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-<H1 class="no-header">curs_terminfo 3x</H1>
+<H1 class="no-header">curs_terminfo 3x 2024-04-13 ncurses 6.4 Library calls</H1>
<PRE>
-<STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
<STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
+<STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
Library calls <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-NAME">NAME</a></H2><PRE>
- <STRONG>del_curterm</STRONG>, <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG>, <STRONG>putp</STRONG>, <STRONG>restartterm</STRONG>, <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG>, <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>,
- <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG>, <STRONG>tigetnum</STRONG>, <STRONG>tigetstr</STRONG>, <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG>, <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>, <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>, <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG>,
- <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG>, <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG>, <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> - <STRONG>curses</STRONG> interfaces to terminfo database
+ <STRONG>del_curterm</STRONG>, <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG>, <STRONG>putp</STRONG>, <STRONG>restartterm</STRONG>, <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG>, <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>,
+ <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG>, <STRONG>tigetnum</STRONG>, <STRONG>tigetstr</STRONG>, <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG>, <STRONG>tiparm_s</STRONG>, <STRONG>tiscan_s</STRONG>, <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>,
+ <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>, <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG>, <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG>, <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG>, <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> - <EM>curses</EM> interfaces to
+ <EM>terminfo</EM> database
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-SYNOPSIS">SYNOPSIS</a></H2><PRE>
<STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>del_curterm(TERMINAL</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>oterm</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
<STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>restartterm(const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>term</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <EM>filedes</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>errret</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
- <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*tparm(const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>str</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>...);</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*tparm(const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>str</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> ...<STRONG>);</STRONG>
+ <EM>/*</EM> <EM>or</EM> <EM>*/</EM>
+ <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*tparm(const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>str</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>long</STRONG> <EM>p1</EM> ... <STRONG>long</STRONG> <EM>p9</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
+
<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>
<STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>putp(const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>str</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
<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>)(int));</STRONG>
<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>
- <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>
+ <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><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <EM>newcol</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
+
+ <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>tigetflag(const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>cap-code</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>tigetnum(const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>cap-code</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*tigetstr(const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>cap-code</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
- <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>tigetflag(const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>capname</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
- <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>tigetnum(const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>capname</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
- <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*tigetstr(const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>capname</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*tiparm(const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>str</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> ...<STRONG>);</STRONG>
- <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*tiparm(const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>str</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>...);</STRONG>
+ <EM>/*</EM> <EM>extensions</EM> <EM>*/</EM>
+ <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*tiparm_s(int</STRONG> <EM>expected</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <EM>mask</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>str</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>...);</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>tiscan_s(int</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>expected</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>mask</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>str</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
+
+ <EM>/*</EM> <EM>deprecated</EM> <EM>*/</EM>
+ <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>setterm(const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG><EM>term</EM><STRONG>);</STRONG>
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-DESCRIPTION">DESCRIPTION</a></H2><PRE>
- These low-level routines must be called by programs that have to deal
- directly with the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> database to handle certain terminal capabil-
- ities, such as programming function keys. For all other functionality,
- <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routines are more suitable and their use is recommended.
+ These low-level functions must be called by programs that deal directly
+ with the <EM>terminfo</EM> database to handle certain terminal capabilities,
+ such as programming function keys. For all other functionality, <EM>curses</EM>
+ functions are more suitable and their use is recommended.
- None of these functions use (or are aware of) multibyte character
- strings such as UTF-8:
+ None of these functions use (or are aware of) multibyte character
+ strings such as UTF-8.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> capability names use the POSIX portable character set
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Capability names and codes use the POSIX portable character set.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> capability string values have no associated encoding; they are
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Capability string values have no associated encoding; they are
strings of 8-bit characters.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Initialization">Initialization</a></H3><PRE>
- Initially, <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> should be called. The high-level curses functions
- <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> and <STRONG>newterm</STRONG> call <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> to initialize the low-level set of
- terminal-dependent variables [listed in <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>].
+ Initially, <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> should be called. The high-level <EM>curses</EM> functions
+ <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> and <STRONG>newterm</STRONG> call <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> to initialize the low-level set of
+ terminal-dependent variables listed in <STRONG><A HREF="term_variables.3x.html">term_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>.
- Applications can use the terminal capabilities either directly (via
- header definitions), or by special functions. The header files <STRONG>curs-</STRONG>
- <STRONG>es.h</STRONG> and <STRONG>term.h</STRONG> should be included (in this order) to get the defini-
- tions for these strings, numbers, and flags.
+ Applications can use the terminal capabilities either directly (via
+ header definitions), or by special functions. The header files
+ <EM>curses.h</EM> and <EM>term.h</EM> should be included (in that order) to get the
+ definitions for these strings, numbers, and flags.
- The <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> variables <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and <STRONG>columns</STRONG> are initialized by <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>
- as follows:
+ The <EM>terminfo</EM> variables <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and <STRONG>columns</STRONG> are initialized by <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>
+ as follows.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> If <STRONG>use_env(FALSE)</STRONG> has been called, values for <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and <STRONG>columns</STRONG>
- specified in <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> are used.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If <STRONG>use_env(FALSE)</STRONG> has been called, values for <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and <STRONG>columns</STRONG>
+ specified in <EM>terminfo</EM> are used.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Otherwise, if the environment variables <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> and <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> exist,
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Otherwise, if the environment variables <EM>LINES</EM> and <EM>COLUMNS</EM> exist,
their values are used. If these environment variables do not exist
- and the program is running in a window, the current window size is
- used. Otherwise, if the environment variables do not exist, the
- values for <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and <STRONG>columns</STRONG> specified in the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> database are
+ and the program is running in a window, the current window size is
+ used. Otherwise, if the environment variables do not exist, the
+ values for <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and <STRONG>columns</STRONG> specified in the <EM>terminfo</EM> database are
used.
