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-<H1>terminfo 5 File Formats</H1>
-<HR>
+<H1 class="no-header">terminfo 5 File Formats</H1>
<PRE>
-<!-- Manpage converted by man2html 3.0.1 -->
<STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG> File Formats <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>
-</PRE>
-<H2>NAME</H2><PRE>
+</PRE><H2><a name="h2-NAME">NAME</a></H2><PRE>
terminfo - terminal capability data base
-</PRE>
-<H2>SYNOPSIS</H2><PRE>
+</PRE><H2><a name="h2-SYNOPSIS">SYNOPSIS</a></H2><PRE>
/usr/share/terminfo/*/*
-</PRE>
-<H2>DESCRIPTION</H2><PRE>
+</PRE><H2><a name="h2-DESCRIPTION">DESCRIPTION</a></H2><PRE>
<EM>Terminfo</EM> is a data base describing terminals, used by
- screen-oriented programs such as <STRONG><A HREF="nvi.1.html">nvi(1)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="rogue.1.html">rogue(1)</A></STRONG> and
+ screen-oriented programs such as <STRONG>nvi(1)</STRONG>, <STRONG>rogue(1)</STRONG> and
libraries such as <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG>. <EM>Terminfo</EM> describes termi-
nals by giving a set of capabilities which they have, by
specifying how to perform screen operations, and by speci-
fying padding requirements and initialization sequences.
- This describes <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> version 5.9 (patch 20120107).
-
- Entries in <EM>terminfo</EM> consist of a sequence of `,' separated
- fields (embedded commas may be escaped with a backslash or
- notated as \054). White space after the `,' separator is
- ignored. The first entry for each terminal gives the
- names which are known for the terminal, separated by `|'
- characters. The first name given is the most common
- abbreviation for the terminal, the last name given should
- be a long name fully identifying the terminal, and all
- others are understood as synonyms for the terminal name.
- All names but the last should be in lower case and contain
- no blanks; the last name may well contain upper case and
- blanks for readability.
-
- Lines beginning with a `#' in the first column are treated
- as comments. While comment lines are legal at any point,
- the output of <STRONG>captoinfo</STRONG> and <STRONG>infotocap</STRONG> (aliases for <STRONG>tic</STRONG>)
- will move comments so they occur only between entries.
-
- Newlines and leading tabs may be used for formatting
- entries for readability. These are removed from parsed
- entries. The <STRONG>infocmp</STRONG> <STRONG>-f</STRONG> option relies on this to format
- if-then-else expressions: the result can be read by <STRONG>tic</STRONG>.
+ This describes <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> version 6.0 (patch 20170429).
+
+
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Terminfo-Entry-Syntax">Terminfo Entry Syntax</a></H3><PRE>
+ Entries in <EM>terminfo</EM> consist of a sequence of fields:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Each field ends with a comma "," (embedded commas may
+ be escaped with a backslash or written as "\054").
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> White space between fields is ignored.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The first field in a <EM>terminfo</EM> entry begins in the
+ first column.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Newlines and leading whitespace (spaces or tabs) may
+ be used for formatting entries for readability. These
+ are removed from parsed entries.
+
+ The <STRONG>infocmp</STRONG> <STRONG>-f</STRONG> and <STRONG>-W</STRONG> options rely on this to format
+ if-then-else expressions, or to enforce maximum line-
+ width. The resulting formatted terminal description
+ can be read by <STRONG>tic</STRONG>.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The first field for each terminal gives the names
+ which are known for the terminal, separated by "|"
+ characters.
+
+ The first name given is the most common abbreviation
+ for the terminal (its primary name), the last name
+ given should be a long name fully identifying the ter-
+ minal (see <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termattrs.3x.html">longname(3x)</A></STRONG>), and all others are treated
+ as synonyms (aliases) for the primary terminal name.
+
+ X/Open Curses advises that all names but the last
+ should be in lower case and contain no blanks; the
+ last name may well contain upper case and blanks for
+ readability.
+
+ This implementation is not so strict; it allows mixed
+ case in the primary name and aliases. If the last
+ name has no embedded blanks, it allows that to be both
+ an alias and a verbose name (but will warn about this
+ ambiguity).
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Lines beginning with a "#" in the first column are
+ treated as comments.
+
+ While comment lines are legal at any point, the output
+ of <STRONG>captoinfo</STRONG> and <STRONG>infotocap</STRONG> (aliases for <STRONG>tic</STRONG>) will move
+ comments so they occur only between entries.
Terminal names (except for the last, verbose entry) should
be chosen using the following conventions. The particular
piece of hardware making up the terminal should have a
- root name, thus ``hp2621''. This name should not contain
+ root name, thus "hp2621". This name should not contain
hyphens. Modes that the hardware can be in, or user pref-
erences, should be indicated by appending a hyphen and a
mode suffix. Thus, a vt100 in 132 column mode would be
vt100-w. The following suffixes should be used where pos-
sible:
-
<STRONG>Suffix</STRONG> <STRONG>Meaning</STRONG> <STRONG>Example</STRONG>
-<EM>nn</EM> Number of lines on the screen aaa-60
-<EM>n</EM>p Number of pages of memory c100-4p
-ns No status line hp2626-ns
-rv Reverse video c100-rv
-s Enable status line vt100-s
-
-vb Use visible bell instead of beep wy370-vb
-w Wide mode (> 80 columns, usually 132) vt100-w
For more on terminal naming conventions, see the <STRONG>term(7)</STRONG>
manual page.
- <STRONG>Capabilities</STRONG>
- The following is a complete table of the capabilities
- included in a terminfo description block and available to
+
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Terminfo-Capabilities-Syntax">Terminfo Capabilities Syntax</a></H3><PRE>
+ The terminfo entry consists of several <EM>capabilities</EM>, i.e.,
+ features that the terminal has, or methods for exercising
+ the terminal's features.
+
+ After the first field (giving the name(s) of the terminal
+ entry), there should be one or more <EM>capability</EM> fields.
+ These are boolean, numeric or string names with corre-
+ sponding values:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Boolean capabilities are true when present, false when
+ absent. There is no explicit value for boolean capa-
+ bilities.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Numeric capabilities have a "#" following the name,
+ then an unsigned decimal integer value.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> String capabilities have a "=" following the name,
+ then an string of characters making up the capability
+ value.
+
+ String capabilities can be split into multiple lines,
+ just as the fields comprising a terminal entry can be
+ split into multiple lines. While blanks between
+ fields are ignored, blanks embedded within a string
+ value are retained, except for leading blanks on a
+ line.
+
+ Any capability can be <EM>canceled</EM>, i.e., suppressed from the
+ terminal entry, by following its name with "@" rather than
+ a capability value.
+
+
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Similar-Terminals">Similar Terminals</a></H3><PRE>
+ If there are two very similar terminals, one (the variant)
+ can be defined as being just like the other (the base)
+ with certain exceptions. In the definition of the vari-
+ ant, the string capability <STRONG>use</STRONG> can be given with the name
+ of the base terminal:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The capabilities given before <STRONG>use</STRONG> override those in
+ the base type named by <STRONG>use</STRONG>.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If there are multiple <STRONG>use</STRONG> capabilities, they are
+ merged in reverse order. That is, the rightmost <STRONG>use</STRONG>
+ reference is processed first, then the one to its
+ left, and so forth.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Capabilities given explicitly in the entry override
+ those brought in by <STRONG>use</STRONG> references.
+
+ A capability can be canceled by placing <STRONG>xx@</STRONG> to the left of
+ the use reference that imports it, where <EM>xx</EM> is the capa-
+ bility. For example, the entry
+
+ 2621-nl, smkx@, rmkx@, use=2621,
+
+ defines a 2621-nl that does not have the <STRONG>smkx</STRONG> or <STRONG>rmkx</STRONG>
+ capabilities, and hence does not turn on the function key
+ labels when in visual mode. This is useful for different
+ modes for a terminal, or for different user preferences.
+
+ An entry included via <STRONG>use</STRONG> can contain canceled capabili-
+ ties, which have the same effect as if those cancels were
+ inline in the using terminal entry.
+
+
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Predefined-Capabilities">Predefined Capabilities</a></H3><PRE>
+ The following is a complete table of the capabilities
+ included in a terminfo description block and available to
terminfo-using code. In each line of the table,
- The <STRONG>variable</STRONG> is the name by which the programmer (at the
+ The <STRONG>variable</STRONG> is the name by which the programmer (at the
terminfo level) accesses the capability.
- The <STRONG>capname</STRONG> is the short name used in the text of the
- database, and is used by a person updating the database.
- Whenever possible, capnames are chosen to be the same as
+ The <STRONG>capname</STRONG> is the short name used in the text of the
+ database, and is used by a person updating the database.
+ Whenever possible, capnames are chosen to be the same as
or similar to the ANSI X3.64-1979 standard (now superseded
- by ECMA-48, which uses identical or very similar names).
+ by ECMA-48, which uses identical or very similar names).
Semantics are also intended to match those of the specifi-
cation.
- The termcap code is the old <STRONG>termcap</STRONG> capability name (some
+ The termcap code is the old <STRONG>termcap</STRONG> capability name (some
capabilities are new, and have names which termcap did not
originate).
- Capability names have no hard length limit, but an infor-
- mal limit of 5 characters has been adopted to keep them
- short and to allow the tabs in the source file <STRONG>Caps</STRONG> to
+ Capability names have no hard length limit, but an infor-
+ mal limit of 5 characters has been adopted to keep them
+ short and to allow the tabs in the source file <STRONG>Caps</STRONG> to
line up nicely.
- Finally, the description field attempts to convey the
- semantics of the capability. You may find some codes in
+ Finally, the description field attempts to convey the
+ semantics of the capability. You may find some codes in
the description field:
(P) indicates that padding may be specified
- #[1-9] in the description field indicates that the string
+ #[1-9] in the description field indicates that the string
is passed through tparm with parms as given (#<EM>i</EM>).
- (P*) indicates that padding may vary in proportion to
+ (P*) indicates that padding may vary in proportion to
the number of lines affected
(#<EM>i</EM>) indicates the <EM>i</EM>th parameter.
These are the boolean capabilities:
- <STRONG>Variable</STRONG> <STRONG>Cap-</STRONG> <STRONG>TCap</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
- <STRONG>Booleans</STRONG> <STRONG>name</STRONG> <STRONG>Code</STRONG>
- auto_left_margin bw bw cub1 wraps from col-
+ <STRONG>Variable</STRONG> <STRONG>Cap-</STRONG> <STRONG>TCap</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>Booleans</STRONG> <STRONG>name</STRONG> <STRONG>Code</STRONG>
+ auto_left_margin bw bw cub1 wraps from col-
umn 0 to last column
- auto_right_margin am am terminal has auto-
+ auto_right_margin am am terminal has auto-
matic margins
- back_color_erase bce ut screen erased with
+ back_color_erase bce ut screen erased with
background color
- can_change ccc cc terminal can re-
+ can_change ccc cc terminal can re-
define existing col-
ors
- ceol_standout_glitch xhp xs standout not erased
+ ceol_standout_glitch xhp xs standout not erased
by overwriting (hp)
- col_addr_glitch xhpa YA only positive motion
+ col_addr_glitch xhpa YA only positive motion
for hpa/mhpa caps
-
-
- cpi_changes_res cpix YF changing character
+ cpi_changes_res cpix YF changing character
pitch changes reso-
lution
- cr_cancels_micro_mode crxm YB using cr turns off
+ cr_cancels_micro_mode crxm YB using cr turns off
micro mode
- dest_tabs_magic_smso xt xt tabs destructive,
+ dest_tabs_magic_smso xt xt tabs destructive,
magic so char
(t1061)
- eat_newline_glitch xenl xn newline ignored
+ eat_newline_glitch xenl xn newline ignored
after 80 cols (con-
cept)
- erase_overstrike eo eo can erase over-
+ erase_overstrike eo eo can erase over-
strikes with a blank
- generic_type gn gn generic line type
- hard_copy hc hc hardcopy terminal
- hard_cursor chts HC cursor is hard to
+ generic_type gn gn generic line type
+ hard_copy hc hc hardcopy terminal
+ hard_cursor chts HC cursor is hard to
see
- has_meta_key km km Has a meta key
+ has_meta_key km km Has a meta key
(i.e., sets 8th-bit)
- has_print_wheel daisy YC printer needs opera-
+ has_print_wheel daisy YC printer needs opera-
tor to change char-
acter set
- has_status_line hs hs has extra status
+ has_status_line hs hs has extra status
line
- hue_lightness_saturation hls hl terminal uses only
+ hue_lightness_saturation hls hl terminal uses only
HLS color notation
(Tektronix)
- insert_null_glitch in in insert mode distin-
+ insert_null_glitch in in insert mode distin-
guishes nulls
- lpi_changes_res lpix YG changing line pitch
+ lpi_changes_res lpix YG changing line pitch
changes resolution
- memory_above da da display may be
+ memory_above da da display may be
retained above the
screen
- memory_below db db display may be
+ memory_below db db display may be
retained below the
screen
- move_insert_mode mir mi safe to move while
+ move_insert_mode mir mi safe to move while
in insert mode
- move_standout_mode msgr ms safe to move while
+ move_standout_mode msgr ms safe to move while
in standout mode
- needs_xon_xoff nxon nx padding will not
+ needs_xon_xoff nxon nx padding will not
work, xon/xoff
required
- no_esc_ctlc xsb xb beehive (f1=escape,
+ no_esc_ctlc xsb xb beehive (f1=escape,
f2=ctrl C)
- no_pad_char npc NP pad character does
+
+
+ no_pad_char npc NP pad character does
not exist
- non_dest_scroll_region ndscr ND scrolling region is
+ non_dest_scroll_region ndscr ND scrolling region is
non-destructive
- non_rev_rmcup nrrmc NR smcup does not
+ non_rev_rmcup nrrmc NR smcup does not
reverse rmcup
- over_strike os os terminal can over-
+ over_strike os os terminal can over-
strike
- prtr_silent mc5i 5i printer will not
+ prtr_silent mc5i 5i printer will not
echo on screen
- row_addr_glitch xvpa YD only positive motion
+ row_addr_glitch xvpa YD only positive motion
for vpa/mvpa caps
- semi_auto_right_margin sam YE printing in last
+ semi_auto_right_margin sam YE printing in last
column causes cr
- status_line_esc_ok eslok es escape can be used
+ status_line_esc_ok eslok es escape can be used
on the status line
- tilde_glitch hz hz cannot print ~'s
- (hazeltine)
-
-
- transparent_underline ul ul underline character
+ tilde_glitch hz hz cannot print ~'s
+ (Hazeltine)
+ transparent_underline ul ul underline character
overstrikes
- xon_xoff xon xo terminal uses
+ xon_xoff xon xo terminal uses
xon/xoff handshaking
These are the numeric capabilities:
- <STRONG>Variable</STRONG> <STRONG>Cap-</STRONG> <STRONG>TCap</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
- <STRONG>Numeric</STRONG> <STRONG>name</STRONG> <STRONG>Code</STRONG>
- columns cols co number of columns in
+ <STRONG>Variable</STRONG> <STRONG>Cap-</STRONG> <STRONG>TCap</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>Numeric</STRONG> <STRONG>name</STRONG> <STRONG>Code</STRONG>
+ columns cols co number of columns in
a line
- init_tabs it it tabs initially every
+ init_tabs it it tabs initially every
# spaces
- label_height lh lh rows in each label
- label_width lw lw columns in each
+ label_height lh lh rows in each label
+ label_width lw lw columns in each
label
- lines lines li number of lines on
+ lines lines li number of lines on
screen or page
- lines_of_memory lm lm lines of memory if >
+ lines_of_memory lm lm lines of memory if >
line. 0 means varies
- magic_cookie_glitch xmc sg number of blank
+ magic_cookie_glitch xmc sg number of blank
characters left by
smso or rmso
- max_attributes ma ma maximum combined
+ max_attributes ma ma maximum combined
attributes terminal
can handle
- max_colors colors Co maximum number of
+ max_colors colors Co maximum number of
colors on screen
- max_pairs pairs pa maximum number of
+ max_pairs pairs pa maximum number of
color-pairs on the
screen
- maximum_windows wnum MW maximum number of
- defineable windows
- no_color_video ncv NC video attributes
+ maximum_windows wnum MW maximum number of
+ definable windows
+ no_color_video ncv NC video attributes
that cannot be used
with colors
- num_labels nlab Nl number of labels on
+ num_labels nlab Nl number of labels on
screen
- padding_baud_rate pb pb lowest baud rate
+ padding_baud_rate pb pb lowest baud rate
where padding needed
- virtual_terminal vt vt virtual terminal
+ virtual_terminal vt vt virtual terminal
number (CB/unix)
- width_status_line wsl ws number of columns in
+ width_status_line wsl ws number of columns in
status line
- The following numeric capabilities are present in the
- SVr4.0 term structure, but are not yet documented in the
+ The following numeric capabilities are present in the
+ SVr4.0 term structure, but are not yet documented in the
man page. They came in with SVr4's printer support.
