></a>):</p>
<ul>
<li>
- <p>modify <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_bkgd.3x.html#h3-bkgd">wbkgd</a> and
- <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_bkgrnd.3x.html#h3-bkgrnd">wbkgrnd</a> to
- avoid storing a null in the background character, because it
- may be used in cases where the corresponding 0x80 is not
- treated as a null.</p>
+ <p>use wide-character (ncursesw) by default</p>
+ </li>
- <p>This was a regression introduced in ncurses 6.2 (<a href=
- "https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-ncurses/2020-03/msg00000.html">reported</a>
- on the mailing list), for which the workaround was to specify
- a blank for the background character.</p>
+ <li>
+ <p>use opaque typedefs by default</p>
</li>
+ </ul>
+
+ <p>However, most of the work on configure scripts was done to
+ reduce warnings within the configure script:</p>
+ <ul>
<li>
- <p>remove output-related checks for <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/man/curs_outopts.3x.html">nl/nonl</a> (also
- <a href=
- "https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-ncurses/2020-09/msg00018.html">
- reported</a> on the mailing list).</p>
+ <p>intrusive warnings from GNU grep regarding fgrep and
+ egrep</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>improve tparm implementation of <tt>%P</tt> and
- <tt>%g</tt>, more closely matching SVr4 terminfo. Those
- denote <em>static</em> and <em>dynamic</em> variables in
- terminfo expressions.</p>
+ <p>fatal errors in compile-checks, arising from recent
+ “Modern C” efforts by some developers which
+ caused longstanding configure checks to fail.</p>
- <p>Exactly what those terms meant was never documented before
- in any implementation of curses, aside from source code.
- Unlike the other two fixes, the problem was discovered while
- studying OpenBSD's version of <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/ncurses-openbsd.html#issue_tput">tset</a>.</p>
+ <p>After repairing the configure script, none of that
+ activity affected ncurses because stricter warnings are used
+ routinely in development.</p>
</li>
</ul>
- <h3><a name="h3-config-config" id=
- "h3-config-config">Configuration changes</a></h3>
+ <p>Other improvements made to configure checks include</p>
- <h4><a name="h4-config-major" id="h4-config-major">Major
- changes</a></h4>
+ <ul>
+ <li>
+ <p>use <a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/INSTALL.html#option:enable-string-hacks">string-hacks</a>
+ in alloc_entry.c, alloc_type.c and hardscroll.c, overlooked
+ due to compiler changes in recent OpenBSD releases</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>revise progs.priv.h to provide for NC_ISATTY reuse</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>configure check for MB_LEN_MAX provides warning as
+ needed</p>
+ </li>
- <p>There are no major changes. Several new options were added to
- ease integration of packages with systems using different
- versions of <em>GNAT</em> and <em>ncurses</em>. Also,
- improvements were made to configure checks.</p>
+ <li>
+ <p>trim a space after some "-R" options, fixing builds for
+ applications built using clang and ncurses on Solaris</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>work around misconfiguration of MacPorts gcc13, which
+ exposes invalid definition of <tt>MB_LEN_MAX</tt> in gcc's
+ fallback copy of <tt>limits.h</tt></p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>modified experimental Windows driver works with xterm
+ mouse protocol</p>
+ </li>
+ </ul>
<h4><a name="h4-config-options" id=
"h4-config-options">Configuration options</a></h4>
- <p>There are a few new/modified configure options:</p>
+ <p>There are a few new configure options:</p>
<dl>
- <dt><tt>--enable-fvisibility</tt>
+ <dt><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/INSTALL.html#option:disable-setuid-environ"><tt>--disable-setuid-environ</tt></a>
</dt>
<dd>
- <p>new configure option and check for <em>gcc</em>
- <tt>-fvisibility=hidden</tt> feature</p>
+ <p>Compile with environment restriction, so certain
+ environment variables are not available when running via a
+ setuid/setgid application. These are (for example
+ <tt>$TERMINFO</tt>) those that allow the search path for the
+ terminfo or termcap entry to be customized.</p>
+
+ <p>A setuid/setgid application inherits its environment
+ variables from the current user, in contrast to sudo which
+ may limit the environment variables that ncurses uses.</p>
</dd>
- <dt><tt>--enable-leaks</tt>
+ <dt><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/INSTALL.html#option:enable-check-size"><tt>--enable-check-size</tt></a>
</dt>
<dd>
- <p>corrected to allow turning leak-checking off later in a
- set of options.</p>
+ <p>Compile-in feature to detect screensize for terminals