- Parameterized strings should be passed through <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> to instantiate
- them. All <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> strings (including the output of <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>) should be
- printed with <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> or <STRONG>putp</STRONG>. Call <STRONG>reset_shell_mode</STRONG> to restore the tty
- modes before exiting [see <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>].
+ Parameterized strings should be passed through <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> to instantiate
+ them. All <EM>terminfo</EM> strings (including the output of <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>) should be
+ sent to the terminal device with <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> or <STRONG>putp</STRONG>. Call <STRONG>reset_shell_mode</STRONG>
+ to restore the terminal modes before exiting; see <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>.
- Programs which use cursor addressing should
+ Programs that use cursor addressing should
<STRONG>o</STRONG> output <STRONG>enter_ca_mode</STRONG> upon startup and
<STRONG>o</STRONG> output <STRONG>exit_ca_mode</STRONG> before exiting.
- Programs which execute shell subprocesses should
+ Programs that execute shell subprocesses should
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> call <STRONG>reset_shell_mode</STRONG> and output <STRONG>exit_ca_mode</STRONG> before the shell is
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> call <STRONG>reset_shell_mode</STRONG> and output <STRONG>exit_ca_mode</STRONG> before the shell is
called and
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> output <STRONG>enter_ca_mode</STRONG> and call <STRONG>reset_prog_mode</STRONG> after returning from
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> output <STRONG>enter_ca_mode</STRONG> and call <STRONG>reset_prog_mode</STRONG> after returning from
the shell.
- The <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> routine reads in the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> database, initializing the
- <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> structures, but does not set up the output virtualization
- structures used by <STRONG>curses</STRONG>. These are its parameters:
+ <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> reads in the <EM>terminfo</EM> database, initializing the <EM>terminfo</EM>
+ structures, but does not set up the output virtualization structures
+ used by <EM>curses</EM>. Its parameters follow.
<EM>term</EM> is the terminal type, a character string. If <EM>term</EM> is null, the
- environment variable <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> is used.
+ environment variable <EM>TERM</EM> is read.
<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> to initialize the
+ terminal, passing an output <EM>stream</EM> rather than a <EM>descriptor</EM>.
+ In <EM>curses</EM>, the two are the same because <STRONG>newterm</STRONG> calls
+ <STRONG>setupterm</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>
+ points to an optional location where an error status can be
+ returned 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.
+ pointed to by <EM>errret</EM>. A return value of <STRONG>OK</STRONG> combined with
+ status of <STRONG>1</STRONG> in <EM>errret</EM> is normal.
- If <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> is returned, examine <EM>errret</EM>:
+ If <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> is returned, examine <EM>errret:</EM>
- <STRONG>1</STRONG> means that the terminal is hardcopy, cannot be used for
- curses applications.
+ <STRONG>1</STRONG> means that the terminal is hardcopy, and cannot be used
+ for <EM>curses</EM> applications.
<STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> determines if the entry is a hardcopy type by
- checking the <STRONG>hc</STRONG> (<STRONG>hardcopy</STRONG>) capability.
+ checking the <STRONG>hardcopy</STRONG> (<STRONG>hc</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
+ a generic type, having too little information for <EM>curses</EM>
applications to run.
<STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> determines if the entry is a generic type by
- checking the <STRONG>gn</STRONG> (<STRONG>generic</STRONG>) capability.
+ checking the <STRONG>generic_type</STRONG> (<STRONG>gn</STRONG>) capability.
- <STRONG>-1</STRONG> means that the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> database could not be found.
+ <STRONG>-1</STRONG> means that the <EM>terminfo</EM> database could not be found.
- If <EM>errret</EM> is null, <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> prints an error message upon find-
- ing an error and exits. Thus, the simplest call is:
+ If <EM>errret</EM> is null, <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> reports an error message upon
+ finding an error and exits. Thus, the simplest call is:
- <STRONG>setupterm((char</STRONG> <STRONG>*)0,</STRONG> <STRONG>1,</STRONG> <STRONG>(int</STRONG> <STRONG>*)0);</STRONG>,
+ setupterm((char *)0, 1, (int *)0);
which uses all the defaults and sends the output to <STRONG>stdout</STRONG>.
</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
+ <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> stores its information about the terminal in a <EM>TERMINAL</EM>
+ 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-
- 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
- <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
- 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>
- <STRONG>tupterm</STRONG> has been called.
-
- 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,
- calls <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>, and then restores the bits.
+ reuse the information. It maintains only one copy of a given
+ terminal's capabilities in memory. If it is called for different
+ terminal types, <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> allocates new storage for each set of
+ terminal capabilities.
+
+ <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG> sets <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG> to <EM>nterm</EM>, and makes all of the <EM>terminfo</EM>
+ Boolean, numeric, and string variables use the values from <EM>nterm</EM>. It
+ returns the old value of <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG>.
+
+ <STRONG>del_curterm</STRONG> 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>, references to any
+ of the <EM>terminfo</EM> Boolean, numeric, and string variables thereafter may
+ refer to invalid memory locations until another <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> has been
+ called.