- <STRONG>Variable</STRONG> <STRONG>Cap-</STRONG> <STRONG>TCap</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
- <STRONG>Numeric</STRONG> <STRONG>name</STRONG> <STRONG>Code</STRONG>
- bit_image_entwining bitwin Yo number of passes for
+ <STRONG>Variable</STRONG> <STRONG>Cap-</STRONG> <STRONG>TCap</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>Numeric</STRONG> <STRONG>name</STRONG> <STRONG>Code</STRONG>
+ bit_image_entwining bitwin Yo number of passes for
each bit-image row
- bit_image_type bitype Yp type of bit-image
+ bit_image_type bitype Yp type of bit-image
device
- buffer_capacity bufsz Ya numbers of bytes
+ buffer_capacity bufsz Ya numbers of bytes
buffered before
printing
- buttons btns BT number of buttons on
+ buttons btns BT number of buttons on
mouse
- dot_horz_spacing spinh Yc spacing of dots hor-
+ dot_horz_spacing spinh Yc spacing of dots hor-
izontally in dots
per inch
-
- dot_vert_spacing spinv Yb spacing of pins ver-
+ dot_vert_spacing spinv Yb spacing of pins ver-
tically in pins per
inch
- max_micro_address maddr Yd maximum value in
+ max_micro_address maddr Yd maximum value in
micro_..._address
- max_micro_jump mjump Ye maximum value in
+ max_micro_jump mjump Ye maximum value in
parm_..._micro
- micro_col_size mcs Yf character step size
+ micro_col_size mcs Yf character step size
when in micro mode
- micro_line_size mls Yg line step size when
+ micro_line_size mls Yg line step size when
in micro mode
- number_of_pins npins Yh numbers of pins in
+ number_of_pins npins Yh numbers of pins in
print-head
- output_res_char orc Yi horizontal resolu-
+ output_res_char orc Yi horizontal resolu-
tion in units per
line
- output_res_horz_inch orhi Yk horizontal resolu-
+ output_res_horz_inch orhi Yk horizontal resolu-
tion in units per
inch
- output_res_line orl Yj vertical resolution
+ output_res_line orl Yj vertical resolution
in units per line
- output_res_vert_inch orvi Yl vertical resolution
+ output_res_vert_inch orvi Yl vertical resolution
in units per inch
- print_rate cps Ym print rate in char-
+ print_rate cps Ym print rate in char-
acters per second
- wide_char_size widcs Yn character step size
+ wide_char_size widcs Yn character step size
when in double wide
mode
to #1
change_line_pitch lpi ZB Change number of
lines per inch to #1
+
change_res_horz chr ZC Change horizontal
resolution to #1
+
+
change_res_vert cvr ZD Change vertical res-
olution to #1
change_scroll_region csr cs change region to
home cursor (P*)
clr_bol el1 cb Clear to beginning
of line
-
-
clr_eol el ce clear to end of line
(P)
clr_eos ed cd clear to end of
prototype !?
create_window cwin CW define a window #1
from #2,#3 to #4,#5
- cursor_address cup cm move to row #1
- columns #2
+ cursor_address cup cm move to row #1 col-
+ umns #2
cursor_down cud1 do down one line
cursor_home home ho home cursor (if no
cup)
char set
enter_alt_charset_mode smacs as start alternate
character set (P)
+
enter_am_mode smam SA turn on automatic
margins
enter_blink_mode blink mb turn on blinking
+
+
enter_bold_mode bold md turn on bold (extra
bright) mode
enter_ca_mode smcup ti string to start pro-
enter_italics_mode sitm ZH Enter italic mode
enter_leftward_mode slm ZI Start leftward car-
riage motion
-
enter_micro_mode smicm ZJ Start micro-motion
mode
enter_near_letter_quality snlq ZK Enter NLQ mode
ter motion
exit_xon_mode rmxon RX turn off xon/xoff
handshaking
+
+
fixed_pause pause PA pause for 2-3 sec-
onds
flash_hook hook fh flash switch hook
string
init_2string is2 is initialization
string
-
init_3string is3 i3 initialization
string
init_file if if name of initializa-
key_f1 kf1 k1 F1 function key
key_f10 kf10 k; F10 function key
key_f11 kf11 F1 F11 function key
+
key_f12 kf12 F2 F12 function key
key_f13 kf13 F3 F13 function key
key_f14 kf14 F4 F14 function key
key_f22 kf22 FC F22 function key
key_f23 kf23 FD F23 function key
key_f24 kf24 FE F24 function key
-
key_f25 kf25 FF F25 function key
key_f26 kf26 FG F26 function key
key_f27 kf27 FH F27 function key
key_ic kich1 kI insert-character key
key_il kil1 kA insert-line key
key_left kcub1 kl left-arrow key
+
key_ll kll kH lower-left key (home
down)
key_mark kmrk %2 mark key
key_previous kprv %8 previous key
key_print kprt %9 print key
key_redo krdo %0 redo key
-
key_reference kref &1 reference key
key_refresh krfr &2 refresh key
key_replace krpl &3 replace key
board_transmit' mode
keypad_xmit smkx ks enter 'key-
board_transmit' mode
+
+
lab_f0 lf0 l0 label on function
key f0 if not f0
lab_f1 lf1 l1 label on function
key f3 if not f3
lab_f4 lf4 l4 label on function
key f4 if not f4
-
-
lab_f5 lf5 l5 label on function
key f5 if not f5
lab_f6 lf6 l6 label on function
to the left (P)
parm_left_micro mcub Zg Like parm_left_cur-
sor in micro mode
+
+
parm_right_cursor cuf RI move #1 characters
to the right (P*)
parm_right_micro mcuf Zh Like parm_right_cur-
in micro mode
pkey_key pfkey pk program function key
#1 to type string #2
-
-
pkey_local pfloc pl program function key
#1 to execute string
#2
pair to #1
set_foreground setf Sf Set foreground color
#1
+
+
set_left_margin smgl ML set left soft margin
at current column.
See smgl. (ML is not
umn
set_right_margin_parm smgrp Zn Set right margin at
column #1
-
set_tab hts st set a tab in every
row, current columns
set_top_margin smgt Zo Set top margin at
of same row
bit_image_newline binel Zz Move to next row
of the bit image
-
bit_image_repeat birep Xy Repeat bit image
cell #1 #2 times
char_set_names csnm Zy Produce #1'th item
multiple codesets
color_names colornm Yw Give name for
color #1
- define_bit_image_region defbi Yx Define rectan-
- gualar bit image
- region
+ define_bit_image_region defbi Yx Define rectangular
+ bit image region
device_type devt dv Indicate lan-
guage/codeset sup-
port
ANSI escape
set_color_band setcolor Yz Change to ribbon
color #1
+
set_lr_margin smglr ML Set both left and
right margins to
#1, #2. (ML is
cap).
set_page_length slines YZ Set page length to
#1 lines
-
set_tb_margin smgtb MT Sets both top and
bottom margins to
#1, #2
- The XSI Curses standard added these hardcopy capabili-
+ The XSI Curses standard added these hardcopy capabili-
ties. They were used in some post-4.1 versions of System
V curses, e.g., Solaris 2.5 and IRIX 6.x. Except for <STRONG>YI</STRONG>,
the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> termcap names for them are invented. Accord-
- ing to the XSI Curses standard, they have no termcap
+ ing to the XSI Curses standard, they have no termcap
names. If your compiled terminfo entries use these, they
- may not be binary-compatible with System V terminfo
+ may not be binary-compatible with System V terminfo
entries after SVr4.1; beware!
tations use sL for
termcap).
- <STRONG>A</STRONG> <STRONG>Sample</STRONG> <STRONG>Entry</STRONG>
+
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-User-Defined-Capabilities">User-Defined Capabilities</a></H3><PRE>
+ The preceding section listed the <EM>predefined</EM> capabilities.
+ They deal with some special features for terminals no
+ longer (or possibly never) produced. Occasionally there
+ are special features of newer terminals which are awkward
+ or impossible to represent by reusing the predefined capa-
+ bilities.
+
+ <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> addresses this limitation by allowing user-defined
+ capabilities. The <STRONG>tic</STRONG> and <STRONG>infocmp</STRONG> programs provide the <STRONG>-x</STRONG>
+ option for this purpose. When <STRONG>-x</STRONG> is set, <STRONG>tic</STRONG> treats
+ unknown capabilities as user-defined. That is, if <STRONG>tic</STRONG>
+ encounters a capability name which it does not recognize,
+ it infers its type (boolean, number or string) from the
+ syntax and makes an extended table entry for that capabil-
+ ity. The <STRONG><A HREF="curs_extend.3x.html">use_extended_names(3x)</A></STRONG> function makes this
+ information conditionally available to applications. The
+ ncurses library provides the data leaving most of the
+ behavior to applications:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> User-defined capability strings whose name begins with
+ "k" are treated as function keys.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The types (boolean, number, string) determined by <STRONG>tic</STRONG>
+ can be inferred by successful calls on <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG>, etc.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If the capability name happens to be two characters,
+ the capability is also available through the termcap
+ interface.
+
+ While termcap is said to be extensible because it does not
+ use a predefined set of capabilities, in practice it has
+ been limited to the capabilities defined by terminfo
+ implementations. As a rule, user-defined capabilities
+ intended for use by termcap applications should be limited
+ to booleans and numbers to avoid running past the 1023
+ byte limit assumed by termcap implementations and their
+ applications. In particular, providing extended sets of
+ function keys (past the 60 numbered keys and the handful
+ of special named keys) is best done using the longer names
+ available using terminfo.
+
+
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-A-Sample-Entry">A Sample Entry</a></H3><PRE>
The following entry, describing an ANSI-standard terminal,
is representative of what a <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> entry for a modern
terminal typically looks like.
- ansi|ansi/pc-term compatible with color,
- mc5i,
- colors#8, ncv#3, pairs#64,
- cub=\E[%p1%dD, cud=\E[%p1%dB, cuf=\E[%p1%dC,
- cuu=\E[%p1%dA, dch=\E[%p1%dP, dl=\E[%p1%dM,
- ech=\E[%p1%dX, el1=\E[1K, hpa=\E[%p1%dG, ht=\E[I,
- ich=\E[%p1%d@, il=\E[%p1%dL, indn=\E[%p1%dS, .indn=\E[%p1%dT,
- kbs=^H, kcbt=\E[Z, kcub1=\E[D, kcud1=\E[B,
- kcuf1=\E[C, kcuu1=\E[A, kf1=\E[M, kf10=\E[V,
- kf11=\E[W, kf12=\E[X, kf2=\E[N, kf3=\E[O, kf4=\E[P,
- kf5=\E[Q, kf6=\E[R, kf7=\E[S, kf8=\E[T, kf9=\E[U,
- kich1=\E[L, mc4=\E[4i, mc5=\E[5i, nel=\r\E[S,
- op=\E[37;40m, rep=%p1%c\E[%p2%{1}%-%db,
- rin=\E[%p1%dT, s0ds=\E(B, s1ds=\E)B, s2ds=\E*B,
- s3ds=\E+B, setab=\E[4%p1%dm, setaf=\E[3%p1%dm,
- setb=\E[4%?%p1%{1}%=%t4%e%p1%{3}%=%t6%e%p1%{4}%=%t1%e%p1%{6}%=%t3%e%p1%d%;m,
- setf=\E[3%?%p1%{1}%=%t4%e%p1%{3}%=%t6%e%p1%{4}%=%t1%e%p1%{6}%=%t3%e%p1%d%;m,
- sgr=\E[0;10%?%p1%t;7%;%?%p2%t;4%;%?%p3%t;7%;%?%p4%t;5%;%?%p6%t;1%;%?%p7%t;8%;%?%p8%t;11%;%?%p9%t;12%;m,
- sgr0=\E[0;10m, tbc=\E[2g, u6=\E[%d;%dR, u7=\E[6n,
- u8=\E[?%[;0123456789]c, u9=\E[c, vpa=\E[%p1%dd,
+ ansi|ansi/pc-term compatible with color,
+ am, mc5i, mir, msgr,
+ colors#8, cols#80, it#8, lines#24, ncv#3, pairs#64,
+ acsc=+\020\,\021-\030.^Y0\333`\004a\261f\370g\361h\260
+ j\331k\277l\332m\300n\305o~p\304q\304r\304s_t\303
+ u\264v\301w\302x\263y\363z\362{\343|\330}\234~\376,
+ bel=^G, blink=\E[5m, bold=\E[1m, cbt=\E[Z, clear=\E[H\E[J,
+ cr=^M, cub=\E[%p1%dD, cub1=\E[D, cud=\E[%p1%dB, cud1=\E[B,
+ cuf=\E[%p1%dC, cuf1=\E[C, cup=\E[%i%p1%d;%p2%dH,
+ cuu=\E[%p1%dA, cuu1=\E[A, dch=\E[%p1%dP, dch1=\E[P,
+ dl=\E[%p1%dM, dl1=\E[M, ech=\E[%p1%dX, ed=\E[J, el=\E[K,
+ el1=\E[1K, home=\E[H, hpa=\E[%i%p1%dG, ht=\E[I, hts=\EH,
+ ich=\E[%p1%d@, il=\E[%p1%dL, il1=\E[L, ind=^J,
+ indn=\E[%p1%dS, invis=\E[8m, kbs=^H, kcbt=\E[Z, kcub1=\E[D,
+ kcud1=\E[B, kcuf1=\E[C, kcuu1=\E[A, khome=\E[H, kich1=\E[L,
+ mc4=\E[4i, mc5=\E[5i, nel=\r\E[S, op=\E[39;49m,
+ rep=%p1%c\E[%p2%{1}%-%db, rev=\E[7m, rin=\E[%p1%dT,
+ rmacs=\E[10m, rmpch=\E[10m, rmso=\E[m, rmul=\E[m,
+ s0ds=\E(B, s1ds=\E)B, s2ds=\E*B, s3ds=\E+B,
+ setab=\E[4%p1%dm, setaf=\E[3%p1%dm,
+ sgr=\E[0;10%?%p1%t;7%;
+ %?%p2%t;4%;
+ %?%p3%t;7%;
+ %?%p4%t;5%;
+ %?%p6%t;1%;
+ %?%p7%t;8%;
+ %?%p9%t;11%;m,
+ sgr0=\E[0;10m, smacs=\E[11m, smpch=\E[11m, smso=\E[7m,
+ smul=\E[4m, tbc=\E[3g, u6=\E[%i%d;%dR, u7=\E[6n,
+ u8=\E[?%[;0123456789]c, u9=\E[c, vpa=\E[%i%p1%dd,
Entries may continue onto multiple lines by placing white
space at the beginning of each line except the first.
- Comments may be included on lines beginning with ``#''.
- Capabilities in <EM>terminfo</EM> are of three types: Boolean capa-
- bilities which indicate that the terminal has some partic-
- ular feature, numeric capabilities giving the size of the
- terminal or the size of particular delays, and string
- capabilities, which give a sequence which can be used to
- perform particular terminal operations.
+ Comments may be included on lines beginning with "#".
+ Capabilities in <EM>terminfo</EM> are of three types:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Boolean capabilities which indicate that the terminal
+ has some particular feature,
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> numeric capabilities giving the size of the terminal
+ or the size of particular delays, and
- <STRONG>Types</STRONG> <STRONG>of</STRONG> <STRONG>Capabilities</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> string capabilities, which give a sequence which can
+ be used to perform particular terminal operations.
+
+
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Types-of-Capabilities">Types of Capabilities</a></H3><PRE>
All capabilities have names. For instance, the fact that
ANSI-standard terminals have <EM>automatic</EM> <EM>margins</EM> (i.e., an
automatic return and line-feed when the end of a line is
reached) is indicated by the capability <STRONG>am</STRONG>. Hence the
description of ansi includes <STRONG>am</STRONG>. Numeric capabilities are
- followed by the character `#' and then a positive value.
