+'\" t
.\"***************************************************************************
.\" Copyright 2018-2022,2023 Thomas E. Dickey *
.\" Copyright 1998-2016,2017 Free Software Foundation, Inc. *
.\" authorization. *
.\"***************************************************************************
.\"
-.\" $Id: curs_terminfo.3x,v 1.85 2023/04/23 20:52:38 tom Exp $
-.TH curs_terminfo 3X ""
-.ie \n(.g .ds `` \(lq
-.el .ds `` ``
-.ie \n(.g .ds '' \(rq
-.el .ds '' ''
+.\" $Id: curs_terminfo.3x,v 1.123 2023/12/16 21:11:53 tom Exp $
+.TH curs_terminfo 3X 2023-12-16 "ncurses 6.4" "Library calls"
+.ie \n(.g \{\
+.ds `` \(lq
+.ds '' \(rq
+.\}
+.el \{\
+.ie t .ds `` ``
+.el .ds `` ""
+.ie t .ds '' ''
+.el .ds '' ""
+.\}
+.
.de bP
.ie n .IP \(bu 4
.el .IP \(bu 2
..
-.ds n 5
-.na
-.hy 0
+.
.SH NAME
-\fBdel_curterm\fP,
-\fBmvcur\fP,
-\fBputp\fP,
-\fBrestartterm\fP,
-\fBset_curterm\fP,
-\fBsetupterm\fP,
-\fBtigetflag\fP,
-\fBtigetnum\fP,
-\fBtigetstr\fP,
-\fBtiparm\fP,
-\fBtiparm_s\fP,
-\fBtiscan_s\fP,
-\fBtparm\fP,
-\fBtputs\fP,
-\fBvid_attr\fP,
-\fBvid_puts\fP,
-\fBvidattr\fP,
-\fBvidputs\fP \- \fBcurses\fP interfaces to terminfo database
-.ad
-.hy
+\fB\%del_curterm\fP,
+\fB\%mvcur\fP,
+\fB\%putp\fP,
+\fB\%restartterm\fP,
+\fB\%set_curterm\fP,
+\fB\%setupterm\fP,
+\fB\%tigetflag\fP,
+\fB\%tigetnum\fP,
+\fB\%tigetstr\fP,
+\fB\%tiparm\fP,
+\fB\%tiparm_s\fP,
+\fB\%tiscan_s\fP,
+\fB\%tparm\fP,
+\fB\%tputs\fP,
+\fB\%vid_attr\fP,
+\fB\%vid_puts\fP,
+\fB\%vidattr\fP,
+\fB\%vidputs\fP \-
+\fIcurses\fR interfaces to \fIterminfo\fR database
.SH SYNOPSIS
.nf
-\fB#include <curses.h>\fP
-\fB#include <term.h>\fP
-.sp
-\fBTERMINAL *cur_term;\fP
-.sp
-\fBconst char * const boolnames[];\fP
-\fBconst char * const boolcodes[];\fP
-\fBconst char * const boolfnames[];\fP
-\fBconst char * const numnames[];\fP
-\fBconst char * const numcodes[];\fP
-\fBconst char * const numfnames[];\fP
-\fBconst char * const strnames[];\fP
-\fBconst char * const strcodes[];\fP
-\fBconst char * const strfnames[];\fP
-.sp
-\fBint setupterm(const char *\fIterm\fB, int \fIfiledes\fB, int *\fIerrret\fB);\fR
-.br
-\fBTERMINAL *set_curterm(TERMINAL *\fInterm\fB);\fR
-.br
-\fBint del_curterm(TERMINAL *\fIoterm\fB);\fR
-.br
-\fBint restartterm(const char *\fIterm\fB, int \fIfiledes\fB, int *\fIerrret\fB);\fR
-.sp
-\fBchar *tparm(const char *\fIstr\fB, ...);\fR
-.br
- \fIor\fP
-.br
-\fBchar *tparm(const char *\fIstr\fB, long \fIp1 ... \fBlong \fIp9\fB);\fR
-.sp
-\fBint tputs(const char *\fIstr\fB, int \fIaffcnt\fB, int (*\fIputc\fB)(int));\fR
-.br
-\fBint putp(const char *\fIstr\fB);\fR
-.sp
-\fBint vidputs(chtype \fIattrs\fB, int (*\fIputc\fB)(int));\fR
-.br
-\fBint vidattr(chtype \fIattrs\fB);\fR
-.br
-\fBint vid_puts(attr_t \fIattrs\fB, short \fIpair\fB, void *\fIopts\fB, int (*\fIputc\fB)(int));\fR
