* sale, use or other dealings in this Software without prior written *
* authorization. *
****************************************************************************
- * @Id: ncurses.3x,v 1.179 2023/10/14 19:29:06 tom Exp @
+ * @Id: ncurses.3x,v 1.185 2023/12/03 00:14:35 tom Exp @
-->
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+<TITLE>ncurses 3x 2023-12-02 ncurses 6.4 Library calls</TITLE>
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-<H1 class="no-header">ncurses 3x 2023-10-14 ncurses 6.4 Library calls</H1>
+<H1 class="no-header">ncurses 3x 2023-12-02 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" (ncurses) and is the approved
replacement for 4.4BSD classic curses, which has been discontinued.
- This describes <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> version 6.4 (patch 20231118).
+ This describes <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> version 6.4 (patch 20231202).
The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library emulates the curses library of System V Release 4
- UNIX, and XPG4 (X/Open Portability Guide) curses (also known as XSI
- curses). XSI stands for X/Open System Interfaces Extension. The
- <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library is freely redistributable in source form. Differences
- from the SVr4 curses are summarized under the <EM>EXTENSIONS</EM> and
- <EM>PORTABILITY</EM> sections below and described in detail in the respective
- <EM>EXTENSIONS</EM>, <EM>PORTABILITY</EM> and <EM>BUGS</EM> sections of individual man pages.
-
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library also provides many useful extensions, i.e.,
- features which cannot be implemented by a simple add-on library but
- which require access to the internals of the library.
+ Unix ("SVr4"), and XPG4 (X/Open Portability Guide) curses (also known
+ as XSI curses). XSI stands for X/Open System Interfaces Extension.
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library is freely redistributable in source form.
+
+ <EM>ncurses</EM> man pages employ several sections to clarify matters of usage
+ and interoperability with other <EM>curses</EM> implementations.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> "NOTES" describes matters and caveats of which any user of the
+ <EM>ncurses</EM> API should be aware, such as limitations on the size of an
+ underlying integral type or the availability of a preprocessor
+ macro for a function (which prevents its address from being taken).
+ This section also describes implementation details that will be
+ significant to the programmer but which are not standardized.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> "EXTENSIONS" presents <EM>ncurses</EM> innovations beyond the X/Open Curses
+ standard and/or the SVr4 <EM>curses</EM> implementation. They are termed
+ <EM>extensions</EM> to indicate that they cannot be implemented solely by
+ using the library API, but require access to the library's internal
+ state.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> "PORTABILITY" discusses matters (beyond the exercise of extensions)
+ that should be considered when writing to a <EM>curses</EM> standard, or to
+ multiple implementations.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> "HISTORY" examines points of detail in <EM>ncurses</EM> and other <EM>curses</EM>
+ implementations over the decades of their development, particularly
+ where precedent or inertia have frustrated better design (and, in a
+ few cases, where such inertia has been overcome).
A program using these routines must be linked with the <STRONG>-lncurses</STRONG>
option, or (if it has been generated) with the debugging library
Before a <STRONG>curses</STRONG> program is run, the tab stops of the terminal should be
set and its initialization strings, if defined, must be output. This
can be done by executing the <STRONG>tput</STRONG> <STRONG>init</STRONG> command after the shell
- environment variable <
STRONG>TERM</STRONG> has been exported. (The BSD-style <STRONG><A HREF="tset.1.html">tset(1)</A></STRONG>
+ environment variable <
EM>TERM</EM> has been exported. (The BSD-style <STRONG><A HREF="tset.1.html">tset(1)</A></STRONG>
utility also performs this function.) See subsection "Tabs and
Initialization" of <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></H3><PRE>
- If the environment variables <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> and <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> are set, or if the
+ If the environment variables <EM>LINES</EM> and <EM>COLUMNS</EM> are set, or if the
program is executing in a window environment, line and column
information in the environment will override information read by
<EM>terminfo</EM>. This would affect a program running in an AT&T 630 layer,
for example, where the size of a screen is changeable (see
<STRONG>ENVIRONMENT</STRONG>).
- If the environment variable <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> is defined, any program using
+ If the environment variable <EM>TERMINFO</EM> is defined, any program using
<STRONG>curses</STRONG> checks for a local terminal definition before checking in the
- standard place. For example, if <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> is set to <STRONG>att4424</STRONG>, then the
+ standard place. For example, if <EM>TERM</EM> is set to <STRONG>att4424</STRONG>, then the
compiled terminal definition is found in
<STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo/a/att4424</STRONG>.