+ followed by the character "#" and then a positive value.
Thus <STRONG>cols</STRONG>, which indicates the number of columns the ter-
- minal has, gives the value `80' for ansi. Values for
+ minal has, gives the value "80" for ansi. Values for
numeric capabilities may be specified in decimal, octal or
hexadecimal, using the C programming language conventions
(e.g., 255, 0377 and 0xff or 0xFF).
Finally, string valued capabilities, such as <STRONG>el</STRONG> (clear to
end of line sequence) are given by the two-character code,
- an `=', and then a string ending at the next following
- `,'.
+ an "=", and then a string ending at the next following
+ ",".
A number of escape sequences are provided in the string
- valued capabilities for easy encoding of characters there.
- Both <STRONG>\E</STRONG> and <STRONG>\e</STRONG> map to an ESCAPE character, <STRONG>^x</STRONG> maps to a
- control-x for any appropriate x, and the sequences <STRONG>\n</STRONG> <STRONG>\l</STRONG>
- <STRONG>\r</STRONG> <STRONG>\t</STRONG> <STRONG>\b</STRONG> <STRONG>\f</STRONG> <STRONG>\s</STRONG> give a newline, line-feed, return, tab,
- backspace, form-feed, and space. Other escapes include <STRONG>\^</STRONG>
- for <STRONG>^</STRONG>, <STRONG>\\</STRONG> for <STRONG>\</STRONG>, <STRONG>\</STRONG>, for comma, <STRONG>\:</STRONG> for <STRONG>:</STRONG>, and <STRONG>\0</STRONG> for null.
- (<STRONG>\0</STRONG> will produce \200, which does not terminate a string
- but behaves as a null character on most terminals, provid-
- ing CS7 is specified. See <STRONG><A HREF="stty.1.html">stty(1)</A></STRONG>.) Finally, characters
- may be given as three octal digits after a <STRONG>\</STRONG>.
-
- A delay in milliseconds may appear anywhere in a string
- capability, enclosed in $<..> brackets, as in <STRONG>el</STRONG>=\EK$<5>,
- and padding characters are supplied by <EM>tputs</EM> to provide
- this delay. The delay must be a number with at most one
- decimal place of precision; it may be followed by suffixes
- `*' or '/' or both. A `*' indicates that the padding
- required is proportional to the number of lines affected
- by the operation, and the amount given is the per-
- affected-unit padding required. (In the case of insert
- character, the factor is still the number of <EM>lines</EM>
- affected.) Normally, padding is advisory if the device
- has the <STRONG>xon</STRONG> capability; it is used for cost computation
- but does not trigger delays. A `/' suffix indicates that
- the padding is mandatory and forces a delay of the given
- number of milliseconds even on devices for which <STRONG>xon</STRONG> is
- present to indicate flow control.
+ valued capabilities for easy encoding of characters there:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Both <STRONG>\E</STRONG> and <STRONG>\e</STRONG> map to an ESCAPE character,
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>^x</STRONG> maps to a control-x for any appropriate <EM>x</EM>, and
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> the sequences
+
+ <STRONG>\n</STRONG>, <STRONG>\l</STRONG>, <STRONG>\r</STRONG>, <STRONG>\t</STRONG>, <STRONG>\b</STRONG>, <STRONG>\f</STRONG>, and <STRONG>\s</STRONG>
+
+ produce
+
+ <EM>newline</EM>, <EM>line-feed</EM>, <EM>return</EM>, <EM>tab</EM>, <EM>backspace</EM>, <EM>form-</EM>
+ <EM>feed</EM>, and <EM>space</EM>,
+
+ respectively.
+
+ X/Open Curses does not say what "appropriate <EM>x</EM>" might be.
+ In practice, that is a printable ASCII graphic character.
+ The special case "^?" is interpreted as DEL (127). In all
+ other cases, the character value is AND'd with 0x1f, map-
+ ping to ASCII control codes in the range 0 through 31.
+
+ Other escapes include
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>\^</STRONG> for <STRONG>^</STRONG>,
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>\\</STRONG> for <STRONG>\</STRONG>,
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>\</STRONG>, for comma,
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>\:</STRONG> for <STRONG>:</STRONG>,
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> and <STRONG>\0</STRONG> for null.
+
+ <STRONG>\0</STRONG> will produce \200, which does not terminate a
+ string but behaves as a null character on most termi-
+ nals, providing CS7 is specified. See <STRONG>stty(1)</STRONG>.
+
+ The reason for this quirk is to maintain binary com-
+ patibility of the compiled terminfo files with other
+ implementations, e.g., the SVr4 systems, which docu-
+ ment this. Compiled terminfo files use null-termi-
+ nated strings, with no lengths. Modifying this would
+ require a new binary format, which would not work with
+ other implementations.
+
+ Finally, characters may be given as three octal digits
+ after a <STRONG>\</STRONG>.
+
+ A delay in milliseconds may appear anywhere in a string
+ capability, enclosed in $<..> brackets, as in <STRONG>el</STRONG>=\EK$<5>,
+ and padding characters are supplied by <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">tputs(3x)</A></STRONG> to pro-
+ vide this delay.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The delay must be a number with at most one decimal
+ place of precision; it may be followed by suffixes "*"
+ or "/" or both.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> A "*" indicates that the padding required is propor-
+ tional to the number of lines affected by the opera-
+ tion, and the amount given is the per-affected-unit
+ padding required. (In the case of insert character,
+ the factor is still the number of <EM>lines</EM> affected.)
+
+ Normally, padding is advisory if the device has the
+ <STRONG>xon</STRONG> capability; it is used for cost computation but
+ does not trigger delays.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> A "/" suffix indicates that the padding is mandatory
+ and forces a delay of the given number of milliseconds
+ even on devices for which <STRONG>xon</STRONG> is present to indicate
+ flow control.
Sometimes individual capabilities must be commented out.
To do this, put a period before the capability name. For
example, see the second <STRONG>ind</STRONG> in the example above.
- <STRONG>Fetching</STRONG> <STRONG>Compiled</STRONG> <STRONG>Descriptions</STRONG>
- If the environment variable TERMINFO is set, it is inter-
- preted as the pathname of a directory containing the com-
- piled description you are working on. Only that directory
- is searched.
-
- If TERMINFO is not set, the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> version of the ter-
- minfo reader code will instead look in the directory
- <STRONG>$HOME/.terminfo</STRONG> for a compiled description. If it fails
- to find one there, and the environment variable TER-
- MINFO_DIRS is set, it will interpret the contents of that
- variable as a list of colon- separated directories (or
- database files) to be searched (an empty entry is inter-
- preted as a command to search <EM>/usr/share/terminfo</EM>). If no
- description is found in any of the TERMINFO_DIRS directo-
- ries, the fetch fails.
-
- If neither TERMINFO nor TERMINFO_DIRS is set, the last
- place tried will be the system terminfo directory,
- <EM>/usr/share/terminfo</EM>.
-
- (Neither the <STRONG>$HOME/.terminfo</STRONG> lookups nor TERMINFO_DIRS
- extensions are supported under stock System V ter-
- minfo/curses.)
-
-
- <STRONG>Preparing</STRONG> <STRONG>Descriptions</STRONG>
- We now outline how to prepare descriptions of terminals.
- The most effective way to prepare a terminal description
- is by imitating the description of a similar terminal in
- <EM>terminfo</EM> and to build up a description gradually, using
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Fetching-Compiled-Descriptions">Fetching Compiled Descriptions</a></H3><PRE>
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library searches for terminal descriptions in
+ several places. It uses only the first description found.
+ The library has a compiled-in list of places to search
+ which can be overridden by environment variables. Before
+ starting to search, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> eliminates duplicates in its
+ search list.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If the environment variable TERMINFO is set, it is
+ interpreted as the pathname of a directory containing
+ the compiled description you are working on. Only
+ that directory is searched.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If TERMINFO is not set, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> will instead look in
+ the directory <STRONG>$HOME/.terminfo</STRONG> for a compiled descrip-
+ tion.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Next, if the environment variable TERMINFO_DIRS is
+ set, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> will interpret the contents of that vari-
+ able as a list of colon-separated directories (or
+ database files) to be searched.
+
+ An empty directory name (i.e., if the variable begins
+ or ends with a colon, or contains adjacent colons) is
+ interpreted as the system location <EM>/usr/share/ter-</EM>
+ <EM>minfo</EM>.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Finally, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> searches these compiled-in locations:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> a list of directories
+ (/usr/local/ncurses/share/terminfo:/usr/share/ter-
+ minfo), and
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> the system terminfo directory, <EM>/usr/share/terminfo</EM>
+ (the compiled-in default).
+
+
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Preparing-Descriptions">Preparing Descriptions</a></H3><PRE>
+ We now outline how to prepare descriptions of terminals.
+ The most effective way to prepare a terminal description
+ is by imitating the description of a similar terminal in
+ <EM>terminfo</EM> and to build up a description gradually, using
partial descriptions with <EM>vi</EM> or some other screen-oriented
- program to check that they are correct. Be aware that a
+ program to check that they are correct. Be aware that a
very unusual terminal may expose deficiencies in the abil-
- ity of the <EM>terminfo</EM> file to describe it or bugs in the
+ ity of the <EM>terminfo</EM> file to describe it or bugs in the
screen-handling code of the test program.
- To get the padding for insert line right (if the terminal
+ To get the padding for insert line right (if the terminal
manufacturer did not document it) a severe test is to edit
- a large file at 9600 baud, delete 16 or so lines from the
- middle of the screen, then hit the `u' key several times
- quickly. If the terminal messes up, more padding is usu-
- ally needed. A similar test can be used for insert char-
+ a large file at 9600 baud, delete 16 or so lines from the
+ middle of the screen, then hit the "u" key several times
+ quickly. If the terminal messes up, more padding is usu-
+ ally needed. A similar test can be used for insert char-
acter.
- <STRONG>Basic</STRONG> <STRONG>Capabilities</STRONG>
- The number of columns on each line for the terminal is
- given by the <STRONG>cols</STRONG> numeric capability. If the terminal is
- a CRT, then the number of lines on the screen is given by
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Basic-Capabilities">Basic Capabilities</a></H3><PRE>
+ The number of columns on each line for the terminal is
+ given by the <STRONG>cols</STRONG> numeric capability. If the terminal is
+ a CRT, then the number of lines on the screen is given by
the <STRONG>lines</STRONG> capability. If the terminal wraps around to the
- beginning of the next line when it reaches the right mar-
+ beginning of the next line when it reaches the right mar-
gin, then it should have the <STRONG>am</STRONG> capability. If the termi-
- nal can clear its screen, leaving the cursor in the home
- position, then this is given by the <STRONG>clear</STRONG> string capabil-
- ity. If the terminal overstrikes (rather than clearing a
- position when a character is struck over) then it should
- have the <STRONG>os</STRONG> capability. If the terminal is a printing
- terminal, with no soft copy unit, give it both <STRONG>hc</STRONG> and <STRONG>os</STRONG>.
- (<STRONG>os</STRONG> applies to storage scope terminals, such as TEKTRONIX
- 4010 series, as well as hard copy and APL terminals.) If
+ nal can clear its screen, leaving the cursor in the home
+ position, then this is given by the <STRONG>clear</STRONG> string capabil-
+ ity. If the terminal overstrikes (rather than clearing a
+ position when a character is struck over) then it should
+ have the <STRONG>os</STRONG> capability. If the terminal is a printing
+ terminal, with no soft copy unit, give it both <STRONG>hc</STRONG> and <STRONG>os</STRONG>.
+ (<STRONG>os</STRONG> applies to storage scope terminals, such as TEKTRONIX
+ 4010 series, as well as hard copy and APL terminals.) If
there is a code to move the cursor to the left edge of the
current row, give this as <STRONG>cr</STRONG>. (Normally this will be car-
- riage return, control M.) If there is a code to produce
+ riage return, control M.) If there is a code to produce
an audible signal (bell, beep, etc) give this as <STRONG>bel</STRONG>.
- If there is a code to move the cursor one position to the
- left (such as backspace) that capability should be given
- as <STRONG>cub1</STRONG>. Similarly, codes to move to the right, up, and
+ If there is a code to move the cursor one position to the
+ left (such as backspace) that capability should be given
+ as <STRONG>cub1</STRONG>. Similarly, codes to move to the right, up, and
down should be given as <STRONG>cuf1</STRONG>, <STRONG>cuu1</STRONG>, and <STRONG>cud1</STRONG>. These local
- cursor motions should not alter the text they pass over,
- for example, you would not normally use `<STRONG>cuf1</STRONG>= ' because
+ cursor motions should not alter the text they pass over,
+ for example, you would not normally use "<STRONG>cuf1</STRONG>= " because
the space would erase the character moved over.
- A very important point here is that the local cursor
- motions encoded in <EM>terminfo</EM> are undefined at the left and
- top edges of a CRT terminal. Programs should never
- attempt to backspace around the left edge, unless <STRONG>bw</STRONG> is
+ A very important point here is that the local cursor
+ motions encoded in <EM>terminfo</EM> are undefined at the left and
+ top edges of a CRT terminal. Programs should never
+ attempt to backspace around the left edge, unless <STRONG>bw</STRONG> is
given, and never attempt to go up locally off the top. In
- order to scroll text up, a program will go to the bottom
+ order to scroll text up, a program will go to the bottom
left corner of the screen and send the <STRONG>ind</STRONG> (index) string.
To scroll text down, a program goes to the top left corner
described as
33|tty33|tty|model 33 teletype,
- bel=^G, cols#72, cr=^M, cud1=^J, hc, ind=^J, os,
+ bel=^G, cols#72, cr=^M, cud1=^J, hc, ind=^J, os,
while the Lear Siegler ADM-3 is described as
adm3|3|lsi adm3,
- am, bel=^G, clear=^Z, cols#80, cr=^M, cub1=^H, cud1=^J,
- ind=^J, lines#24,
+ am, bel=^G, clear=^Z, cols#80, cr=^M, cub1=^H, cud1=^J,
+ ind=^J, lines#24,
- <STRONG>Parameterized</STRONG> <STRONG>Strings</STRONG>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Parameterized-Strings">Parameterized Strings</a></H3><PRE>
Cursor addressing and other strings requiring parameters
in the terminal are described by a parameterized string
- capability, with <STRONG><A HREF="printf.3.html">printf(3)</A></STRONG> like escapes <STRONG>%x</STRONG> in it. For
- example, to address the cursor, the <STRONG>cup</STRONG> capability is
+ capability, with <EM>printf</EM>-like escapes such as <EM>%x</EM> in it.
+ For example, to address the cursor, the <STRONG>cup</STRONG> capability is
given, using two parameters: the row and column to address
to. (Rows and columns are numbered from zero and refer to
the physical screen visible to the user, not to any unseen
The <STRONG>%</STRONG> encodings have the following meanings:
+ <STRONG>%%</STRONG> outputs "%"
- %% outputs `%'
-
- %<EM>[[</EM>:<EM>]flags][width[.precision]][</EM>doxXs<EM>]</EM>
- as in <STRONG>printf</STRONG>, flags are [-+#] and space. Use a `:'
- to allow the next character to be a `-' flag, avoid-
+ <STRONG>%</STRONG><EM>[[</EM>:<EM>]flags][width[.precision]][</EM><STRONG>doxXs</STRONG><EM>]</EM>
+ as in <STRONG>printf</STRONG>, flags are <EM>[-+#]</EM> and <EM>space</EM>. Use a ":"
+ to allow the next character to be a "-" flag, avoid-
ing interpreting "%-" as an operator.
- %c print pop() like %c in <STRONG>printf</STRONG>
+ %c print <EM>pop()</EM> like %c in <STRONG>printf</STRONG>
- %s print pop() like %s in <STRONG>printf</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>%s</STRONG> print <EM>pop()</EM> like %s in <STRONG>printf</STRONG>
- %p[1-9]
+ <STRONG>%p</STRONG><EM>[1-9]</EM>
push <EM>i</EM>'th parameter
- %P[a-z]
- set dynamic variable [a-z] to pop()
+ <STRONG>%P</STRONG><EM>[a-z]</EM>
+ set dynamic variable <EM>[a-z]</EM> to <EM>pop()</EM>
- %g[a-z]
- get dynamic variable [a-z] and push it
+ <STRONG>%g</STRONG><EM>[a-z]/</EM>
+ get dynamic variable <EM>[a-z]</EM> and push it
- %P[A-Z]
- set static variable [a-z] to pop()
+ <STRONG>%P</STRONG><EM>[A-Z]</EM>
+ set static variable <EM>[a-z]</EM> to <EM>pop()</EM>
- %g[A-Z]
- get static variable [a-z] and push it
+ <STRONG>%g</STRONG><EM>[A-Z]</EM>
+ get static variable <EM>[a-z]</EM> and push it
The terms "static" and "dynamic" are misleading.