-.br
-\fBint vid_attr(attr_t \fIattrs\fB, short \fIpair\fB, void *\fIopts\fB);\fR
-.sp
-\fBint mvcur(int \fIoldrow\fB, int \fIoldcol\fB, int \fInewrow\fR, int \fInewcol\fB);\fR
-.sp
-\fBint tigetflag(const char *\fIcapname\fB);\fR
-.br
-\fBint tigetnum(const char *\fIcapname\fB);\fR
-.br
-\fBchar *tigetstr(const char *\fIcapname\fB);\fR
-.sp
-\fBchar *tiparm(const char *\fIstr\fB, ...);\fR
-.sp
-/* extensions */
-.br
-\fBchar *tiparm_s(int \fIexpected\fB, int \fImask\fB, const char *\fIstr\fB, ...);\fR
-.br
-\fBint tiscan_s(int *\fIexpected\fB, int *\fImask\fB, const char *\fIstr\fB);\fR
-.br
+\fB#include <curses.h>
+\fB#include <term.h>
+.PP
+\fBTERMINAL *cur_term;
+.PP
+\fBconst char * const boolnames[];
+\fBconst char * const boolcodes[];
+\fBconst char * const boolfnames[];
+\fBconst char * const numnames[];
+\fBconst char * const numcodes[];
+\fBconst char * const numfnames[];
+\fBconst char * const strnames[];
+\fBconst char * const strcodes[];
+\fBconst char * const strfnames[];
+.PP
+\fBint setupterm(const char *\fIterm\fP, int \fIfiledes\fP, int *\fIerrret\fP);
+\fBTERMINAL *set_curterm(TERMINAL *\fInterm\fP);
+\fBint del_curterm(TERMINAL *\fIoterm\fP);
+\fBint restartterm(const char *\fIterm\fP, int \fIfiledes\fP, int *\fIerrret\fP);
+.PP
+\fBchar *tparm(const char *\fIstr\fP, \fR.\|.\|.\fP);
+ \fI/* or */
+\fBchar *tparm(const char *\fIstr\fP, long \fIp1\fP \fR.\|.\|.\fP \fBlong\fP \fIp9\fP);
+.PP
+\fBint tputs(const char *\fIstr\fP, int \fIaffcnt\fP, int (*\fIputc\fP)(int));
+\fBint putp(const char *\fIstr\fP);
+.PP
+\fBint vidputs(chtype \fIattrs\fP, int (*\fIputc\fP)(int));
+\fBint vidattr(chtype \fIattrs\fP);
+\fBint vid_puts(attr_t \fIattrs\fP, short \fIpair\fP, void *\fIopts\fP, int (*\fIputc\fP)(int));
+\fBint vid_attr(attr_t \fIattrs\fP, short \fIpair\fP, void *\fIopts\fP);
+.PP
+\fBint mvcur(int \fIoldrow\fP, int \fIoldcol\fP, int \fInewrow\fP, int \fInewcol\fP);
+.PP
+\fBint tigetflag(const char *\fIcapname\fP);
+\fBint tigetnum(const char *\fIcapname\fP);
+\fBchar *tigetstr(const char *\fIcapname\fP);
+.PP
+\fBchar *tiparm(const char *\fIstr\fP, \fR.\|.\|.\fP);
+.PP
+\fI/* extensions */
+\fBchar *tiparm_s(int \fIexpected\fP, int \fImask\fP, const char *\fIstr\fP, ...);
+\fBint tiscan_s(int *\fIexpected\fP, int *\fImask\fP, const char *\fIstr\fP);
.fi
.SH DESCRIPTION
These low-level routines must be called by programs that have to deal
-directly with the \fBterminfo\fP database to handle certain terminal
+directly with the \fIterminfo\fP database to handle certain terminal
capabilities, such as programming function keys.
For all other
-functionality, \fBcurses\fP routines are more suitable and their use is
+functionality, \fIcurses\fP routines are more suitable and their use is
recommended.