+ which do not advertise their screensize, e.g., serial
+ terminals.</p>
</dd>
- <dt><tt>--enable-stdnoreturn</tt>
+ <dt><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/INSTALL.html#option:with-abi-altered"><tt>--with-abi-altered=<em>NUM</em></tt></a>
</dt>
<dd>
- <p>new configure option makes the <code>_Noreturn</code>
- keyword optional to ease transition.</p>
+ <p>Override the displayed (rather than compiled-in) ABI. Only
+ packagers who have created configurations where the ABI
+ differs from ncurses should be interested in this option.</p>
</dd>
- <dt><tt>--disable-pkg-ldflags</tt>
+ <dt><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/INSTALL.html#option:with-strip-program"><tt>--with-strip-program=<em>XXX</em></tt></a>
</dt>
<dd>
- <p>revised option also controls whether <code>$LDFLAGS</code>
- from the build is provided in “<tt>-config</tt>”
- and “<tt>.pc</tt>” files.</p>
+ <p>When stripping executables during install, use the
+ specified program rather than “strip” overriding
+ program chosen by the install program for stripping
+ executables.</p>
</dd>
+ </dl>
- <dt><tt>--disable-root-access</tt>
- </dt>
-
- <dd>
- <p>add configure option which tells ncurses to disallow most
- file-opens by setuid processes.</p>
- </dd>
+ <p>These configure options are modified:</p>
- <dt><tt>--disable-wattr-macros</tt>
+ <dl>
+ <dt><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/INSTALL.html#option:with-pkg-config-libdir"><tt>--with-pkg-config-libdir[=<em>DIR</em>]</tt></a>
</dt>
<dd>
- <p>changed default to help packagers who reuse wide ncursesw
- header file with non-wide ncurses library.</p>
- </dd>
-
- <dt><tt>--with-pkg-config-libdir</tt>
- </dt>
+ <p>The optional <em>DIR</em> parameter can now be
+ “auto” to automatically use pkg-config's library
+ directory.</p>
- <dd>
- <p>revised option uses the actual search path from
- <em>pkg-config</em> or <em>pkgconf</em> using the output from
- <tt>--debug</tt>.</p>
+ <p>The default is <tt>$(libdir)</tt>.</p>
</dd>
- <dt><tt>--with-ada-libname</tt><br>
- <tt>--with-form-libname</tt><br>
- <tt>--with-menu-libname</tt><br>
- <tt>--with-panel-libname</tt>
+ <dt><a href=
+ "@HOMEPAGE@/INSTALL.html#option:with-xterm-kbs"><tt>--with-xterm-kbs[=<em>XXX</em>]</tt></a>
</dt>
<dd>
- <p>new several <tt>--with-<em>xxx</em>-libname</tt> options,
- to help with pkgsrc</p>
+ <p>The default is “auto” which tells the
+ configure script to choose BS or DEL according to platform
+ defaults.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<ul>
<li>
- <p>add a special case in the configure script to work around
- one of the build-time breakages reported for <a href=
- "@HOMEPAGE@/ncurses-openbsd.html">OpenBSD 6</a> here:</p>
+ <p>add/use configure check for <code>clock_gettime</code>, to
+ supersede <code>gettimeofday</code>.</p>
+ </li>
- <blockquote>
- <p><a href=
- "https://www.mail-archive.com/bugs@openbsd.org/msg13200.html">
- https://www.mail-archive.com/bugs@openbsd.org/msg13200.html</a></p>
- </blockquote>
+ <li>
+ <p>modify configure script check for pkg-config library
+ directory to take into account an older version 0.15.0 which
+ used PKG_CONFIG_PATH but not PKG_CONFIG_LIBDIR</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>modify configure check for <em>libtool</em> to prevent
- accidental use of an OpenBSD program which uses the same
- name.</p>
+ <p>allow for MinGW32-/64-bit configurations to use
+ _DEFAULT_SOURCE</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>modify configuration checks for build-time tic/infocmp to
- use <em>AC_CHECK_TOOL</em>. That can still be overridden by
- <tt>--with-tic-path</tt> and <tt>--with-infocmp-path</tt>
- when fallbacks are used, but even if not using fallbacks, the
- improved check may help with cross-compiling.</p>
+ <p>modify CF_XOPEN_SOURCE macro's amend default case to avoid
+ undefining _XOPEN_SOURCE if _POSIX_C_SOURCE is defined</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>relax modification-time comparison in
- <em>CF_LINK_FUNCS</em> to allow it to accept link() function
- with NFS filesystems which change the mtime on the link
- target, e.g., several BSD systems.</p>
+ <p>updated configure script macro CF_XOPEN_SOURCE, for
+ uClibc-ng</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>modify configure check for c89/c99 aliases of
- <em>clang</em> to use its <tt>-std</tt> option instead,
- because some platforms, in particular macOS, do not provide
- workable c89/c99 aliases.</p>
+ <p>modify version-check for gcc/g++, now works for msys2</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>modify <em>CF_NCURSES_CONFIG</em> to work around
- <em>Xcode</em>'s c99 "-W" option, which conflicts with
- conventional use for passing linker options.</p>