Historically, these are simply two different sets of
variables, whose values are not reset between calls
- to <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>. However, that fact is not documented in
- other implementations. Relying on it will adversely
- impact portability to other implementations.
+ to <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">tparm(3x)</A></STRONG>. However, that fact is not documented
+ in other implementations. Relying on it will
+ adversely impact portability to other implementa-
+ tions.
- %'<EM>c</EM>' char constant <EM>c</EM>
+ <STRONG>%'</STRONG><EM>c</EM><STRONG>'</STRONG> char constant <EM>c</EM>
- %{<EM>nn</EM>}
+ <STRONG>%{</STRONG><EM>nn</EM><STRONG>}</STRONG>
integer constant <EM>nn</EM>
- %l push strlen(pop)
+ <STRONG>%l</STRONG> push strlen(pop)
- %+ %- %* %/ %m
- arithmetic (%m is mod): push(pop() op pop())
+ <STRONG>%+</STRONG>, <STRONG>%-</STRONG>, <STRONG>%*</STRONG>, <STRONG>%/</STRONG>, <STRONG>%m</STRONG>
+ arithmetic (%m is <EM>mod</EM>): <EM>push(pop()</EM> <EM>op</EM> <EM>pop())</EM>
- %& %| %^
- bit operations (AND, OR and exclusive-OR): push(pop()
- op pop())
+ <STRONG>%&</STRONG>, <STRONG>%|</STRONG>, <STRONG>%^</STRONG>
+ bit operations (AND, OR and exclusive-OR): <EM>push(pop()</EM>
+ <EM>op</EM> <EM>pop())</EM>
- %= %> %<
- logical operations: push(pop() op pop())
+ <STRONG>%=</STRONG>, <STRONG>%></STRONG>, <STRONG>%<</STRONG>
+ logical operations: <EM>push(pop()</EM> <EM>op</EM> <EM>pop())</EM>
- %A, %O
+ <STRONG>%A</STRONG>, <STRONG>%O</STRONG>
logical AND and OR operations (for conditionals)
- %! %~
- unary operations (logical and bit complement):
- push(op pop())
+ <STRONG>%!</STRONG>, <STRONG>%~</STRONG>
+ unary operations (logical and bit complement):
+ <EM>push(op</EM> <EM>pop())</EM>
- %i add 1 to first two parameters (for ANSI terminals)
+ <STRONG>%i</STRONG> add 1 to first two parameters (for ANSI terminals)
- %? <EM>expr</EM> %t <EM>thenpart</EM> %e <EM>elsepart</EM> %;
- This forms an if-then-else. The %e <EM>elsepart</EM> is
- optional. Usually the %? <EM>expr</EM> part pushes a value
- onto the stack, and %t pops it from the stack, test-
- ing if it is nonzero (true). If it is zero (false),
- control passes to the %e (else) part.
+ <STRONG>%?</STRONG> <EM>expr</EM> <STRONG>%t</STRONG> <EM>thenpart</EM> <STRONG>%e</STRONG> <EM>elsepart</EM> <STRONG>%;</STRONG>
+ This forms an if-then-else. The <STRONG>%e</STRONG> <EM>elsepart</EM> is
+ optional. Usually the <STRONG>%?</STRONG> <EM>expr</EM> part pushes a value
+ onto the stack, and <STRONG>%t</STRONG> pops it from the stack, test-
+ ing if it is nonzero (true). If it is zero (false),
+ control passes to the <STRONG>%e</STRONG> (else) part.
It is possible to form else-if's a la Algol 68:
- %? c1 %t b1 %e c2 %t b2 %e c3 %t b3 %e c4 %t b4 %e %;
+ <STRONG>%?</STRONG> c1 <STRONG>%t</STRONG> b1 <STRONG>%e</STRONG> c2 <STRONG>%t</STRONG> b2 <STRONG>%e</STRONG> c3 <STRONG>%t</STRONG> b3 <STRONG>%e</STRONG> c4 <STRONG>%t</STRONG> b4 <STRONG>%e</STRONG> <STRONG>%;</STRONG>
where ci are conditions, bi are bodies.
Binary operations are in postfix form with the operands in
the usual order. That is, to get x-5 one would use
- "%gx%{5}%-". %P and %g variables are persistent across
+ "%gx%{5}%-". <STRONG>%P</STRONG> and <STRONG>%g</STRONG> variables are persistent across
escape-string evaluations.
Consider the HP2645, which, to get to row 3 and column 12,
its. Thus its <STRONG>cup</STRONG> capability is "cup=6\E&%p2%2dc%p1%2dY".
The Microterm ACT-IV needs the current row and column sent
- preceded by a <STRONG>^T</STRONG>, with the row and column simply encoded
- in binary, "cup=^T%p1%c%p2%c". Terminals which use "%c"
- need to be able to backspace the cursor (<STRONG>cub1</STRONG>), and to
+ preceded by a <STRONG>^T</STRONG>, with the row and column simply encoded
+ in binary, "cup=^T%p1%c%p2%c". Terminals which use "%c"
+ need to be able to backspace the cursor (<STRONG>cub1</STRONG>), and to
move the cursor up one line on the screen (<STRONG>cuu1</STRONG>). This is
- necessary because it is not always safe to transmit <STRONG>\n</STRONG> <STRONG>^D</STRONG>
- and <STRONG>\r</STRONG>, as the system may change or discard them. (The
- library routines dealing with terminfo set tty modes so
+ necessary because it is not always safe to transmit <STRONG>\n</STRONG> <STRONG>^D</STRONG>
+ and <STRONG>\r</STRONG>, as the system may change or discard them. (The
+ library routines dealing with terminfo set tty modes so
that tabs are never expanded, so \t is safe to send. This
turns out to be essential for the Ann Arbor 4080.)
A final example is the LSI ADM-3a, which uses row and col-
umn offset by a blank character, thus "cup=\E=%p1%'
- '%+%c%p2%' '%+%c". After sending `\E=', this pushes the
- first parameter, pushes the ASCII value for a space (32),
- adds them (pushing the sum on the stack in place of the
- two previous values) and outputs that value as a charac-
- ter. Then the same is done for the second parameter.
+ '%+%c%p2%' '%+%c". After sending "\E=", this pushes the
+ first parameter, pushes the ASCII value for a space (32),
+ adds them (pushing the sum on the stack in place of the
+ two previous values) and outputs that value as a charac-
+ ter. Then the same is done for the second parameter.
More complex arithmetic is possible using the stack.
- <STRONG>Cursor</STRONG> <STRONG>Motions</STRONG>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Cursor-Motions">Cursor Motions</a></H3><PRE>
If the terminal has a fast way to home the cursor (to very
- upper left corner of screen) then this can be given as
- <STRONG>home</STRONG>; similarly a fast way of getting to the lower left-
- hand corner can be given as <STRONG>ll</STRONG>; this may involve going up
- with <STRONG>cuu1</STRONG> from the home position, but a program should
- never do this itself (unless <STRONG>ll</STRONG> does) because it can make
- no assumption about the effect of moving up from the home
- position. Note that the home position is the same as
+ upper left corner of screen) then this can be given as
+ <STRONG>home</STRONG>; similarly a fast way of getting to the lower left-
+ hand corner can be given as <STRONG>ll</STRONG>; this may involve going up
+ with <STRONG>cuu1</STRONG> from the home position, but a program should
+ never do this itself (unless <STRONG>ll</STRONG> does) because it can make
+ no assumption about the effect of moving up from the home
+ position. Note that the home position is the same as
addressing to (0,0): to the top left corner of the screen,
- not of memory. (Thus, the \EH sequence on HP terminals
+ not of memory. (Thus, the \EH sequence on HP terminals
cannot be used for <STRONG>home</STRONG>.)
If the terminal has row or column absolute cursor address-
- ing, these can be given as single parameter capabilities
+ ing, these can be given as single parameter capabilities
<STRONG>hpa</STRONG> (horizontal position absolute) and <STRONG>vpa</STRONG> (vertical posi-
tion absolute). Sometimes these are shorter than the more
- general two parameter sequence (as with the hp2645) and
+ general two parameter sequence (as with the hp2645) and
can be used in preference to <STRONG>cup</STRONG>. If there are parameter-
- ized local motions (e.g., move <EM>n</EM> spaces to the right)
+ ized local motions (e.g., move <EM>n</EM> spaces to the right)
these can be given as <STRONG>cud</STRONG>, <STRONG>cub</STRONG>, <STRONG>cuf</STRONG>, and <STRONG>cuu</STRONG> with a single
- parameter indicating how many spaces to move. These are
- primarily useful if the terminal does not have <STRONG>cup</STRONG>, such
+ parameter indicating how many spaces to move. These are
+ primarily useful if the terminal does not have <STRONG>cup</STRONG>, such
as the TEKTRONIX 4025.
If the terminal needs to be in a special mode when running
a program that uses these capabilities, the codes to enter
- and exit this mode can be given as <STRONG>smcup</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmcup</STRONG>. This
- arises, for example, from terminals like the Concept with
- more than one page of memory. If the terminal has only
- memory relative cursor addressing and not screen relative
+ and exit this mode can be given as <STRONG>smcup</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmcup</STRONG>. This
+ arises, for example, from terminals like the Concept with
+ more than one page of memory. If the terminal has only
+ memory relative cursor addressing and not screen relative
cursor addressing, a one screen-sized window must be fixed
- into the terminal for cursor addressing to work properly.
+ into the terminal for cursor addressing to work properly.
This is also used for the TEKTRONIX 4025, where <STRONG>smcup</STRONG> sets
- the command character to be the one used by terminfo. If
- the <STRONG>smcup</STRONG> sequence will not restore the screen after an
+ the command character to be the one used by terminfo. If
+ the <STRONG>smcup</STRONG> sequence will not restore the screen after an
<STRONG>rmcup</STRONG> sequence is output (to the state prior to outputting
<STRONG>rmcup</STRONG>), specify <STRONG>nrrmc</STRONG>.
- <STRONG>Area</STRONG> <STRONG>Clears</STRONG>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Area-Clears">Area Clears</a></H3><PRE>
If the terminal can clear from the current position to the
- end of the line, leaving the cursor where it is, this
+ end of the line, leaving the cursor where it is, this
should be given as <STRONG>el</STRONG>. If the terminal can clear from the
- beginning of the line to the current position inclusive,
- leaving the cursor where it is, this should be given as
- <STRONG>el1</STRONG>. If the terminal can clear from the current position
- to the end of the display, then this should be given as
- <STRONG>ed</STRONG>. <STRONG>Ed</STRONG> is only defined from the first column of a line.
- (Thus, it can be simulated by a request to delete a large
+ beginning of the line to the current position inclusive,
+ leaving the cursor where it is, this should be given as
+ <STRONG>el1</STRONG>. If the terminal can clear from the current position
+ to the end of the display, then this should be given as
+ <STRONG>ed</STRONG>. <STRONG>Ed</STRONG> is only defined from the first column of a line.
+ (Thus, it can be simulated by a request to delete a large
number of lines, if a true <STRONG>ed</STRONG> is not available.)
- <STRONG>Insert/delete</STRONG> <STRONG>line</STRONG> <STRONG>and</STRONG> <STRONG>vertical</STRONG> <STRONG>motions</STRONG>
- If the terminal can open a new blank line before the line
- where the cursor is, this should be given as <STRONG>il1</STRONG>; this is
- done only from the first position of a line. The cursor
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Insert_delete-line-and-vertical-motions">Insert/delete line and vertical motions</a></H3><PRE>
+ If the terminal can open a new blank line before the line
+ where the cursor is, this should be given as <STRONG>il1</STRONG>; this is
+ done only from the first position of a line. The cursor
must then appear on the newly blank line. If the terminal
- can delete the line which the cursor is on, then this
- should be given as <STRONG>dl1</STRONG>; this is done only from the first
- position on the line to be deleted. Versions of <STRONG>il1</STRONG> and
- <STRONG>dl1</STRONG> which take a single parameter and insert or delete
+ can delete the line which the cursor is on, then this
+ should be given as <STRONG>dl1</STRONG>; this is done only from the first
+ position on the line to be deleted. Versions of <STRONG>il1</STRONG> and
+ <STRONG>dl1</STRONG> which take a single parameter and insert or delete
that many lines can be given as <STRONG>il</STRONG> and <STRONG>dl</STRONG>.
- If the terminal has a settable scrolling region (like the
- vt100) the command to set this can be described with the
- <STRONG>csr</STRONG> capability, which takes two parameters: the top and
+ If the terminal has a settable scrolling region (like the
+ vt100) the command to set this can be described with the
+ <STRONG>csr</STRONG> capability, which takes two parameters: the top and
bottom lines of the scrolling region. The cursor position
is, alas, undefined after using this command.
- It is possible to get the effect of insert or delete line
+ It is possible to get the effect of insert or delete line
using <STRONG>csr</STRONG> on a properly chosen region; the <STRONG>sc</STRONG> and <STRONG>rc</STRONG> (save
- and restore cursor) commands may be useful for ensuring
- that your synthesized insert/delete string does not move
- the cursor. (Note that the <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG> library does this
- synthesis automatically, so you need not compose
+ and restore cursor) commands may be useful for ensuring
+ that your synthesized insert/delete string does not move
+ the cursor. (Note that the <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG> library does this
+ synthesis automatically, so you need not compose
insert/delete strings for an entry with <STRONG>csr</STRONG>).
Yet another way to construct insert and delete might be to
- use a combination of index with the memory-lock feature
- found on some terminals (like the HP-700/90 series, which
+ use a combination of index with the memory-lock feature
+ found on some terminals (like the HP-700/90 series, which
however also has insert/delete).
- Inserting lines at the top or bottom of the screen can
- also be done using <STRONG>ri</STRONG> or <STRONG>ind</STRONG> on many terminals without a
- true insert/delete line, and is often faster even on ter-
+ Inserting lines at the top or bottom of the screen can
+ also be done using <STRONG>ri</STRONG> or <STRONG>ind</STRONG> on many terminals without a
+ true insert/delete line, and is often faster even on ter-
minals with those features.
- The boolean <STRONG>non_dest_scroll_region</STRONG> should be set if each
- scrolling window is effectively a view port on a screen-
- sized canvas. To test for this capability, create a
- scrolling region in the middle of the screen, write some-
- thing to the bottom line, move the cursor to the top of
+ The boolean <STRONG>non_dest_scroll_region</STRONG> should be set if each
+ scrolling window is effectively a view port on a screen-
+ sized canvas. To test for this capability, create a
+ scrolling region in the middle of the screen, write some-
+ thing to the bottom line, move the cursor to the top of
the region, and do <STRONG>ri</STRONG> followed by <STRONG>dl1</STRONG> or <STRONG>ind</STRONG>. If the data
- scrolled off the bottom of the region by the <STRONG>ri</STRONG> re-
- appears, then scrolling is non-destructive. System V and
- XSI Curses expect that <STRONG>ind</STRONG>, <STRONG>ri</STRONG>, <STRONG>indn</STRONG>, and <STRONG>rin</STRONG> will simu-
- late destructive scrolling; their documentation cautions
- you not to define <STRONG>csr</STRONG> unless this is true. This <STRONG>curses</STRONG>
+ scrolled off the bottom of the region by the <STRONG>ri</STRONG> re-
+ appears, then scrolling is non-destructive. System V and
+ XSI Curses expect that <STRONG>ind</STRONG>, <STRONG>ri</STRONG>, <STRONG>indn</STRONG>, and <STRONG>rin</STRONG> will simu-
+ late destructive scrolling; their documentation cautions
+ you not to define <STRONG>csr</STRONG> unless this is true. This <STRONG>curses</STRONG>
implementation is more liberal and will do explicit erases
- after scrolling if <STRONG>ndstr</STRONG> is defined.
+ after scrolling if <STRONG>ndsrc</STRONG> is defined.
If the terminal has the ability to define a window as part
- of memory, which all commands affect, it should be given
+ of memory, which all commands affect, it should be given
as the parameterized string <STRONG>wind</STRONG>. The four parameters are
- the starting and ending lines in memory and the starting
+ the starting and ending lines in memory and the starting
and ending columns in memory, in that order.
