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- * @Id: ncurses.3x,v 1.63 2002/08/10 21:56:07 tom Exp @
+ * @Id: ncurses.3x,v 1.81 2006/12/02 19:23:11 tom Exp @
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<PRE>
<!-- Manpage converted by man2html 3.0.1 -->
+<STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
+
+
</PRE>
<H2>NAME</H2><PRE>
</PRE>
<H2>DESCRIPTION</H2><PRE>
The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library routines give the user a terminal-
- independent method of updating character screens with
- reasonable optimization. This implementation is ``new
+ independent method of updating character screens with rea-
+ sonable optimization. This implementation is ``new
curses'' (ncurses) and is the approved replacement for
- 4.4BSD classic curses, which has been discontinued.
+ 4.4BSD classic curses, which has been discontinued. This
+ describes <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> version 5.5 (patch 20061209).
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> routines emulate the <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG> library of
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> routines emulate the <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG> library of
System V Release 4 UNIX, and the XPG4 curses standard (XSI
- curses) but the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library is freely redistributable
- in source form. Differences from the SVr4 curses are
- summarized under the EXTENSIONS and BUGS sections below
- and described in detail in the EXTENSIONS and BUGS
- sections of individual man pages.
+ curses) but the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library is freely redistributable
+ in source form. Differences from the SVr4 curses are sum-
+ marized under the <STRONG>EXTENSIONS</STRONG> and <STRONG>PORTABILITY</STRONG> sections
+ below and described in detail in the respective <STRONG>EXTEN-</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>SIONS</STRONG>, <STRONG>PORTABILITY</STRONG> and <STRONG>BUGS</STRONG> sections of individual man
+ pages.
A program using these routines must be linked with the
<STRONG>-lncurses</STRONG> option, or (if it has been generated) with the
debugging library <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.
+ trace logs (in a file called 'trace' in the current direc-
+ tory) that describe curses actions. See also the section
+ on <STRONG>ALTERNATE</STRONG> <STRONG>CONFIGURATIONS</STRONG>.
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> package supports: overall screen, window and
- pad manipulation; output to windows and pads; reading
- terminal input; control over terminal and <STRONG>curses</STRONG> input and
- output options; environment query routines; color
- manipulation; use of soft label keys; terminfo
- capabilities; and access to low-level terminal-
- manipulation routines.
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> package supports: overall screen, window and
+ pad manipulation; output to windows and pads; reading ter-
+ minal input; control over terminal and <STRONG>curses</STRONG> input and
+ output options; environment query routines; color manipu-
+ lation; use of soft label keys; terminfo capabilities; and
+ access to low-level terminal-manipulation routines.
To initialize the routines, the routine <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> or <STRONG>newterm</STRONG>
must be called before any of the other routines that deal
<STRONG>intrflush(stdscr,</STRONG> <STRONG>FALSE);</STRONG>
<STRONG>keypad(stdscr,</STRONG> <STRONG>TRUE);</STRONG>
- Before a <STRONG>curses</STRONG> program is run, the tab stops of the
- terminal should be set and its initialization strings, if
+ Before a <STRONG>curses</STRONG> program is run, the tab stops of the ter-
+ minal 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. <STRONG>tset(1)</STRONG> is usually responsible
for doing this. [See <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG> for further details.]
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library permits manipulation of data
- structures, called <EM>windows</EM>, which can be thought of as
- two-dimensional arrays of characters representing all or
- part of a CRT screen. A default window called <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>,
- which is the size of the terminal screen, is supplied.
- Others may be created with <STRONG>newwin</STRONG>.
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library permits manipulation of data struc-
+ tures, called <EM>windows</EM>, which can be thought of as two-
+ dimensional arrays of characters representing all or part
+ of a CRT screen. A default window called <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>, which is
+ the size of the terminal screen, is supplied. Others may
+ be created with <STRONG>newwin</STRONG>.
Note that <STRONG>curses</STRONG> does not handle overlapping windows,
that's done by the <STRONG><A HREF="panel.3x.html">panel(3x)</A></STRONG> library. This means that you
- can either use <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG> or divide the screen into tiled
- windows and not using <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG> at all. Mixing the two will
+ can either use <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG> or divide the screen into tiled win-
+ dows and not using <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG> at all. Mixing the two will
result in unpredictable, and undesired, effects.
Windows are referred to by variables declared as <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG>.