(The <STRONG>a</STRONG> is copied from the first letter of <STRONG>att4424</STRONG> to avoid creation of
- huge directories.) However, if <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> is set to <STRONG>$HOME/myterms</STRONG>,
+ huge directories.) However, if <EM>TERMINFO</EM> is set to <STRONG>$HOME/myterms</STRONG>,
<STRONG>curses</STRONG> first checks
<STRONG>$HOME/myterms/a/att4424</STRONG>,
addchnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addchstr.3x.html">curs_addchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
addchstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addchstr.3x.html">curs_addchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
addnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addstr.3x.html">curs_addstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
addnwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addwstr.3x.html">curs_addwstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
addstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addstr.3x.html">curs_addstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
addwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addwstr.3x.html">curs_addwstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
bkgdset <STRONG><A HREF="curs_bkgd.3x.html">curs_bkgd(3x)</A></STRONG>
bkgrnd <STRONG><A HREF="curs_bkgrnd.3x.html">curs_bkgrnd(3x)</A></STRONG>
bkgrndset <STRONG><A HREF="curs_bkgrnd.3x.html">curs_bkgrnd(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
border <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
border_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border_set.3x.html">curs_border_set(3x)</A></STRONG>
box <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
flushinp <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>
free_pair <STRONG><A HREF="new_pair.3x.html">new_pair(3x)</A></STRONG>*
get_wch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_get_wch.3x.html">curs_get_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
get_wstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_get_wstr.3x.html">curs_get_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
getattrs <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
getbegx <STRONG><A HREF="curs_legacy.3x.html">curs_legacy(3x)</A></STRONG>*
getn_wstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_get_wstr.3x.html">curs_get_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
getnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getstr.3x.html">curs_getstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
getparx <STRONG><A HREF="curs_legacy.3x.html">curs_legacy(3x)</A></STRONG>*
-
getpary <STRONG><A HREF="curs_legacy.3x.html">curs_legacy(3x)</A></STRONG>*
getparyx <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getyx.3x.html">curs_getyx(3x)</A></STRONG>
getstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getstr.3x.html">curs_getstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
is_idcok <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG>*
is_idlok <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG>*
is_immedok <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG>*
+
is_keypad <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG>*
is_leaveok <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG>*
is_linetouched <STRONG><A HREF="curs_touch.3x.html">curs_touch(3x)</A></STRONG>
key_name <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>
keybound <STRONG><A HREF="keybound.3x.html">keybound(3x)</A></STRONG>*
keyname <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
keyok <STRONG><A HREF="keyok.3x.html">keyok(3x)</A></STRONG>*
keypad <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
killchar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termattrs.3x.html">curs_termattrs(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvins_wstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_ins_wstr.3x.html">curs_ins_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvinsch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_insch.3x.html">curs_insch(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvinsnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_insstr.3x.html">curs_insstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
mvinsstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_insstr.3x.html">curs_insstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvinstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_instr.3x.html">curs_instr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvinwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inwstr.3x.html">curs_inwstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwaddstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addstr.3x.html">curs_addstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwaddwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addwstr.3x.html">curs_addwstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwchgat <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
mvwdelch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_delch.3x.html">curs_delch(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwget_wch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_get_wch.3x.html">curs_get_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwget_wstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_get_wstr.3x.html">curs_get_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
overwrite <STRONG><A HREF="curs_overlay.3x.html">curs_overlay(3x)</A></STRONG>
pair_content <STRONG><A HREF="curs_color.3x.html">curs_color(3x)</A></STRONG>
pecho_wchar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_pad.3x.html">curs_pad(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
pechochar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_pad.3x.html">curs_pad(3x)</A></STRONG>
pnoutrefresh <STRONG><A HREF="curs_pad.3x.html">curs_pad(3x)</A></STRONG>
prefresh <STRONG><A HREF="curs_pad.3x.html">curs_pad(3x)</A></STRONG>
resizeterm <STRONG><A HREF="resizeterm.3x.html">resizeterm(3x)</A></STRONG>*
restartterm <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
ripoffline <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
savetty <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>
scanw <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scanw.3x.html">curs_scanw(3x)</A></STRONG>
scr_dump <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scr_dump.3x.html">curs_scr_dump(3x)</A></STRONG>
tgetstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termcap.3x.html">curs_termcap(3x)</A></STRONG>
tgoto <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termcap.3x.html">curs_termcap(3x)</A></STRONG>
tigetflag <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
tigetnum <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
tigetstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
timeout <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
ungetch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getch.3x.html">curs_getch(3x)</A></STRONG>
ungetmouse <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG>*
untouchwin <STRONG><A HREF="curs_touch.3x.html">curs_touch(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
use_default_colors <STRONG><A HREF="default_colors.3x.html">default_colors(3x)</A></STRONG>*
use_env <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>
use_extended_names <STRONG><A HREF="curs_extend.3x.html">curs_extend(3x)</A></STRONG>*
wdelch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_delch.3x.html">curs_delch(3x)</A></STRONG>
wdeleteln <STRONG><A HREF="curs_deleteln.3x.html">curs_deleteln(3x)</A></STRONG>
wecho_wchar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_add_wch.3x.html">curs_add_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
wechochar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addch.3x.html">curs_addch(3x)</A></STRONG>
wenclose <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG>*
werase <STRONG><A HREF="curs_clear.3x.html">curs_clear(3x)</A></STRONG>
win_wch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_in_wch.3x.html">curs_in_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>
win_wchnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_in_wchstr.3x.html">curs_in_wchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
win_wchstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_in_wchstr.3x.html">curs_in_wchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
winch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inch.3x.html">curs_inch(3x)</A></STRONG>
winchnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inchstr.3x.html">curs_inchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
winchstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inchstr.3x.html">curs_inchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
been already discussed in detail.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-CC-command-character">
CC command-character</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-CC-command-character">
<EM>CC</EM> command-character</a></H3><PRE>
When set, change occurrences of the command_character (i.e., the <STRONG>cmdch</STRONG>
capability) of the loaded terminfo entries to the value of this
variable. Very few terminfo entries provide this feature.