- If the terminal can retain display memory above, then the
- <STRONG>da</STRONG> capability should be given; if display memory can be
- retained below, then <STRONG>db</STRONG> should be given. These indicate
- that deleting a line or scrolling may bring non-blank
- lines up from below or that scrolling back with <STRONG>ri</STRONG> may
+ If the terminal can retain display memory above, then the
+ <STRONG>da</STRONG> capability should be given; if display memory can be
+ retained below, then <STRONG>db</STRONG> should be given. These indicate
+ that deleting a line or scrolling may bring non-blank
+ lines up from below or that scrolling back with <STRONG>ri</STRONG> may
bring down non-blank lines.
- <STRONG>Insert/Delete</STRONG> <STRONG>Character</STRONG>
- There are two basic kinds of intelligent terminals with
- respect to insert/delete character which can be described
- using <EM>terminfo.</EM> The most common insert/delete character
- operations affect only the characters on the current line
- and shift characters off the end of the line rigidly.
- Other terminals, such as the Concept 100 and the Perkin
- Elmer Owl, make a distinction between typed and untyped
- blanks on the screen, shifting upon an insert or delete
- only to an untyped blank on the screen which is either
- eliminated, or expanded to two untyped blanks. You can
- determine the kind of terminal you have by clearing the
- screen and then typing text separated by cursor motions.
- Type "abc def" using local cursor motions (not spaces)
- between the "abc" and the "def". Then position the cursor
- before the "abc" and put the terminal in insert mode. If
- typing characters causes the rest of the line to shift
- rigidly and characters to fall off the end, then your ter-
- minal does not distinguish between blanks and untyped
- positions. If the "abc" shifts over to the "def" which
- then move together around the end of the current line and
- onto the next as you insert, you have the second type of
- terminal, and should give the capability <STRONG>in</STRONG>, which stands
- for "insert null". While these are two logically separate
- attributes (one line versus multi-line insert mode, and
- special treatment of untyped spaces) we have seen no ter-
- minals whose insert mode cannot be described with the sin-
- gle attribute.
-
- Terminfo can describe both terminals which have an insert
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Insert_Delete-Character">Insert/Delete Character</a></H3><PRE>
+ There are two basic kinds of intelligent terminals with
+ respect to insert/delete character which can be described
+ using <EM>terminfo.</EM> The most common insert/delete character
+ operations affect only the characters on the current line
+ and shift characters off the end of the line rigidly.
+ Other terminals, such as the Concept 100 and the Perkin
+ Elmer Owl, make a distinction between typed and untyped
+ blanks on the screen, shifting upon an insert or delete
+ only to an untyped blank on the screen which is either
+ eliminated, or expanded to two untyped blanks.
+
+ You can determine the kind of terminal you have by clear-
+ ing the screen and then typing text separated by cursor
+ motions. Type "abc def" using local cursor motions
+ (not spaces) between the "abc" and the "def". Then posi-
+ tion the cursor before the "abc" and put the terminal in
+ insert mode. If typing characters causes the rest of the
+ line to shift rigidly and characters to fall off the end,
+ then your terminal does not distinguish between blanks and
+ untyped positions. If the "abc" shifts over to the "def"
+ which then move together around the end of the current
+ line and onto the next as you insert, you have the second
+ type of terminal, and should give the capability <STRONG>in</STRONG>, which
+ stands for "insert null".
+
+ While these are two logically separate attributes (one
+ line versus multi-line insert mode, and special treatment
+ of untyped spaces) we have seen no terminals whose insert
+ mode cannot be described with the single attribute.
+
+ Terminfo can describe both terminals which have an insert
mode, and terminals which send a simple sequence to open a
- blank position on the current line. Give as <STRONG>smir</STRONG> the
- sequence to get into insert mode. Give as <STRONG>rmir</STRONG> the
- sequence to leave insert mode. Now give as <STRONG>ich1</STRONG> any
- sequence needed to be sent just before sending the
- character to be inserted. Most terminals with a true
- insert mode will not give <STRONG>ich1</STRONG>; terminals which send a
- sequence to open a screen position should give it here.
-
- If your terminal has both, insert mode is usually prefer-
- able to <STRONG>ich1</STRONG>. Technically, you should not give both
- unless the terminal actually requires both to be used in
- combination. Accordingly, some non-curses applications
- get confused if both are present; the symptom is doubled
+ blank position on the current line. Give as <STRONG>smir</STRONG> the
+ sequence to get into insert mode. Give as <STRONG>rmir</STRONG> the
+ sequence to leave insert mode. Now give as <STRONG>ich1</STRONG> any
+ sequence needed to be sent just before sending the charac-
+ ter to be inserted. Most terminals with a true insert
+ mode will not give <STRONG>ich1</STRONG>; terminals which send a sequence
+ to open a screen position should give it here.
+
+ If your terminal has both, insert mode is usually prefer-
+ able to <STRONG>ich1</STRONG>. Technically, you should not give both
+ unless the terminal actually requires both to be used in
+ combination. Accordingly, some non-curses applications
+ get confused if both are present; the symptom is doubled
characters in an update using insert. This requirement is
now rare; most <STRONG>ich</STRONG> sequences do not require previous smir,
and most smir insert modes do not require <STRONG>ich1</STRONG> before each
- character. Therefore, the new <STRONG>curses</STRONG> actually assumes
- this is the case and uses either <STRONG>rmir</STRONG>/<STRONG>smir</STRONG> or <STRONG>ich</STRONG>/<STRONG>ich1</STRONG> as
+ character. Therefore, the new <STRONG>curses</STRONG> actually assumes
+ this is the case and uses either <STRONG>rmir</STRONG>/<STRONG>smir</STRONG> or <STRONG>ich</STRONG>/<STRONG>ich1</STRONG> as
appropriate (but not both). If you have to write an entry
- to be used under new curses for a terminal old enough to
+ to be used under new curses for a terminal old enough to
need both, include the <STRONG>rmir</STRONG>/<STRONG>smir</STRONG> sequences in <STRONG>ich1</STRONG>.
If post insert padding is needed, give this as a number of
- milliseconds in <STRONG>ip</STRONG> (a string option). Any other sequence
- which may need to be sent after an insert of a single
+ milliseconds in <STRONG>ip</STRONG> (a string option). Any other sequence
+ which may need to be sent after an insert of a single
character may also be given in <STRONG>ip</STRONG>. If your terminal needs
- both to be placed into an `insert mode' and a special code
- to precede each inserted character, then both <STRONG>smir</STRONG>/<STRONG>rmir</STRONG>
- and <STRONG>ich1</STRONG> can be given, and both will be used. The <STRONG>ich</STRONG>
+ both to be placed into an "insert mode" and a special code
+ to precede each inserted character, then both <STRONG>smir</STRONG>/<STRONG>rmir</STRONG>
+ and <STRONG>ich1</STRONG> can be given, and both will be used. The <STRONG>ich</STRONG>
capability, with one parameter, <EM>n</EM>, will repeat the effects
of <STRONG>ich1</STRONG> <EM>n</EM> times.
If padding is necessary between characters typed while not
- in insert mode, give this as a number of milliseconds
- padding in <STRONG>rmp</STRONG>.
-
- It is occasionally necessary to move around while in
- insert mode to delete characters on the same line (e.g.,
- if there is a tab after the insertion position). If your
- terminal allows motion while in insert mode you can give
- the capability <STRONG>mir</STRONG> to speed up inserting in this case.
- Omitting <STRONG>mir</STRONG> will affect only speed. Some terminals
+ in insert mode, give this as a number of milliseconds pad-
+ ding in <STRONG>rmp</STRONG>.
+
+ It is occasionally necessary to move around while in
+ insert mode to delete characters on the same line (e.g.,
+ if there is a tab after the insertion position). If your
+ terminal allows motion while in insert mode you can give
+ the capability <STRONG>mir</STRONG> to speed up inserting in this case.
+ Omitting <STRONG>mir</STRONG> will affect only speed. Some terminals
(notably Datamedia's) must not have <STRONG>mir</STRONG> because of the way
their insert mode works.
- Finally, you can specify <STRONG>dch1</STRONG> to delete a single charac-
- ter, <STRONG>dch</STRONG> with one parameter, <EM>n</EM>, to delete <EM>n</EM> <EM>characters,</EM>
- and delete mode by giving <STRONG>smdc</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmdc</STRONG> to enter and exit
- delete mode (any mode the terminal needs to be placed in
+ Finally, you can specify <STRONG>dch1</STRONG> to delete a single charac-
+ ter, <STRONG>dch</STRONG> with one parameter, <EM>n</EM>, to delete <EM>n</EM> <EM>characters,</EM>
+ and delete mode by giving <STRONG>smdc</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmdc</STRONG> to enter and exit
+ delete mode (any mode the terminal needs to be placed in
for <STRONG>dch1</STRONG> to work).
- A command to erase <EM>n</EM> characters (equivalent to outputting
- <EM>n</EM> blanks without moving the cursor) can be given as <STRONG>ech</STRONG>
+ A command to erase <EM>n</EM> characters (equivalent to outputting
+ <EM>n</EM> blanks without moving the cursor) can be given as <STRONG>ech</STRONG>
with one parameter.
- <STRONG>Highlighting,</STRONG> <STRONG>Underlining,</STRONG> <STRONG>and</STRONG> <STRONG>Visible</STRONG> <STRONG>Bells</STRONG>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Highlighting_-Underlining_-and-Visible-Bells">Highlighting, Underlining, and Visible Bells</a></H3><PRE>
If your terminal has one or more kinds of display
- attributes, these can be represented in a number of dif-
+ attributes, these can be represented in a number of dif-
ferent ways. You should choose one display form as <EM>stand-</EM>
<EM>out</EM> <EM>mode</EM>, representing a good, high contrast, easy-on-the-
- eyes, format for highlighting error messages and other
- attention getters. (If you have a choice, reverse video
- plus half-bright is good, or reverse video alone.) The
- sequences to enter and exit standout mode are given as
- <STRONG>smso</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmso</STRONG>, respectively. If the code to change into
- or out of standout mode leaves one or even two blank
- spaces on the screen, as the TVI 912 and Teleray 1061 do,
+ eyes, format for highlighting error messages and other
+ attention getters. (If you have a choice, reverse video
+ plus half-bright is good, or reverse video alone.) The
+ sequences to enter and exit standout mode are given as
+ <STRONG>smso</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmso</STRONG>, respectively. If the code to change into
+ or out of standout mode leaves one or even two blank spa-
+ ces on the screen, as the TVI 912 and Teleray 1061 do,
then <STRONG>xmc</STRONG> should be given to tell how many spaces are left.
Codes to begin underlining and end underlining can be
For example, the DEC vt220 supports most of the modes:
+ <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> <STRONG>parameter</STRONG> <STRONG>attribute</STRONG> <STRONG>escape</STRONG> <STRONG>sequence</STRONG>
- <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> <STRONG>parameter</STRONG> <STRONG>attribute</STRONG> <STRONG>escape</STRONG> <STRONG>sequence</STRONG>
-
- none none \E[0m
- p1 standout \E[0;1;7m
- p2 underline \E[0;4m
- p3 reverse \E[0;7m
- p4 blink \E[0;5m
- p5 dim not available
- p6 bold \E[0;1m
- p7 invis \E[0;8m
- p8 protect not used
- p9 altcharset ^O (off) ^N (on)
+ none none \E[0m
+ p1 standout \E[0;1;7m
+ p2 underline \E[0;4m
+ p3 reverse \E[0;7m
+ p4 blink \E[0;5m
+ p5 dim not available
+ p6 bold \E[0;1m
+ p7 invis \E[0;8m
+ p8 protect not used
+ p9 altcharset ^O (off) ^N (on)
We begin each escape sequence by turning off any existing
modes, since there is no quick way to determine whether
Writing out the above sequences, along with their depen-
dencies yields
+ <STRONG>sequence</STRONG> <STRONG>when</STRONG> <STRONG>to</STRONG> <STRONG>output</STRONG> <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> <STRONG>translation</STRONG>
- <STRONG>sequence</STRONG> <STRONG>when</STRONG> <STRONG>to</STRONG> <STRONG>output</STRONG> <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> <STRONG>translation</STRONG>
-
- \E[0 always \E[0
- ;1 if p1 or p6 %?%p1%p6%|%t;1%;
- ;4 if p2 %?%p2%|%t;4%;
- ;5 if p4 %?%p4%|%t;5%;
- ;7 if p1 or p3 %?%p1%p3%|%t;7%;
- ;8 if p7 %?%p7%|%t;8%;
-
- m always m
- ^N or ^O if p9 ^N, else ^O %?%p9%t^N%e^O%;
+ \E[0 always \E[0
+ ;1 if p1 or p6 %?%p1%p6%|%t;1%;
+ ;4 if p2 %?%p2%|%t;4%;
+ ;5 if p4 %?%p4%|%t;5%;
+ ;7 if p1 or p3 %?%p1%p3%|%t;7%;
+ ;8 if p7 %?%p7%|%t;8%;
+ m always m
+ ^N or ^O if p9 ^N, else ^O %?%p9%t^N%e^O%;
Putting this all together into the sgr sequence gives:
- sgr=\E[0%?%p1%p6%|%t;1%;%?%p2%t;4%;%?%p1%p3%|%t;7%;
- %?%p4%t;5%;%?%p7%t;8%;m%?%p9%t\016%e\017%;,
+ sgr=\E[0%?%p1%p6%|%t;1%;%?%p2%t;4%;%?%p4%t;5%;
+ %?%p1%p3%|%t;7%;%?%p7%t;8%;m%?%p9%t\016%e\017%;,
Remember that if you specify sgr, you must also specify
sgr0. Also, some implementations rely on sgr being given
assumes that sgr0 does not exit alternate character set
mode.
- Terminals with the ``magic cookie'' glitch (<STRONG>xmc</STRONG>) deposit
- special ``cookies'' when they receive mode-setting
+ Terminals with the "magic cookie" glitch (<STRONG>xmc</STRONG>) deposit
+ special "cookies" when they receive mode-setting
sequences, which affect the display algorithm rather than
having extra bits for each character. Some terminals,
such as the HP 2621, automatically leave standout mode
giving <STRONG>eo</STRONG>.
- <STRONG>Keypad</STRONG> <STRONG>and</STRONG> <STRONG>Function</STRONG> <STRONG>Keys</STRONG>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Keypad-and-Function-Keys">Keypad and Function Keys</a></H3><PRE>
If the terminal has a keypad that transmits codes when the
keys are pressed, this information can be given. Note
that it is not possible to handle terminals where the key-
unshifted HP 2621 keys). If the keypad can be set to
transmit or not transmit, give these codes as <STRONG>smkx</STRONG> and
<STRONG>rmkx</STRONG>. Otherwise the keypad is assumed to always transmit.
- The codes sent by the left arrow, right arrow, up arrow,
- down arrow, and home keys can be given as <STRONG>kcub1,</STRONG> <STRONG>kcuf1,</STRONG>
- <STRONG>kcuu1,</STRONG> <STRONG>kcud1,</STRONG> and <STRONG>khome</STRONG> respectively. If there are func-
- tion keys such as f0, f1, ..., f10, the codes they send
- can be given as <STRONG>kf0,</STRONG> <STRONG>kf1,</STRONG> <STRONG>...,</STRONG> <STRONG>kf10</STRONG>. If these keys have
- labels other than the default f0 through f10, the labels
- can be given as <STRONG>lf0,</STRONG> <STRONG>lf1,</STRONG> <STRONG>...,</STRONG> <STRONG>lf10</STRONG>. The codes transmit-
- ted by certain other special keys can be given: <STRONG>kll</STRONG> (home
- down), <STRONG>kbs</STRONG> (backspace), <STRONG>ktbc</STRONG> (clear all tabs), <STRONG>kctab</STRONG>
- (clear the tab stop in this column), <STRONG>kclr</STRONG> (clear screen or
- erase key), <STRONG>kdch1</STRONG> (delete character), <STRONG>kdl1</STRONG> (delete line),
- <STRONG>krmir</STRONG> (exit insert mode), <STRONG>kel</STRONG> (clear to end of line), <STRONG>ked</STRONG>
- (clear to end of screen), <STRONG>kich1</STRONG> (insert character or enter
- insert mode), <STRONG>kil1</STRONG> (insert line), <STRONG>knp</STRONG> (next page), <STRONG>kpp</STRONG>
- (previous page), <STRONG>kind</STRONG> (scroll forward/down), <STRONG>kri</STRONG> (scroll
- backward/up), <STRONG>khts</STRONG> (set a tab stop in this column). In
- addition, if the keypad has a 3 by 3 array of keys includ-
- ing the four arrow keys, the other five keys can be given
- as <STRONG>ka1</STRONG>, <STRONG>ka3</STRONG>, <STRONG>kb2</STRONG>, <STRONG>kc1</STRONG>, and <STRONG>kc3</STRONG>. These keys are useful
- when the effects of a 3 by 3 directional pad are needed.