These data structures are manipulated with routines
described here and elsewhere in the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> manual pages.
- Among which the most basic routines are <STRONG>move</STRONG> and <STRONG>addch</STRONG>.
+ Among those, the most basic routines are <STRONG>move</STRONG> and <STRONG>addch</STRONG>.
More general versions of these routines are included with
names beginning with <STRONG>w</STRONG>, allowing the user to specify a
- window. The routines not beginning with <STRONG>w</STRONG> affect <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>.)
+ window. The routines not beginning with <STRONG>w</STRONG> affect <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>.
After using routines to manipulate a window, <STRONG>refresh</STRONG> is
called, telling <STRONG>curses</STRONG> to make the user's CRT screen look
Special windows called <EM>pads</EM> may also be manipulated.
These are windows which are not constrained to the size of
- the screen and whose contents need not be completely
-
displayed. See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_pad.3x.html">curs_pad(3x)</A></STRONG> for more information.
+ the screen and whose contents need not be completely dis-
+ played. See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_pad.3x.html">curs_pad(3x)</A></STRONG> for more information.
In addition to drawing characters on the screen, video
- attributes and colors may be supported, causing the
- characters to show up in such modes as underlined, in
- reverse video, or in color on terminals that support such
- display enhancements. Line drawing characters may be
- specified to be output. On input, <STRONG>curses</STRONG> is also able to
- translate arrow and function keys that transmit escape
- sequences into single values. The video attributes, line
- drawing characters, and input values use names, defined in
+ attributes and colors may be supported, causing the char-
+ acters to show up in such modes as underlined, in reverse
+ video, or in color on terminals that support such display
+ enhancements. Line drawing characters may be specified to
+ be output. On input, <STRONG>curses</STRONG> is also able to translate
+ arrow and function keys that transmit escape sequences
+ into single values. The video attributes, line drawing
+ characters, and input values use names, defined in
<STRONG><curses.h></STRONG>, such as <STRONG>A_REVERSE</STRONG>, <STRONG>ACS_HLINE</STRONG>, and <STRONG>KEY_LEFT</STRONG>.
If the environment variables <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> and <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> are set, or
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 <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 compiled
- terminal definition is found in
+ If the environment variable <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> is defined, any pro-
+ gram 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 compiled terminal defini-
+ tion is found in
<STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo/a/att4424</STRONG>.
<STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo/a/att4424</STRONG>.
This is useful for developing experimental definitions or
- when write permission in <STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo</STRONG> is not
- available.
+ when write permission in <STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo</STRONG> is not avail-
+ able.
The integer variables <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> and <STRONG>COLS</STRONG> are defined in
<STRONG><curses.h></STRONG> and will be filled in by <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> with the size
- of the screen. The constants <STRONG>TRUE</STRONG> and <STRONG>FALSE</STRONG> have the
- values <STRONG>1</STRONG> and <STRONG>0</STRONG>, respectively.
+ of the screen. The constants <STRONG>TRUE</STRONG> and <STRONG>FALSE</STRONG> have the val-
+ ues <STRONG>1</STRONG> and <STRONG>0</STRONG>, respectively.
The <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routines also define the <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG> variable
<STRONG>curscr</STRONG> which is used for certain low-level operations like
clearing and redrawing a screen containing garbage. The
<STRONG>curscr</STRONG> can be used in only a few routines.
-
<STRONG>Routine</STRONG> <STRONG>and</STRONG> <STRONG>Argument</STRONG> <STRONG>Names</STRONG>
- Many <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routines have two or more versions. The
- routines prefixed with <STRONG>w</STRONG> require a window argument. The
- routines prefixed with <STRONG>p</STRONG> require a pad argument. Those
- without a prefix generally use <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>.
+ Many <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routines have two or more versions. The rou-
+ tines prefixed with <STRONG>w</STRONG> require a window argument. The rou-
+ tines prefixed with <STRONG>p</STRONG> require a pad argument. Those with-
+ out a prefix generally use <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>.
The routines prefixed with <STRONG>mv</STRONG> require a <EM>y</EM> and <EM>x</EM> coordinate
to move to before performing the appropriate action. The
specified before the coordinates.
In each case, <EM>win</EM> is the window affected, and <EM>pad</EM> is the
- pad affected; <EM>win</EM> and <EM>pad</EM> are always pointers to type
- <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG>.
