X-Git-Url: http://ncurses.scripts.mit.edu/?p=ncurses.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=announce.html.in;h=1d4121ee4ff1739361add67ed5c8dec8127663db;hp=b797f0d03c36d00f7d7451a83f7c697083300dea;hb=f36e772702d4b512a4395e2db96470803485b6df;hpb=0eb88fc5281804773e2a0c7a488a4452463535ce
diff --git a/announce.html.in b/announce.html.in
index b797f0d0..1d4121ee 100644
--- a/announce.html.in
+++ b/announce.html.in
@@ -1,11 +1,39 @@
Announcing ncurses @VERSION@
+
@@ -18,12 +46,15 @@ and multiple highlights and forms characters and function-key mapping,
and has all the other SYSV-curses enhancements over BSD curses.
In mid-June 1995, the maintainer of 4.4BSD curses declared that he
-considered 4.4BSD curses obsolete, and is encouraging the keepers of
-Unix releases such as BSD/OS, freeBSD and netBSD to switch over to
+considered 4.4BSD curses obsolete, and encouraged the keepers of
+Unix releases such as BSD/OS, FreeBSD and NetBSD to switch over to
ncurses.
-The ncurses code was developed under GNU/Linux. It should port easily to
-any ANSI/POSIX-conforming UNIX. It has even been ported to OS/2 Warp!
+The ncurses code was developed under GNU/Linux.
+It has been in use for some time with OpenBSD as the system curses library,
+and on FreeBSD and NetBSD as an external package.
+It should port easily to any ANSI/POSIX-conforming UNIX.
+It has even been ported to OS/2 Warp!
The distribution includes the library and support utilities, including a
terminfo compiler tic(1), a decompiler infocmp(1), clear(1), tput(1), tset(1),
@@ -32,154 +63,295 @@ the library and tools.
-We decided to release ncurses as a new whole number release (5.0) because it
-incorporates several interface changes, including some that would invalidate
-existing shared libraries. These are the highlights from the change-log
-since ncurses 4.2 release.
+This release is designed to be upward compatible from ncurses 5.0 through 5.6;
+very few applications will require recompilation, depending on the platform.
+These are the highlights from the change-log since ncurses 5.6 release.
Interface changes:
-
The principal source of changes to the interface comes from the
- release of X/Open Curses in 1997. Earlier versions of ncurses (4.0
- and before) were based on a draft version of the specification. The
- release version adds parameters to some functions to support the
- evolving internationalization of curses. These summarize the impact:
-
-
modified several prototypes to correspond with 1997 version of
- X/Open Curses (affects ABI since developers have used attr_get).
-
-
corrected prototypes for slk_* functions, using chtype rather than
- attr_t.
-
-
the slk_attr_{set,off,on} functions need an additional void*
- parameter according to XSI.
-
-
correct macros for wattr_set, wattr_get, separate wattrset macro from
- these to preserve behavior that allows attributes to be combined with
- color pair numbers.
-
-
reviewed/updated curses.h, term.h against X/Open Curses Issue 4
- Version 2. This includes making some parameters NCURSES_CONST
- rather than const, e.g., in termcap.h.
+
generate linkable stubs for some macros:
+
+ getattrs
-
reviewed/corrected macros in curses.h as per XSI document.
-
-
add set_a_attributes and set_pglen_inch to terminfo structure, as per
- XSI and Solaris 2.5.
-
The newest version of the X/Open Curses is implemented on Solaris
- and other vendor's systems. It adds new features to the terminfo
- descriptions:
+New features and improvements:
-
implement tparm %l format.
-
-
implement tparm printf-style width and precision for %s, %d, %x, %o
- as per XSI.
+
library
+
+
new flavor of the ncurses library provides rudimentary
+ support for POSIX threads. Several functions are
+ reentrant, but most require either a window-level or
+ screen-level mutex.
+ (This is API-compatible,
+ but not ABI-compatible with the normal library).
+
+
add NCURSES_OPAQUE symbol to curses.h, will
+ use to make structs opaque in selected configurations.
+
+
add NCURSES_EXT_FUNCS and
+ NCURSES_EXT_COLORS symbols to curses.h to make
+ it simpler to tell if the extended functions and/or colors
+ are declared.
+
+
add wresize() to C++ binding
+
+
eliminate fixed-buffer vsprintf() calls in C++ binding.
+
+
add several functions to C++ binding which wrap C functions
+ that pass a WINDOW* parameter.
+
+
adapt mouse-handling code from menu library in form-library
+
+
improve tracing for form library, showing created forms,
+ fields, etc.