+
+ <STRONG>restartterm</STRONG> is similar to <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> and <STRONG>initscr</STRONG>, except that it is
+ called after restoring memory to a previous state (for example, 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 terminal 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-
- face:
+ <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> 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 interface:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Although <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>'s actual parameters may be integers or strings, the
+ prototype expects <EM>long</EM> (integer) values.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Aside from the <STRONG>set_attributes</STRONG> (<STRONG>sgr</STRONG>) capability, most terminal
+ capabilities require no more than one or two parameters.
+
+ <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
+ 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
+ fixed-parameter list. Its numeric parameters are <EM>int</EM>s rather than
+ <EM>long</EM>s.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Although <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>'s actual parameters may be integers or strings, the
- prototype expects <STRONG>long</STRONG> (integer) values.
+ 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> 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> <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 <EM>curses</EM>
+ library how many parameters to expect in the parameter list, and
+ which may be string parameters.
- <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.
+ The <EM>mask</EM> parameter has one bit set for each of the parameters (up
+ to 9) passed as <EM>char</EM> pointers rather than numbers.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The extension <STRONG>tiscan_s</STRONG> allows the application to inspect a
+ formatting capability to see what the <EM>curses</EM> library would assume.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Output-Functions">Output Functions</a></H3><PRE>
- The <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> routine applies padding information to the string <EM>str</EM> and
- outputs it:
+ String capabilities can contain padding information, a time delay
+ (accommodating performance limitations of hardware terminals) expressed
+ as <STRONG>$<</STRONG><EM>n</EM><STRONG>></STRONG>, where <EM>n</EM> is a nonnegative integral count of milliseconds. If <EM>n</EM>
+ exceeds 30,000 (thirty seconds), it is capped at that value.
+
+ <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> interprets time-delay information in the string <EM>str</EM> and outputs
+ it, executing the delays:
- <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>.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The <EM>str</EM> parameter must be a <EM>terminfo</EM> string variable or the return
+ value of <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-
- face.
+ The <STRONG>tgetstr</STRONG> and <STRONG>tgoto</STRONG> functions are part of the <EM>termcap</EM> interface,
+ which happens to share these function names with the <EM>terminfo</EM> API.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>affcnt</EM> is the number of lines affected, or 1 if not applicable.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>affcnt</EM> is the number of lines affected, or <STRONG>1</STRONG> 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 <EM>putchar</EM>-like function 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-
- ways goes to <STRONG>stdout</STRONG>, rather than the <EM>filedes</EM> specified in <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>.
+ If <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> processes a time-delay, it uses the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">delay_output(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ function, routing any resulting padding characters through this
+ function.
+
+ <STRONG>putp</STRONG> calls "<STRONG>tputs(</STRONG><EM>str</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>1,</STRONG> <STRONG>putchar)</STRONG>". The output of <STRONG>putp</STRONG> always 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
- 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
- <EM>putc</EM>.
+ <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> 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 <EM>putchar</EM>-like function <EM>putc</EM>.
- The <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> routine is like the <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> routine, except that it outputs
- through <STRONG>putchar</STRONG>.
+ <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> is like <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG>, except that it outputs through <STRONG>putchar(3)</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
- attributes plus color, i.e.,
+ <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG> correspond to <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG>, respectively.
+ They use multiple parameters to represent the character attributes and
+ color; namely,
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>attrs</EM> of type <STRONG>attr_t</STRONG> for the attributes and
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>attrs</EM>, of type <EM>attr</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>t</EM>, for the attributes and
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>pair</EM> of type <STRONG>short</STRONG> for the color-pair number.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>pair</EM>, of type <EM>short</EM>, for the color pair number.
- The <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG> routines are designed to use the attribute
- constants with the <EM>WA</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG> prefix.
+ Use the attribute constants prefixed with "<STRONG>WA_</STRONG>" with <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and
+ <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG>.
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.
+ applications must provide a null pointer for that argument; but see
+ section "EXTENSIONS" below.
- The <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> routine provides low-level cursor motion. It takes effect
- immediately (rather than at the next refresh).
+ <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> 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
- this (see <STRONG>HISTORY</STRONG>).
+ While <STRONG>putp</STRONG> and <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> are low-level functions that do not use high-level
+ <EM>curses</EM> state, <EM>ncurses</EM> declares them in <EM>curses.h</EM> because System V did
+ this (see section "HISTORY" below).
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Terminal-Capability-Functions">Terminal Capability Functions</a></H3><PRE>
- The <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG>, <STRONG>tigetnum</STRONG> and <STRONG>tigetstr</STRONG> routines return the value of the
- capability corresponding to the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> <EM>capname</EM> passed to them, such
- as <STRONG>xenl</STRONG>. The <EM>capname</EM> for each capability is given in the table column
-
entitled <EM>capname</EM> code in the capabilities section of <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>.
+ <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG>, <STRONG>tigetnum</STRONG>, and <STRONG>tigetstr</STRONG> return the value of the capability
+ corresponding to the <EM>terminfo</EM> <EM>cap-code</EM>, such as <STRONG>xenl</STRONG>, passed to them.
+ The <EM>cap-code</EM> for each capability is given in the table column entitled
+
<EM>cap-code</EM> code in the capabilities section of <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>.
- These routines return special values to denote errors.
+ These functions return special values to denote errors.
- The <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG> routine returns
+ <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG> returns
- <STRONG>-1</STRONG> if <EM>capname</EM> is not a boolean capability, or
+ <STRONG>-1</STRONG> if <EM>cap-code</EM> is not a Boolean capability, or
<STRONG>0</STRONG> if it is canceled or absent from the terminal description.
