+'\" t
.\"***************************************************************************
-.\" Copyright (c) 1999-2016,2017 Free Software Foundation, Inc. *
+.\" Copyright 2018-2022,2023 Thomas E. Dickey *
+.\" Copyright 1998-2016,2017 Free Software Foundation, Inc. *
.\" *
.\" Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a *
.\" copy of this software and associated documentation files (the *
.\" authorization. *
.\"***************************************************************************
.\"
-.\" $Id: curs_terminfo.3x,v 1.55 2017/03/31 15:16:15 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 1.125 2023/12/30 23:46:56 tom Exp $
+.TH curs_terminfo 3X 2023-12-30 "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
-.IP \(bu 4
+.ie n .IP \(bu 4
+.el .IP \(bu 2
..
-.ds n 5
-.na
-.hy 0
+.
.SH NAME
-\fBdel_curterm\fR,
-\fBmvcur\fR,
-\fBputp\fR,
-\fBrestartterm\fR,
-\fBset_curterm\fR,
-\fBsetterm\fR,
-\fBsetupterm\fR,
-\fBtigetflag\fR,
-\fBtigetnum\fR,
-\fBtigetstr\fR,
-\fBtiparm\fR,
-\fBtparm\fR,
-\fBtputs\fR,
-\fBvid_attr\fR,
-\fBvid_puts\fR,
-\fBvidattr\fR,
-\fBvidputs\fR \- \fBcurses\fR 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 \fI\%term\%info\fR database
.SH SYNOPSIS
.nf
-\fB#include <curses.h>\fR
-.br
-\fB#include <term.h>\fR
-.sp
-\fBTERMINAL *cur_term;\fR
-.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 *\fR\fIterm\fR\fB, int \fR\fIfiledes\fR\fB, int *\fR\fIerrret\fR\fB);\fR
-.br
-\fBint setterm(const char *\fR\fIterm\fR\fB);\fR
-.br
-\fBTERMINAL *set_curterm(TERMINAL *\fR\fInterm\fR\fB);\fR
-.br
-\fBint del_curterm(TERMINAL *\fR\fIoterm\fR\fB);\fR
-.br
-\fBint restartterm(const char *\fR\fIterm\fR\fB, int \fR\fIfiledes\fR\fB, int *\fR\fIerrret\fR\fB);\fR
-.sp
-\fBchar *tparm(const char *\fR\fIstr\fR\fB, ...);\fR
-.br
-\fBint tputs(const char *\fR\fIstr\fR\fB, int \fR\fIaffcnt\fR\fB, int (*\fR\fIputc\fR\fB)(int));\fR
-.br
-\fBint putp(const char *\fR\fIstr\fR\fB);\fR
-.sp
-\fBint vidputs(chtype \fR\fIattrs\fR\fB, int (*\fR\fIputc\fR\fB)(int));\fR
-.br
-\fBint vidattr(chtype \fR\fIattrs\fR\fB);\fR
-.br
-\fBint vid_puts(attr_t \fR\fIattrs\fR\fB, short \fR\fIpair\fR\fB, void *\fR\fIopts\fR\fB, int (*\fR\fIputc\fR\fB)(int));\fR
-.br
-\fBint vid_attr(attr_t \fR\fIattrs\fR\fB, short \fR\fIpair\fR\fB, void *\fR\fIopts\fR\fB);\fR
-.sp
-\fBint mvcur(int \fR\fIoldrow\fR\fB, int \fR\fIoldcol\fR\fB, int \fR\fInewrow\fR, int \fR\fInewcol\fR\fB);\fR
-.sp
-\fBint tigetflag(const char *\fR\fIcapname\fR\fB);\fR
-.br
-\fBint tigetnum(const char *\fR\fIcapname\fR\fB);\fR
-.br
-\fBchar *tigetstr(const char *\fR\fIcapname\fR\fB);\fR
-.sp
-\fBchar *tiparm(const char *\fR\fIstr\fR\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);
+.PP
+\fI/* deprecated */
+\fBint setterm(const char *\fIterm\fP);
.fi
.SH DESCRIPTION
These low-level routines must be called by programs that have to deal
-directly with the \fBterminfo\fR database to handle certain terminal
-capabilities, such as programming function keys. For all other
-functionality, \fBcurses\fR routines are more suitable and their use is
-recommended.
+directly with the
+.I \%term\%info
+database to handle certain terminal capabilities,
+such as programming function keys.
+For all other functionality,
+.I curses
+routines are more suitable and their use is recommended.