+
+
make $NCURSES_NO_PADDING feature work for termcap interface .
+
+
add check to trace-file open, if the given name is a
+ directory, add ".log" to the name and try again.
+
+
several new manpages: curs_legacy.3x, curs_memleaks.3x,
+ curs_opaque.3x and curs_threads.3x
+
+
+
programs:
+
+
modified three test-programs to demonstrate the threading
+ support in this version: ditto, rain, worm.
+
+
several new test-programs: demo_panels, dots_mvcur,
+ inch_wide, inchs, key_name, key_names, savescreen,
+ savescreen.sh test_arrays, test_get_wstr, test_getstr,
+ test_instr, test_inwstr and test_opaque.
+
+
add adacurses-config to the Ada95 install.
+
+
modify tic -f option to format spaces as
+ \s to prevent them from being lost when that
+ is read back in unformatted strings.
+
+
The tack program is now distributed separately
+ from ncurses.
+
+
+
terminal database
+
+
added entries:
+
+
Eterm-256color,
+ Eterm-88color and
+ rxvt-88color
+
aterm
+
konsole-256color
+
mrxvt
+
screen.mlterm
+
screen.rxvt
+
teraterm4.59 is now the primary primary
+ teraterm entry, renamed original to
+ teraterm2.3
+
9term terminal
+
Newbury Data entries
+
+
updated/improved entries:
+
+
gnome to version 2.22.3
+
h19, z100
+
konsole to version 1.6.6
+
mlterm, mlterm+pcfkeys
+
xterm, and building-blocks for function-keys
+ to xterm patch #230.
+
+
-
We made additional changes to reduce impact by future interface
- changes:
+Major bug fixes:
-
rename key_names[] array to _nc_key_names since it is not part of
- the curses interface.
+
add logic to tic for cancelling strings in user-defined
+ capabilities
+ (this is needed for
+ current konsole terminfo entry).
-
move macro winch to a function, to hide details of struct ldat
-
-
modify configure script to embed ABI in shared libraries for HP-UX
- 10.x (detailed request by Tim Mooney).
+
modify mk-1st.awk so the generated makefile rules for
+ linking or installing shared libraries do not first remove the
+ library, in case it is in use, e.g., libncurses.so by
+ /bin/sh.
-
modify configuration of shared libraries on Digital Unix so that
- versioning is embedded in the library, rather than implied by
- links (patch by Tim Mooney).
-
-New features:
-
-
enable sigwinch handler by default.
+
correct check for notimeout() in wgetch().
-
turn on hashmap scrolling code by default
+
fix a sign-extension bug in infocmp's repair_acsc() function.
-
improved support for termcap applications
-
-
modify tput to accept termcap names as an alternative to terminfo
- names.
+
change winnstr() to stop at the end of the line.
-
provide support for termcap PC variable by copying it from terminfo
- data and using it as the padding character in tputs.
+
make Ada95 demo_panels() example work.
-
provide support for termcap ospeed variable by copying it from the
- internal cur_term member, and using ospeed as the baudrate
- reference for the delay_output and tputs functions.
+
fix for adding a non-spacing character at the beginning of a line.
-
change name-comparisons in lib_termcap to compare no more than 2
- characters.
+
fill in extended-color pair to make colors work
+ for wide-characters using extended-colors.
-
add configure option --enable-tcap-names, which essentially
- allows users to define new capabilities as in termcap.
-
-
add mouse support to ncurses menus.
+
improve refresh of window on top of multi-column characters,
+ taking into account split characters on left/right window
+ boundaries.
+
+
modify win_wchnstr() to ensure that only a base cell
+ is returned for each multi-column character.
+
+
improve waddch() and winsch() handling of
+ EILSEQ from mbrtowc() by using unctrl()
+ to display illegal bytes rather than trying to append further bytes
+ to make up a valid sequence.
-
add mouse and dll support for OS/2 EMX
+
restore curs_set() state after
+ endwin()/refresh()
-
modify terminfo parsing to accept octal and hexadecimal constants
+
modify keyname() to use "^X" form only if
+ meta() has been called, or if keyname()
+ is called without initializing curses, e.g., via
+ initscr() or newterm().
-
add configure option --enable-no-padding, to allow environment
- variable $NCURSES_NO_PADDING to eliminate non-mandatory padding,
- thereby making terminal emulators (e.g., for vt100) a little more
- efficient.
+
modify unctrl() to check codes in 128-255 range versus
+ isprint().
+ If they are not printable, and locale was set, use a "M-" or "~"
+ sequence.