single character.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-BAUDRATE">
BAUDRATE</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-BAUDRATE">
<EM>BAUDRATE</EM></a></H3><PRE>
The debugging library checks this environment variable when the
application has redirected output to a file. The variable's numeric
value is used for the baudrate. If no value is found, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses
into account costs that depend on baudrate.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-COLUMNS">
COLUMNS</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-COLUMNS">
<EM>COLUMNS</EM></a></H3><PRE>
Specify the width of the screen in characters. Applications running in
a windowing environment usually are able to obtain the width of the
- window in which they are executing. If neither the <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> value nor
+ window in which they are executing. If neither the <EM>COLUMNS</EM> value nor
the terminal's screen size is available, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses the size which
may be specified in the terminfo database (i.e., the <STRONG>cols</STRONG> capability).
screen. This is not always possible because your application may be
running on a host which does not honor NAWS (Negotiations About Window
Size), or because you are temporarily running as another user.
- However, setting <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> and/or <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> overrides the library's use of
+ However, setting <EM>COLUMNS</EM> and/or <EM>LINES</EM> overrides the library's use of
the screen size obtained from the operating system.
- Either <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> or <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> symbols may be specified independently. This
+ Either <EM>COLUMNS</EM> or <EM>LINES</EM> symbols may be specified independently. This
is mainly useful to circumvent legacy misfeatures of terminal
descriptions, e.g., xterm which commonly specifies a 65 line screen.
For best results, <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and <STRONG>cols</STRONG> should not be specified in a terminal
Use the <STRONG>use_env</STRONG> function to disable all use of external environment
(but not including system calls) to determine the screen size. Use the
- <STRONG>use_tioctl</STRONG> function to update <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> or <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> to match the screen size
+ <STRONG>use_tioctl</STRONG> function to update <EM>COLUMNS</EM> or <EM>LINES</EM> to match the screen size
obtained from system calls or the terminal database.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-ESCDELAY">
ESCDELAY</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-ESCDELAY">
<EM>ESCDELAY</EM></a></H3><PRE>
Specifies the total time, in milliseconds, for which ncurses will await
a character sequence, e.g., a function key. The default value, 1000
milliseconds, is enough for most uses. However, it is made a variable
In addition to the environment variable, this implementation provides a
global variable with the same name. Portable applications should not
- rely upon the presence of ESCDELAY in either form, but setting the
+ rely upon the presence of <STRONG>ESCDELAY</STRONG> in either form, but setting the
environment variable rather than the global variable does not create
problems when compiling an application.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-HOME">
HOME</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-HOME">
<EM>HOME</EM></a></H3><PRE>
Tells <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> where your home directory is. That is where it may read
and write auxiliary terminal descriptions:
$HOME/.terminfo
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-LINES">
LINES</a></H3><PRE>
- Like COLUMNS, specify the height of the screen in characters. See
- COLUMNS for a detailed description.
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-LINES">
<EM>LINES</EM></a></H3><PRE>
+ Like <EM>COLUMNS</EM>, specify the height of the screen in characters. See
+ <EM>COLUMNS</EM> for a detailed description.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-MOUSE_BUTTONS_123">
MOUSE_BUTTONS_123</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-MOUSE_BUTTONS_123">
<EM>MOUSE_BUTTONS_123</EM></a></H3><PRE>
This applies only to the OS/2 EMX port. It specifies the order of
buttons on the mouse. OS/2 numbers a 3-button mouse inconsistently
from other platforms:
specified, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses 132.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_ASSUMED_COLORS">
NCURSES_ASSUMED_COLORS</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_ASSUMED_COLORS">
<EM>NCURSES_ASSUMED_COLORS</EM></a></H3><PRE>
Override the compiled-in assumption that the terminal's default colors
are white-on-black (see <STRONG><A HREF="default_colors.3x.html">default_colors(3x)</A></STRONG>). You may set the
foreground and background color values with this environment variable
value from zero to the terminfo <STRONG>max_colors</STRONG> value is allowed.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_CONSOLE2">
NCURSES_CONSOLE2</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_CONSOLE2">
<EM>NCURSES_CONSOLE2</EM></a></H3><PRE>
This applies only to the MinGW port of ncurses.