+ pad affected; <EM>win</EM> and <EM>pad</EM> are always pointers to type <STRONG>WIN-</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>DOW</STRONG>.
Option setting routines require a Boolean flag <EM>bf</EM> with the
- value <STRONG>TRUE</STRONG> or <STRONG>FALSE</STRONG>; <EM>bf</EM> is always of type <STRONG>bool</STRONG>. The
- variables <EM>ch</EM> and <EM>attrs</EM> below are always of type <STRONG>chtype</STRONG>.
- The types <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG>, <STRONG>SCREEN</STRONG>, <STRONG>bool</STRONG>, and <STRONG>chtype</STRONG> are defined in
+ value <STRONG>TRUE</STRONG> or <STRONG>FALSE</STRONG>; <EM>bf</EM> is always of type <STRONG>bool</STRONG>. The vari-
+ ables <EM>ch</EM> and <EM>attrs</EM> below are always of type <STRONG>chtype</STRONG>. The
+ types <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG>, <STRONG>SCREEN</STRONG>, <STRONG>bool</STRONG>, and <STRONG>chtype</STRONG> are defined in
<STRONG><curses.h></STRONG>. The type <STRONG>TERMINAL</STRONG> is defined in <STRONG><term.h></STRONG>.
All other arguments are integers.
-
<STRONG>Routine</STRONG> <STRONG>Name</STRONG> <STRONG>Index</STRONG>
The following table lists each <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routine and the name
of the manual page on which it is described. Routines
flagged with `*' are ncurses-specific, not described by
XPG4 or present in SVr4.
+
<STRONG>curses</STRONG> Routine Name Manual Page Name
--------------------------------------------
COLOR_PAIR <STRONG><A HREF="curs_color.3x.html">curs_color(3x)</A></STRONG>
_tracedump <STRONG><A HREF="curs_trace.3x.html">curs_trace(3x)</A></STRONG>*
_tracef <STRONG><A HREF="curs_trace.3x.html">curs_trace(3x)</A></STRONG>*
_tracemouse <STRONG><A HREF="curs_trace.3x.html">curs_trace(3x)</A></STRONG>*
+
add_wch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_add_wch.3x.html">curs_add_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>
add_wchnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_add_wchstr.3x.html">curs_add_wchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
add_wchstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_add_wchstr.3x.html">curs_add_wchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
bkgd <STRONG><A HREF="curs_bkgd.3x.html">curs_bkgd(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>
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>
getbegyx <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getyx.3x.html">curs_getyx(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
getbkgd <STRONG><A HREF="curs_bkgd.3x.html">curs_bkgd(3x)</A></STRONG>
getbkgrnd <STRONG><A HREF="curs_bkgrnd.3x.html">curs_bkgrnd(3x)</A></STRONG>
getcchar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getcchar.3x.html">curs_getcchar(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>
getsyx <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
getwin <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>
getyx <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getyx.3x.html">curs_getyx(3x)</A></STRONG>
halfdelay <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
is_linetouched <STRONG><A HREF="curs_touch.3x.html">curs_touch(3x)</A></STRONG>
is_wintouched <STRONG><A HREF="curs_touch.3x.html">curs_touch(3x)</A></STRONG>
isendwin <STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">curs_initscr(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ key_defined <STRONG><A HREF="key_defined.3x.html">key_defined(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>
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>
mvwgetch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getch.3x.html">curs_getch(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwin_wch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_in_wch.3x.html">curs_in_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwin_wchnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_in_wchstr.3x.html">curs_in_wchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwin_wchstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_in_wchstr.3x.html">curs_in_wchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
mvwinch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inch.3x.html">curs_inch(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwinchnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inchstr.3x.html">curs_inchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwinchstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inchstr.3x.html">curs_inchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
qiflush <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
raw <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
redrawwin <STRONG><A HREF="curs_refresh.3x.html">curs_refresh(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
refresh <STRONG><A HREF="curs_refresh.3x.html">curs_refresh(3x)</A></STRONG>
reset_prog_mode <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>
reset_shell_mode <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>
setterm <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
setupterm <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_attr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>*
+
slk_attr_off <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_attr_on <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_attr_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
tgetnum <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termcap.3x.html">curs_termcap(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>
waddchnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addchstr.3x.html">curs_addchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
waddchstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addchstr.3x.html">curs_addchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
waddnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addstr.3x.html">curs_addstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
waddnwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addwstr.3x.html">curs_addwstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
waddstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addstr.3x.html">curs_addstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
waddwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addwstr.3x.html">curs_addwstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
wborder <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
wborder_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border_set.3x.html">curs_border_set(3x)</A></STRONG>
wchgat <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
wclear <STRONG><A HREF="curs_clear.3x.html">curs_clear(3x)</A></STRONG>
wclrtobot <STRONG><A HREF="curs_clear.3x.html">curs_clear(3x)</A></STRONG>
wclrtoeol <STRONG><A HREF="curs_clear.3x.html">curs_clear(3x)</A></STRONG>
wscanw <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scanw.3x.html">curs_scanw(3x)</A></STRONG>
wscrl <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scroll.3x.html">curs_scroll(3x)</A></STRONG>
wsetscrreg <STRONG><A HREF="curs_outopts.3x.html">curs_outopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
wstandend <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
wstandout <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
wsyncdown <STRONG><A HREF="curs_window.3x.html">curs_window(3x)</A></STRONG>
wsyncup <STRONG><A HREF="curs_window.3x.html">curs_window(3x)</A></STRONG>
wtimeout <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
wtouchln <STRONG><A HREF="curs_touch.3x.html">curs_touch(3x)</A></STRONG>
wunctrl <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>
wvline <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
</PRE>
<H2>RETURN VALUE</H2><PRE>
Routines that return an integer return <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> upon failure
- and an integer value other than <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> upon successful
- completion, unless otherwise noted in the routine
- descriptions.
+ and an integer value other than <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> upon successful com-
+ pletion, unless otherwise noted in the routine descrip-
+ tions.
All macros return the value of the <STRONG>w</STRONG> version, except
- <STRONG>setscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>wsetscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>getyx</STRONG>, <STRONG>getbegyx</STRONG>, <STRONG>getmaxyx</STRONG>. The
+ <STRONG>setscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>wsetscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>getyx</STRONG>, <STRONG>getbegyx</STRONG>, and <STRONG>getmaxyx</STRONG>. The
return values of <STRONG>setscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>wsetscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>getyx</STRONG>, <STRONG>getbegyx</STRONG>,
- and <STRONG>getmaxyx</STRONG> are undefined (<EM>i</EM>.<EM>e</EM>., these should not be used
+ and <STRONG>getmaxyx</STRONG> are undefined (i.e., these should not be used
as the right-hand side of assignment statements).
Routines that return pointers return <STRONG>NULL</STRONG> on error.
</PRE>
<H2>ENVIRONMENT</H2><PRE>
- The following environment symbols are useful for
- customizing the runtime behavior of the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library.
- The most important ones have been already discussed in
- detail.
+ The following environment symbols are useful for customiz-
+ ing the runtime behavior of the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library. The most
+ important ones have been already discussed in detail.
BAUDRATE
- The debugging library checks this environment symbol
+ The debugging library checks this environment symbol
when the application has redirected output to a file.
- The symbol's numeric value is used for the baudrate.
- If no value is found <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses 9600. This allows
- testers to construct repeatable test-cases that take
+ The symbol's numeric value is used for the baudrate.
+ If no value is found, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses 9600. This allows
+ testers to construct repeatable test-cases that take
into account costs that depend on baudrate.
CC 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 symbol. Very few
- terminfo entries provide this feature.
+ (i.e., the <STRONG>cmdch</STRONG> capability) of the loaded terminfo
+ entries to the value of this symbol. Very few ter-
+ minfo entries provide this feature.
COLUMNS
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 $COLUMNS
- value nor the terminal's screen size is available,
- <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses the size which may be specified in the
+ Applications running in a windowing environment usu-
+ ally are able to obtain the width of the window in
+ which they are executing. If neither the <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG>
+ 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).
- It is important that your application use a correct
- size for the screen. However, 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.
-
- Either COLUMNS or LINES symbols may be specified
- independently. This is mainly useful to circumvent
- legacy misfeatures of terminal descriptions, e.g.,
+ It is important that your application use a correct
+ size for the 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 the screen size
+ obtained from the operating system.
+
+ Either <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> or <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> 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
+ best results, <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and <STRONG>cols</STRONG> should not be specified
in a terminal description for terminals which are run
as emulations.
- Use the <STRONG>use_env</STRONG> function to disable this feature.