.PP
None of these functions use (or are aware of) multibyte character strings
capability string values have no associated encoding;
they are strings of 8-bit characters.
.SS Initialization
-.PP
Initially, \fBsetupterm\fP should be called.
The high-level curses functions \fBinitscr\fP and
\fBnewterm\fP call \fBsetupterm\fP to initialize the
low-level set of terminal-dependent variables
-[listed in \fBterminfo\fP(\*n)].
+[listed in \fBterminfo\fP(5)].
.PP
Applications can use the
terminal capabilities either directly (via header definitions),
If \fBuse_env(FALSE)\fP has been called, values for
\fBlines\fP and \fBcolumns\fP specified in \fBterminfo\fP are used.
.bP
-Otherwise, if the environment variables \fBLINES\fP and \fBCOLUMNS\fP
-exist, their values are used.
+Otherwise,
+if the environment variables \fILINES\fP and \fI\%COLUMNS\fP exist,
+their values are used.
If these environment variables do not
exist and the program is running in a window, the current window size
is used.
.TP 5
\fIterm\fP
is the terminal type, a character string.
-If \fIterm\fP is null, the environment variable \fBTERM\fP is used.
+If \fIterm\fP is null,
+the environment variable \fITERM\fP is used.
.TP 5
\fIfiledes\fP
-is the file descriptor used for all output.
+is the file descriptor used for getting and setting terminal I/O modes.
+.IP
+Higher-level applications use \fBnewterm\fP(3X) for initializing the terminal,
+passing an output \fIstream\fP rather than a \fIdescriptor\fP.
+In curses, the two are the same because \fBnewterm\fP calls \fBsetupterm\fP,
+passing the file descriptor derived from its output stream parameter.
.TP 5
\fIerrret\fP
points to an optional location where an error status can be returned to
.RS
.TP 5
.B 1
-means that the terminal is hardcopy, cannot be used for curses applications.
+means that the terminal is hardcopy, cannot be used
+for \fIcurses\fP applications.
.IP
-\fBsetupterm\fP determines if the entry is a hardcopy type by
+\fB\%setupterm\fP determines if the entry is a hardcopy type by
checking the \fBhc\fP (\fBhardcopy\fP) capability.
.TP 5
.B 0
means that the terminal could not be found,
or that it is a generic type,
-having too little information for curses applications to run.
+having too little information for \fIcurses\fP applications to run.
.IP
-\fBsetupterm\fP determines if the entry is a generic type by
-checking the \fBgn\fP (\fBgeneric\fP) capability.
+\fB\%setupterm\fP determines if the entry is a generic type by
+checking the \fBgn\fP \%(\fBgeneric_type\fP) capability.
.TP 5
.B \-1
-means that the \fBterminfo\fP database could not be found.
+means that the \fIterminfo\fP database could not be found.
.RE
.IP
If \fIerrret\fP is
-null, \fBsetupterm\fP prints an error message upon finding an error
+null, \fB\%setupterm\fP prints an error message upon finding an error
and exits.
Thus, the simplest call is:
-.sp
- \fBsetupterm((char *)0, 1, (int *)0);\fP,
-.sp
+.IP
+\fBsetupterm((char *)0, 1, (int *)0);\fP,
+.PP
which uses all the defaults and sends the output to \fBstdout\fP.
.RE
.\" ***************************************************************************
-.SS The Terminal State
-.PP
+.SS "The Terminal State"
The \fBsetupterm\fP routine stores its information about the terminal
in a \fBTERMINAL\fP structure pointed to by the global variable \fBcur_term\fP.
If it detects an error,
Accordingly, \fBrestartterm\fP saves various tty state bits,
calls \fBsetupterm\fP, and then restores the bits.
.\" ***************************************************************************
-.SS Formatting Output
-.PP
+.SS "Formatting Output"
The \fBtparm\fP routine instantiates the string \fIstr\fP with
parameters \fIpi\fP. A pointer is returned to the result of \fIstr\fP
with the parameters applied.
it is interpreted by \fBtputs\fP.
.bP
The capability string is null-terminated.
-Use \*(``\\200\*('' where an ASCII NUL is needed in the output.
+Use \*(``\e200\*('' where an ASCII NUL is needed in the output.