The <STRONG>Console2</STRONG> program's handling of the Microsoft Console API call
effect.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_GPM_TERMS">
NCURSES_GPM_TERMS</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_GPM_TERMS">
<EM>NCURSES_GPM_TERMS</EM></a></H3><PRE>
This applies only to ncurses configured to use the GPM interface.
If present, the environment variable is a list of one or more terminal
- names against which the <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> environment variable is matched. Setting
+ names against which the <EM>TERM</EM> environment variable is matched. Setting
it to an empty value disables the GPM interface; using the built-in
support for xterm, etc.
If the environment variable is absent, ncurses will attempt to open GPM
- if <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> contains "linux".
+ if <EM>TERM</EM> contains "linux".
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_NO_HARD_TABS">
NCURSES_NO_HARD_TABS</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_NO_HARD_TABS">
<EM>NCURSES_NO_HARD_TABS</EM></a></H3><PRE>
<STRONG>Ncurses</STRONG> may use tabs as part of the cursor movement optimization. In
some cases, your terminal driver may not handle these properly. Set
this environment variable to disable the feature. You can also adjust
your <STRONG>stty(1)</STRONG> settings to avoid the problem.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_NO_MAGIC_COOKIE">
NCURSES_NO_MAGIC_COOKIE</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_NO_MAGIC_COOKIE">
<EM>NCURSES_NO_MAGIC_COOKIE</EM></a></H3><PRE>
Some terminals use a magic-cookie feature which requires special
handling to make highlighting and other video attributes display
properly. You can suppress the highlighting entirely for these
terminals by setting this environment variable.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_NO_PADDING">
NCURSES_NO_PADDING</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_NO_PADDING">
<EM>NCURSES_NO_PADDING</EM></a></H3><PRE>
Most of the terminal descriptions in the terminfo database are written
for real "hardware" terminals. Many people use terminal emulators
which run in a windowing environment and use curses-based applications.
delay times embedded. You may wish to use these descriptions, but not
want to pay the performance penalty.
- Set the NCURSES_NO_PADDING environment variable to disable all but
+ Set the <EM>NCURSES</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>NO</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>PADDING</EM> environment variable to disable all but
mandatory padding. Mandatory padding is used as a part of special
control sequences such as <STRONG>flash</STRONG>.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_NO_SETBUF">
NCURSES_NO_SETBUF</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_NO_SETBUF">
<EM>NCURSES_NO_SETBUF</EM></a></H3><PRE>
This setting is obsolete. Before changes
<STRONG>o</STRONG> started with 5.9 patch 20120825 and
<STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> enabled buffered output during terminal initialization. This
was done (as in SVr4 curses) for performance reasons. For testing
purposes, both of <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> and certain applications, this feature was
- made optional. Setting the NCURSES_NO_SETBUF variable disabled output
+ made optional. Setting the <EM>NCURSES</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>NO</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>SETBUF</EM> variable disabled output
buffering, leaving the output in the original (usually line buffered)
mode.
still use the standard output. But high-level curses calls do not.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_NO_UTF8_ACS">
NCURSES_NO_UTF8_ACS</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_NO_UTF8_ACS">
<EM>NCURSES_NO_UTF8_ACS</EM></a></H3><PRE>
During initialization, the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library checks for special cases
where VT100 line-drawing (and the corresponding alternate character set
capabilities) described in the terminfo are known to be missing.
Specifically, when running in a UTF-8 locale, the Linux console
emulator and the GNU screen program ignore these. Ncurses checks the
- <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> environment variable for these. For other special cases, you
+ <EM>TERM</EM> environment variable for these. For other special cases, you
should set this environment variable. Doing this tells ncurses to use
Unicode values which correspond to the VT100 line-drawing glyphs. That
works for the special cases cited, and is likely to work for terminal
by applications that use ncurses' termcap interface.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_TRACE">
NCURSES_TRACE</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_TRACE">
<EM>NCURSES_TRACE</EM></a></H3><PRE>
During initialization, the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> debugging library checks the
- NCURSES_TRACE environment variable. If it is defined, to a numeric
+ <EM>NCURSES</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>TRACE</EM> environment variable. If it is defined, to a numeric
value, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> calls the <STRONG>trace</STRONG> function, using that value as the
argument.
See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_trace.3x.html">curs_trace(3x)</A></STRONG> for more information.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERM">
TERM</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERM">
<EM>TERM</EM></a></H3><PRE>
Denotes your terminal type. Each terminal type is distinct, though
many are similar.