- The <STRONG>tigetnum</STRONG> routine returns
+ <STRONG>tigetnum</STRONG> returns
- <STRONG>-2</STRONG> if <EM>capname</EM> is not a numeric capability, or
+ <STRONG>-2</STRONG> if <EM>cap-code</EM> is not a numeric capability, or
<STRONG>-1</STRONG> if it is canceled or absent from the terminal description.
- The <STRONG>tigetstr</STRONG> routine returns
+ <STRONG>tigetstr</STRONG> returns
<STRONG>(char</STRONG> <STRONG>*)-1</STRONG>
- if <EM>capname</EM> is not a string capability, or
+ if <EM>cap-code</EM> is not a string capability, or
<STRONG>0</STRONG> if it is canceled or absent from the terminal description.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Terminal-Capability-Names">Terminal Capability Names</a></H3><PRE>
These null-terminated arrays contain
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> the short terminfo names ("codes"),
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> the short <EM>terminfo</EM> names ("codes"),
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> the <STRONG>termcap</STRONG> names ("names"), and
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> the <EM>termcap</EM> names ("names"), and
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> the long terminfo names ("fnames")
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> the long <EM>terminfo</EM> names ("fnames")
- for each of the predefined <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> variables:
+ for each of the predefined <EM>terminfo</EM> variables:
<STRONG>const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*boolnames[]</STRONG>, <STRONG>*boolcodes[]</STRONG>, <STRONG>*boolfnames[]</STRONG>
<STRONG>const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*numnames[]</STRONG>, <STRONG>*numcodes[]</STRONG>, <STRONG>*numfnames[]</STRONG>
<STRONG>const</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*strnames[]</STRONG>, <STRONG>*strcodes[]</STRONG>, <STRONG>*strfnames[]</STRONG>
-</PRE><H2><a name="h2-RETURN-VALUE">RETURN VALUE</a></H2><PRE>
- Routines that return an integer return <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> upon failure and <STRONG>OK</STRONG> (SVr4
- only specifies "an integer value other than <STRONG>ERR</STRONG>") upon successful com-
- pletion, unless otherwise noted in the preceding routine descriptions.
-
- Routines that return pointers always return <STRONG>NULL</STRONG> on error.
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Releasing-Memory">Releasing Memory</a></H3><PRE>
+ Each successful call to <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> allocates memory to hold the terminal
+ description. As a side effect, it sets <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG> to point to this
+ memory. If an application calls
- X/Open defines no error conditions. In this implementation
+ del_curterm(cur_term);
- <STRONG>del_curterm</STRONG>
- returns an error if its terminal parameter is null.
+ the memory will be freed.
- <STRONG>putp</STRONG> calls <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>, returning the same error-codes.
+ The formatting functions <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> and <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG> extend the storage allocated
+ by <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> as follows.
- <STRONG>restartterm</STRONG>
- returns an error if the associated call to <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> returns an
- error.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> They add the "static" <EM>terminfo</EM> variables [a-z]. Before <EM>ncurses</EM>
+ 6.3, those were shared by all screens. With <EM>ncurses</EM> 6.3, those are
+ allocated per screen. See <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>.
- <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>
- returns an error if it cannot allocate enough memory, or create
- the initial windows (stdscr, curscr, newscr). Other error con-
- ditions are documented above.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> To improve performance, <EM>ncurses</EM> 6.3 caches the result of analyzing
+ <EM>terminfo</EM> strings for their parameter types. That is stored as a
+ binary tree referenced from the <EM>TERMINAL</EM> structure.
- <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>
- returns an error if the string parameter is null. It does not
- detect I/O errors: X/Open states that <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> ignores the return
- value of the output function <EM>putc</EM>.
-
-
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Compatibility-macros">Compatibility macros</a></H3><PRE>
- This implementation provides a few macros for compatibility with sys-
- tems before SVr4 (see <STRONG>HISTORY</STRONG>). Those include <STRONG>crmode</STRONG>, <STRONG>fixterm</STRONG>,
- <STRONG>gettmode</STRONG>, <STRONG>nocrmode</STRONG>, <STRONG>resetterm</STRONG>, <STRONG>saveterm</STRONG>, and <STRONG>setterm</STRONG>.
-
- In SVr4, those are found in <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG>, but except for <STRONG>setterm</STRONG>, are
- likewise macros. The one function, <STRONG>setterm</STRONG>, is mentioned in the manual
- page. The manual page notes that the <STRONG>setterm</STRONG> routine was replaced by
- <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>, stating that the call:
+ The higher-level <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> and <STRONG>newterm</STRONG> functions use <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>. Normally
+ they do not free this memory, but it is possible to do that using the
+ <STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">delscreen(3x)</A></STRONG> function.
- <STRONG>setupterm(</STRONG><EM>term</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>1,</STRONG> <STRONG>(int</STRONG> <STRONG>*)0)</STRONG>
- provides the same functionality as <STRONG>setterm(</STRONG><EM>term</EM><STRONG>)</STRONG>, and is not recommend-
- ed for new programs. This implementation provides each of those sym-
- bols as macros for BSD compatibility,
+</PRE><H2><a name="h2-RETURN-VALUE">RETURN VALUE</a></H2><PRE>
+ X/Open Curses defines no failure conditions. In <EM>ncurses</EM>,
+ <STRONG>del_curtem</STRONG>
+ fails if its terminal parameter is null.