+ Use the <STRONG>use_env</STRONG> function to disable all use of exter-
+ nal environment (including system calls) to determine
+ the screen size.
ESCDELAY
- 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 to accommodate unusual applications.
+ 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 vari-
+ able to accommodate unusual applications.
The most common instance where you may wish to change
- this value is to work with slow hosts, e.g., running
- on a network. If the host cannot read characters
- rapidly enough, it will have the same effect as if
- the terminal did not send characters rapidly enough.
+ this value is to work with slow hosts, e.g., running
+ on a network. If the host cannot read characters
+ rapidly enough, it will have the same effect as if
+ the terminal did not send characters rapidly enough.
The library will still see a timeout.
- Note that xterm mouse events are built up from
- character sequences received from the xterm. If your
+ Note that xterm mouse events are built up from char-
+ acter sequences received from the xterm. If your
application makes heavy use of multiple-clicking, you
- may wish to lengthen this default value because the
- timeout applies to the composed multi-click event as
+ may wish to lengthen this default value because the
+ timeout applies to the composed multi-click event as
well as the individual clicks.
- HOME Tells <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> where your home directory is. That is
+ In addition to the environment variable, this imple-
+ mentation provides a global variable with the same
+ name. Portable applications should not rely upon the
+ presence of ESCDELAY in either form, but setting the
+ environment variable rather than the global variable
+ does not create problems when compiling an applica-
+ tion.
+
+ HOME Tells <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> where your home directory is. That is
where it may read and write auxiliary terminal
descriptions:
$HOME/.terminfo
LINES
- Like COLUMNS, specify the height of the screen in
- characters. See COLUMNS for a detailed description.
+ Like COLUMNS, specify the height of the screen in
+ characters. See COLUMNS for a detailed description.
MOUSE_BUTTONS_123
This applies only to the OS/2 EMX port. It specifies
- the order of buttons on the mouse. OS/2 numbers a
+ the order of buttons on the mouse. OS/2 numbers a
3-button mouse inconsistently from other platforms:
1 = left
3 = middle.
This symbol lets you customize the mouse. The symbol
- must be three numeric digits 1-3 in any order, e.g.,
- 123 or 321. If it is not specified, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses
+ must be three numeric digits 1-3 in any order, e.g.,
+ 123 or 321. If it is not specified, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses
132.
NCURSES_ASSUMED_COLORS
- Override the compiled-in assumption that the
- terminal's default colors are white-on-black (see
- <STRONG><A HREF="assume_default_colors.3x.html">assume_default_colors(3x)</A></STRONG>). You may set the
- foreground and background color values with this
- environment variable by proving a 2-element list:
- foreground,background. For example, to tell ncurses
- to not assume anything about the colors, set this to
+ Override the compiled-in assumption that the termi-
+ nal's default colors are white-on-black (see
+ <STRONG><A HREF="assume_default_colors.3x.html">assume_default_colors(3x)</A></STRONG>). You may set the fore-
+ ground and background color values with this environ-
+ ment variable by proving a 2-element list:
+ foreground,background. For example, to tell ncurses
+ to not assume anything about the colors, set this to
"-1,-1". To make it green-on-black, set it to "2,0".
- Any positive value from zero to the terminfo
- <STRONG>max_colors</STRONG> value is allowed.
+ Any positive value from zero to the terminfo <STRONG>max_col-</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>ors</STRONG> value is allowed.
+
+ NCURSES_NO_HARD_TABS
+ <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</STRONG> settings to avoid the problem.
+
+ NCURSES_NO_MAGIC_COOKIES
+ 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 termi-
+ nals by setting this environment variable.
NCURSES_NO_PADDING
- 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. Terminal emulators can duplicate all
- of the important aspects of a hardware terminal, but
- they do not have the same limitations. The chief
- limitation of a hardware terminal from the standpoint
- of your application is the management of dataflow,
- i.e., timing. Unless a hardware terminal is
- interfaced into a terminal concentrator (which does
- flow control), it (or your application) must manage
- dataflow, preventing overruns. The cheapest solution
- (no hardware cost) is for your program to do this by
- pausing after operations that the terminal does
- slowly, such as clearing the display.