- <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> is commonly set by terminal emulators to help applications find a
+ <EM>TERM</EM> is commonly set by terminal emulators to help applications find a
workable terminal description. Some of those choose a popular
approximation, e.g., "ansi", "vt100", "xterm" rather than an exact fit.
Not infrequently, your application will have problems with that
approach, e.g., incorrect function-key definitions.
- If you set <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> in your environment, it has no effect on the operation
+ If you set <EM>TERM</EM> in your environment, it has no effect on the operation
of the terminal emulator. It only affects the way applications work
within the terminal. Likewise, as a general rule (<STRONG>xterm(1)</STRONG> being a
- rare exception), terminal emulators which allow you to specify <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> as
+ rare exception), terminal emulators which allow you to specify <EM>TERM</EM> as
a parameter or configuration value do not change their behavior to
match that setting.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMCAP">
TERMCAP</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMCAP">
<EM>TERMCAP</EM></a></H3><PRE>
If the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library has been configured with <EM>termcap</EM> support,
<STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> will check for a terminal's description in termcap form if it
is not available in the terminfo database.
- The <STRONG>TERMCAP</STRONG> environment variable contains either a terminal description
+ The <EM>TERMCAP</EM> environment variable contains either a terminal description
(with newlines stripped out), or a file name telling where the
- information denoted by the <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> environment variable exists. In either
+ information denoted by the <EM>TERM</EM> environment variable exists. In either
case, setting it directs <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> to ignore the usual place for this
information, e.g., /etc/termcap.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMINFO">
TERMINFO</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMINFO">
<EM>TERMINFO</EM></a></H3><PRE>
<STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> can be configured to read from multiple terminal databases.
- The <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> variable overrides the location for the default terminal
+ The <EM>TERMINFO</EM> variable overrides the location for the default terminal
database. Terminal descriptions (in terminal format) are stored in
terminal databases:
named by the first letter of the terminal names therein.
This is the scheme used in System V, which legacy Unix systems use,
- and the <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> variable is used by <EM>curses</EM> applications on those
+ and the <EM>TERMINFO</EM> variable is used by <EM>curses</EM> applications on those
systems to override the default location of the terminal database.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> If <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> is built to use hashed databases, then each entry in
directly, then an entry in this list may be the path of a termcap
file.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> If the <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> variable begins with "hex:" or "b64:", <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If the <EM>TERMINFO</EM> variable begins with "hex:" or "b64:", <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses
the remainder of that variable as a compiled terminal description.
You might produce the base64 format using <STRONG><A HREF="infocmp.1m.html">infocmp(1m)</A></STRONG>:
export TERMINFO
The compiled description is used if it corresponds to the terminal
- identified by the <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> variable.
+ identified by the <EM>TERM</EM> variable.
- Setting <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> is the simplest, but not the only way to set location
+ Setting <EM>TERMINFO</EM> is the simplest, but not the only way to set location
of the default terminal database. The complete list of database
locations in order follows:
<STRONG>o</STRONG> the last terminal database to which <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> wrote, if any, is
searched first
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> the location specified by the TERMINFO environment variable
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> the location specified by the <EM>TERMINFO</EM> environment variable
<STRONG>o</STRONG> $HOME/.terminfo
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> locations listed in the TERMINFO_DIRS environment variable
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> locations listed in the <EM>TERMINFO</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>DIRS</EM> environment variable
<STRONG>o</STRONG> one or more locations whose names are configured and compiled
into the ncurses library, i.e.,
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> /usr/share/terminfo (corresponding to the TERMINFO_DIRS
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> /usr/share/terminfo (corresponding to the <EM>TERMINFO</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>DIRS</EM>
variable)
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> /usr/share/terminfo (corresponding to the TERMINFO variable)
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> /usr/share/terminfo (corresponding to the <EM>TERMINFO</EM> variable)
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMINFO_DIRS">
TERMINFO_DIRS</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMINFO_DIRS">
<EM>TERMINFO_DIRS</EM></a></H3><PRE>
Specifies a list of locations to search for terminal descriptions.
Each location in the list is a terminal database as described in the
- section on the <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> variable. The list is separated by colons
+ section on the <EM>TERMINFO</EM> variable. The list is separated by colons
(i.e., ":") on Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX.
There is no corresponding feature in System V terminfo; it is an
extension developed for <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMPATH">
TERMPATH</a></H3><PRE>
- If <STRONG>TERMCAP</STRONG> does not hold a file name then <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> checks the <STRONG>TERMPATH</STRONG>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMPATH">
<EM>TERMPATH</EM></a></H3><PRE>
+ If <EM>TERMCAP</EM> does not hold a file name then <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> checks the <EM>TERMPATH</EM>
environment variable. This is a list of filenames separated by spaces
or colons (i.e., ":") on Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX.