-</PRE><H2><a name="h2-HISTORY">HISTORY</a></H2><PRE>
- SVr2 introduced the terminfo feature. Its programming manual mentioned
- these low-level functions:
+ <STRONG>putp</STRONG> calls <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>, returning the same error codes.
- <STRONG>Function</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
- ------------------------------------------------------------
-
- fixterm restore tty to "in curses" state
- gettmode establish current tty modes
- 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
- savetty store current tty flags
- setterm establish terminal with given type
- setupterm establish terminal with given type
- tparm instantiate a string expression with parameters
- tputs apply padding information to a string
- vidattr like <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG>, but outputs through <STRONG>putchar</STRONG>
- vidputs output a string to put terminal in a specified
- video attribute mode
-
- The programming manual also mentioned functions provided for termcap
- compatibility (commenting that they "may go away at a later date"):
+ <STRONG>restartterm</STRONG>
+ fails if the associated call to <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> returns an error.
- <STRONG>Function</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
- ------------------------------------------------
- tgetent look up termcap entry for given <EM>name</EM>
- tgetflag get boolean entry for given <EM>id</EM>
- tgetnum get numeric entry for given <EM>id</EM>
- tgetstr get string entry for given <EM>id</EM>
- tgoto apply parameters to given capability
- tputs apply padding to capability, calling
- a function to put characters
-
- Early terminfo programs obtained capability values from the <STRONG>TERMINAL</STRONG>
- structure initialized by <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>.
+ <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>
+ fails if it cannot allocate enough memory, or create the initial
+ windows (<STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>, <STRONG>curscr</STRONG>, and <STRONG>newscr</STRONG>) Other error conditions are
+ documented above.
- SVr3 extended terminfo by adding functions to retrieve capability val-
- ues (like the termcap interface), and reusing tgoto and tputs:
+ <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>
+ returns a null pointer if the capability would require unexpected
+ parameters; that is, too many, too few, or incorrect types
+ (strings where integers are expected, or vice versa).
- <STRONG>Function</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
- -------------------------------------------
- tigetflag get boolean entry for given <EM>id</EM>
- tigetnum get numeric entry for given <EM>id</EM>
- tigetstr get string entry for given <EM>id</EM>
-
- SVr3 also replaced several of the SVr2 terminfo functions which had no
- counterpart in the termcap interface, documenting them as obsolete:
+ <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>
+ fails if the string parameter is null. It does not detect I/O
+ errors: X/Open Curses states that <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> ignores the return value
+ of the output function <EM>putc</EM>.
- <STRONG>Function</STRONG> <STRONG>Replaced</STRONG> <STRONG>by</STRONG>
- -----------------------------
- crmode cbreak
- fixterm reset_prog_mode
- gettmode N/A
- nocrmode nocbreak
- resetterm reset_shell_mode
- saveterm def_prog_mode
- setterm setupterm
- SVr3 kept the <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG>, <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> functions, along with <STRONG>putp</STRONG>,
- <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> and <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>. The latter were needed to support padding, and han-
- dling functions such as <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> (which used more than the two parame-
- ters supported by <STRONG>tgoto</STRONG>).
+</PRE><H2><a name="h2-NOTES">NOTES</a></H2><PRE>
+ The <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> function in <EM>ncurses</EM> is a special case. It was originally
+ implemented based on a draft of X/Open Curses, as a macro, before other
+ parts of the <EM>ncurses</EM> wide-character API were developed, and unlike the
+ other wide-character functions, is also provided in the non-wide-
+ character configuration.
- SVr3 introduced the functions for switching between terminal descrip-
- tions, e.g., <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG>. The various global variables such as <STRONG>bool-</STRONG>
- <STRONG>names</STRONG> were mentioned in the programming manual at this point.
- SVr4 added the <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG> functions.
+</PRE><H2><a name="h2-EXTENSIONS">EXTENSIONS</a></H2><PRE>
+ The functions marked as extensions were designed for <EM>ncurses</EM>, and are
+ not found in SVr4 <EM>curses</EM>, 4.4BSD <EM>curses</EM>, or any other previous <EM>curses</EM>
+ implementation.
- There are other low-level functions declared in the curses header files
- on Unix systems, but none were documented. The functions marked "obso-
- lete" remained in use by the Unix <STRONG>vi</STRONG> editor.
+ <EM>ncurses</EM> allows <EM>opts</EM> to be a pointer to <EM>int</EM>, which overrides the <EM>pair</EM>
+ (<EM>short</EM>) argument.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-PORTABILITY">PORTABILITY</a></H2><PRE>
+ <STRONG>setterm</STRONG> is not described by X/Open and must be considered non-portable.
+ All other functions are as described by X/Open.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Legacy-functions">Legacy functions</a></H3><PRE>
- X/Open notes that <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> may be macros.
- The function <STRONG>setterm</STRONG> is not described by X/Open and must be considered
- non-portable. All other functions are as described by X/Open.
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Compatibility-Macros">Compatibility Macros</a></H3><PRE>
+ This implementation provides a few macros for compatibility with
+ systems before SVr4 (see section "HISTORY" below). They include
+ <STRONG>Bcrmode</STRONG>, <STRONG>Bfixterm</STRONG>, <STRONG>Bgettmode</STRONG>, <STRONG>Bnocrmode</STRONG>, <STRONG>Bresetterm</STRONG>, <STRONG>Bsaveterm</STRONG>, and
+ <STRONG>Bsetterm</STRONG>.