.PP
\fBtiparm\fP is a newer form of \fBtparm\fP which uses \fI<stdarg.h>\fP
rather than a fixed-parameter list.
The extension \fBtiscan_s\fP allows the application
to inspect a formatting capability to see what the curses library would assume.
.\" ***************************************************************************
-.SS Output Functions
-.PP
-The \fBtputs\fP routine applies padding information
-(i.e., by interpreting marker embedded in the terminfo capability
-such as \*(``$<5>\*('' as 5 milliseconds)
-to the string
-\fIstr\fP and outputs it:
+.SS "Output Functions"
+String capabilities can contain padding information,
+a time delay
+(accommodating performance limitations of hardware terminals)
+expressed as \fB$<\fIn\fB>\fR,
+where \fIn\fP is a nonnegative integral count of milliseconds.
+If \fIn\fP exceeds 30,000
+(thirty seconds),
+it is capped at that value.
+.PP
+The \fBtputs\fP routine interprets time-delay information in the string
+\fIstr\fP and outputs it, executing the delays:
.bP
The \fIstr\fP parameter must be a terminfo string
variable or the return value from
.bP
\fIputc\fP is a \fBputchar\fP-like routine to which
the characters are passed, one at a time.
+.IP
+If \fBtputs\fP processes a time-delay,
+it uses the \fBdelay_output\fP(3X) function,
+routing any resulting padding characters through this function.
.PP
The \fBputp\fR routine calls \fBtputs(\fIstr\fB, 1, putchar)\fR.
The output of \fBputp\fP always goes to \fBstdout\fP, rather than
.bP
\fIattrs\fP of type \fBattr_t\fP for the attributes and
.bP
-\fIpair\fP of type \fBshort\fP for the color-pair number.
+\fIpair\fP of type \fBshort\fP for the color pair number.
.PP
The \fBvid_attr\fP and \fBvid_puts\fP routines
are designed to use the attribute constants with the \fBWA_\fP prefix.
.PP
The \fBmvcur\fP routine provides low-level cursor motion.
It takes effect immediately (rather than at the next refresh).
+Unlike the other low-level output functions,
+which either write to the standard output or pass an output function parameter,
+\fBmvcur\fP uses an output file descriptor derived from
+the output stream parameter of \fBnewterm\fP(3X).
.PP
While \fBputp\fP and \fBmvcur\fP are low-level functions which
do not use the high-level curses state,
-they are declared in \fB<curses.h>\fP because SystemV did this
+they are declared in \fB\%<curses.h>\fP because System\ V did this
(see \fIHISTORY\fP).
.\" ***************************************************************************
-.SS Terminal Capability Functions
-.PP
+.SS "Terminal Capability Functions"
The \fBtigetflag\fP, \fBtigetnum\fP and \fBtigetstr\fP routines return
the value of the capability corresponding to the \fBterminfo\fP
\fIcapname\fP passed to them, such as \fBxenl\fP.
The \fIcapname\fP for each capability is given in the table column entitled
-\fIcapname\fP code in the capabilities section of \fBterminfo\fP(\*n).
+\fIcapname\fP code in the capabilities section of \fBterminfo\fP(5).
.PP
These routines return special values to denote errors.
.PP
\fB0\fP
if it is canceled or absent from the terminal description.
.\" ***************************************************************************
-.SS Terminal Capability Names
-.PP
+.SS "Terminal Capability Names"
These null-terminated arrays contain
.bP
-the short terminfo names (\*(``codes\*(''),
+the short \fIterminfo\fP names (\*(``codes\*(''),
.bP
-the \fBtermcap\fP names (\*(``names\*(''), and
+the \fItermcap\fP names (\*(``names\*(''), and
.bP
-the long terminfo names (\*(``fnames\*('')
+the long \fIterminfo\fP names (\*(``fnames\*('')
+.PP
+for each of the predefined \fIterminfo\fP variables:
.PP
-for each of the predefined \fBterminfo\fP variables:
-.sp
.RS
+.nf
\fBconst char *boolnames[]\fP, \fB*boolcodes[]\fP, \fB*boolfnames[]\fP
-.br
\fBconst char *numnames[]\fP, \fB*numcodes[]\fP, \fB*numfnames[]\fP
-.br
\fBconst char *strnames[]\fP, \fB*strcodes[]\fP, \fB*strfnames[]\fP
+.fi
.RE
.\" ***************************************************************************
-.SS Releasing Memory
+.SS "Releasing Memory"
Each successful call to \fBsetupterm\fP allocates memory to hold the terminal
description.