- If the <STRONG>TERMPATH</STRONG> environment variable is not set, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> looks in the
+ If the <EM>TERMPATH</EM> environment variable is not set, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> looks in the
files
/etc/termcap, /usr/share/misc/termcap and $HOME/.termcap,
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-FILES">FILES</a></H2><PRE>
<EM>/usr/share/tabset</EM>
- tab stop initialization database
+ tab stop initialization database
<EM>/usr/share/terminfo</EM>
- compiled terminal capability database
+ compiled terminal capability database
+
+
+</PRE><H2><a name="h2-NOTES">NOTES</a></H2><PRE>
+ If standard output from a <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> program is re-directed to something
+ which is not a tty, screen updates will be directed to standard error.
+ This was an undocumented feature of AT&T System V Release 3 curses.
+
+ See subsection "Header files" below regarding symbols exposed by
+ inclusion of <EM>curses.h</EM>.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-EXTENSIONS">EXTENSIONS</a></H2><PRE>
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library can be compiled with an option (<STRONG>-DUSE_GETCAP</STRONG>) that
- falls back to the old-style /etc/termcap file if the terminal setup
- code cannot find a terminfo entry corresponding to <STRONG>TERM</STRONG>. Use of this
- feature is not recommended, as it essentially includes an entire
- termcap compiler in the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> startup code, at significant cost in
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library can be compiled with an option (<STRONG>-DUSE_GETCAP</STRONG>) that
+ falls back to the old-style /etc/termcap file if the terminal setup
+ code cannot find a terminfo entry corresponding to <EM>TERM</EM>. Use of this
+ feature is not recommended, as it essentially includes an entire
+ termcap compiler in the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> startup code, at significant cost in
core and startup cycles.
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library includes facilities for capturing mouse events on
- certain terminals (including xterm). See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG> manual
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library includes facilities for capturing mouse events on
+ certain terminals (including xterm). See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG> manual
page for details.
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library includes facilities for responding to window
- resizing events, e.g., when running in an xterm. See the
- <STRONG><A HREF="resizeterm.3x.html">resizeterm(3x)</A></STRONG> and <STRONG><A HREF="wresize.3x.html">wresize(3x)</A></STRONG> manual pages for details. In addition,
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library includes facilities for responding to window
+ resizing events, e.g., when running in an xterm. See the
+ <STRONG><A HREF="resizeterm.3x.html">resizeterm(3x)</A></STRONG> and <STRONG><A HREF="wresize.3x.html">wresize(3x)</A></STRONG> manual pages for details. In addition,
the library may be configured with a <STRONG>SIGWINCH</STRONG> handler.
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library extends the fixed set of function key capabilities
- of terminals by allowing the application designer to define additional
- key sequences at runtime. See the <STRONG><A HREF="define_key.3x.html">define_key(3x)</A></STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="key_defined.3x.html">key_defined(3x)</A></STRONG>, and
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library extends the fixed set of function key capabilities
+ of terminals by allowing the application designer to define additional
+ key sequences at runtime. See the <STRONG><A HREF="define_key.3x.html">define_key(3x)</A></STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="key_defined.3x.html">key_defined(3x)</A></STRONG>, and
<STRONG><A HREF="keyok.3x.html">keyok(3x)</A></STRONG> manual pages for details.
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library can exploit the capabilities of terminals which
- implement the ISO-6429 SGR 39 and SGR 49 controls, which allow an
- application to reset the terminal to its original foreground and
- background colors. From the users' perspective, the application is
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library can exploit the capabilities of terminals which
+ implement the ISO-6429 SGR 39 and SGR 49 controls, which allow an
+ application to reset the terminal to its original foreground and
+ background colors. From the users' perspective, the application is
able to draw colored text on a background whose color is set
- independently, providing better control over color contrasts. See the
+ independently, providing better control over color contrasts. See the
<STRONG><A HREF="default_colors.3x.html">default_colors(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library includes a function for directing application
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library includes a function for directing application
output to a printer attached to the terminal device. See the
<STRONG><A HREF="curs_print.3x.html">curs_print(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-PORTABILITY">PORTABILITY</a></H2><PRE>
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library is intended to be BASE-level conformant with XSI
- Curses. The EXTENDED XSI Curses functionality (including color
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library is intended to be BASE-level conformant with XSI
+ Curses. The EXTENDED XSI Curses functionality (including color
support) is supported.
- A small number of local differences (that is, individual differences
- between the XSI Curses and <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> calls) are described in <STRONG>PORTABILITY</STRONG>
+ A small number of local differences (that is, individual differences
+ between the XSI Curses and <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> calls) are described in <STRONG>PORTABILITY</STRONG>
sections of the library man pages.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Error-checking">Error checking</a></H3><PRE>
- In many cases, X/Open Curses is vague about error conditions, omitting
+ 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
- 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.
