* sale, use or other dealings in this Software without prior written *
* authorization. *
****************************************************************************
- * @Id: curs_terminfo.3x,v 1.85 2023/04/23 20:52:38 tom Exp @
+ * @Id: curs_terminfo.3x,v 1.87 2023/06/10 15:51:45 tom Exp @
* ***************************************************************************
* ***************************************************************************
* ***************************************************************************
environment variable <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> is used.
<EM>filedes</EM>
- is the file descriptor used for all output.
+ is the file descriptor used for getting and setting terminal
+ I/O modes.
+
+ Higher-level applications use <STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">newterm(3x)</A></STRONG> for initializing the
+ terminal, passing an output <EM>stream</EM> rather than a <EM>descriptor</EM>.
+ In curses, the two are the same because <STRONG>newterm</STRONG> calls <STRONG>se-</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>tupterm</STRONG>, passing the file descriptor derived from its output
+ stream parameter.
<EM>errret</EM>
points to an optional location where an error status can be re-
- turned to the caller. If <EM>errret</EM> is not null, then <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>
- returns <STRONG>OK</STRONG> or <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> and stores a status value in the integer
- pointed to by <EM>errret</EM>. A return value of <STRONG>OK</STRONG> combined with sta-
+ turned to the caller. If <EM>errret</EM> is not null, then <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>
+ returns <STRONG>OK</STRONG> or <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> and stores a status value in the integer
+ pointed to by <EM>errret</EM>. A return value of <STRONG>OK</STRONG> combined with sta-
tus of <STRONG>1</STRONG> in <EM>errret</EM> is normal.
If <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> is returned, examine <EM>errret</EM>:
- <STRONG>1</STRONG> means that the terminal is hardcopy, cannot be used for
+ <STRONG>1</STRONG> means that the terminal is hardcopy, cannot be used for
curses applications.
- <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> determines if the entry is a hardcopy type by
+ <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> determines if the entry is a hardcopy type by
checking the <STRONG>hc</STRONG> (<STRONG>hardcopy</STRONG>) capability.
- <STRONG>0</STRONG> means that the terminal could not be found, or that it is
- a generic type, having too little information for curses
+ <STRONG>0</STRONG> means that the terminal could not be found, or that it is
+ a generic type, having too little information for curses
applications to run.
- <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> determines if the entry is a generic type by
- checking the <STRONG>gn</STRONG> (<STRONG>generic</STRONG>) capability.
+ <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> determines if the entry is a generic type by
+ checking the <STRONG>gn</STRONG> (<STRONG>generic_type</STRONG>) capability.
<STRONG>-1</STRONG> means that the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> database could not be found.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-The-Terminal-State">The Terminal State</a></H3><PRE>
- The <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> routine stores its information about the terminal in a
- <STRONG>TERMINAL</STRONG> structure pointed to by the global variable <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG>. If it
- detects an error, or decides that the terminal is unsuitable (hardcopy
- or generic), it discards this information, making it not available to
+ The <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> routine stores its information about the terminal in a
+ <STRONG>TERMINAL</STRONG> structure pointed to by the global variable <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG>. If it
+ detects an error, or decides that the terminal is unsuitable (hardcopy
+ or generic), it discards this information, making it not available to
applications.
- If <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> is called repeatedly for the same terminal type, it will
- reuse the information. It maintains only one copy of a given termi-
- nal's capabilities in memory. If it is called for different terminal
- types, <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> allocates new storage for each set of terminal capa-
+ If <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> is called repeatedly for the same terminal type, it will
+ reuse the information. It maintains only one copy of a given termi-
+ nal's capabilities in memory. If it is called for different terminal
+ types, <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> allocates new storage for each set of terminal capa-
bilities.
- The <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG> routine sets <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG> to <EM>nterm</EM>, and makes all of the
- <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> boolean, numeric, and string variables use the values from
+ The <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG> routine sets <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG> to <EM>nterm</EM>, and makes all of the
+ <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> boolean, numeric, and string variables use the values from
<EM>nterm</EM>. It returns the old value of <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG>.