+
+ In SVr4, these are found in <EM>curses.h</EM>, but except for <STRONG>setterm</STRONG>, are
+ likewise macros. The one function, <STRONG>setterm</STRONG>, is mentioned in the manual
+ page. It further notes that <STRONG>setterm</STRONG> was replaced by <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>, stating
+ that the call
+ setupterm(<EM>term</EM>, 1, (int *)0)
+ provides the same functionality as <STRONG>setterm(</STRONG><EM>term</EM><STRONG>)</STRONG>, discouraging the
+ latter for new programs. <EM>ncurses</EM> implements each of these symbols as
+ macros for BSD <EM>curses</EM> compatibility.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Legacy-
data">Legacy data</a></H3><PRE>
- <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> copies the terminal name to the array <STRONG>ttytype</STRONG>. This is not
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Legacy-
Data">Legacy Data</a></H3><PRE>
+ <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> copies the terminal name to the array <STRONG>ttytype</STRONG>. This is not
part of X/Open Curses, but is assumed by some applications.
- Other implementions may not declare the capability name arrays. Some
- provide them without declaring them. X/Open does not specify them.
+ Other implementions may not declare the capability name arrays. Some
+ provide them without declaring them. X/Open Curses does not specify
+ them.
- Extended terminal capability names, e.g., as defined by <STRONG>tic</STRONG> <STRONG>-x</STRONG>, are not
+ Extended terminal capability names, as defined by "<STRONG>tic</STRONG> <STRONG>-x</STRONG>", are not
stored in the arrays described here.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Output-
buffering">Output buffering</a></H3><PRE>
- Older versions of <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> assumed that the file descriptor passed to
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Output-
Buffering">Output Buffering</a></H3><PRE>
+ Older versions of <EM>ncurses</EM> assumed that the file descriptor passed to
<STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> from <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> or <STRONG>newterm</STRONG> uses buffered I/O, and would write to
- the corresponding stream. In addition to the limitation that the ter-
- minal was left in block-buffered mode on exit (like System V curses),
- it was problematic because <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> did not allow a reliable way to
- cleanup on receiving SIGTSTP.
+ the corresponding stream. In addition to the limitation that the
+ terminal was left in block-buffered mode on exit (like System V
+ <EM>curses</EM>), it was problematic because <EM>ncurses</EM> did not allow a reliable
+ way to clean up on receiving <STRONG>SIGTSTP</STRONG>.
The current version (ncurses6) uses output buffers managed directly by
- <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>. Some of the low-level functions described in this manual page
- write to the standard output. They are not signal-safe. The high-lev-
- el functions in <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> use alternate versions of these functions using
- the more reliable buffering scheme.
-
-
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Function-prototypes">Function prototypes</a></H3><PRE>
- The X/Open Curses prototypes are based on the SVr4 curses header decla-
- rations, which were defined at the same time the C language was first
- standardized in the late 1980s.
-
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses uses <STRONG>const</STRONG> less effectively than a later design
- might, in some cases applying it needlessly to values are already
- constant, and in most cases overlooking parameters which normally
- would use <STRONG>const</STRONG>. Using constant parameters for functions which do
- not use <STRONG>const</STRONG> may prevent the program from compiling. On the other
- hand, <EM>writable</EM> <EM>strings</EM> are an obsolescent feature.
-
- As an extension, this implementation can be configured to change
- the function prototypes to use the <STRONG>const</STRONG> keyword. The ncurses ABI
+ <EM>ncurses</EM>. Some of the low-level functions described in this manual page
+ write to the standard output. They are not signal-safe. The high-
+ level functions in <EM>ncurses</EM> employ alternate versions of these functions
+ using the more reliable buffering scheme.
+
+
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Function-Prototypes">Function Prototypes</a></H3><PRE>
+ The X/Open Curses prototypes are based on the SVr4 <EM>curses</EM> header
+ declarations, which were defined at the same time the C language was
+ first standardized in the late 1980s.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses uses <EM>const</EM> less effectively than a later design
+ might, sometimes applying it needlessly to values that are already
+ constant, and in most cases overlooking parameters that normally
+ would use <EM>const</EM>. Passing <EM>const</EM>-qualified parameters to functions
+ that do not declare them <EM>const</EM> may prevent the program from
+ compiling. On the other hand, "writable strings" are an
+ obsolescent feature.
+
+ As an extension, this implementation can be configured to change
+ the function prototypes to use the <EM>const</EM> keyword. The <EM>ncurses</EM> ABI
6 enables this feature by default.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses prototypes <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> with a fixed number of parameters,
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses prototypes <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> with a fixed number of parameters,
rather than a variable argument list.
- This implementation uses a variable argument list, but can be con-
- figured to use the fixed-parameter list. Portable applications
- should provide 9 parameters after the format; zeroes are fine for
- this purpose.
+ This implementation uses a variable argument list, but can be
+ configured to use the fixed-parameter list. Portable applications
+ should provide nine parameters after the format; zeroes are fine
+ for this purpose.
- In response to review comments by Thomas E. Dickey, X/Open Curses
+ In response to review comments by Thomas E. Dickey, X/Open Curses
Issue 7 proposed the <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG> function in mid-2009.
+ While <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG> is always provided in <EM>ncurses</EM>, the older form is only
+ available as a build-time configuration option. If not specially
+ configured, <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> is the same as <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG>.