- Relying on this (or some other) extension will adversely affect the
+ Unlike other implementations, this one checks parameters such as
+ pointers to WINDOW 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.
+ Relying on this (or some other) extension will adversely affect the
portability of curses applications.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Extensions-versus-portability">Extensions versus portability</a></H3><PRE>
- Most of the extensions provided by ncurses have not been standardized.
+ Most of the extensions provided by ncurses 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>has_key</STRONG> is not part of XPG4, nor is it present in SVr4.
See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getch.3x.html">curs_getch(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> The routine <STRONG>slk_attr</STRONG> is not part of XPG4, nor is it present in
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The routine <STRONG>slk_attr</STRONG> is not part of XPG4, nor is it present in
SVr4. See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> The routines <STRONG>getmouse</STRONG>, <STRONG>mousemask</STRONG>, <STRONG>ungetmouse</STRONG>, <STRONG>mouseinterval</STRONG>, and
- <STRONG>wenclose</STRONG> relating to mouse interfacing are not part of XPG4, nor
- are they present in SVr4. See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The routines <STRONG>getmouse</STRONG>, <STRONG>mousemask</STRONG>, <STRONG>ungetmouse</STRONG>, <STRONG>mouseinterval</STRONG>, and
+ <STRONG>wenclose</STRONG> relating to mouse interfacing are not part of XPG4, nor
+ are they present in SVr4. See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for
details.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> The routine <STRONG>mcprint</STRONG> was not present in any previous curses
<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
- application programs. See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG> for the discussion of
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The WINDOW 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.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> This implementation can be configured to provide rudimentary
- support for multi-threaded applications. See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_threads.3x.html">curs_threads(3x)</A></STRONG> for
+ support for multi-threaded applications. See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_threads.3x.html">curs_threads(3x)</A></STRONG> for
details.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> This implementation can also be configured to provide a set of
- functions which improve the ability to manage multiple screens.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> This implementation can also be configured to provide a set of
+ functions which improve the ability to manage multiple screens.
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>
- 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
+ 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
- bytes. This method is slightly more expensive, but narrows the
- interface to the UNIX kernel significantly and increases the package's
+ bytes. This method is slightly more expensive, but narrows the
+ interface to the Unix kernel significantly and increases the package's
portability correspondingly.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Header-files">Header files</a></H3><PRE>
- The header file <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG> automatically includes the header files
- <STRONG><stdio.h></STRONG> and <STRONG><unctrl.h></STRONG>.
+ The header file <EM>curses.h</EM> itself includes the header files <EM>stdio.h</EM> and
+ <EM>unctrl.h</EM>.
X/Open Curses has more to say, but does not finish the story:
- The inclusion of <curses.h> may make visible all symbols from the
+ The inclusion of <curses.h> may make visible all symbols from the
headers <stdio.h>, <term.h>, <termios.h>, and <wchar.h>.
Here is a more complete story:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Starting with BSD curses, all implementations have included
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Starting with BSD curses, all implementations have included
<stdio.h>.
- BSD curses included <curses.h> and <unctrl.h> from an internal
+ BSD curses included <curses.h> and <unctrl.h> from an internal
header "curses.ext" ("ext" was a short name for <EM>externs</EM>).
- BSD curses used <stdio.h> internally (for <STRONG>printw</STRONG> and <STRONG>scanw</STRONG>), but
+ BSD curses used <stdio.h> internally (for <STRONG>printw</STRONG> and <STRONG>scanw</STRONG>), but
nothing in <curses.h> itself relied upon <stdio.h>.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> SVr2 curses added <STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">newterm(3x)</A></STRONG>, which relies upon <stdio.h>. That
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> SVr2 curses added <STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">newterm(3x)</A></STRONG>, which relies upon <stdio.h>. That
is, the function prototype uses <STRONG>FILE</STRONG>.
SVr4 curses added <STRONG>putwin</STRONG> and <STRONG>getwin</STRONG>, which also use <stdio.h>.
X/Open Curses documents all three of these functions.
- SVr4 curses and X/Open Curses do not require the developer to
+ SVr4 curses and X/Open Curses do not require the developer to
include <stdio.h> before including <curses.h>. Both document
curses showing <curses.h> as the only required header.
As a result, standard <curses.h> will always include <stdio.h>.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses is inconsistent with respect to SVr4 regarding
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses is inconsistent with respect to SVr4 regarding
<unctrl.h>.
- As noted in <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>, ncurses includes <unctrl.h> from
+ As noted in <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>, ncurses includes <unctrl.h> from
<curses.h> (like SVr4).
<STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open's comments about <term.h> and <termios.h> may refer to HP-UX
HP-UX curses includes <term.h> from <curses.h> to declare <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>
in curses.h, but ncurses (and Solaris curses) do not.