-
- Strings to program function keys can be given as <STRONG>pfkey</STRONG>,
- <STRONG>pfloc</STRONG>, and <STRONG>pfx</STRONG>. A string to program screen labels should
- be specified as <STRONG>pln</STRONG>. Each of these strings takes two
- parameters: the function key number to program (from 0 to
- 10) and the string to program it with. Function key num-
- bers out of this range may program undefined keys in a
- terminal dependent manner. The difference between the
- capabilities is that <STRONG>pfkey</STRONG> causes pressing the given key
- to be the same as the user typing the given string; <STRONG>pfloc</STRONG>
+
+ The codes sent by the left arrow, right arrow, up arrow,
+ down arrow, and home keys can be given as <STRONG>kcub1,</STRONG> <STRONG>kcuf1,</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>kcuu1,</STRONG> <STRONG>kcud1,</STRONG> and <STRONG>khome</STRONG> respectively. If there are func-
+ tion keys such as f0, f1, ..., f10, the codes they send
+ can be given as <STRONG>kf0,</STRONG> <STRONG>kf1,</STRONG> <STRONG>...,</STRONG> <STRONG>kf10</STRONG>. If these keys have
+ labels other than the default f0 through f10, the labels
+ can be given as <STRONG>lf0,</STRONG> <STRONG>lf1,</STRONG> <STRONG>...,</STRONG> <STRONG>lf10</STRONG>.
+
+ The codes transmitted by certain other special keys can be
+ given:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>kll</STRONG> (home down),
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>kbs</STRONG> (backspace),
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>ktbc</STRONG> (clear all tabs),
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>kctab</STRONG> (clear the tab stop in this column),
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>kclr</STRONG> (clear screen or erase key),
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>kdch1</STRONG> (delete character),
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>kdl1</STRONG> (delete line),
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>krmir</STRONG> (exit insert mode),
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>kel</STRONG> (clear to end of line),
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>ked</STRONG> (clear to end of screen),
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>kich1</STRONG> (insert character or enter insert mode),
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>kil1</STRONG> (insert line),
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>knp</STRONG> (next page),
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>kpp</STRONG> (previous page),
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>kind</STRONG> (scroll forward/down),
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>kri</STRONG> (scroll backward/up),
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>khts</STRONG> (set a tab stop in this column).
+
+ In addition, if the keypad has a 3 by 3 array of keys
+ including the four arrow keys, the other five keys can be
+ given as <STRONG>ka1</STRONG>, <STRONG>ka3</STRONG>, <STRONG>kb2</STRONG>, <STRONG>kc1</STRONG>, and <STRONG>kc3</STRONG>. These keys are use-
+ ful when the effects of a 3 by 3 directional pad are
+ needed.
+
+ Strings to program function keys can be given as <STRONG>pfkey</STRONG>,
+ <STRONG>pfloc</STRONG>, and <STRONG>pfx</STRONG>. A string to program screen labels should
+ be specified as <STRONG>pln</STRONG>. Each of these strings takes two
+ parameters: the function key number to program (from 0 to
+ 10) and the string to program it with. Function key num-
+ bers out of this range may program undefined keys in a
+ terminal dependent manner. The difference between the
+ capabilities is that <STRONG>pfkey</STRONG> causes pressing the given key
+ to be the same as the user typing the given string; <STRONG>pfloc</STRONG>
causes the string to be executed by the terminal in local;
- and <STRONG>pfx</STRONG> causes the string to be transmitted to the com-
+ and <STRONG>pfx</STRONG> causes the string to be transmitted to the com-
puter.
The capabilities <STRONG>nlab</STRONG>, <STRONG>lw</STRONG> and <STRONG>lh</STRONG> define the number of pro-
- grammable screen labels and their width and height. If
- there are commands to turn the labels on and off, give
- them in <STRONG>smln</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmln</STRONG>. <STRONG>smln</STRONG> is normally output after one
+ grammable screen labels and their width and height. If
+ there are commands to turn the labels on and off, give
+ them in <STRONG>smln</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmln</STRONG>. <STRONG>smln</STRONG> is normally output after one
or more pln sequences to make sure that the change becomes
visible.
- <STRONG>Tabs</STRONG> <STRONG>and</STRONG> <STRONG>Initialization</STRONG>
- If the terminal has hardware tabs, the command to advance
- to the next tab stop can be given as <STRONG>ht</STRONG> (usually control
- I). A ``back-tab'' command which moves leftward to the
- preceding tab stop can be given as <STRONG>cbt</STRONG>. By convention, if
- the teletype modes indicate that tabs are being expanded
- by the computer rather than being sent to the terminal,
- programs should not use <STRONG>ht</STRONG> or <STRONG>cbt</STRONG> even if they are
- present, since the user may not have the tab stops prop-
- erly set. If the terminal has hardware tabs which are
- initially set every <EM>n</EM> spaces when the terminal is powered
- up, the numeric parameter <STRONG>it</STRONG> is given, showing the number
- of spaces the tabs are set to. This is normally used by
- the <EM>tset</EM> command to determine whether to set the mode for
- hardware tab expansion, and whether to set the tab stops.
- If the terminal has tab stops that can be saved in non-
- volatile memory, the terminfo description can assume that
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Tabs-and-Initialization">Tabs and Initialization</a></H3><PRE>
+ If the terminal has hardware tabs, the command to advance
+ to the next tab stop can be given as <STRONG>ht</STRONG> (usually control
+ I). A "back-tab" command which moves leftward to the pre-
+ ceding tab stop can be given as <STRONG>cbt</STRONG>. By convention, if
+ the teletype modes indicate that tabs are being expanded
+ by the computer rather than being sent to the terminal,
+ programs should not use <STRONG>ht</STRONG> or <STRONG>cbt</STRONG> even if they are
+ present, since the user may not have the tab stops prop-
+ erly set. If the terminal has hardware tabs which are
+ initially set every <EM>n</EM> spaces when the terminal is powered
+ up, the numeric parameter <STRONG>it</STRONG> is given, showing the number
+ of spaces the tabs are set to. This is normally used by
+ the <STRONG>tset</STRONG> command to determine whether to set the mode for
+ hardware tab expansion, and whether to set the tab stops.
+ If the terminal has tab stops that can be saved in non-
+ volatile memory, the terminfo description can assume that
they are properly set.
- Other capabilities include <STRONG>is1</STRONG>, <STRONG>is2</STRONG>, and <STRONG>is3</STRONG>, initializa-
- tion strings for the terminal, <STRONG>iprog</STRONG>, the path name of a
- program to be run to initialize the terminal, and <STRONG>if</STRONG>, the
- name of a file containing long initialization strings.
- These strings are expected to set the terminal into modes
- consistent with the rest of the terminfo description.
+ Other capabilities include <STRONG>is1</STRONG>, <STRONG>is2</STRONG>, and <STRONG>is3</STRONG>, initializa-
+ tion strings for the terminal, <STRONG>iprog</STRONG>, the path name of a
+ program to be run to initialize the terminal, and <STRONG>if</STRONG>, the
+ name of a file containing long initialization strings.
+ These strings are expected to set the terminal into modes
+ consistent with the rest of the terminfo description.
They are normally sent to the terminal, by the <EM>init</EM> option
- of the <EM>tput</EM> program, each time the user logs in. They
+ of the <STRONG>tput</STRONG> program, each time the user logs in. They
will be printed in the following order:
run the program
and finally
output <STRONG>is3</STRONG>.
- Most initialization is done with <STRONG>is2</STRONG>. Special terminal
+ Most initialization is done with <STRONG>is2</STRONG>. Special terminal
modes can be set up without duplicating strings by putting
- the common sequences in <STRONG>is2</STRONG> and special cases in <STRONG>is1</STRONG> and
+ the common sequences in <STRONG>is2</STRONG> and special cases in <STRONG>is1</STRONG> and
<STRONG>is3</STRONG>.
A set of sequences that does a harder reset from a totally
unknown state can be given as <STRONG>rs1</STRONG>, <STRONG>rs2</STRONG>, <STRONG>rf</STRONG> and <STRONG>rs3</STRONG>, analo-
- gous to <STRONG>is1</STRONG> <STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>is2</STRONG> <STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>if</STRONG> and <STRONG>is3</STRONG> respectively. These
- strings are output by the <EM>reset</EM> program, which is used
- when the terminal gets into a wedged state. Commands are
- normally placed in <STRONG>rs1</STRONG>, <STRONG>rs2</STRONG> <STRONG>rs3</STRONG> and <STRONG>rf</STRONG> only if they pro-
- duce annoying effects on the screen and are not necessary
- when logging in. For example, the command to set the
- vt100 into 80-column mode would normally be part of <STRONG>is2</STRONG>,
- but it causes an annoying glitch of the screen and is not
- normally needed since the terminal is usually already in
+ gous to <STRONG>is1</STRONG> <STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>is2</STRONG> <STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>if</STRONG> and <STRONG>is3</STRONG> respectively. These
+ strings are output by the <STRONG>reset</STRONG> program, which is used
+ when the terminal gets into a wedged state. Commands are
+ normally placed in <STRONG>rs1</STRONG>, <STRONG>rs2</STRONG> <STRONG>rs3</STRONG> and <STRONG>rf</STRONG> only if they pro-
+ duce annoying effects on the screen and are not necessary
+ when logging in. For example, the command to set the
+ vt100 into 80-column mode would normally be part of <STRONG>is2</STRONG>,
+ but it causes an annoying glitch of the screen and is not
+ normally needed since the terminal is usually already in
80 column mode.
- The <EM>reset</EM> program writes strings including <STRONG>iprog</STRONG>, etc., in
- the same order as the <EM>init</EM> program, using <STRONG>rs1</STRONG>, etc.,
+ The <STRONG>reset</STRONG> program writes strings including <STRONG>iprog</STRONG>, etc., in
+ the same order as the <EM>init</EM> program, using <STRONG>rs1</STRONG>, etc.,
instead of <STRONG>is1</STRONG>, etc. If any of <STRONG>rs1</STRONG>, <STRONG>rs2</STRONG>, <STRONG>rs3</STRONG>, or <STRONG>rf</STRONG> reset
- capability strings are missing, the <EM>reset</EM> program falls
+ capability strings are missing, the <STRONG>reset</STRONG> program falls
back upon the corresponding initialization capability
string.
If there are commands to set and clear tab stops, they can
- be given as <STRONG>tbc</STRONG> (clear all tab stops) and <STRONG>hts</STRONG> (set a tab
- stop in the current column of every row). If a more com-
- plex sequence is needed to set the tabs than can be
- described by this, the sequence can be placed in <STRONG>is2</STRONG> or
+ be given as <STRONG>tbc</STRONG> (clear all tab stops) and <STRONG>hts</STRONG> (set a tab
+ stop in the current column of every row). If a more com-
+ plex sequence is needed to set the tabs than can be
+ described by this, the sequence can be placed in <STRONG>is2</STRONG> or
<STRONG>if</STRONG>.
- <STRONG>Delays</STRONG> <STRONG>and</STRONG> <STRONG>Padding</STRONG>
- Many older and slower terminals do not support either
+
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Delays-and-Padding">Delays and Padding</a></H3><PRE>
+ Many older and slower terminals do not support either
XON/XOFF or DTR handshaking, including hard copy terminals
- and some very archaic CRTs (including, for example, DEC
- VT100s). These may require padding characters after cer-
+ and some very archaic CRTs (including, for example, DEC
+ VT100s). These may require padding characters after cer-
tain cursor motions and screen changes.
If the terminal uses xon/xoff handshaking for flow control
- (that is, it automatically emits ^S back to the host when
+ (that is, it automatically emits ^S back to the host when
its input buffers are close to full), set <STRONG>xon</STRONG>. This capa-
- bility suppresses the emission of padding. You can also
- set it for memory-mapped console devices effectively that
- do not have a speed limit. Padding information should
- still be included so that routines can make better deci-
+ bility suppresses the emission of padding. You can also
+ set it for memory-mapped console devices effectively that
+ do not have a speed limit. Padding information should
+ still be included so that routines can make better deci-
sions about relative costs, but actual pad characters will
not be transmitted.
- If <STRONG>pb</STRONG> (padding baud rate) is given, padding is suppressed
- at baud rates below the value of <STRONG>pb</STRONG>. If the entry has no
- padding baud rate, then whether padding is emitted or not
+ If <STRONG>pb</STRONG> (padding baud rate) is given, padding is suppressed
+ at baud rates below the value of <STRONG>pb</STRONG>. If the entry has no
+ padding baud rate, then whether padding is emitted or not
is completely controlled by <STRONG>xon</STRONG>.
- If the terminal requires other than a null (zero) charac-
- ter as a pad, then this can be given as <STRONG>pad</STRONG>. Only the
+ If the terminal requires other than a null (zero) charac-
+ ter as a pad, then this can be given as <STRONG>pad</STRONG>. Only the
first character of the <STRONG>pad</STRONG> string is used.
- <STRONG>Status</STRONG> <STRONG>Lines</STRONG>
- Some terminals have an extra `status line' which is not
- normally used by software (and thus not counted in the
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Status-Lines">Status Lines</a></H3><PRE>
+ Some terminals have an extra "status line" which is not
+ normally used by software (and thus not counted in the
terminal's <STRONG>lines</STRONG> capability).
- The simplest case is a status line which is cursor-
- addressable but not part of the main scrolling region on
- the screen; the Heathkit H19 has a status line of this
- kind, as would a 24-line VT100 with a 23-line scrolling
- region set up on initialization. This situation is indi-
+ The simplest case is a status line which is cursor-
+ addressable but not part of the main scrolling region on
+ the screen; the Heathkit H19 has a status line of this
+ kind, as would a 24-line VT100 with a 23-line scrolling
+ region set up on initialization. This situation is indi-
cated by the <STRONG>hs</STRONG> capability.
Some terminals with status lines need special sequences to
- access the status line. These may be expressed as a
+ access the status line. These may be expressed as a
string with single parameter <STRONG>tsl</STRONG> which takes the cursor to
- a given zero-origin column on the status line. The capa-
+ a given zero-origin column on the status line. The capa-
bility <STRONG>fsl</STRONG> must return to the main-screen cursor positions
- before the last <STRONG>tsl</STRONG>. You may need to embed the string
- values of <STRONG>sc</STRONG> (save cursor) and <STRONG>rc</STRONG> (restore cursor) in <STRONG>tsl</STRONG>
+ before the last <STRONG>tsl</STRONG>. You may need to embed the string
+ values of <STRONG>sc</STRONG> (save cursor) and <STRONG>rc</STRONG> (restore cursor) in <STRONG>tsl</STRONG>
and <STRONG>fsl</STRONG> to accomplish this.
- The status line is normally assumed to be the same width
- as the width of the terminal. If this is untrue, you can
+ The status line is normally assumed to be the same width
+ as the width of the terminal. If this is untrue, you can
specify it with the numeric capability <STRONG>wsl</STRONG>.
- A command to erase or blank the status line may be speci-
+ A command to erase or blank the status line may be speci-
fied as <STRONG>dsl</STRONG>.
- The boolean capability <STRONG>eslok</STRONG> specifies that escape
+ The boolean capability <STRONG>eslok</STRONG> specifies that escape
sequences, tabs, etc., work ordinarily in the status line.
The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> implementation does not yet use any of these
become important.
- <STRONG>Line</STRONG> <STRONG>Graphics</STRONG>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Line-Graphics">Line Graphics</a></H3><PRE>
Many terminals have alternate character sets useful for
- forms-drawing. Terminfo and <STRONG>curses</STRONG> build in support for
+ forms-drawing. Terminfo and <STRONG>curses</STRONG> built-in support for
the drawing characters supported by the VT100, with some
characters from the AT&T 4410v1 added. This alternate
character set may be specified by the <STRONG>acsc</STRONG> capability.