- The <STRONG>del_curterm</STRONG> routine frees the space pointed to by <EM>oterm</EM> and makes
+ The <STRONG>del_curterm</STRONG> routine frees the space pointed to by <EM>oterm</EM> and makes
it available for further use. If <EM>oterm</EM> is the same as <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG>, refer-
- ences to any of the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> boolean, numeric, and string variables
- thereafter may refer to invalid memory locations until another <STRONG>se-</STRONG>
+ ences to any of the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> boolean, numeric, and string variables
+ thereafter may refer to invalid memory locations until another <STRONG>se-</STRONG>
<STRONG>tupterm</STRONG> has been called.
- The <STRONG>restartterm</STRONG> routine is similar to <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> and <STRONG>initscr</STRONG>, except
+ The <STRONG>restartterm</STRONG> routine is similar to <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> and <STRONG>initscr</STRONG>, except
that it is called after restoring memory to a previous state (for exam-
- ple, when reloading a game saved as a core image dump). <STRONG>restartterm</STRONG>
- assumes that the windows and the input and output options are the same
- as when memory was saved, but the terminal type and baud rate may be
- different. Accordingly, <STRONG>restartterm</STRONG> saves various tty state bits,
+ ple, when reloading a game saved as a core image dump). <STRONG>restartterm</STRONG>
+ assumes that the windows and the input and output options are the same
+ as when memory was saved, but the terminal type and baud rate may be
+ different. Accordingly, <STRONG>restartterm</STRONG> saves various tty state bits,
calls <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>, and then restores the bits.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Formatting-Output">Formatting Output</a></H3><PRE>
- The <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> routine instantiates the string <EM>str</EM> with parameters <EM>pi</EM>. A
- pointer is returned to the result of <EM>str</EM> with the parameters applied.
- Application developers should keep in mind these quirks of the inter-
+ The <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> routine instantiates the string <EM>str</EM> with parameters <EM>pi</EM>. A
+ pointer is returned to the result of <EM>str</EM> with the parameters applied.
+ Application developers should keep in mind these quirks of the inter-
face:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Although <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>'s actual parameters may be integers or strings, the
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Although <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>'s actual parameters may be integers or strings, the
prototype expects <STRONG>long</STRONG> (integer) values.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> Aside from the <STRONG>set_attributes</STRONG> (<STRONG>sgr</STRONG>) capability, most terminal capa-
bilities require no more than one or two parameters.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Padding information is ignored by <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>; it is interpreted by
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Padding information is ignored by <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>; it is interpreted by
<STRONG>tputs</STRONG>.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> The capability string is null-terminated. Use "\200" where an
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The capability string is null-terminated. Use "\200" where an
ASCII NUL is needed in the output.
- <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG> is a newer form of <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> which uses <EM><stdarg.h></EM> rather than a
+ <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG> is a newer form of <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> which uses <EM><stdarg.h></EM> rather than a
fixed-parameter list. Its numeric parameters are integers (int) rather
than longs.
- Both <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> and <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG> assume that the application passes parameters
- consistent with the terminal description. Two extensions are provided
+ Both <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> and <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG> assume that the application passes parameters
+ consistent with the terminal description. Two extensions are provided
as alternatives to deal with untrusted data:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>tiparm_s</STRONG> is an extension which is a safer formatting function than
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>tiparm_s</STRONG> is an extension which is a safer formatting function than
<STRONG>tparm</STRONG> or <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG>, because it allows the developer to tell the curses
- library how many parameters to expect in the parameter list, and
+ library how many parameters to expect in the parameter list, and
which may be string parameters.
- The <EM>mask</EM> parameter has one bit set for each of the parameters (up
+ The <EM>mask</EM> parameter has one bit set for each of the parameters (up
to 9) which will be passed as char* rather than numbers.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> The extension <STRONG>tiscan_s</STRONG> allows the application to inspect a format-
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The extension <STRONG>tiscan_s</STRONG> allows the application to inspect a format-
ting capability to see what the curses library would assume.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Output-Functions">Output Functions</a></H3><PRE>
- The <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> routine applies padding information (i.e., by interpreting
- marker embedded in the terminfo capability such as "$<5>" as 5 mil-
+ The <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> routine applies padding information (i.e., by interpreting
+ marker embedded in the terminfo capability such as "$<5>" as 5 mil-
liseconds) to the string <EM>str</EM> and outputs it:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> The <EM>str</EM> parameter must be a terminfo string variable or the return
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The <EM>str</EM> parameter must be a terminfo string variable or the return
value from <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>, <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG>, <STRONG>tgetstr</STRONG>, or <STRONG>tgoto</STRONG>.