+.PP
+None of these functions use
+(or are aware of)
+multibyte character strings such as UTF-8.
+.bP
+Capability names and codes use the POSIX portable character set.
+.bP
+Capability string values have no associated encoding;
+they are strings of 8-bit characters.
.SS Initialization
-.PP
-Initially, \fBsetupterm\fR should be called.
-The high-level curses functions \fBinitscr\fR and
-\fBnewterm\fR call \fBsetupterm\fP to initialize the
-low-level set of terminal-dependent variables
-[listed in \fBterminfo\fR(\*n)].
+Initially,
+\fB\%setupterm\fP should be called.
+The high-level
+.I curses
+functions \fB\%initscr\fP and \fB\%newterm\fP call \fB\%setupterm\fP to
+initialize the low-level set of terminal-dependent variables
+listed in \fB\%term_variables\fP(3X).
.PP
Applications can use the
-terminal capabilities either directly (via header definitions),
+terminal capabilities either directly
+(via header definitions),
or by special functions.
-The header files \fBcurses.h\fR and \fBterm.h\fR should be included (in this
-order) to get the definitions for these strings, numbers, and flags.
-.PP
-The \fBterminfo\fR variables
-\fBlines\fR and \fBcolumns\fR are initialized by \fBsetupterm\fR as
+The header files
+.I \%curses.h
+and
+.I \%term.h
+should be included
+(in that order)
+to get the definitions for these strings, numbers, and flags.
+.PP
+The
+.I \%term\%info
+variables
+\fBlines\fP and \fBcolumns\fP are initialized by \fB\%setupterm\fP as
follows:
.bP
-If \fBuse_env(FALSE)\fR has been called, values for
-\fBlines\fR and \fBcolumns\fR specified in \fBterminfo\fR are used.
+If \fB\%use_env(FALSE)\fP has been called,
+values for \fBlines\fP and \fBcolumns\fP specified in
+.I \%term\%info
+are used.
.bP
-Otherwise, if the environment variables \fBLINES\fR and \fBCOLUMNS\fR
-exist, their values are used. If these environment variables do not
+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. Otherwise, if the environment variables do not exist, the
-values for \fBlines\fR and \fBcolumns\fR specified in the
-\fBterminfo\fR database are used.
-.PP
-Parameterized strings should be passed through \fBtparm\fR to instantiate them.
-All \fBterminfo\fR strings [including the output of \fBtparm\fR] should be printed
-with \fBtputs\fR or \fBputp\fR.
-Call \fBreset_shell_mode\fR to restore the
-tty modes before exiting [see \fBcurs_kernel\fR(3X)].
+is used.
+Otherwise, if the environment variables do not exist, the
+values for \fBlines\fP and \fBcolumns\fP specified in the
+.I \%term\%info
+database are used.
+.PP
+Parameterized strings should be passed through \fBtparm\fP to instantiate them.
+All
+.I \%term\%info
+strings
+(including the output of \fBtparm\fP)
+should be printed
+with \fBtputs\fP or \fBputp\fP.
+Call \fBreset_shell_mode\fP to restore the
+tty modes before exiting [see \fBcurs_kernel\fP(3X)].
.PP
Programs which use
cursor addressing should
.bP
-output \fBenter_ca_mode\fR upon startup and
+output \fBenter_ca_mode\fP upon startup and
.bP
-output \fBexit_ca_mode\fR before exiting.
+output \fBexit_ca_mode\fP before exiting.
.PP
Programs which execute shell subprocesses should
.bP
-call \fBreset_shell_mode\fR and
-output \fBexit_ca_mode\fR before the shell
+call \fBreset_shell_mode\fP and
+output \fBexit_ca_mode\fP before the shell
is called and
.bP
-output \fBenter_ca_mode\fR and
-call \fBreset_prog_mode\fR after returning from the shell.
-.PP
-The \fBsetupterm\fR routine reads in the \fBterminfo\fR database,
-initializing the \fBterminfo\fR structures, but does not set up the
-output virtualization structures used by \fBcurses\fR.
+output \fBenter_ca_mode\fP and
+call \fBreset_prog_mode\fP after returning from the shell.
+.PP
+The \fB\%setupterm\fP routine reads in the
+.I \%term\%info
+database,
+initializing the
+.I \%term\%info
+structures,
+but does not set up the output virtualization structures used by
+.I curses.
These are its parameters:
.RS 3
.TP 5
\fIterm\fP
is the terminal type, a character string.
-If \fIterm\fR is null, the environment variable \fBTERM\fR 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
the caller.