-
- <STRONG>Glyph</STRONG> <STRONG>ACS</STRONG> <STRONG>Ascii</STRONG> <STRONG>VT100</STRONG>
- <STRONG>Name</STRONG> <STRONG>Name</STRONG> <STRONG>Default</STRONG> <STRONG>Name</STRONG>
- UK pound sign ACS_STERLING f }
- arrow pointing down ACS_DARROW v .
- arrow pointing left ACS_LARROW < ,
- arrow pointing right ACS_RARROW > +
- arrow pointing up ACS_UARROW ^ -
- board of squares ACS_BOARD # h
- bullet ACS_BULLET o ~
- checker board (stipple) ACS_CKBOARD : a
- degree symbol ACS_DEGREE \ f
- diamond ACS_DIAMOND + `
- greater-than-or-equal-to ACS_GEQUAL > z
- greek pi ACS_PI * {
- horizontal line ACS_HLINE - q
- lantern symbol ACS_LANTERN # i
- large plus or crossover ACS_PLUS + n
- less-than-or-equal-to ACS_LEQUAL < y
- lower left corner ACS_LLCORNER + m
- lower right corner ACS_LRCORNER + j
- not-equal ACS_NEQUAL ! |
- plus/minus ACS_PLMINUS # g
- scan line 1 ACS_S1 ~ o
- scan line 3 ACS_S3 - p
- scan line 7 ACS_S7 - r
- scan line 9 ACS_S9 _ s
- solid square block ACS_BLOCK # 0
- tee pointing down ACS_TTEE + w
- tee pointing left ACS_RTEE + u
-
- tee pointing right ACS_LTEE + t
- tee pointing up ACS_BTEE + v
- upper left corner ACS_ULCORNER + l
- upper right corner ACS_URCORNER + k
- vertical line ACS_VLINE | x
+ <STRONG>Glyph</STRONG> <STRONG>ACS</STRONG> <STRONG>Ascii</STRONG> <STRONG>VT100</STRONG> <STRONG>VT100</STRONG>
+
+ <STRONG>Name</STRONG> <STRONG>Name</STRONG> <STRONG>DefaultChar</STRONG> <STRONG>Code</STRONG>
+ -----------------------------------------------------------
+ arrow pointing right ACS_RARROW > + 0x2b
+ arrow pointing left ACS_LARROW < , 0x2c
+ arrow pointing up ACS_UARROW ^ - 0x2d
+ arrow pointing down ACS_DARROW v . 0x2e
+ solid square block ACS_BLOCK # 0 0x30
+ diamond ACS_DIAMOND + ` 0x60
+ checker board (stipple) ACS_CKBOARD : a 0x61
+ degree symbol ACS_DEGREE \ f 0x66
+ plus/minus ACS_PLMINUS # g 0x67
+ board of squares ACS_BOARD # h 0x68
+ lantern symbol ACS_LANTERN # i 0x69
+ lower right corner ACS_LRCORNER + j 0x6a
+ upper right corner ACS_URCORNER + k 0x6b
+ upper left corner ACS_ULCORNER + l 0x6c
+ lower left corner ACS_LLCORNER + m 0x6d
+ large plus or crossover ACS_PLUS + n 0x6e
+ scan line 1 ACS_S1 ~ o 0x6f
+ scan line 3 ACS_S3 - p 0x70
+ horizontal line ACS_HLINE - q 0x71
+ scan line 7 ACS_S7 - r 0x72
+ scan line 9 ACS_S9 _ s 0x73
+ tee pointing right ACS_LTEE + t 0x74
+ tee pointing left ACS_RTEE + u 0x75
+ tee pointing up ACS_BTEE + v 0x76
+ tee pointing down ACS_TTEE + w 0x77
+ vertical line ACS_VLINE | x 0x78
+ less-than-or-equal-to ACS_LEQUAL < y 0x79
+ greater-than-or-equal-to ACS_GEQUAL > z 0x7a
+ greek pi ACS_PI * { 0x7b
+ not-equal ACS_NEQUAL ! | 0x7c
+ UK pound sign ACS_STERLING f } 0x7d
+ bullet ACS_BULLET o ~ 0x7e
+
+ A few notes apply to the table itself:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses incorrectly states that the mapping for
+ <EM>lantern</EM> is uppercase "I" although Unix implementations
+ use the lowercase "i" mapping.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The DEC VT100 implemented graphics using the alternate
+ character set feature, temporarily switching <EM>modes</EM> and
+ sending characters in the range 0x60 (96) to 0x7e
+ (126).
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The AT&T terminal added graphics characters outside
+ that range.
The best way to define a new device's graphics set is to
add a column to a copy of this table for your terminal,
ACSC string.
- <STRONG>Color</STRONG> <STRONG>Handling</STRONG>
- Most color terminals are either `Tektronix-like' or `HP-
- like'. Tektronix-like terminals have a predefined set of
- N colors (where N usually 8), and can set character-cell
- foreground and background characters independently, mixing
- them into N * N color-pairs. On HP-like terminals, the
- use must set each color pair up separately (foreground and
- background are not independently settable). Up to M
- color-pairs may be set up from 2*M different colors.
- ANSI-compatible terminals are Tektronix-like.
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Color-Handling">Color Handling</a></H3><PRE>
+ The curses library functions <STRONG>init_pair</STRONG> and <STRONG>init_color</STRONG>
+ manipulate the <EM>color</EM> <EM>pairs</EM> and <EM>color</EM> <EM>values</EM> discussed in
+ this section (see <STRONG><A HREF="curs_color.3x.html">curs_color(3x)</A></STRONG> for details on these and
+ related functions).
+
+ Most color terminals are either "Tektronix-like" or "HP-
+ like":
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Tektronix-like terminals have a predefined set of <EM>N</EM>
+ colors (where <EM>N</EM> is usually 8), and can set character-
+ cell foreground and background characters indepen-
+ dently, mixing them into <EM>N</EM> * <EM>N</EM> color-pairs.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> On HP-like terminals, the user must set each color
+ pair up separately (foreground and background are not
+ independently settable). Up to <EM>M</EM> color-pairs may be
+ set up from 2*<EM>M</EM> different colors. ANSI-compatible
+ terminals are Tektronix-like.
Some basic color capabilities are independent of the color
method. The numeric capabilities <STRONG>colors</STRONG> and <STRONG>pairs</STRONG> specify
- the maximum numbers of colors and color-pairs that can be
- displayed simultaneously. The <STRONG>op</STRONG> (original pair) string
- resets foreground and background colors to their default
- values for the terminal. The <STRONG>oc</STRONG> string resets all colors
- or color-pairs to their default values for the terminal.
- Some terminals (including many PC terminal emulators)
- erase screen areas with the current background color
- rather than the power-up default background; these should
+ the maximum numbers of colors and color-pairs that can be
+ displayed simultaneously. The <STRONG>op</STRONG> (original pair) string
+ resets foreground and background colors to their default
+ values for the terminal. The <STRONG>oc</STRONG> string resets all colors
+ or color-pairs to their default values for the terminal.
+ Some terminals (including many PC terminal emulators)
+ erase screen areas with the current background color
+ rather than the power-up default background; these should
have the boolean capability <STRONG>bce</STRONG>.
- To change the current foreground or background color on a
- Tektronix-type terminal, use <STRONG>setaf</STRONG> (set ANSI foreground)
- and <STRONG>setab</STRONG> (set ANSI background) or <STRONG>setf</STRONG> (set foreground)
- and <STRONG>setb</STRONG> (set background). These take one parameter, the
- color number. The SVr4 documentation describes only
- <STRONG>setaf</STRONG>/<STRONG>setab</STRONG>; the XPG4 draft says that "If the terminal
- supports ANSI escape sequences to set background and fore-
- ground, they should be coded as <STRONG>setaf</STRONG> and <STRONG>setab</STRONG>, respec-
- tively. If the terminal supports other escape sequences
- to set background and foreground, they should be coded as
- <STRONG>setf</STRONG> and <STRONG>setb</STRONG>, respectively. The <EM>vidputs()</EM> function and
- the refresh functions use <STRONG>setaf</STRONG> and <STRONG>setab</STRONG> if they are
- defined."
+ While the curses library works with <EM>color</EM> <EM>pairs</EM> (reflect-
+ ing the inability of some devices to set foreground and
+ background colors independently), there are separate capa-
+ bilities for setting these features:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> To change the current foreground or background color
+ on a Tektronix-type terminal, use <STRONG>setaf</STRONG> (set ANSI
+ foreground) and <STRONG>setab</STRONG> (set ANSI background) or <STRONG>setf</STRONG>
+ (set foreground) and <STRONG>setb</STRONG> (set background). These
+ take one parameter, the color number. The SVr4 docu-
+ mentation describes only <STRONG>setaf</STRONG>/<STRONG>setab</STRONG>; the XPG4 draft
+ says that "If the terminal supports ANSI escape
+ sequences to set background and foreground, they
+ should be coded as <STRONG>setaf</STRONG> and <STRONG>setab</STRONG>, respectively.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If the terminal supports other escape sequences to set
+ background and foreground, they should be coded as
+ <STRONG>setf</STRONG> and <STRONG>setb</STRONG>, respectively. The <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> and the
+ <STRONG><A HREF="curs_refresh.3x.html">refresh(3x)</A></STRONG> functions use the <STRONG>setaf</STRONG> and <STRONG>setab</STRONG> capabil-
+ ities if they are defined.
The <STRONG>setaf</STRONG>/<STRONG>setab</STRONG> and <STRONG>setf</STRONG>/<STRONG>setb</STRONG> capabilities take a single
numeric argument each. Argument values 0-7 of <STRONG>setaf</STRONG>/<STRONG>setab</STRONG>
these as it likes, but the RGB values indicate normal
locations in color space.
-
<STRONG>Color</STRONG> <STRONG>#define</STRONG> <STRONG>Value</STRONG> <STRONG>RGB</STRONG>
black <STRONG>COLOR_BLACK</STRONG> 0 0, 0, 0
red <STRONG>COLOR_RED</STRONG> 1 max,0,0
magenta <STRONG>COLOR_MAGENTA</STRONG> 5 max,0,max
yellow <STRONG>COLOR_YELLOW</STRONG> 6 max,max,0
white <STRONG>COLOR_WHITE</STRONG> 7 max,max,max
+
It is important to not confuse the two sets of color capa-
bilities; otherwise red/blue will be interchanged on the
display.
On an HP-like terminal, use <STRONG>scp</STRONG> with a color-pair number
parameter to set which color pair is current.
- On a Tektronix-like terminal, the capability <STRONG>ccc</STRONG> may be
- present to indicate that colors can be modified. If so,
- the <STRONG>initc</STRONG> capability will take a color number (0 to <STRONG>colors</STRONG>
- - 1)and three more parameters which describe the color.
- These three parameters default to being interpreted as RGB
- (Red, Green, Blue) values. If the boolean capability <STRONG>hls</STRONG>
- is present, they are instead as HLS (Hue, Lightness, Satu-
- ration) indices. The ranges are terminal-dependent.
-
- On an HP-like terminal, <STRONG>initp</STRONG> may give a capability for
- changing a color-pair value. It will take seven parame-
- ters; a color-pair number (0 to <STRONG>max_pairs</STRONG> - 1), and two
- triples describing first background and then foreground
- colors. These parameters must be (Red, Green, Blue) or
- (Hue, Lightness, Saturation) depending on <STRONG>hls</STRONG>.
+ Some terminals allow the <EM>color</EM> <EM>values</EM> to be modified:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> On a Tektronix-like terminal, the capability <STRONG>ccc</STRONG> may
+ be present to indicate that colors can be modified.
+ If so, the <STRONG>initc</STRONG> capability will take a color number
+ (0 to <STRONG>colors</STRONG> - 1)and three more parameters which
+ describe the color. These three parameters default to
+ being interpreted as RGB (Red, Green, Blue) values.
+ If the boolean capability <STRONG>hls</STRONG> is present, they are
+ instead as HLS (Hue, Lightness, Saturation) indices.
+ The ranges are terminal-dependent.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> On an HP-like terminal, <STRONG>initp</STRONG> may give a capability
+ for changing a color-pair value. It will take seven
+ parameters; a color-pair number (0 to <STRONG>max_pairs</STRONG> - 1),
+ and two triples describing first background and then
+ foreground colors. These parameters must be (Red,
+ Green, Blue) or (Hue, Lightness, Saturation) depending
+ on <STRONG>hls</STRONG>.
On some color terminals, colors collide with highlights.
You can register these collisions with the <STRONG>ncv</STRONG> capability.
ors are enabled. The correspondence with the attributes
understood by <STRONG>curses</STRONG> is as follows:
-
- <STRONG>Attribute</STRONG> <STRONG>Bit</STRONG> <STRONG>Decimal</STRONG>
- A_STANDOUT 0 1
- A_UNDERLINE 1 2
- A_REVERSE 2 4
- A_BLINK 3 8
- A_DIM 4 16
- A_BOLD 5 32
- A_INVIS 6 64
- A_PROTECT 7 128
- A_ALTCHARSET 8 256
+ <STRONG>Attribute</STRONG> <STRONG>Bit</STRONG> <STRONG>Decimal</STRONG> <STRONG>Set</STRONG> <STRONG>by</STRONG>
+ A_STANDOUT 0 1 sgr
+ A_UNDERLINE 1 2 sgr
+ A_REVERSE 2 4 sgr
+ A_BLINK 3 8 sgr
+ A_DIM 4 16 sgr
+ A_BOLD 5 32 sgr
+ A_INVIS 6 64 sgr
+ A_PROTECT 7 128 sgr
+ A_ALTCHARSET 8 256 sgr
+ A_HORIZONTAL 9 512 sgr1
+ A_LEFT 10 1024 sgr1
+ A_LOW 11 2048 sgr1
+ A_RIGHT 12 4096 sgr1
+ A_TOP 13 8192 sgr1
+ A_VERTICAL 14 16384 sgr1
+ A_ITALIC 15 32768 sitm
For example, on many IBM PC consoles, the underline
attribute collides with the foreground color blue and is
and optimizes the output in favor of colors.
- <STRONG>Miscellaneous</STRONG>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Miscellaneous">Miscellaneous</a></H3><PRE>
If the terminal requires other than a null (zero) charac-
ter as a pad, then this can be given as pad. Only the
first character of the pad string is used. If the termi-
parameterized string <STRONG>rep</STRONG>. The first parameter is the
character to be repeated and the second is the number of
times to repeat it. Thus, tparm(repeat_char, 'x', 10) is
- the same as `xxxxxxxxxx'.
+ the same as "xxxxxxxxxx".
If the terminal has a settable command character, such as
the TEKTRONIX 4025, this can be indicated with <STRONG>cmdch</STRONG>. A
<EM>virtual</EM> terminal descriptions for which the escape
sequences are known.)
- If the terminal has a ``meta key'' which acts as a shift
+ If the terminal has a "meta key" which acts as a shift
key, setting the 8th bit of any character transmitted,
this fact can be indicated with <STRONG>km</STRONG>. Otherwise, software
will assume that the 8th bit is parity and it will usually
- be cleared. If strings exist to turn this ``meta mode''
- on and off, they can be given as <STRONG>smm</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmm</STRONG>.
+ be cleared. If strings exist to turn this "meta mode" on
+ and off, they can be given as <STRONG>smm</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmm</STRONG>.
If the terminal has more lines of memory than will fit on
the screen at once, the number of lines of memory can be
printer while an <STRONG>mc5p</STRONG> is in effect.
- <STRONG>Glitches</STRONG> <STRONG>and</STRONG> <STRONG>Braindamage</STRONG>
- Hazeltine terminals, which do not allow `~' characters to
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Glitches-and-Braindamage">Glitches and Braindamage</a></H3><PRE>
+ Hazeltine terminals, which do not allow "~" characters to
be displayed should indicate <STRONG>hz</STRONG>.
Terminals which ignore a line-feed immediately after an <STRONG>am</STRONG>
wrap, such as the Concept and vt100, should indicate <STRONG>xenl</STRONG>.
- If <STRONG>el</STRONG> is required to get rid of standout (instead of
- merely writing normal text on top of it), <STRONG>xhp</STRONG> should be
+ If <STRONG>el</STRONG> is required to get rid of standout (instead of
+ merely writing normal text on top of it), <STRONG>xhp</STRONG> should be
given.
- Teleray terminals, where tabs turn all characters moved
- over to blanks, should indicate <STRONG>xt</STRONG> (destructive tabs).