-
- As a result, many terminal descriptions (including
- the vt100) have delay times embedded. You may wish
- to use these descriptions, but not want to pay the
+ 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 applica-
+ tions. Terminal emulators can duplicate all of the
+ important aspects of a hardware terminal, but they do
+ not have the same limitations. The chief limitation
+ of a hardware terminal from the standpoint of your
+ application is the management of dataflow, i.e., tim-
+ ing. Unless a hardware terminal is interfaced into a
+ terminal concentrator (which does flow control), it
+ (or your application) must manage dataflow, prevent-
+ ing overruns. The cheapest solution (no hardware
+ cost) is for your program to do this by pausing after
+ operations that the terminal does slowly, such as
+ clearing the display.
+
+ As a result, many terminal descriptions (including
+ the vt100) have delay times embedded. You may wish
+ to use these descriptions, but not want to pay the
performance penalty.
- Set the NCURSES_NO_PADDING symbol to disable all but
- mandatory padding. Mandatory padding is used as a
+ Set the NCURSES_NO_PADDING symbol to disable all but
+ mandatory padding. Mandatory padding is used as a
part of special control sequences such as <EM>flash</EM>.
NCURSES_NO_SETBUF
- Normally <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> enables buffered output during
- terminal initialization. This is done (as in SVr4
- curses) for performance reasons. For testing
- purposes, both of <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> and certain applications,
- this feature is made optional. Setting the
+ Normally <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> enables buffered output during ter-
+ minal initialization. This is done (as in SVr4
+ curses) for performance reasons. For testing pur-
+ poses, both of <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> and certain applications, this
+ feature is made optional. Setting the
NCURSES_NO_SETBUF variable disables output buffering,
- leaving the output in the original (usually line
+ leaving the output in the original (usually line
buffered) mode.
+ NCURSES_NO_UTF8_ACS
+ During initialization, the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library checks for
+ special cases where VT100 line-drawing (and the cor-
+ responding 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 TERM 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 termi-
+ nal emulators.
+
+ When setting this variable, you should set it to a
+ nonzero value. Setting it to zero (or to a nonnum-
+ ber) disables the special check for Linux and screen.
+
NCURSES_TRACE
During initialization, the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> debugging library
checks the NCURSES_TRACE symbol. If it is defined,
distinct, though many are similar.
TERMCAP
- If the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library has been configured with
- <EM>termcap</EM> support, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> will check for a terminal's
+ If the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library has been configured with <EM>term-</EM>
+ <EM>cap</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 complete list of directories in order follows:
- the last directory to which <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> wrote, if any,
- is searched first.
+ is searched first
- the directory specified by the TERMINFO symbol
/usr/share/terminfo
TERMINFO_DIRS
- Specifies a list of directories to search for
- terminal descriptions. The list is separated by
- colons (i.e., ":") on Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX.
- All of the terminal descriptions are in terminfo
- form, which makes a subdirectory named for the first
- letter of the terminal names therein.
+ Specifies a list of directories to search for termi-
+ nal descriptions. The list is separated by colons
+ (i.e., ":") on Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX. All of
+ the terminal descriptions are in terminfo form, which
+ makes a subdirectory named for the first letter of
+ the terminal names therein.
TERMPATH
If TERMCAP does not hold a file name then <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>
$TERMINFO, $TERMINFO_DIRS, $TERMPATH, as well as $HOME.
+</PRE>
+<H2>ALTERNATE CONFIGURATIONS</H2><PRE>
+ Several different configurations are possible, depending
+ on the configure script options used when building
+ <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>. There are a few main options whose effects are
+ visible to the applications developer using <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>:
+
+ --disable-overwrite
+ The standard include for <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> is as noted in <STRONG>SYN-</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>OPSIS</STRONG>:
+
+ <STRONG>#include</STRONG> <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG>
+
+ This option is used to avoid filename conflicts when
+ <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> is not the main implementation of curses of
+ the computer. If <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> is installed disabling
+ overwrite, it puts its headers in a subdirectory,
+ e.g.,
+
+ <STRONG>#include</STRONG> <STRONG><ncurses/curses.h></STRONG>
+
+ It also omits a symbolic link which would allow you
+ to use <STRONG>-lcurses</STRONG> to build executables.