+ <p>build-fixes related to configure-options and/or
+ platform:</p>
+
+ <ul>
+ <li>fix for <tt>--enable-fvisibility</tt></li>
+
+ <li>fix for unusual values of
+ <tt>--with-rel-version</tt></li>
+
+ <li>fix for unusual values of
+ <tt>--with-abi-version</tt></li>
+
+ <li>fix for <tt>--disable-tcap-names</tt></li>
+
+ <li>fix for termcap in <tt>nc_access.h</tt></li>
+ </ul>
</li>
<li>
- <p>modify configure scripts to filter out redefinitions of
- _XOPEN_SOURCE, e.g., for NetBSD which generally supports 500,
- but 600 is needed for ncursesw.</p>
+ <p>other configure-script improvements:</p>
+
+ <ul>
+ <li>recent msys2 headers work with
+ <tt>_DEFAULT_SOURCE</tt>; amend check</li>
+
+ <li>use <tt>$ac_includes_default</tt> in most cases where
+ stdlib.h should work</li>
+
+ <li>use <tt>#error</tt> consistently vs "make an
+ error"</li>
+
+ <li>add configure macro for <tt>gettimeofday</tt> vs inline
+ check</li>
+ </ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
- <p>change configure-check and source-code for gcc's noreturn
- attribute to assume it is a prefix rather than suffix,
- matching c11's _Noreturn convention.</p>
+ <p>modify configure scripts/makefiles to omit
+ <tt>KEY_RESIZE</tt> if the corresponding <tt>SIGWINCH</tt>
+ feature is disabled</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>modify mk-1st.awk to account for extra-suffix configure
- option.</p>
+ <p>increase <tt>MB_CUR_MAX</tt> to 16, matching glibc's
+ <tt>MB_LEN_MAX</tt></p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>build-fix for termsort module when configured with
- termcap.</p>
+ <p>add BSD <tt>erase2</tt> to characters handled by
+ tset/reset</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>modify configure script and makefiles to support ".PHONY"
- make program feature.</p>
+ <p>use <tt>getauxval</tt> when available, to improve
+ <tt>setuid</tt>/<tt>setgid</tt> checks</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>amend <em>libtool</em> configuration to add dependency for
- install.tic, etc., in ncurses/Makefile on the lower-level
- libraries.</p>
+ <p>set <tt>dwShareMode</tt> in calls to
+ <tt>CreateConsoleScreenBuffer</tt></p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>modify Ada95 source-generation utility to write to a file
- given as parameter rather than to the standard output,
- allowing builds with MinGW.</p>
+ <p>use <tt>CreateFile</tt> with "<tt>CONIN$</tt>",
+ "<tt>CONOUT$</tt>" rather than <tt>GetStdHandle</tt> to
+ obtain a handle on the actual console, avoiding redirection
+ in the MinGW/Win32 configurations</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>amend tic/infocmp check to allow for the respective tool's
- absence.</p>
+ <p>modify MinGW driver to return <tt>KEY_BACKSPACE</tt> when
+ an unmodified <tt>VK_BACK</tt> virtual key is entered</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>build-fixes for gnat 10.1.1, whose gnatmake drops
- integration with gprbuild.</p>
- </li>
-
- <li>
- <p>correct configure version-check/warning for g++ to allow
- for 10.x</p>
+ <p>modify MinGW configuration to provide for running in
+ MSYS/MSYS2 shells, assuming ConPTY support</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
- <p><span class="main-name">ncurses</span> supports all of the
- for SVr4 curses features including keyboard mapping, color,
- forms-drawing with ACS characters, and automatic recognition
+ <p><span class="main-name">ncurses</span> supports the
+ features of SVr4 curses including keyboard mapping, color,
+ form drawing with ACS characters, and automatic recognition
of keypad and function keys.</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p><span class="main-name">ncurses</span> provides these SVr4
- add-on libraries (not part of X/Open Curses):</p>
+ <p><span class="main-name">ncurses</span> provides work-alike
+ replacements of SVr4 supplemental libraries based on curses,
+ but which were not specified by X/Open Curses:</p>
<ul>
<li>
- <p>the panels library, supporting a stack of windows with
- backing store.</p>
+ <p>the panel library, supporting a stack of windows with
+ backing store</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>the menus library, supporting a uniform but flexible
- interface for menu programming.</p>
+ <p>the menu library, supporting a uniform but flexible
+ interface for menu programming</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>the form library, supporting data collection through
- on-screen forms.</p>
+ on-screen forms</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<ul>
<li>
<p><span class="main-name">ncurses</span> supports
- user-defined capabilities which it can see, but which are
+ user-defined capabilities that it can see, but which are
hidden from SVr4 curses applications using the