As a side-effect, it sets \fBcur_term\fP to point to this memory.
If an application calls
-.sp
- \fBdel_curterm(cur_term);\fP
-.sp
+.IP
+\fBdel_curterm(cur_term);\fP
+.PP
the memory will be freed.
.PP
The formatting functions \fBtparm\fP and \fBtiparm\fP extend the storage
-allocated by \fBsetupterm\fP:
+allocated by \fBsetupterm\fP:
.bP
the \*(``static\*('' terminfo variables [a-z].
-Before ncurses 6.3, those were shared by all screens.
-With ncurses 6.3, those are allocated per screen.
-See \fBterminfo\fP(\*n) for details.
+Before \fI\%ncurses\fP 6.3, those were shared by all screens.
+With \fI\%ncurses\fP 6.3, those are allocated per screen.
+See \fBterminfo\fP(5) for details.
.bP
-to improve performance, ncurses 6.3 caches the result of analyzing terminfo
+to improve performance,
+\fI\%ncurses\fP 6.3 caches the result of analyzing terminfo
strings for their parameter types.
That is stored as a binary tree referenced from the \fBTERMINAL\fP structure.
.PP
of the output function \fIputc\fP.
.RE
.\" ***************************************************************************
-.SS Compatibility macros
+.SH NOTES
+X/Open notes that \fBvidattr\fP and \fBvidputs\fP may be macros.
+.\" ***************************************************************************
+.SH EXTENSIONS
+The functions marked as extensions were designed for
+\fB\%ncurses\fP(3X),
+and are not found in SVr4 curses, 4.4BSD curses,
+or any other previous version of curses.
+.\" ***************************************************************************
+.SH PORTABILITY
+The function \fBsetterm\fP is not described by X/Open and must
+be considered non-portable.
+All other functions are as described by X/Open.
+.SS "Compatibility Macros"
This implementation provides a few macros for compatibility with systems
before SVr4 (see \fIHISTORY\fP).
Those include
but except for \fBsetterm\fP, are likewise macros.
The one function, \fBsetterm\fP, is mentioned in the manual page.
The manual page notes that the \fBsetterm\fP routine
-was replaced by \fBsetupterm\fP, stating that the call:
-.sp
- \fBsetupterm(\fIterm\fB, 1, (int *)0)\fR
-.sp
+was replaced by \fB\%setupterm\fP, stating that the call
+.IP
+\fBsetupterm(\fIterm\fB, 1, (int *)0)\fR
+.PP
provides the same functionality as \fBsetterm(\fIterm\fB)\fR,
and is not recommended for new programs.
This implementation provides each of those symbols
-as macros for BSD compatibility,
-.\" ***************************************************************************
-.SH HISTORY
-.PP
-SVr2 introduced the terminfo feature.
-Its programming manual mentioned these low-level functions:
-.TS
-l l
-_ _
-l l.
-\fBFunction\fP \fBDescription\fP
-fixterm restore tty to \*(``in curses\*('' state
-gettmode establish current tty modes
-mvcur low level cursor motion
-putp T{
-utility function that uses \fBtputs\fP to send characters via \fBputchar\fP.
-T}
-resetterm set tty modes to \*(``out of curses\*('' state
-resetty reset tty flags to stored value
-saveterm save current modes as \*(``in curses\*('' state
-savetty store current tty flags
-setterm establish terminal with given type
-setupterm establish terminal with given type
-tparm instantiate a string expression with parameters
-tputs apply padding information to a string
-vidattr like \fBvidputs\fP, but outputs through \fBputchar\fP
-vidputs T{
-output a string to put terminal in a specified video attribute mode
-T}
-.TE
-.PP
-The programming manual also mentioned
-functions provided for termcap compatibility
-(commenting that they \*(``may go away at a later date\*(''):
-.TS
-l l
-_ _
-l l.
