* sale, use or other dealings in this Software without prior written *
* authorization. *
****************************************************************************
- * @Id: ncurses.3x,v 1.187 2023/12/17 23:44:14 tom Exp @
+ * @Id: ncurses.3x,v 1.189 2023/12/23 16:32:37 tom Exp @
* X/Open Curses Issue 7 assumes some optimization will be done, but
* does not mandate it in any way.
-->
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-<H1 class="no-header">ncurses 3x 2023-12-17 ncurses 6.4 Library calls</H1>
+<H1 class="no-header">ncurses 3x 2023-12-23 ncurses 6.4 Library calls</H1>
<PRE>
<STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG> Library calls <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG>
method of updating character screens with reasonable optimization.
This implementation is "new curses" (<EM>ncurses</EM>) and is the approved
replacement for 4.4BSD classic curses, which has been discontinued.
- This describes <EM>ncurses</EM> version 6.4 (patch 20231217).
+ This describes <EM>ncurses</EM> version 6.4 (patch 20231223).
The <EM>ncurses</EM> library emulates the curses library of System V Release 4
Unix ("SVr4"), and XPG4 (X/Open Portability Guide) curses (also known
<STRONG>-lncurses_g</STRONG>. (Your system integrator may also have installed these
libraries under the names <STRONG>-lcurses</STRONG> and <STRONG>-lcurses_g</STRONG>.) The ncurses_g
library generates trace logs (in a file called "trace" in the current
- directory) that describe curses actions. See also the section on
- <STRONG>ALTERNATE</STRONG> <STRONG>CONFIGURATIONS</STRONG>.
+ directory) that describe curses actions. See section "ALTERNATE
+ CONFIGURATIONS" below.
The <EM>ncurses</EM> package supports: overall screen, window and pad
manipulation; output to windows and pads; reading terminal input;
modes as underlined, in reverse video, or in color on terminals that
support such display enhancements. See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>.
- <EM>curses</EM> predefines symbols for a small set of line graphics characters,
- corresponding to the VT100 line drawing set. See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addch.3x.html">waddch(3x)</A></STRONG> and
- <STRONG><A HREF="curs_add_wch.3x.html">wadd_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>.
+ <EM>curses</EM> predefines constants for a small set of line-drawing and other
+ graphics corresponding to the DEC Alternate Character Set (ACS), a
+
feature of VT100 and other terminals. See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addch.3x.html">waddch(3x)</A></STRONG> and <STRONG><A HREF="curs_add_wch.3x.html">wadd_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>.
<EM>curses</EM> is implemented using the operating system's terminal driver;
- keystroke events are not received as scan codes but as byte sequences.
+ keystroke events are received not as scan codes but as byte sequences.
Graphical keycaps (alphanumeric and punctuation keys, and the space)
appear as-is. Everything else, including the tab, enter/return,
keypad, arrow, and function keys, appears as a control character or a
<EM>wint</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>t</EM> can store a <EM>wchar</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>t</EM> or the constant <STRONG>WEOF</STRONG>,
analogously to the <EM>int</EM>-sized character manipulation
- functions of ISO C and their constant <STRONG>EOF</STRONG>.
+ functions of ISO C and its constant <STRONG>EOF</STRONG>.
The wide library provides additional functions that
complement those in the non-wide library where the size of
The reason for the change was to make the behavior for interrupts and
other signals more robust. One drawback is that certain
- nonconventional programs would mix ordinary stdio calls with <EM>ncurses</EM>
+ nonconventional programs would mix ordinary <STRONG>stdio(3)</STRONG> calls with <EM>ncurses</EM>
calls and (usually) work. This is no longer possible since <EM>ncurses</EM> is
not using the buffered standard output but its own output (to the same
file descriptor). As a special case, the low-level calls such as <STRONG>putp</STRONG>
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-ALTERNATE-CONFIGURATIONS">ALTERNATE CONFIGURATIONS</a></H2><PRE>
- Several different configurations are possible, depending on the
- configure script options used when building <EM>ncurses</EM>. There are a few
- main options whose effects are visible to the applications developer
- using <EM>ncurses</EM>:
+ Many different <EM>ncurses</EM> configurations are possible, determined by the
+ options given to the <EM>configure</EM> script when building the library. Run
+ the script with the <STRONG>--help</STRONG> option to peruse them all. A few are of
+ particular significance to the application developer employing <EM>ncurses.</EM>
--disable-overwrite
The standard include for <EM>ncurses</EM> is as noted in <STRONG>SYNOPSIS</STRONG>:
sections of the library man pages.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Error-
checking">Error checking</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Error-
Checking">Error Checking</a></H3><PRE>
In many cases, X/Open Curses is vague about error conditions, omitting
some of the SVr4 documentation.
Unlike other implementations, this one checks parameters such as
- pointers to WINDOW structures to ensure they are not null. The main
+ pointers to <EM>WINDOW</EM> structures to ensure they are not null. The main
reason for providing this behavior is to guard against programmer
error. The standard interface does not provide a way for the library
to tell an application which of several possible errors were detected.
portability of curses applications.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Extensions-
versus-portability">Extensions versus portability</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Extensions-
Versus-Portability">Extensions Versus Portability</a></H3><PRE>
Most of the extensions provided by <EM>ncurses</EM> have not been standardized.
Some have been incorporated into other implementations, such as
PDCurses or NetBSD curses. Here are a few to consider:
<STRONG>o</STRONG> The routine <STRONG>wresize</STRONG> is not part of XPG4, nor is it present in SVr4.
See the <STRONG><A HREF="wresize.3x.html">wresize(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> The WINDOW structure's internal details can be hidden from
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The <EM>WINDOW</EM> structure's internal details can be hidden from
application programs. See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG> for the discussion of
<STRONG>is_scrollok</STRONG>, etc.
See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_sp_funcs.3x.html">curs_sp_funcs(3x)</A></STRONG> for details.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Padding-
differences">Padding differences</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Padding-
Differences">Padding Differences</a></H3><PRE>
In historic curses versions, delays embedded in the capabilities <STRONG>cr</STRONG>,
<STRONG>ind</STRONG>, <STRONG>cub1</STRONG>, <STRONG>ff</STRONG> and <STRONG>tab</STRONG> activated corresponding delay bits in the Unix
tty driver. In this implementation, all padding is done by sending NUL
portability correspondingly.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Header-
files">Header files</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Header-
Files">Header Files</a></H3><PRE>
The header file <EM>curses.h</EM> itself includes the header files <EM>stdio.h</EM> and
<EM>unctrl.h</EM>.
-ncurses 6.4 2023-12-
17 <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ncurses 6.4 2023-12-
23 <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG>
</PRE>
<div class="nav">
<ul>
<li><a href="#h2-EXTENSIONS">EXTENSIONS</a></li>
<li><a href="#h2-PORTABILITY">PORTABILITY</a>
<ul>
-<li><a href="#h3-Error-checking">Error checking</a></li>
-<li><a href="#h3-Extensions-versus-portability">Extensions versus portability</a></li>
-<li><a href="#h3-Padding-differences">Padding differences</a></li>
-<li><a href="#h3-Header-files">Header files</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Error-Checking">Error Checking</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Extensions-Versus-Portability">Extensions Versus Portability</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Padding-Differences">Padding Differences</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Header-Files">Header Files</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#h2-AUTHORS">AUTHORS</a></li>
projects / ncurses.git / blobdiff