<em>same</em> terminal database.</p>
</li>
<ul>
<li>
<p>The API is 8-bit clean and base-level conformant with the
- X/OPEN curses specification, XSI curses (that is, it
- implements all <em>BASE</em> level features, and most
+ X/Open Curses specification, XSI curses (that is, it
+ implements all <em>BASE</em> level features, and almost all
<em>EXTENDED</em> features). It includes many function calls
not supported under SVr4 curses (but portability of all calls
is documented so you can use the SVr4 subset only).</p>
</li>
<li>
- <p>The library meets the XSI requirement that every macro
- entry point has a corresponding function which may be linked
- (and will be prototype-checked) if the macro definition is
- disabled with <code>#undef</code>.</p>
+ <p>X/Open Curses permits most functions it specifies to be
+ made available as macros as well. ncurses does this</p>
+
+ <ul>
+ <li>to improve performance, e.g., for operations composed
+ of simpler functions such as cursor movement following by
+ adding text to the screen,</li>
+
+ <li>to simplify the implementation by reusing functions
+ which use common parameters, e.g., the standard screen
+ <code>stdscr</code>, and</li>
+
+ <li>to provide functions that return values via their
+ parameters</li>
+ </ul>
+
+ <p>Except for the last case, ncurses provides a non-macro
+ implementation of the function. If the macro definition is
+ disabled with <code>#undef</code>, or by defining
+ <code>NCURSES_NOMACROS</code> the function may be linked (and
+ its calls will be checked against the prototype).</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>New vi uses ncurses.</p>
<p><a href=
- "https://sites.google.com/a/bostic.com/keithbostic/vi">https://sites.google.com/a/bostic.com/keithbostic/vi</a><br>
+ "https://sites.google.com/a/bostic.com/keithbostic/the-berkeley-vi-editor-home-page">
+ https://sites.google.com/a/bostic.com/keithbostic/the-berkeley-vi-editor-home-page</a><br>
</p>
</dd>
<p>terminal emulator for serial modem connections</p>
<p><a href=
- "https://alioth.debian.org/projects/minicom/">https://alioth.debian.org/projects/minicom/</a></p>
+ "https://salsa.debian.org/minicom-team/minicom">https://salsa.debian.org/minicom-team/minicom</a></p>
</dd>
<dt><span class="part-name">mosh</span>
<blockquote>
<p><a href=
- "ftp://ftp.invisible-island.net/ncurses/current/">ftp://ftp.invisible-island.net/ncurses/current/</a>
+ "https://invisible-island.net/archives/ncurses/current/">https://invisible-island.net/archives/ncurses/current/</a>
and<br>
<a href=
"https://invisible-mirror.net/archives/ncurses/current/">https://invisible-mirror.net/archives/ncurses/current/</a> .</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href=
- "ftp://ftp.invisible-island.net/ncurses/6.2/">ftp://ftp.invisible-island.net/ncurses/6.2/</a>
+ "https://invisible-island.net/archives/ncurses/6.4/">https://invisible-island.net/archives/ncurses/6.4/</a>
and<br>
<a href=
- "https://invisible-mirror.net/archives/ncurses/6.2/">https://invisible-mirror.net/archives/ncurses/6.2/</a> .</p>
+ "https://invisible-mirror.net/archives/ncurses/6.4/">https://invisible-mirror.net/archives/ncurses/6.4/</a> .</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is an archive of the mailing list here:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href=
- "http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-ncurses">http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-ncurses</a>
- (also <a href=
- "https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-ncurses">https</a>)</p>
+ "https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-ncurses">https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-ncurses</a> .</p>
</blockquote>
<h2><a name="h2-this-stuff" id="h2-this-stuff">Related
<a href="http://www.catb.org/~esr/terminfo/">Eric
Raymond</a> . Unlike the older version, the termcap and
terminfo data are provided in the same file, which also provides
- several user-definable extensions beyond the X/Open
+ several user-definable extensions beyond the X/Open Curses
specification.</p>
<p>You can find lots of information on terminal-related topics
- not covered in the terminfo file at <a href=
- "http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.cs.utk.edu/~shuford/terminal">
- Richard Shuford's archive</a> . The collection of computer
- manuals at <a href=
+ not covered in the terminfo file in <a href=
+ "https://shuford.invisible-island.net/">Richard Shuford's
+ archive</a> (<a href=
+ "http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.cs.utk.edu/~shuford/terminal">original</a>).
+ The collection of computer manuals at <a href=
"http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/">bitsavers.org</a> has also been
useful.</p>
projects / ncurses.git / blobdiff