-\fBFunction\fP \fBDescription\fP
-tgetent look up termcap entry for given \fIname\fP
-tgetflag get boolean entry for given \fIid\fP
-tgetnum get numeric entry for given \fIid\fP
-tgetstr get string entry for given \fIid\fP
-tgoto apply parameters to given capability
-tputs T{
-apply padding to capability, calling a function to put characters
-T}
-.TE
-.PP
-Early terminfo programs obtained capability values from the
-\fBTERMINAL\fP structure initialized by \fBsetupterm\fP.
-.PP
-SVr3 extended terminfo by adding functions to retrieve capability values
-(like the termcap interface),
-and reusing tgoto and tputs:
-.TS
-l l
-_ _
-l l.
-\fBFunction\fP \fBDescription\fP
-tigetflag get boolean entry for given \fIid\fP
-tigetnum get numeric entry for given \fIid\fP
-tigetstr get string entry for given \fIid\fP
-.TE
-.PP
-SVr3 also replaced several of the SVr2 terminfo functions
-which had no counterpart in the termcap interface,
-documenting them as obsolete:
-.TS
-l l
-_ _
-l l.
-\fBFunction\fP \fBReplaced by\fP
-crmode cbreak
-fixterm reset_prog_mode
-gettmode N/A
-nocrmode nocbreak
-resetterm reset_shell_mode
-saveterm def_prog_mode
-setterm setupterm
-.TE
-.PP
-SVr3 kept the \fBmvcur\fP, \fBvidattr\fP and \fBvidputs\fP functions,
-along with \fBputp\fP, \fBtparm\fP and \fBtputs\fP.
-The latter were needed to support padding,
-and handling functions such as \fBvidattr\fP
-(which used more than the two parameters supported by \fBtgoto\fP).
-.PP
-SVr3 introduced the functions for switching between terminal
-descriptions, e.g., \fBset_curterm\fP.
-Some of that was incremental improvements to the SVr2 library:
-.bP
-The \fBTERMINAL\fP type definition was introduced in SVr3.01,
-for the \fBterm\fP structure provided in SVr2.
-.bP
-The various global variables such as \fBboolnames\fP were mentioned
-in the programming manual at this point,
-though the variables were provided in SVr2.
-.PP
-SVr4 added the \fBvid_attr\fP and \fBvid_puts\fP functions.
-.PP
-There are other low-level functions declared in the curses header files
-on Unix systems,
-but none were documented.
-The functions marked \*(``obsolete\*('' remained in use
-by the Unix \fBvi\fP(1) editor.
-.SH PORTABILITY
-.SS Extensions
-The functions marked as extensions were designed for \fBncurses\fP(3X),
-and are not found in SVr4 curses, 4.4BSD curses,
-or any other previous version of curses.
-.PP
-.SS Legacy functions
-.PP
-X/Open notes that \fBvidattr\fP and \fBvidputs\fP may be macros.
-.PP
-The function \fBsetterm\fP is not described by X/Open and must
-be considered non-portable.
-All other functions are as described by X/Open.
-.SS Legacy data
-.PP
+as macros for BSD compatibility.
+.SS "Legacy Data"
\fBsetupterm\fP copies the terminal name to the array \fBttytype\fP.
This is not part of X/Open Curses, but is assumed by some applications.
.PP
.PP
Extended terminal capability names, e.g., as defined by \fB@TIC@\ \-x\fP,
are not stored in the arrays described here.
-.SS Output buffering
-.PP
-Older versions of \fBncurses\fP assumed that the file descriptor passed to
-\fBsetupterm\fP from \fBinitscr\fP or \fBnewterm\fP uses buffered I/O,
+.SS "Output Buffering"
+Older versions of \fI\%ncurses\fP assumed that the file descriptor
+passed to \fBsetupterm\fP from \fBinitscr\fP or \fBnewterm\fP uses
+buffered I/O,
and would write to the corresponding stream.
In addition to the limitation that the terminal was left in block-buffered
mode on exit (like System V curses),
-it was problematic because \fBncurses\fP
+it was problematic because \fI\%ncurses\fP
did not allow a reliable way to cleanup on receiving SIGTSTP.
.PP
The current version (ncurses6)
-uses output buffers managed directly by \fBncurses\fP.
+uses output buffers managed directly by \fI\%ncurses\fP.
Some of the low-level functions described in this manual page write
to the standard output.
They are not signal-safe.