- Note: the variable indicating this is now
- `dest_tabs_magic_smso'; in older versions, it was tel-
+ Teleray terminals, where tabs turn all characters moved
+ over to blanks, should indicate <STRONG>xt</STRONG> (destructive tabs).
+ Note: the variable indicating this is now
+ "dest_tabs_magic_smso"; in older versions, it was tel-
eray_glitch. This glitch is also taken to mean that it is
- not possible to position the cursor on top of a ``magic
- cookie'', that to erase standout mode it is instead neces-
+ not possible to position the cursor on top of a "magic
+ cookie", that to erase standout mode it is instead neces-
sary to use delete and insert line. The ncurses implemen-
tation ignores this glitch.
- The Beehive Superbee, which is unable to correctly trans-
- mit the escape or control C characters, has <STRONG>xsb</STRONG>, indicat-
- ing that the f1 key is used for escape and f2 for control
- C. (Only certain Superbees have this problem, depending
- on the ROM.) Note that in older terminfo versions, this
- capability was called `beehive_glitch'; it is now
- `no_esc_ctl_c'.
+ The Beehive Superbee, which is unable to correctly trans-
+ mit the escape or control C characters, has <STRONG>xsb</STRONG>, indicat-
+ ing that the f1 key is used for escape and f2 for control
+ C. (Only certain Superbees have this problem, depending
+ on the ROM.) Note that in older terminfo versions, this
+ capability was called "beehive_glitch"; it is now
+ "no_esc_ctl_c".
- Other specific terminal problems may be corrected by
+ Other specific terminal problems may be corrected by
adding more capabilities of the form <STRONG>x</STRONG><EM>x</EM>.
- <STRONG>Similar</STRONG> <STRONG>Terminals</STRONG>
- If there are two very similar terminals, one (the variant)
- can be defined as being just like the other (the base)
- with certain exceptions. In the definition of the vari-
- ant, the string capability <STRONG>use</STRONG> can be given with the name
- of the base terminal. The capabilities given before <STRONG>use</STRONG>
- override those in the base type named by <STRONG>use</STRONG>. If there
- are multiple <STRONG>use</STRONG> capabilities, they are merged in reverse
- order. That is, the rightmost <STRONG>use</STRONG> reference is processed
- first, then the one to its left, and so forth. Capabili-
- ties given explicitly in the entry override those brought
- in by <STRONG>use</STRONG> references.
-
- A capability can be canceled by placing <STRONG>xx@</STRONG> to the left of
- the use reference that imports it, where <EM>xx</EM> is the capa-
- bility. For example, the entry
-
- 2621-nl, smkx@, rmkx@, use=2621,
-
- defines a 2621-nl that does not have the <STRONG>smkx</STRONG> or <STRONG>rmkx</STRONG>
- capabilities, and hence does not turn on the function key
- labels when in visual mode. This is useful for different
- modes for a terminal, or for different user preferences.
-
-
- <STRONG>Pitfalls</STRONG> <STRONG>of</STRONG> <STRONG>Long</STRONG> <STRONG>Entries</STRONG>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Pitfalls-of-Long-Entries">Pitfalls of Long Entries</a></H3><PRE>
Long terminfo entries are unlikely to be a problem; to
date, no entry has even approached terminfo's 4096-byte
string-table maximum. Unfortunately, the termcap transla-
termcap translations of long terminfo entries can cause
problems.
- The man pages for 4.3BSD and older versions of <STRONG>tgetent()</STRONG>
+ The man pages for 4.3BSD and older versions of <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG>
instruct the user to allocate a 1024-byte buffer for the
termcap entry. The entry gets null-terminated by the
termcap library, so that makes the maximum safe length for
a termcap entry 1k-1 (1023) bytes. Depending on what the
application and the termcap library being used does, and
- where in the termcap file the terminal type that <STRONG>tgetent()</STRONG>
+ where in the termcap file the terminal type that <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG>
is searching for is, several bad things can happen.
Some termcap libraries print a warning message or exit if
one, because it affects more than just users of that par-
ticular terminal. This is the length of the entry as it
exists in /etc/termcap, minus the backslash-newline pairs,
- which <STRONG>tgetent()</STRONG> strips out while reading it. Some termcap
+ which <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> strips out while reading it. Some termcap
libraries strip off the final newline, too (GNU termcap
does not). Now suppose:
- * a termcap entry before expansion is more than 1023
- bytes long,
-
- * and the application has only allocated a 1k buffer,
-
- * and the termcap library (like the one in BSD/OS 1.1
- and GNU) reads the whole entry into the buffer, no
- matter what its length, to see if it is the entry it
- wants,
-
- * and <STRONG>tgetent()</STRONG> is searching for a terminal type that
- either is the long entry, appears in the termcap file
- after the long entry, or does not appear in the file
- at all (so that <STRONG>tgetent()</STRONG> has to search the whole
- termcap file).
-
- Then <STRONG>tgetent()</STRONG> will overwrite memory, perhaps its stack,
- and probably core dump the program. Programs like telnet
- are particularly vulnerable; modern telnets pass along
- values like the terminal type automatically. The results
- are almost as undesirable with a termcap library, like
- SunOS 4.1.3 and Ultrix 4.4, that prints warning messages
- when it reads an overly long termcap entry. If a termcap
- library truncates long entries, like OSF/1 3.0, it is
- immune to dying here but will return incorrect data for
- the terminal.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> a termcap entry before expansion is more than 1023
+ bytes long,
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> and the application has only allocated a 1k buffer,
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> and the termcap library (like the one in BSD/OS 1.1
+ and GNU) reads the whole entry into the buffer, no
+ matter what its length, to see if it is the entry it
+ wants,
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> and <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> is searching for a terminal type that
+ either is the long entry, appears in the termcap file
+ after the long entry, or does not appear in the file
+ at all (so that <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> has to search the whole term-
+ cap file).
+
+ Then <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> will overwrite memory, perhaps its stack, and
+ probably core dump the program. Programs like telnet are
+ particularly vulnerable; modern telnets pass along values
+ like the terminal type automatically. The results are
+ almost as undesirable with a termcap library, like SunOS
+ 4.1.3 and Ultrix 4.4, that prints warning messages when it
+ reads an overly long termcap entry. If a termcap library
+ truncates long entries, like OSF/1 3.0, it is immune to
+ dying here but will return incorrect data for the termi-
+ nal.
The "after tc expansion" length will have a similar effect
to the above, but only for people who actually set TERM to
- that terminal type, since <STRONG>tgetent()</STRONG> only does "tc" expan-
- sion once it is found the terminal type it was looking
- for, not while searching.
+ that terminal type, since <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> only does "tc" expansion
+ once it is found the terminal type it was looking for, not
+ while searching.
In summary, a termcap entry that is longer than 1023 bytes
can cause, on various combinations of termcap libraries
(check) option also checks resolved (after tc expansion)
lengths.
- <STRONG>Binary</STRONG> <STRONG>Compatibility</STRONG>
+
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Binary-Compatibility">Binary Compatibility</a></H3><PRE>
It is not wise to count on portability of binary terminfo
entries between commercial UNIX versions. The problem is
that there are at least two versions of terminfo (under
and XSI Curses extensions.
-</PRE>
-<H2>EXTENSIONS</H2><PRE>
- Some SVr4 <STRONG>curses</STRONG> implementations, and all previous to
- SVr4, do not interpret the %A and %O operators in parame-
+</PRE><H2><a name="h2-EXTENSIONS">EXTENSIONS</a></H2><PRE>
+ Searching for terminal descriptions in <STRONG>$HOME/.terminfo</STRONG> and
+ TERMINFO_DIRS is not supported by older implementations.
+
+ Some SVr4 <STRONG>curses</STRONG> implementations, and all previous to
+ SVr4, do not interpret the %A and %O operators in parame-
ter strings.
- SVr4/XPG4 do not specify whether <STRONG>msgr</STRONG> licenses movement
- while in an alternate-character-set mode (such modes may,
- among other things, map CR and NL to characters that do
- not trigger local motions). The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> implementation
- ignores <STRONG>msgr</STRONG> in <STRONG>ALTCHARSET</STRONG> mode. This raises the possi-
- bility that an XPG4 implementation making the opposite
- interpretation may need terminfo entries made for <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>
+ SVr4/XPG4 do not specify whether <STRONG>msgr</STRONG> licenses movement
+ while in an alternate-character-set mode (such modes may,
+ among other things, map CR and NL to characters that do
+ not trigger local motions). The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> implementation
+ ignores <STRONG>msgr</STRONG> in <STRONG>ALTCHARSET</STRONG> mode. This raises the possi-
+ bility that an XPG4 implementation making the opposite
+ interpretation may need terminfo entries made for <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>
to have <STRONG>msgr</STRONG> turned off.
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library handles insert-character and insert-
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library handles insert-character and insert-
character modes in a slightly non-standard way to get bet-
- ter update efficiency. See the <STRONG>Insert/Delete</STRONG> <STRONG>Character</STRONG>
+ ter update efficiency. See the <STRONG>Insert/Delete</STRONG> <STRONG>Character</STRONG>
subsection above.
- The parameter substitutions for <STRONG>set_clock</STRONG> and <STRONG>dis-</STRONG>
- <STRONG>play_clock</STRONG> are not documented in SVr4 or the XSI Curses
+ The parameter substitutions for <STRONG>set_clock</STRONG> and <STRONG>dis-</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>play_clock</STRONG> are not documented in SVr4 or the XSI Curses
standard. They are deduced from the documentation for the
AT&T 505 terminal.
- Be careful assigning the <STRONG>kmous</STRONG> capability. The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>
- wants to interpret it as <STRONG>KEY_MOUSE</STRONG>, for use by terminals
- and emulators like xterm that can return mouse-tracking
- information in the keyboard-input stream.
-
- Different commercial ports of terminfo and curses support
- different subsets of the XSI Curses standard and (in some
+ Be careful assigning the <STRONG>kmous</STRONG> capability. The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>
+ library wants to interpret it as <STRONG>KEY_MOUSE</STRONG>, for use by
+ terminals and emulators like xterm that can return mouse-
+ tracking information in the keyboard-input stream.
+
+ X/Open Curses does not mention italics. Portable applica-
+ tions must assume that numeric capabilities are signed
+ 16-bit values. This includes the <EM>no</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>color</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>video</EM> (ncv)
+ capability. The 32768 mask value used for italics with
+ ncv can be confused with an absent or cancelled ncv. If
+ italics should work with colors, then the ncv value must
+ be specified, even if it is zero.
+
+ Different commercial ports of terminfo and curses support
+ different subsets of the XSI Curses standard and (in some
cases) different extension sets. Here is a summary, accu-
rate as of October 1995:
- <STRONG>SVR4,</STRONG> <STRONG>Solaris,</STRONG> <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> -- These support all SVr4 capabili-
- ties.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>SVR4,</STRONG> <STRONG>Solaris,</STRONG> <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> -- These support all SVr4 capa-
+ bilities.
- <STRONG>SGI</STRONG> -- Supports the SVr4 set, adds one undocumented
- extended string capability (<STRONG>set_pglen</STRONG>).
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>SGI</STRONG> -- Supports the SVr4 set, adds one undocumented
+ extended string capability (<STRONG>set_pglen</STRONG>).
- <STRONG>SVr1,</STRONG> <STRONG>Ultrix</STRONG> -- These support a restricted subset of ter-
- minfo capabilities. The booleans end with <STRONG>xon_xoff</STRONG>; the
- numerics with <STRONG>width_status_line</STRONG>; and the strings with
- <STRONG>prtr_non</STRONG>.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>SVr1,</STRONG> <STRONG>Ultrix</STRONG> -- These support a restricted subset of
+ terminfo capabilities. The booleans end with
+ <STRONG>xon_xoff</STRONG>; the numerics with <STRONG>width_status_line</STRONG>; and the
+ strings with <STRONG>prtr_non</STRONG>.
- <STRONG>HP/UX</STRONG> -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus the SVr[234]
- numerics <STRONG>num_labels</STRONG>, <STRONG>label_height</STRONG>, <STRONG>label_width</STRONG>, plus func-
- tion keys 11 through 63, plus <STRONG>plab_norm</STRONG>, <STRONG>label_on</STRONG>, and
- <STRONG>label_off</STRONG>, plus some incompatible extensions in the string
- table.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>HP/UX</STRONG> -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus the SVr[234]
+ numerics <STRONG>num_labels</STRONG>, <STRONG>label_height</STRONG>, <STRONG>label_width</STRONG>, plus
+ function keys 11 through 63, plus <STRONG>plab_norm</STRONG>, <STRONG>label_on</STRONG>,
+ and <STRONG>label_off</STRONG>, plus some incompatible extensions in
+ the string table.
- <STRONG>AIX</STRONG> -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus function keys 11
- through 63, plus a number of incompatible string table
- extensions.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>AIX</STRONG> -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus function keys 11
+ through 63, plus a number of incompatible string table
+ extensions.
- <STRONG>OSF</STRONG> -- Supports both the SVr4 set and the AIX extensions.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>OSF</STRONG> -- Supports both the SVr4 set and the AIX exten-
+ sions.
-</PRE>
-<H2>FILES</H2><PRE>
+</PRE><H2><a name="h2-FILES">FILES</a></H2><PRE>
/usr/share/terminfo/?/* files containing terminal
descriptions
-</PRE>
-<H2>SEE ALSO</H2><PRE>
- <STRONG><A HREF="tic.1m.html">tic(1m)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="infocmp.1m.html">infocmp(1m)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="printf.3.html">printf(3)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="term.5.html">term(5)</A></STRONG>.
- <STRONG><A HREF="term_variables.3x.html">term_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>.
+</PRE><H2><a name="h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></H2><PRE>
+ <STRONG><A HREF="tic.1m.html">tic(1m)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="infocmp.1m.html">infocmp(1m)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="curs_color.3x.html">curs_color(3x)</A></STRONG>,
+ <STRONG>printf(3)</STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="term.5.html">term(5)</A></STRONG>. <STRONG><A HREF="term_variables.3x.html">term_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>.
-</PRE>
-<H2>AUTHORS</H2><PRE>
- Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey.
+</PRE><H2><a name="h2-AUTHORS">AUTHORS</a></H2><PRE>
+ Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey.
Based on pcurses by Pavel Curtis.
<STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>
</PRE>
-<HR>
-<ADDRESS>
-Man(1) output converted with
-<a href="http://www.oac.uci.edu/indiv/ehood/man2html.html">man2html</a>
-</ADDRESS>
+<div class="nav">
+<ul>
+<li><a href="#h2-NAME">NAME</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h2-SYNOPSIS">SYNOPSIS</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h2-DESCRIPTION">DESCRIPTION</a>
+<ul>
+<li><a href="#h3-Terminfo-Entry-Syntax">Terminfo Entry Syntax</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Terminfo-Capabilities-Syntax">Terminfo Capabilities Syntax</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Similar-Terminals">Similar Terminals</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Predefined-Capabilities">Predefined Capabilities</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-User-Defined-Capabilities">User-Defined Capabilities</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-A-Sample-Entry">A Sample Entry</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Types-of-Capabilities">Types of Capabilities</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Fetching-Compiled-Descriptions">Fetching Compiled Descriptions</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Preparing-Descriptions">Preparing Descriptions</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Basic-Capabilities">Basic Capabilities</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Parameterized-Strings">Parameterized Strings</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Cursor-Motions">Cursor Motions</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Area-Clears">Area Clears</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Insert_delete-line-and-vertical-motions">Insert/delete line and vertical motions</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Insert_Delete-Character">Insert/Delete Character</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Highlighting_-Underlining_-and-Visible-Bells">Highlighting, Underlining, and Visible Bells</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Keypad-and-Function-Keys">Keypad and Function Keys</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Tabs-and-Initialization">Tabs and Initialization</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Delays-and-Padding">Delays and Padding</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Status-Lines">Status Lines</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Line-Graphics">Line Graphics</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Color-Handling">Color Handling</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Miscellaneous">Miscellaneous</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Glitches-and-Braindamage">Glitches and Braindamage</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Pitfalls-of-Long-Entries">Pitfalls of Long Entries</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Binary-Compatibility">Binary Compatibility</a></li>
+</ul>
+</li>
+<li><a href="#h2-EXTENSIONS">EXTENSIONS</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h2-FILES">FILES</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h2-AUTHORS">AUTHORS</a></li>
+</ul>
+</div>
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