+
+ Both forms of <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> have drawbacks:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Most of the calls to <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> use only one or two parameters. Passing
+ nine on each call is awkward.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Special-TERM-treatment">Special TERM treatment</a></H3><PRE>
- If configured to use the terminal-driver, e.g., for the MinGW port,
+ Using <EM>long</EM> for the numeric parameter type is a workaround to make
+ the parameter use the same amount of stack as a pointer. That
+ approach dates back to the mid-1980s, before C was standardized.
+ Since then, there is a standard (and pointers are not required to
+ fit in a <EM>long</EM>).
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> interprets a missing/empty TERM variable as the special
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Providing the right number of parameters for a variadic function
+ such as <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG> can be a problem, in particular for string
+ parameters. However, only a few <EM>terminfo</EM> capabilities use string
+ parameters (for instance, the ones used for programmable function
+ keys).
+
+ The <EM>ncurses</EM> library checks usage of these capabilities, and returns
+ an error if the capability mishandles string parameters. But it
+ cannot check if a calling program provides strings in the right
+ places for the <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> calls.
+
+ The <STRONG><A HREF="tput.1.html">tput(1)</A></STRONG> program checks its use of these capabilities with a
+ table, so that it calls <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> correctly.
+
+ <STRONG>Special</STRONG> <EM>TERM</EM> <STRONG>treatment</STRONG>
+ If configured to use the terminal driver, as with the MinGW port,
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> interprets a missing/empty <EM>TERM</EM> variable as the special
value "unknown".
+ SVr4 <EM>curses</EM> uses the special value "dumb".
+
+ The difference between the two is that the former uses the
+ <STRONG>generic_type</STRONG> (<STRONG>gn</STRONG>) <EM>terminfo</EM> 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 $TERM is set to "#win32con" or an abbreviation of that
+ checking if <STRONG>$TERM</STRONG> is set to "#win32con" or an abbreviation of that
string.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Other-portability-issues">Other portability issues</a></H3><PRE>
- In System V Release 4, <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG> has an <STRONG>int</STRONG> return type and returns
- <STRONG>OK</STRONG> or <STRONG>ERR</STRONG>. We have chosen to implement the X/Open Curses semantics.
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Other-Portability-Issues">Other Portability Issues</a></H3><PRE>
+ In SVr4, <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG> returns an <EM>int</EM>, <STRONG>OK</STRONG> or <STRONG>ERR</STRONG>. We have chosen to
+ implement the X/Open Curses semantics.
+
+ In SVr4, the third argument of <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> has the type "<STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>(*putc)(char)</STRONG>".
- In System V Release 4, the third argument of <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> has the type <STRONG>int</STRONG>
- <STRONG>(*putc)(char)</STRONG>.
+ At least one implementation of X/Open Curses (Solaris) returns a value
+ other than <STRONG>OK</STRONG> or <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> from <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>. It instead returns the length of the
+ string, and does no error checking.
- At least one implementation of X/Open Curses (Solaris) returns a value
- other than <STRONG>OK</STRONG>/<STRONG>ERR</STRONG> from <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>. That returns the length of the string,
- and does no error-checking.
+ X/Open Curses notes that after calling <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG>, the <EM>curses</EM> state may not
+ match the actual terminal state, and that an application should touch
+ and refresh the window before resuming normal <EM>curses</EM> calls. Both
+ <EM>ncurses</EM> and SVr4 <EM>curses</EM> implement <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> using the <EM>SCREEN</EM> data allocated
+ in either <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> or <STRONG>newterm</STRONG>. So though it is documented as a <EM>terminfo</EM>
+ function, <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> is really a <EM>curses</EM> function that is not well specified.
- X/Open notes that after calling <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG>, the curses state may not match
- the actual terminal state, and that an application should touch and re-
- fresh the window before resuming normal curses calls. Both <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> and
- System V Release 4 curses implement <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> using the SCREEN data allo-
- cated in either <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> or <STRONG>newterm</STRONG>. So though it is documented as a
- terminfo function, <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> is really a curses function which is not well
- specified.
+ X/Open Curses states that the old location must be given for <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> to
+ accommodate terminals that lack absolute cursor positioning. <EM>ncurses</EM>
+ allows the caller to use -1 for either or both old coordinates. The -1
+ tells <EM>ncurses</EM> that the old location is unknown, and that it must use
+ only absolute motion, as with the <STRONG>cursor_address</STRONG> (<STRONG>cup</STRONG>) capability,
+ rather than the least costly combination of absolute and relative
+ motion.
- X/Open states that the old location must be given for <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG>. This im-
- plementation allows the caller to use -1's for the old ordinates. In
- that case, the old location is unknown.
+
+</PRE><H2><a name="h2-HISTORY">HISTORY</a></H2><PRE>
+ SVr2 (1984) introduced the <EM>terminfo</EM> feature. Its programming manual
+ mentioned the following low-level functions.
+
+ <STRONG>Function</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
+ ------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ <STRONG>fixterm</STRONG> restore terminal to "in <EM>curses</EM>" state
+ <STRONG>gettmode</STRONG> establish current terminal modes
+ <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> low level cursor motion
+ <STRONG>putp</STRONG> use <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> to send characters via <EM>putchar</EM>
+ <STRONG>resetterm</STRONG> set terminal modes to "out of <EM>curses</EM>" state
+
+ <STRONG>resetty</STRONG> reset terminal flags to stored value
+ <STRONG>saveterm</STRONG> save current modes as "in <EM>curses</EM>" state
+ <STRONG>savetty</STRONG> store current terminal flags
+ <STRONG>setterm</STRONG> establish terminal with given type
+ <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> establish terminal with given type
+ <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> interpolate parameters into string capability
+ <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> apply padding information to a string
+ <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> like <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG>, but output through <EM>putchar</EM>
+ <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> write string to terminal, applying specified attributes
+
+ The programming manual also mentioned functions provided for <EM>termcap</EM>
+ compatibility (commenting that they "may go away at a later date").