-The high-level functions in \fBncurses\fP use
+The high-level functions in \fI\%ncurses\fP use
alternate versions of these functions
using the more reliable buffering scheme.
-.SS Function prototypes
-.PP
+.SS "Function Prototypes"
The X/Open Curses prototypes are based on the SVr4 curses header declarations,
which were defined at the same time the C language was first standardized in
the late 1980s.
.IP
As an extension, this implementation can be configured to change the
function prototypes to use the \fBconst\fP keyword.
-The ncurses ABI 6 enables this feature by default.
+The \fI\%ncurses\fP ABI 6 enables this feature by default.
.bP
X/Open Curses prototypes \fBtparm\fP with a fixed number of parameters,
rather than a variable argument list.
In response to review comments by Thomas E. Dickey,
X/Open Curses Issue 7 proposed the \fBtiparm\fP function in mid-2009.
.IP
-While \fBtiparm\fP is always provided in ncurses,
+While \fBtiparm\fP is always provided in \fI\%ncurses\fP,
the older form is only available as a build-time configuration option.
If not specially configured, \fBtparm\fP is the same as \fBtiparm\fP.
.PP
.IP
Using \fBlong\fP for the numeric parameter type is a workaround
to make the parameter use the same amount of stack as a pointer.
-That approach dates back to the mid-1980s, before C was standarized.
+That approach dates back to the mid-1980s, before C was standardized.
Since then, there is a standard
(and pointers are not required to fit in a long).
.bP
However, only a few terminfo capabilities use string parameters
(e.g., the ones used for programmable function keys).
.IP
-The ncurses library checks usage of these capabilities,
+The \fI\%ncurses\fP library checks usage of these capabilities,
and returns an error if the capability mishandles string parameters.
But it cannot check if a calling program provides strings in the right
places for the \fBtparm\fP calls.
.IP
The \fB@TPUT@\fR(1) program checks its use of these capabilities with a table,
so that it calls \fBtparm\fP correctly.
-.SS Special TERM treatment
-.PP
+.SS "Special \fITERM\fP treatment"
If configured to use the terminal-driver,
e.g., for the MinGW port,
.bP
-\fBsetupterm\fP interprets a missing/empty TERM variable as the
+\fBsetupterm\fP interprets a missing/empty \fITERM\fP variable as the
special value \*(``unknown\*(''.
+.IP
+SVr4 curses uses the
+special value \*(``dumb\*(''.
+.IP
+The difference between the two is that
+the former uses the \fBgn\fP (\fBgeneric_type\fR) terminfo capability,
+while the latter does not.
+A generic terminal is unsuitable for full-screen applications.
.bP
\fBsetupterm\fP allows explicit use of the
-the windows console driver by checking if $TERM is set to
+the windows console driver by checking if \fB$TERM\fP is set to
\*(``#win32con\*('' or an abbreviation of that string.
-.SS Other portability issues
-.PP
+.SS "Other Portability Issues"
In System V Release 4, \fBset_curterm\fP has an \fBint\fP return type and
returns \fBOK\fP or \fBERR\fP. We have chosen to implement the X/Open Curses
semantics.
X/Open notes that after calling \fBmvcur\fP, the curses state may not match the
actual terminal state, and that an application should touch and refresh
the window before resuming normal curses calls.
-Both \fBncurses\fP and System V Release 4 curses implement \fBmvcur\fP using
-the SCREEN data allocated in either \fBinitscr\fP or \fBnewterm\fP.
+Both \fI\%ncurses\fP and System V Release 4 curses implement \fBmvcur\fP
+using the SCREEN data allocated in either \fBinitscr\fP or
+\fBnewterm\fP.
So though it is documented as a terminfo function,
\fBmvcur\fP is really a curses function which is not well specified.
.PP
X/Open states that the old location must be given for \fBmvcur\fP.
This implementation allows the caller to use \-1's for the old ordinates.
In that case, the old location is unknown.
+.\" ***************************************************************************
+.SH HISTORY
+SVr2 introduced the terminfo feature.
+Its programming manual mentioned the following low-level functions.
+.PP
+.TS
+lB lB
+lB lx.
+Function Description
+_
+fixterm restore tty to \*(``in curses\*('' state
+gettmode establish current tty modes
+mvcur low level cursor motion
+putp T{
+utility function that uses \fBtputs\fP to send characters via \fBputchar\fP.