-
modify lib_color.c to eliminate dependency on orig_colors and
- orig_pair, since SVr4 curses does not require these either, but
- uses them when they are available.
+
improve resizeterm() by moving ripped-off lines, and
+ repainting the soft-keys.
-
add -f option to infocmp and tic, which formats the terminfo
- if/then/else/endif so that they are readable (with newlines and
- tabs).
+
modify form library to accept control characters such as newline
+ in set_field_buffer(), which is compatible with Solaris.
-
modify tic to compile into %'char' form in preference to %{number},
- since that is a little more efficient.
+
use NCURSES_MOUSE_MASK() in definition of
+ BUTTON_RELEASE(), etc., to make those work properly
+ with the --enable-ext-mouse configuration
+
+
correct some functions in Ada95 binding which were using return
+ value from C where none was returned.
+
+
reviewed/fixed issues reported by Coverity and Klocwork tools.
-Major bug fixes:
+
+Portability:
-
modify lib_tstp.c to block SIGTTOU when handling SIGTSTP, fixes a
- problem where ncurses applications which were run via a shell script
- would hang when given a ^Z. Also, check if the terminal's process
- group is consistent, i.e., a shell has not taken ownership of it,
- before deciding to save the current terminal settings in the SIGTSTP
- handler.
-
-
suppress sc/rc capabilities from terminal description if they appear
- in smcup/rmcup. This affects only scrolling optimization, to fix a
- problem reported by several people with xterm's alternate screen,
- though the problem is more general.
-
-
modify relative_move and tputs to avoid an interaction with the
- BSD-style padding. The relative_move function could produce a string
- to replace on the screen which began with a numeric character, which
- was then interpreted by tputs as padding.
-
-
modify setupterm so that cancelled strings are treated the same as
- absent strings, cancelled and absent booleans false (does not affect
- tic, infocmp).
-
-
modify lib_vidattr.c to allow for terminal types (e.g., xterm-color)
- which may reset all attributes in the 'op' capability, so that colors
- are set before turning on bold and other attributes, but still after
- turning attributes off.
-
-
use 'access()' to check if ncurses library should be permitted to
- open or modify files with fopen/open/link/unlink/remove calls, in
- case the calling application is running in setuid mode.
-
-
correction to doupdate, for case where terminal does not support
- insert/delete character. The logic did not check that there was a
- difference in alignment of changes to old/new screens before
- repainting the whole non-blank portion of the line. Modified to fall
- through into logic that reduces by the portion which does not differ.
+
configure script:
+
+
new options:
+
+
+
--disable-big-strings
+
control whether static string tables are generated as single
+ large strings (to improve startup performance), or as array
+ of individual strings.
+
+
--disable-relink
+
control whether shared libraries are relinked (during install)
+ when rpath is enabled.
+
+
--disable-tic-depends
+
make explicit whether tic library depends on ncurses/ncursesw
+ library.
+
+
--enable-mixed-case
+
override the configure script's check if the filesystem
+ supports mixed-case filenames.
+ This allows one to control how the terminal database
+ maps to the filesystem.
+ For filesystems that do not support mixed-case, the library
+ uses generate 2-character (hexadecimal) codes for the
+ lower-level of the filesystem terminfo database
+
+
--enable-reentrant
+
builds a different flavor of the ncurses library (ncursest)
+ which improves reentrant use of the
+ library by reducing global and static variables
+ (see the "--with-pthread" option for the threaded support).
+
+
--enable-weak-symbols
+
use weak-symbols for linking to the POSIX thread library,
+ and use the same soname for the ncurses shared library
+ as the normal library (caveat: the ABI is for the threaded
+ library, which makes global data accessed via functions).
+
+
--with-pthread
+
build with the POSIX thread library (tested with AIX,
+ Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, HPUX, IRIX64, Solaris, Tru64).
+
+
--with-ticlib
+
build/install the tic-support functions in a separate library
+
+
+
+
improved options:
+
+
+
--enable-ext-colors
+
requires the wide-character configuration.
+
+
--with-chtype
+
ignore option value "unsigned" is always added to
+ the type in curses.h; do the same for --with-mmask-t.
+
+
--with-dmalloc
+
build-fix for redefinition of strndup.
+
+
--with-hashed-db
+
accepts a parameter which is the install-prefix of a given
+ Berkeley Database.
+
+
--with-hashed-db
+
the $LIBS environment variable overrides the search for the db
+ library.
+
+
--without-hashed-db
+
assumed when "--disable-database" is used.
+
+
+
+
+
+
other configure/build issues:
+
+
build-fixes for LynxOS
+
modify shared-library rules to allow FreeBSD 3.x to use rpath.