-If \fIerrret\fR is not null,
-then \fBsetupterm\fR returns \fBOK\fR or
-\fBERR\fR and stores a status value in the integer pointed to by
-\fIerrret\fR.
-A return value of \fBOK\fR combined with status of \fB1\fR in \fIerrret\fR
+If \fIerrret\fP is not null,
+then \fBsetupterm\fP returns \fBOK\fP or
+\fBERR\fP and stores a status value in the integer pointed to by
+\fIerrret\fP.
+A return value of \fBOK\fP combined with status of \fB1\fP in \fIerrret\fP
is normal.
.IP
-If \fBERR\fR is returned, examine \fIerrret\fR:
+If \fBERR\fP is returned, examine \fIerrret\fP:
.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\fR database could not be found.
+means that the
+.I \%term\%info
+database could not be found.
.RE
.IP
-If \fIerrret\fR is
-null, \fBsetupterm\fR prints an error message upon finding an error
-and exits. Thus, the simplest call is:
-.sp
- \fBsetupterm((char *)0, 1, (int *)0);\fR,
-.sp
-which uses all the defaults and sends the output to \fBstdout\fR.
+If \fIerrret\fP is
+null, \fB\%setupterm\fP prints an error message upon finding an error
+and exits.
+Thus, the simplest call is:
+.RS
+.IP
+\fBsetupterm((char *)0, 1, (int *)0);\fP
+.RE
+.IP
+which uses all the defaults and sends the output to \fBstdout\fP.
.RE
-.PP
-The \fBsetterm\fR routine was replaced by \fBsetupterm\fR. The call:
-.sp
- \fBsetupterm(\fR\fIterm\fR\fB, 1, (int *)0)\fR
-.sp
-provides the same functionality as \fBsetterm(\fR\fIterm\fR\fB)\fR.
-The \fBsetterm\fR routine is provided for BSD compatibility, and
-is not recommended for new programs.
.\" ***************************************************************************
-.SS The Terminal State
-.PP
-The \fBsetupterm\fR routine stores its information about the terminal
-in a \fBTERMINAL\fP structure pointed to by the global variable \fBcur_term\fP.
+.SS "The Terminal State"
+The \fBsetupterm\fP routine stores its information about the terminal
+in a \fI\%TERMINAL\fP structure pointed to by the global variable \fBcur_term\fP.
If it detects an error,
or decides that the terminal is unsuitable (hardcopy or generic),
it discards this information,
If it is called for different terminal types,
\fBsetupterm\fP allocates new storage for each set of terminal capabilities.
.PP
-The \fBset_curterm\fR routine sets \fBcur_term\fR to
-\fInterm\fR, and makes all of the \fBterminfo\fR boolean, numeric, and
-string variables use the values from \fInterm\fR.
-It returns the old value of \fBcur_term\fR.
-.PP
-The \fBdel_curterm\fR routine frees the space pointed to by
-\fIoterm\fR and makes it available for further use. If \fIoterm\fR is
-the same as \fBcur_term\fR, references to any of the \fBterminfo\fR
-boolean, numeric, and string variables thereafter may refer to invalid
-memory locations until another \fBsetupterm\fR has been called.
-.PP
-The \fBrestartterm\fR routine is similar to \fBsetupterm\fR and \fBinitscr\fR,
+\fB\%set_curterm\fP sets \fB\%cur_term\fP to
+.I \%nterm,
+and makes all of the
+.I \%term\%info
+Boolean,
+numeric,
+and string variables use the values from
+.I \%nterm.
+It returns the old value of \fB\%cur_term\fP.
+.PP
+\fB\%del_curterm\fP routine frees the space pointed to by
+.I \%oterm
+and makes it available for further use.
+If
+.I \%oterm
+is
+the same as \fB\%cur_term\fP,
+references to any of the
+.I \%term\%info
+Boolean,
+numeric,
+and string variables thereafter may refer to invalid memory locations
+until another \fB\%setupterm\fP has been called.
+.PP
+The \fBrestartterm\fP routine is similar to \fBsetupterm\fP and \fBinitscr\fP,
except that it is called after restoring memory to a previous state (for
example, when reloading a game saved as a core image dump).
\fBrestartterm\fP assumes that the windows and the input and output options
Accordingly, \fBrestartterm\fP saves various tty state bits,
calls \fBsetupterm\fP, and then restores the bits.