+T}
+resetterm set tty modes to \*(``out of curses\*('' state
+resetty reset tty flags to stored value
+saveterm save current modes as \*(``in curses\*('' state
+savetty store current tty flags
+setterm establish terminal with given type
+setupterm establish terminal with given type
+tparm instantiate a string expression with parameters
+tputs apply padding information to a string
+vidattr like \fBvidputs\fP, but outputs through \fBputchar\fP
+vidputs T{
+output a string to put terminal in a specified video attribute mode
+T}
+.TE
+.PP
+The programming manual also mentioned
+functions provided for \fItermcap\fP compatibility
+(commenting that they \*(``may go away at a later date\*('').
+.PP
+.TS
+lB lB
+lB lx.
+Function Description
+_
+tgetent look up \fItermcap\fP entry for given \fIname\fP
+tgetflag get boolean entry for given \fIid\fP
+tgetnum get numeric entry for given \fIid\fP
+tgetstr get string entry for given \fIid\fP
+tgoto apply parameters to given capability
+tputs T{
+apply padding to capability, calling a function to put characters
+T}
+.TE
+.PP
+Early terminfo programs obtained capability values from the
+\fBTERMINAL\fP structure initialized by \fBsetupterm\fP.
+.PP
+SVr3 extended terminfo by adding functions to retrieve capability values
+(like the termcap interface),
+and reusing \fBtgoto\fP and \fBtputs\fP:
+.PP
+.TS
+lB lB
+lB lx.
+Function Description
+_
+tigetflag get boolean entry for given \fIid\fP
+tigetnum get numeric entry for given \fIid\fP
+tigetstr get string entry for given \fIid\fP
+.TE
+.PP
+SVr3 also replaced several of the SVr2 \fIterminfo\fP functions
+which had no counterpart in the \fItermcap\fP interface,
+documenting them as obsolete.
+.PP
+.TS
+lB lB
+l lx.
+Function Replaced by
+_
+crmode cbreak
+fixterm reset_prog_mode
+gettmode \fIn/a\fP
+nocrmode nocbreak
+resetterm reset_shell_mode
+saveterm def_prog_mode
+setterm setupterm
+.TE
+.PP
+SVr3 kept the \fBmvcur\fP, \fBvidattr\fP and \fBvidputs\fP functions,
+along with \fBputp\fP, \fBtparm\fP and \fBtputs\fP.
+The latter were needed to support padding,
+and handling functions such as \fBvidattr\fP
+(which used more than the two parameters supported by \fBtgoto\fP).
+.PP
+SVr3 introduced the functions for switching between terminal
+descriptions, e.g., \fBset_curterm\fP.
+Some of that was incremental improvements to the SVr2 library:
+.bP
+The \fBTERMINAL\fP type definition was introduced in SVr3.01,
+for the \fBterm\fP structure provided in SVr2.
+.bP
+The various global variables such as \fBboolnames\fP were mentioned
+in the programming manual at this point,
+though the variables were provided in SVr2.
+.PP
+SVr4 added the \fBvid_attr\fP and \fBvid_puts\fP functions.
+.PP
+There are other low-level functions declared in the \fIcurses\fP header files
+on Unix systems,
+but none were documented.
+The functions marked \*(``obsolete\*('' remained in use
+by the Unix \fBvi\fP(1) editor.
.SH SEE ALSO
-\fBcurses\fP(3X),
-\fBcurs_initscr\fP(3X),
-\fBcurs_kernel\fP(3X),
-\fBcurs_memleaks\fP(3X),
-\fBcurs_termcap\fP(3X),
-\fBcurs_variables\fP(3X),
-\fBterm_variables\fP(3X),
-\fBputc\fP(3),
-\fBterminfo\fP(\*n)
+\fB\%curses\fP(3X),
+\fB\%curs_initscr\fP(3X),
+\fB\%curs_kernel\fP(3X),
+\fB\%curs_memleaks\fP(3X),
+\fB\%curs_termcap\fP(3X),
+\fB\%curs_variables\fP(3X),
+\fB\%putc\fP(3),
+\fB\%term_variables\fP(3X),
+\fB\%terminfo\fP(5)
projects / ncurses.git / blobdiff