- The <STRONG>tgetstr</STRONG> and <STRONG>tgoto</STRONG> functions are part of the <EM>termcap</EM> interface,
- which happens to share this function name with the <EM>terminfo</EM> inter-
+ The <STRONG>tgetstr</STRONG> and <STRONG>tgoto</STRONG> functions are part of the <EM>termcap</EM> interface,
+ which happens to share this function name with the <EM>terminfo</EM> inter-
face.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>affcnt</EM> is the number of lines affected, or 1 if not applicable.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>putc</EM> is a <STRONG>putchar</STRONG>-like routine to which the characters are passed,
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>putc</EM> is a <STRONG>putchar</STRONG>-like routine to which the characters are passed,
one at a time.
- The <STRONG>putp</STRONG> routine calls <STRONG>tputs(</STRONG><EM>str</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>1,</STRONG> <STRONG>putchar)</STRONG>. The output of <STRONG>putp</STRONG> al-
+ The <STRONG>putp</STRONG> routine calls <STRONG>tputs(</STRONG><EM>str</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>1,</STRONG> <STRONG>putchar)</STRONG>. The output of <STRONG>putp</STRONG> al-
ways goes to <STRONG>stdout</STRONG>, rather than the <EM>filedes</EM> specified in <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>.
- The <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> routine displays the string on the terminal in the video
+ The <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> routine displays the string on the terminal in the video
attribute mode <EM>attrs</EM>, which is any combination of the attributes listed
- in <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG>. The characters are passed to the <STRONG>putchar</STRONG>-like routine
+ in <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG>. The characters are passed to the <STRONG>putchar</STRONG>-like routine
<EM>putc</EM>.
The <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> routine is like the <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> routine, except that it outputs
through <STRONG>putchar</STRONG>.
- The <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG> routines correspond to vidattr and vidputs,
- respectively. They use a set of arguments for representing the video
+ The <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG> routines correspond to vidattr and vidputs,
+ respectively. They use a set of arguments for representing the video
attributes plus color, i.e.,
<STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>attrs</EM> of type <STRONG>attr_t</STRONG> for the attributes and
<STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>pair</EM> of type <STRONG>short</STRONG> for the color-pair number.
- The <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG> routines are designed to use the attribute
+ The <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG> routines are designed to use the attribute
constants with the <STRONG>WA_</STRONG> prefix.
- X/Open Curses reserves the <EM>opts</EM> argument for future use, saying that
- applications must provide a null pointer for that argument. As an ex-
- tension, this implementation allows <EM>opts</EM> to be used as a pointer to
+ X/Open Curses reserves the <EM>opts</EM> argument for future use, saying that
+ applications must provide a null pointer for that argument. As an ex-
+ tension, this implementation allows <EM>opts</EM> to be used as a pointer to
<STRONG>int</STRONG>, which overrides the <EM>pair</EM> (<STRONG>short</STRONG>) argument.
- The <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> routine provides low-level cursor motion. It takes effect
- immediately (rather than at the next refresh).
+ The <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> routine provides low-level cursor motion. It takes effect
+ immediately (rather than at the next refresh). Unlike the other low-
+ level output functions, which either write to the standard output or
+ pass an output function parameter, <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> uses an output file descriptor
+ derived from the output stream parameter of <STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">newterm(3x)</A></STRONG>.
While <STRONG>putp</STRONG> and <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> are low-level functions which do not use the high-
level curses state, they are declared in <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG> because SystemV did
mvcur low level cursor motion
putp utility function that uses <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> to send char-
acters via <STRONG>putchar</STRONG>.
-
resetterm set tty modes to "out of curses" state
resetty reset tty flags to stored value
saveterm save current modes as "in curses" state
<STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> interprets a missing/empty TERM variable as the special
value "unknown".
+ SVr4 curses uses the special value "dumb".
+
+ The difference between the two is that the former uses the <STRONG>gn</STRONG>
+ (<STRONG>generic_type</STRONG>) terminfo capability, while the latter does not. A
+ generic terminal is unsuitable for full-screen applications.
+
<STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> allows explicit use of the the windows console driver by
checking if $TERM is set to "#win32con" or an abbreviation of that
string.