.\" ***************************************************************************
-.SS Formatting Output
-.PP
-The \fBtparm\fR routine instantiates the string \fIstr\fR with
-parameters \fIpi\fR. A pointer is returned to the result of \fIstr\fR
+.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.
Application developers should keep in mind these quirks of the interface:
.bP
.bP
Aside from the \fBset_attributes\fP (\fBsgr\fP) capability,
most terminal capabilities require no more than one or two parameters.
+.bP
+Padding information is ignored by \fBtparm\fP;
+it is interpreted by \fBtputs\fP.
+.bP
+The capability string is null-terminated.
+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
+\fB\%tiparm\fP is a newer form of \fB\%tparm\fP which uses
+.I \%stdarg.h
rather than a fixed-parameter list.
-Its numeric parameters are integers (int) rather than longs.
+Its numeric parameters are
+.IR int s
+rather than
+.IR long s.
+.PP
+Both \fBtparm\fP and \fBtiparm\fP assume that the application passes
+parameters consistent with the terminal description.
+Two extensions are provided as alternatives to deal with untrusted data:
+.bP
+\fBtiparm_s\fP is an extension which is a safer formatting function
+than \fBtparm\fR or \fBtiparm\fR,
+because it allows the developer to tell the curses
+library how many parameters to expect in the parameter list,
+and which may be string parameters.
+.IP
+The \fImask\fP parameter has one bit set for each of the parameters
+(up to 9) which will be passed as char* rather than numbers.
+.bP
+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\fR routine applies padding information to the string
-\fIstr\fR 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\fR must be a terminfo string
-variable or the return value from \fBtparm\fR, \fBtgetstr\fR, or
-\fBtgoto\fR.
+The \fIstr\fP parameter must be a terminfo string
+variable or the return value from
+\fBtparm\fP, \fBtiparm\fP, \fBtgetstr\fP, or \fBtgoto\fP.
+.IP
+The \fBtgetstr\fP and \fBtgoto\fP functions are part of the \fItermcap\fP
+interface,
+which happens to share this function name with the
+.I \%term\%info
+interface.
.bP
-\fIaffcnt\fR is the number of lines affected, or 1 if
+\fIaffcnt\fP is the number of lines affected, or 1 if
not applicable.
.bP
-\fIputc\fR is a \fBputchar\fR-like routine to which
+\fIputc\fP is a \fI\%putchar\fP-like function to which
the characters are passed, one at a time.
-.PP
-The \fBputp\fR routine calls \fBtputs(\fR\fIstr\fR\fB, 1, putchar)\fR.
-The output of \fBputp\fR always goes to \fBstdout\fR, rather than
-the \fIfiledes\fR specified in \fBsetupterm\fR.
-.PP
-The \fBvidputs\fR routine displays the string on the terminal in the
-video attribute mode \fIattrs\fR, which is any combination of the
-attributes listed in \fBcurses\fR(3X). The characters are passed to
-the \fBputchar\fR-like routine \fIputc\fR.
-.PP
-The \fBvidattr\fR routine is like the \fBvidputs\fR routine, except
-that it outputs through \fBputchar\fR.
-.PP
-The \fBvid_attr\fR and \fBvid_puts\fR routines correspond to vidattr and vidputs,
+.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
+the \fIfiledes\fP specified in \fBsetupterm\fP.
+.PP
+The \fBvidputs\fP routine displays the string on the terminal in the
+video attribute mode \fIattrs\fP, which is any combination of the
+attributes listed in \fBcurses\fP(3X).
+The characters are passed to
+the \fI\%putchar\fP-like function \fIputc\fP.
+.PP
+The \fBvidattr\fP routine is like the \fBvidputs\fP routine, except
+that it outputs through \fI\%putchar\fP.
+.PP
+.B \%vid_attr
+and
+.B \%vid_puts
+correspond to
+.B \%vidattr
+and
+.BR \%vidputs ,
respectively.
-They use a set of arguments for representing the video attributes plus color,
-i.e.,
+They use multiple parameters to represent the character attributes and
+color;
+namely,
.bP
-\fIattrs\fP of type \fBattr_t\fP for the attributes and
+.I \%attrs,
+of type
+.I \%attr_t,
+for the attributes and
.bP
-\fIpair\fP of type \fBshort\fP for the color-pair number.
-.PP
-The \fBvid_attr\fR and \fBvid_puts\fR routines
-are designed to use the attribute constants with the \fIWA_\fR prefix.
-.PP
-X/Open Curses reserves the \fIopts\fP argument for future use,
-saying that applications must provide a null pointer for that argument.