+
+ <STRONG>Function</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
+ ------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> look up <EM>termcap</EM> entry for given <EM>name</EM>
+ <STRONG>tgetflag</STRONG> get Boolean entry for given <EM>id</EM>
+ <STRONG>tgetnum</STRONG> get numeric entry for given <EM>id</EM>
+ <STRONG>tgetstr</STRONG> get string entry for given <EM>id</EM>
+ <STRONG>tgoto</STRONG> apply parameters to given capability
+ <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> write characters via a function parameter, applying padding
+
+ Early <EM>terminfo</EM> programs obtained capability values from the <EM>TERMINAL</EM>
+ structure initialized by <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>.
+
+ SVr3 (1987) extended <EM>terminfo</EM> by adding functions to retrieve
+ capability values (like the <EM>termcap</EM> interface), and reusing <STRONG>tgoto</STRONG> and
+ <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>.
+
+ <STRONG>Function</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
+ ------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG> get Boolean entry for given <EM>id</EM>
+ <STRONG>tigetnum</STRONG> get numeric entry for given <EM>id</EM>
+ <STRONG>tigetstr</STRONG> get string entry for given <EM>id</EM>
+
+ SVr3 also replaced several of the SVr2 <EM>terminfo</EM> functions that had no
+ counterpart in the <EM>termcap</EM> interface, documenting them as obsolete.
+
+ <STRONG>Function</STRONG> <STRONG>Replaced</STRONG> <STRONG>by</STRONG>
+ ------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ crmode cbreak
+ fixterm reset_prog_mode
+ gettmode <EM>n/a</EM>
+ nocrmode nocbreak
+ resetterm reset_shell_mode
+ saveterm def_prog_mode
+ setterm setupterm
+
+ SVr3 kept the <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG>, <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG>, and <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> functions, along with <STRONG>putp</STRONG>,
+ <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>, and <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>. The latter were needed to support padding, and to
+ handle capabilities accessed by functions such as <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> (which used
+ more than the two parameters supported by <STRONG>tgoto</STRONG>).
+
+ SVr3 introduced the functions for switching between terminal
+ descriptions; for example, <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG>. Some changes reflected
+ incremental improvements to the SVr2 library.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The <EM>TERMINAL</EM> type definition was introduced in SVr3.01, for the
+ <EM>term</EM> structure provided in SVr2.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Various global variables such as <STRONG>boolnames</STRONG> were mentioned in the
+ programming manual at this point, though the variables had been
+ provided in SVr2.
+
+ SVr4 (1989) added the <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG> functions.
+
+ Other low-level functions are declared in the <EM>curses</EM> header files of
+ Unix systems, but none are documented. Those noted as "obsolete" by
+ SVr3 remained in use by System V's <STRONG>vi(1)</STRONG> editor.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></H2><PRE>
- <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><A HREF="curs_termcap.3x.html">curs_termcap(3x)</A></STRONG>,
- <STRONG><A HREF="curs_variables.3x.html">curs_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="term_variables.3x.html">term_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG>putc(3)</STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>
+ <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><A HREF="curs_memleaks.3x.html">curs_memleaks(3x)</A></STRONG>,
+ <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termcap.3x.html">curs_termcap(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="curs_variables.3x.html">curs_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG>putc(3)</STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="term_variables.3x.html">term_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>,
+ <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>
-
<STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
ncurses 6.4 2024-04-13 <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
</PRE>
<div class="nav">
<ul>
<li><a href="#h3-Output-Functions">Output Functions</a></li>
<li><a href="#h3-Terminal-Capability-Functions">Terminal Capability Functions</a></li>
<li><a href="#h3-Terminal-Capability-Names">Terminal Capability Names</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Releasing-Memory">Releasing Memory</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
-<li><a href="#h2-RETURN-VALUE">RETURN VALUE</a>
-<ul>
-<li><a href="#h3-Compatibility-macros">Compatibility macros</a></li>
-</ul>
-</li>
-<li><a href="#h2-HISTORY">HISTORY</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h2-RETURN-VALUE">RETURN VALUE</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h2-NOTES">NOTES</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h2-EXTENSIONS">EXTENSIONS</a></li>
<li><a href="#h2-PORTABILITY">PORTABILITY</a>
<ul>
-<li><a href="#h3-Legacy-functions">Legacy functions</a></li>
-<li><a href="#h3-Legacy-data">Legacy data</a></li>
-<li><a href="#h3-Output-buffering">Output buffering</a></li>
-<li><a href="#h3-Function-prototypes">Function prototypes</a></li>
-<li><a href="#h3-Special-TERM-treatment">Special TERM treatment</a></li>
-<li><a href="#h3-Other-portability-issues">Other portability issues</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Compatibility-Macros">Compatibility Macros</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Legacy-Data">Legacy Data</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Output-Buffering">Output Buffering</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Function-Prototypes">Function Prototypes</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Other-Portability-Issues">Other Portability Issues</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
+<li><a href="#h2-HISTORY">HISTORY</a></li>
<li><a href="#h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
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