+
+ --enable-widec
+ The configure script renames the library and (if the
+ <STRONG>--disable-overwrite</STRONG> option is used) puts the header
+ files in a different subdirectory. All of the
+ library names have a "w" appended to them, i.e.,
+ instead of
+
+ <STRONG>-lncurses</STRONG>
+
+ you link with
+
+ <STRONG>-lncursesw</STRONG>
+
+ You must also define <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED</STRONG> when com-
+ piling for the wide-character library to use the
+ extended (wide-character) functions. The <STRONG>curses.h</STRONG>
+ file which is installed for the wide-character
+ library is designed to be compatible with the normal
+ library's header. Only the size of the <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG> struc-
+ ture differs, and very few applications require more
+ than a pointer to <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG>s. If the headers are
+ installed allowing overwrite, the wide-character
+ library's headers should be installed last, to allow
+ applications to be built using either library from
+ the same set of headers.
+
+ --with-shared
+
+ --with-normal
+
+ --with-debug
+
+ --with-profile
+ The shared and normal (static) library names differ
+ by their suffixes, e.g., <STRONG>libncurses.so</STRONG> and
+ <STRONG>libncurses.a</STRONG>. The debug and profiling libraries add
+ a "_g" and a "_p" to the root names respectively,
+ e.g., <STRONG>libncurses_g.a</STRONG> and <STRONG>libncurses_p.a</STRONG>.
+
+ --with-trace
+ The <STRONG>trace</STRONG> function normally resides in the debug
+ library, but it is sometimes useful to configure this
+ in the shared library. Configure scripts should
+ check for the function's existence rather than assum-
+ ing it is always in the debug library.
+
+
</PRE>
<H2>FILES</H2><PRE>
/usr/share/tabset
directory containing initialization files for the
- terminal capability database /usr/share/terminfo
- terminal capability database
+ terminal capability database /usr/share/terminfo ter-
+ minal capability database
</PRE>
</PRE>
<H2>EXTENSIONS</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 core and startup cycles.
+ (<STRONG>-DUSE_GETCAP</STRONG>) that falls back to the old-style /etc/term-
+ cap 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 core and startup cycles.
The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library includes facilities for capturing
mouse events on certain terminals (including xterm). See
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> 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 able to draw
- colored text on a background whose color is set
- 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 output to a printer attached to the terminal
+ 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> man-
+ ual pages for details.
+
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library can exploit the capabilities of termi-
+ nals which implement the ISO-6429 SGR 39 and SGR 49 con-
+ trols, 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 col-
+ ored text on a background whose color is set indepen-
+ dently, 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 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>PORTABILITY</H2><PRE>
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library is intended to be BASE-level
- conformant with the XSI Curses standard. Certain portions
- of the EXTENDED XSI Curses functionality (including color
- support) are supported. The following EXTENDED XSI Curses
- calls in support of wide (multibyte) characters are not
- yet implemented: <STRONG>pecho_wchar</STRONG>, <STRONG>slk_wset</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
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library is intended to be BASE-level confor-
+ mant with the XSI Curses standard. The EXTENDED XSI
+ Curses functionality (including color support) is sup-
+ ported.
+
+ 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.
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.
+ in SVr4. See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getch.3x.html">curs_getch(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
- 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
+ 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.
- 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.
+ The routines <STRONG>getmouse</STRONG>, <STRONG>mousemask</STRONG>, <STRONG>ungetmouse</STRONG>, <STRONG>mouseinter-</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>val</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.
The routine <STRONG>mcprint</STRONG> was not present in any previous curses
- implementation. See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_print.3x.html">curs_print(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for
+ implementation. See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_print.3x.html">curs_print(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for
details.
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.
- 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 NUL sends. This
- method is slightly more expensive, but narrows the
- interface to the UNIX kernel significantly and increases
- the package's portability correspondingly.
+ In historic curses versions, delays embedded in the capa-
+ bilities <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 implementa-
+ tion, all padding is done by NUL sends. This method is
+ slightly more expensive, but narrows the interface to the
+ UNIX kernel significantly and increases the package's
+ portability correspondingly.
</PRE>
<H2>NOTES</H2><PRE>
- The header file <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG> automatically includes the
+ The header file <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG> automatically includes the
header files <STRONG><stdio.h></STRONG> and <STRONG><unctrl.h></STRONG>.
- 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.
+ 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 fea-
+ ture of AT&T System V Release 3 curses.
</PRE>
<H2>AUTHORS</H2><PRE>
- Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey.
+ Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey.
Based on pcurses by Pavel Curtis.
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<ADDRESS>
projects / ncurses.git / blobdiff