-As an extension,
-this implementation allows \fIopts\fP to be used as a pointer to \fBint\fP,
-which overrides the \fIpair\fP (\fBshort\fP) argument.
-.PP
-The \fBmvcur\fR routine provides low-level cursor motion. It takes
-effect immediately (rather than at the next refresh).
+.I pair,
+of type
+.I short,
+for the color pair number.
+.PP
+Use the attribute constants prefixed with
+.RB \*(`` WA_ \*(''
+with
+.B \%vid_attr
+and
+.BR \%vid_puts .
+.PP
+X/Open Curses reserves the
+.I opts
+argument for future use,
+saying that applications must provide a null pointer for that argument;
+but see section \*(``EXTENSIONS\*('' below.
+.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
+.I \%curses.h
+because System\ V did this
+(see \fIHISTORY\fP).
.\" ***************************************************************************
-.SS Terminal Capability Functions
-.PP
-The \fBtigetflag\fR, \fBtigetnum\fR and \fBtigetstr\fR routines return
-the value of the capability corresponding to the \fBterminfo\fR
-\fIcapname\fR passed to them, such as \fBxenl\fR.
-The \fIcapname\fR for each capability is given in the table column entitled
-\fIcapname\fR code in the capabilities section of \fBterminfo\fR(\*n).
+.SS "Terminal Capability Functions"
+The \fBtigetflag\fP, \fBtigetnum\fP and \fBtigetstr\fP routines return
+the value of the capability corresponding to the
+.I \%term\%info
+\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 \fB\%terminfo\fP(5).
.PP
These routines return special values to denote errors.
.PP
-The \fBtigetflag\fR routine returns
+The \fBtigetflag\fP routine returns
.TP
-\fB\-1\fR
-if \fIcapname\fR is not a boolean capability,
+\fB\-1\fP
+if \fIcapname\fP is not a Boolean capability,
or
.TP
-\fB0\fR
+\fB0\fP
if it is canceled or absent from the terminal description.
.PP
-The \fBtigetnum\fR routine returns
+The \fBtigetnum\fP routine returns
.TP
-\fB\-2\fR
-if \fIcapname\fR is not a numeric capability, or
+\fB\-2\fP
+if \fIcapname\fP is not a numeric capability, or
.TP
-\fB\-1\fR
+\fB\-1\fP
if it is canceled or absent from the terminal description.
.PP
-The \fBtigetstr\fR routine returns
+The \fBtigetstr\fP routine returns
.TP
-\fB(char *)\-1\fR
-if \fIcapname\fR is not a string capability,
+\fB(char *)\-1\fP
+if \fIcapname\fP is not a string capability,
or
.TP
-\fB0\fR
+\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 \fI\%term\%info\fP names (\*(``codes\*(''),
.bP
-the \fBtermcap\fR names (\*(``names\*('', and
+the \fItermcap\fP names (\*(``names\*(''), and
.bP
-the long terminfo names (\*(``fnames\*('')
+the long \fI\%term\%info\fP names (\*(``fnames\*('')
+.PP
+for each of the predefined
+.I \%term\%info
+variables:
.PP
-for each of the predefined \fBterminfo\fR variables:
-.sp
.RS
-\fBconst char *boolnames[]\fR, \fB*boolcodes[]\fR, \fB*boolfnames[]\fR
-.br
-\fBconst char *numnames[]\fR, \fB*numcodes[]\fR, \fB*numfnames[]\fR
-.br
-\fBconst char *strnames[]\fR, \fB*strcodes[]\fR, \fB*strfnames[]\fR
+.nf
+\fBconst char *boolnames[]\fP, \fB*boolcodes[]\fP, \fB*boolfnames[]\fP
+\fBconst char *numnames[]\fP, \fB*numcodes[]\fP, \fB*numfnames[]\fP
+\fBconst char *strnames[]\fP, \fB*strcodes[]\fP, \fB*strfnames[]\fP
+.fi
.RE
-.SH RETURN VALUE
-Routines that return an integer return \fBERR\fR upon failure and \fBOK\fR
-(SVr4 only specifies \*(``an integer value other than \fBERR\fR\*('') upon successful
-completion, unless otherwise noted in the preceding routine descriptions.
+.\" ***************************************************************************
+.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
+.IP
+\fBdel_curterm(cur_term);\fP
.PP
-Routines that return pointers always return \fBNULL\fR on error.
+the memory will be freed.
.PP
-X/Open defines no error conditions.