- AIX curses includes <term.h> and <termios.h>. Again, ncurses (and
+ AIX curses includes <term.h> and <termios.h>. Again, ncurses (and
Solaris curses) do not.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open says that <curses.h> <EM>may</EM> include <term.h>, but there is no
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open says that <curses.h> <EM>may</EM> include <term.h>, but there is no
requirement that it do that.
Some programs use functions declared in both <curses.h> and
- <term.h>, and must include both headers in the same module. Very
- old versions of AIX curses required including <curses.h> before
+ <term.h>, and must include both headers in the same module. Very
+ old versions of AIX curses required including <curses.h> before
including <term.h>.
- Because ncurses header files include the headers needed to define
+ Because ncurses header files include the headers needed to define
datatypes used in the headers, ncurses header files can be included
- in any order. But for portability, you should include <curses.h>
+ in any order. But for portability, you should include <curses.h>
before <term.h>.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses says <EM>"may</EM> <EM>make</EM> <EM>visible"</EM> because including a header
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses says <EM>"may</EM> <EM>make</EM> <EM>visible"</EM> because including a header
file does not necessarily make all symbols in it visible (there are
ifdef's to consider).
- For instance, in ncurses <wchar.h> <EM>may</EM> be included if the proper
- symbol is defined, and if ncurses is configured for wide-character
- support. If the header is included, its symbols may be made
- visible. That depends on the value used for <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE</STRONG> feature
+ For instance, in ncurses <wchar.h> <EM>may</EM> be included if the proper
+ symbol is defined, and if ncurses is configured for wide-character
+ support. If the header is included, its symbols may be made
+ visible. That depends on the value used for <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE</STRONG> feature
test macro.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses documents one required header, in a special case:
- <stdarg.h> before <curses.h> to prototype the <STRONG>vw_printw</STRONG> and
- <STRONG>vw_scanw</STRONG> functions (as well as the obsolete the <STRONG>vwprintw</STRONG> and
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses documents one required header, in a special case:
+ <stdarg.h> before <curses.h> to prototype the <STRONG>vw_printw</STRONG> and
+ <STRONG>vw_scanw</STRONG> functions (as well as the obsolete the <STRONG>vwprintw</STRONG> and
<STRONG>vwscanw</STRONG> functions). Each of those uses a <STRONG>va_list</STRONG> parameter.
- The two obsolete functions were introduced in SVr3. The other
- functions were introduced in X/Open Curses. In between, SVr4
- curses provided for the possibility that an application might
+ The two obsolete functions were introduced in SVr3. The other
+ functions were introduced in X/Open Curses. In between, SVr4
+ curses provided for the possibility that an application might
include either <varargs.h> or <stdarg.h>. Initially, that was done
- by using <STRONG>void*</STRONG> for the <STRONG>va_list</STRONG> parameter. Later, a special type
- (defined in <stdio.h>) was introduced, to allow for compiler type-
+ by using <STRONG>void*</STRONG> for the <STRONG>va_list</STRONG> parameter. Later, a special type
+ (defined in <stdio.h>) was introduced, to allow for compiler type-
checking. That special type is always available, because <stdio.h>
is always included by <curses.h>.
None of the X/Open Curses implementations require an application to
- include <stdarg.h> before <curses.h> because they either have
- allowed for a special type, or (like ncurses) include <stdarg.h>
+ include <stdarg.h> before <curses.h> because they either have
+ allowed for a special type, or (like ncurses) include <stdarg.h>
directly to provide a portable interface.
-</PRE><H2><a name="h2-NOTES">NOTES</a></H2><PRE>
- If standard output from a <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> program is re-directed to something
- which is not a tty, screen updates will be directed to standard error.
- This was an undocumented feature of AT&T System V Release 3 curses.
-
-
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-AUTHORS">AUTHORS</a></H2><PRE>
Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey. Based on <EM>pcurses</EM>
by Pavel Curtis.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></H2><PRE>
- <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG> and related pages whose names begin "curs_" for detailed
- routine descriptions.
- <STRONG><A HREF="curs_variables.3x.html">curs_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>
- <STRONG><A HREF="user_caps.5.html">user_caps(5)</A></STRONG> for user-defined capabilities
+ <STRONG><A HREF="curs_variables.3x.html">curs_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="user_caps.5.html">user_caps(5)</A></STRONG>
-ncurses 6.4 2023-1
0-14 <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ncurses 6.4 2023-1
2-02 <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG>
</PRE>
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<ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#h2-ALTERNATE-CONFIGURATIONS">ALTERNATE CONFIGURATIONS</a></li>
<li><a href="#h2-FILES">FILES</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-Header-files">Header files</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
-<li><a href="#h2-NOTES">NOTES</a></li>
<li><a href="#h2-AUTHORS">AUTHORS</a></li>
<li><a href="#h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></li>
</ul>
projects / ncurses.git / blobdiff