+
build-fix for FreeBSD "contemporary" TTY interface.
+
build-fixes for AIX with libtool.
+
build-fixes for Darwin and libtool.
+
modify BeOS-specific ifdef's to build on Haiku.
+
corrected gcc options for building shared libraries on Solaris
+ and IRIX64.
+
change shared-library configuration for OpenBSD, make rpath work.
+
build-fixes for using libutf8, e.g., on OpenBSD 3.7
+
add "-e" option in ncurses/Makefile.in when generating source-files
+ to force earlier exit if the build environment fails unexpectedly.
+
add support for shared libraries for QNX.
+
change delimiter in MKlib_gen.sh from '%' to '@', to
+ avoid substitution by IBM xlc to '#' as part of its extensions to
+ digraphs.
+
+
+
library:
+
+
rewrite wrapper for wcrtomb(), making it work on
+ Solaris. This is used in the form library to determine the length
+ of the buffer needed by field_buffer.
+
add/use configure script macro CF_SIG_ATOMIC_T, use the corresponding
+ type for data manipulated by signal handlers.
+
set locale in misc/ncurses-config.in since it uses a range
+
disable GPM mouse support when $TERM does not happen to contain
+ "linux", since Gpm_Open() no longer limits its assertion to terminals
+ that it might handle, e.g., within "screen" in xterm.
+
reset mouse file-descriptor when unloading GPM library.
+
+
+
test programs:
+
+
update test programs to build/work with various UNIX curses for
+ comparisons.
+
Features of Ncurses
@@ -208,14 +380,15 @@ The ncurses package also has many useful extensions over SVr4:
The API is 8-bit clean and base-level conformant with the X/OPEN curses
specification, XSI curses (that is, it implements all BASE level features,
-but not all EXTENDED features). Most EXTENDED-level features not directly
-concerned with wide-character support are implemented, including many
-function calls not supported under SVr4 curses (but portability of all
+and most EXTENDED features).
+It includes many function calls not supported under SVr4 curses
+(but portability of all
calls is documented so you can use the SVr4 subset only).
Unlike SVr3 curses, ncurses can write to the rightmost-bottommost corner
of the screen if your terminal has an insert-character capability.
Ada95 and C++ bindings.
-
Support for mouse event reporting with X Window xterm and OS/2 console windows.
+
Support for mouse event reporting with X Window xterm
+and FreeBSD and OS/2 console windows.
Extended mouse support via Alessandro Rubini's gpm package.
The function wresize() allows you to resize windows, preserving
their data.
@@ -227,7 +400,9 @@ and define_key() allow
you to better control the use of function keys,
e.g., disabling the ncurses KEY_MOUSE,
or by defining more than one control sequence to map to a given key code.
-
Support for 16-color terminals, such as aixterm and XFree86 xterm.
+
Support for 256-color terminals, such as modern xterm, when configured
+using the --enable-ext-colors option.
+
Support for 16-color terminals, such as aixterm and modern xterm.
Better cursor-movement optimization. The package now features a
cursor-local-movement computation more efficient than either BSD's
or System V's.
@@ -294,39 +469,58 @@ including (versions starting with those noted):
-The original developers of ncurses are Zeyd Ben-Halim and
-Eric S. Raymond.
+Zeyd Ben-Halim
+started it from a previous package pcurses, written by Pavel Curtis.
+Eric S. Raymond
+continued development.
+Jürgen Pfeifer wrote most of the form and menu libraries.
Ongoing work is being done by
-Thomas Dickey
-and
-Jürgen Pfeifer.
-Thomas Dickey
-acts as the maintainer for the Free Software Foundation, which holds the
-copyright on ncurses.
+Thomas Dickey.
+Thomas Dickey
+acts as the maintainer for the Free Software Foundation,
+which holds the copyright on ncurses.
Contact the current maintainers at
bug-ncurses@gnu.org.
@@ -359,7 +553,7 @@ This list is open to anyone interested in helping with the development and
testing of this package.
@@ -371,14 +565,17 @@ on them, please join the ncurses list.
Other Related Resources
-The distribution includes and uses a version of the terminfo-format
-terminal description file maintained by Eric Raymond.
-http://earthspace.net/~esr/terminfo.
+The distribution provides a newer version of the terminfo-format
+terminal description file once maintained by
+Eric Raymond .
+Unlike the older version, the termcap and terminfo data are provided
+in the same file, and provides several user-definable extensions
+beyond the X/Open specification.
You can find lots of information on terminal-related topics
not covered in the terminfo file at
Richard Shuford's
-archive.
+archive .