-In this implementation
-.RS 3
+The formatting functions \fBtparm\fP and \fBtiparm\fP extend the storage
+allocated by \fBsetupterm\fP:
+.bP
+the \*(``static\*('' terminfo variables [a-z].
+Before \fI\%ncurses\fP 6.3, those were shared by all screens.
+With \fI\%ncurses\fP 6.3, those are allocated per screen.
+See \fB\%terminfo\fP(5) for details.
+.bP
+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 \fI\%TERMINAL\fP structure.
+.PP
+The higher-level \fBinitscr\fP and \fBnewterm\fP functions use \fBsetupterm\fP.
+Normally they do not free this memory, but it is possible to do that using
+the \fBdelscreen\fP(3X) function.
+.\" ***************************************************************************
+.SH RETURN VALUE
+X/Open defines no failure conditions.
+In
+.I \%ncurses,
.TP 5
\fBdel_curterm\fP
returns an error
\fBsetupterm\fP
returns an error
if it cannot allocate enough memory, or
-create the initial windows (stdscr, curscr, newscr).
+create the initial windows
+.RB ( \%stdscr ,
+.BR \%curscr ,
+and
+.BR \%newscr )
Other error conditions are documented above.
.TP 5
+\fBtparm\fP
+returns a null if the capability would require unexpected parameters,
+e.g., too many, too few, or incorrect types
+(strings where integers are expected, or vice versa).
+.TP 5
\fBtputs\fP
returns an error if the string parameter is null.
It does not detect I/O errors:
-X/Open states that \fBtputs\fP ignores the return value
+X/Open Curses states that \fBtputs\fP ignores the return value
of the output function \fIputc\fP.
-.RE
+.\" ***************************************************************************
+.SH NOTES
+The
+.B \%vid_attr
+function in
+.I \%ncurses
+is a special case.
+It was originally implemented based on a draft of X/Open Curses,
+as a macro,
+before other parts of the
+.I \%ncurses
+wide-character API were developed,
+and unlike the other wide-character functions,
+is also provided in the non-wide-character configuration.
+.\" ***************************************************************************
+.SH EXTENSIONS
+The functions marked as extensions were designed for
+.I \%ncurses,
+and are not found in SVr4
+.IR curses ,
+4.4BSD
+.IR curses ,
+or any other previous curses implementation.
+.PP
+.I \%ncurses
+allows
+.I opts
+to be a pointer to
+.I int,
+which overrides the
+.I pair
+.RI ( short )
+argument.
+.\" ***************************************************************************
.SH PORTABILITY
-.SS Legacy functions
-.PP
-X/Open notes that \fBvidattr\fR and \fBvidputs\fR may be macros.
-.PP
-The function \fBsetterm\fR is not described by X/Open and must
-be considered non-portable.
+\fB\%setterm\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
-\fBsetupterm\fP copies the terminal name to the array \fBttytype\fP.
+.SS "Compatibility Macros"
+This implementation provides a few macros for compatibility with systems
+before SVr4
+(see section \*(``HISTORY\*('' below).
+They include
+\fB\%Bcrmode\fP,
+\fB\%Bfixterm\fP,
+\fB\%Bgettmode\fP,
+\fB\%Bnocrmode\fP,
+\fB\%Bresetterm\fP,
+\fB\%Bsaveterm\fP, and
+\fB\%Bsetterm\fP.
+.PP
+In SVr4,
+these are found in
+.IR \%curses.h ,
+but except for \fB\%setterm\fP,
+are likewise macros.
+The one function,
+\fB\%setterm\fP,
+is mentioned in the manual page.
+It further notes that \fB\%setterm\fP was replaced by \fB\%setupterm\fP,
+stating that the call
+.RS
+.EX
+setupterm(\fIterm\fP, 1, (int *)0)
+.EE
+.RE
+provides the same functionality as \fB\%setterm(\fIterm\fB)\fR,
+discouraging the latter for new programs.
+.I \%ncurses
+implements each of these symbols as macros for BSD
+.I curses
+compatibility.
+.SS "Legacy Data"
+\fB\%setupterm\fP copies the terminal name to the array \fB\%ttytype\fP.
This is not part of X/Open Curses, but is assumed by some applications.
.PP
Other implementions may not declare the capability name arrays.
Some provide them without declaring them.
X/Open does not specify them.
.PP
-Extended terminal capability names, e.g., as defined by \fB@TIC@\ \-x\fP,
+Extended terminal capability names,
+as defined by
+.RB \%\*(`` "@TIC@\ \-x" \*('',
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 \fB\%setupterm\fP from \fB\%initscr\fP or \fB\%newterm\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
-did not allow a reliable way to cleanup on receiving SIGTSTP.
+In addition to the limitation that the terminal was left in
+block-buffered mode on exit
+(like System\ V
+.IR curses ),
+it was problematic because
+.I \%ncurses
+did not allow a reliable way to cleanup on receiving
+.BR SIGTSTP .
.PP
The current version (ncurses6)
-uses output buffers managed directly by \fBncurses\fP.
+uses output buffers managed directly by
+.I \%ncurses.
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
-alternate versions of these functions
-using the more reliable buffering scheme.
-.SS Function prototypes
-.PP
-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.
+The high-level functions in
+.I \%ncurses
+employ alternate versions of these functions using the more reliable
+buffering scheme.
+.SS "Function Prototypes"
+The X/Open Curses prototypes are based on the SVr4
+.I curses
+header declarations,
+which were defined at the same time the C language was first
+standardized in the late 1980s.
.bP
-X/Open Curses uses \fBconst\fP less effectively than a later design might,
+X/Open Curses uses
+.I \%const
+less effectively than a later design might,
in some cases applying it needlessly to values are already constant,
-and in most cases overlooking parameters which normally would use \fBconst\fP.
-Using constant parameters for functions which do not use \fBconst\fP
+and in most cases overlooking parameters which normally would use
+.I \%const.
+Using constant parameters for functions which do not use
+.I \%const
may prevent the program from compiling.
-On the other hand, \fIwritable strings\fP are an obsolescent feature.
+On the other hand,
+\*(``writable strings\*('' are an obsolescent feature.
.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.
+As an extension,
+this implementation can be configured to change the function prototypes
+to use the
+.I \%const
+keyword.
+The
+.I \%ncurses
+ABI 6 enables this feature by default.
.bP
-X/Open Curses prototypes \fBtparm\fR with a fixed number of parameters,
+X/Open Curses prototypes \fB\%tparm\fP with a fixed number of
+parameters,
rather than a variable argument list.
.IP
This implementation uses a variable argument list, but can be
zeroes are fine for this purpose.
.IP
In response to review comments by Thomas E. Dickey,
-X/Open Curses Issue 7 proposed the \fBtiparm\fP function in mid-2009.
-.SS Special TERM treatment
+X/Open Curses Issue 7 proposed the \fB\%tiparm\fP function in mid-2009.
+.IP
+While \fB\%tiparm\fP is always provided in \fI\%ncurses\fP,
+the older form is only available as a build-time configuration option.
+If not specially configured,
+\fB\%tparm\fP is the same as \fB\%tiparm\fP.
.PP
+Both forms of \fB\%tparm\fP have drawbacks:
+.bP
+Most of the calls to \fB\%tparm\fP use only one or two parameters.
+Passing nine on each call is awkward.
+.IP
+Using
+.I long
+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 standardized.
+Since then, there is a standard
+(and pointers are not required to fit in a long).
+.bP
+Providing the right number of parameters for a variadic function
+such as \fB\%tiparm\fP can be a problem,
+in particular for string parameters.
+However, only a few terminfo capabilities use string parameters
+(e.g., the ones used for programmable function keys).
+.IP
+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 \fB\%tparm\fP calls.
+.IP
+The \fB\%@TPUT@\fR(1) program checks its use of these capabilities with
+a table,
+so that it calls \fB\%tparm\fP correctly.
+.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
+\fB\%setupterm\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 (\fB\%generic_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 $TERM is set to
+\fB\%setupterm\fP allows explicit use of the
+the windows console driver by checking if \fB$TERM\fP is set to
\*(``#win32con\*('' or an abbreviation of that string.
-.SS Other portability issues
-.PP
-In System V Release 4, \fBset_curterm\fR has an \fBint\fR return type and
-returns \fBOK\fR or \fBERR\fR. We have chosen to implement the X/Open Curses
-semantics.
+.SS "Other Portability Issues"
+In SVr4,
+\fB\%set_curterm\fP returns an
+.I int,
+.B OK
+or
+.BR ERR .
+We have chosen to implement the X/Open Curses semantics.
.PP
-In System V Release 4, the third argument of \fBtputs\fR has the type
-\fBint (*putc)(char)\fR.
+In SVr4,
+the third argument of \fB\%tputs\fP has the type
+.RB \*(`` "int (*putc)(char)" \*(''.
.PP
At least one implementation of X/Open Curses (Solaris) returns a value
-other than OK/ERR from \fBtputs\fP.
-That returns the length of the string, and does no error-checking.
-.PP
-X/Open notes that after calling \fBmvcur\fR, the curses state may not match the
+other than
+.B OK
+or
+.B ERR
+from \fB\%tputs\fP.
+It instead returns the length of the string,
+and does no error checking.
+.PP
+X/Open Curses notes that after calling \fB\%mvcur\fP,
+the
+.I curses
+state may not match the actual terminal state,
+and that an application should touch and refresh the window before
+resuming normal
+.I curses
+calls.
+Both
+.I \%ncurses
+and SVr4
+.I curses
+implement \fB\%mvcur\fP using the
+.I SCREEN
+data allocated in either \fB\%initscr\fP or \fB\%newterm\fP.
+So though it is documented as a
+.I \%term\%info
+function,
+\fB\%mvcur\fP is really a
+.I curses
+function that is not well specified.
+.PP
+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\fR using
-the SCREEN data allocated in either \fBinitscr\fR or \fBnewterm\fR.
+Both \fI\%ncurses\fP and System V Release 4 curses implement \fBmvcur\fP
+using the \fISCREEN\fP data allocated in either \fBinitscr\fP or
+\fBnewterm\fP.
So though it is documented as a terminfo function,
-\fBmvcur\fR 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.
+\fBmvcur\fP is really a curses function which is not well specified.
+.PP
+X/Open Curses states that the old location must be given for
+\fB\%mvcur\fP to accommodate terminals that lack absolute cursor
+positioning.
+.\" X/Open Curses Issue 7, p. 161
+.I \%ncurses
+allows the caller to use \-1 for either or both old coordinates.
+The \-1 tells
+.I \%ncurses
+that the old location is unknown,
+and that it must use only absolute motion
+(such as \fI\%cursor_address\fP)
+rather than the least costly combination of absolute and relative motion.
+.\" ***************************************************************************
+.SH HISTORY
+SVr2 (1984) introduced the
+.I \%term\%info
+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 use \fBtputs\fP to send characters via \fI\%putchar\fP
+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 interpolate parameters into string capability
+tputs apply padding information to a string
+vidattr like \fBvidputs\fP, but output through \fIputchar\fP
+vidputs write string to terminal, applying specified attributes
+.TE
+.PP
+The programming manual also mentioned
+functions provided for
+.I termcap
+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 write characters via a function parameter, applying padding
+.TE
+.PP
+Early
+.I \%term\%info
+programs obtained capability values from the
+.I \%TERMINAL
+structure initialized by \fB\%setupterm\fP.
+.PP
+SVr3 (1987) extended
+.I \%term\%info
+by adding functions to retrieve capability values
+(like the
+.I termcap
+interface),
+and reusing \fB\%tgoto\fP and \fB\%tputs\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
+.I \%term\%info
+functions that had no counterpart in the
+.I termcap
+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 \fB\%mvcur\fP,
+\fB\%vidattr\fP,
+and \fB\%vidputs\fP functions,
+along with \fB\%putp\fP,
+\fB\%tparm\fP,
+and \fB\%tputs\fP.
+The latter were needed to support padding,
+and to handle capabilities accessed by functions such as \fB\%vidattr\fP
+(which used more than the two parameters supported by \fB\%tgoto\fP).
+.PP
+SVr3 introduced the functions for switching between terminal
+descriptions;
+for example,
+\fB\%set_curterm\fP.
+Some changes reflected incremental improvements to the SVr2 library.
+.bP
+The
+.I \%TERMINAL
+type definition was introduced in SVr3.01,
+for the
+.I term
+structure provided in SVr2.
+.bP
+Various global variables such as \fB\%boolnames\fP were mentioned
+in the programming manual at this point,
+though the variables had been provided in SVr2.
+.PP
+SVr4 (1989) added the \fB\%vid_attr\fP and \fB\%vid_puts\fP functions.
+.PP
+Other low-level functions are declared in the
+.I curses
+header files of Unix systems,
+but none are documented.
+Those noted as \*(``obsolete\*('' by SVr3 remained in use by System\ V's
+\fIvi\fP(1) editor.
.SH SEE ALSO
-\fBcurses\fR(3X),
-\fBcurs_initscr\fR(3X),
-\fBcurs_kernel\fR(3X),
-\fBcurs_termcap\fR(3X),
-\fBcurs_variables\fR(3X),
-\fBterm_variables\fR(3X),
-\fBputc\fR(3),
-\fBterminfo\fR(\*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