X-Git-Url: http://ncurses.scripts.mit.edu/?p=ncurses.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=doc%2Fhtml%2Fman%2Fterminfo.5.html;h=2cd565e8a72f6092a149b4452aa21ffc03e21271;hp=51a41ace5eb574208e4cb82356f05ac146d99dd6;hb=e2d7d0028f4298dca2b0edaf2dc8ce30518d9218;hpb=ca276baf720e3a44721b9e18955d3f546955c6c8
diff --git a/doc/html/man/terminfo.5.html b/doc/html/man/terminfo.5.html
index 51a41ace..2cd565e8 100644
--- a/doc/html/man/terminfo.5.html
+++ b/doc/html/man/terminfo.5.html
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
* Note: this must be run through tbl before nroff.
* The magic cookie on the first line triggers this under some man programs.
****************************************************************************
- * Copyright (c) 1998-2004,2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc. *
+ * Copyright (c) 1998-2012,2013 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 *
@@ -32,9 +32,9 @@
* sale, use or other dealings in this Software without prior written *
* authorization. *
****************************************************************************
- * @Id: terminfo.head,v 1.16 2007/03/04 00:09:46 tom Exp @
+ * @Id: terminfo.head,v 1.20 2013/03/02 23:52:37 tom Exp @
* Head of terminfo man page ends here
- * @Id: terminfo.tail,v 1.49 2008/02/16 20:57:43 tom Exp @
+ * @Id: terminfo.tail,v 1.61 2013/03/03 00:06:39 tom Exp @
* Beginning of terminfo.tail file
* This file is part of ncurses.
* See "terminfo.head" for copyright.
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@
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 ncurses version 5.6 (patch 20080621).
+ This describes ncurses version 5.9 (patch 20130309).
Entries in terminfo consist of a sequence of `,' separated
fields (embedded commas may be escaped with a backslash or
@@ -106,14 +106,13 @@
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:
-
Suffix Meaning Example
-nn Number of lines on the screen aaa-60
-np Number of pages of memory c100-4p
@@ -126,14 +125,14 @@
-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 term(7)
manual page.
- Capabilities
+ Predefined Capabilities
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,
@@ -176,133 +175,134 @@
These are the boolean capabilities:
- Variable Cap- TCap Description
- Booleans name Code
- auto_left_margin bw bw cub1 wraps from col-
+ Variable Cap- TCap Description
+ Booleans name Code
+ 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
+ tilde_glitch hz hz cannot print ~'s
(hazeltine)
- transparent_underline ul ul underline character
+ 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:
- Variable Cap- TCap Description
- Numeric name Code
- columns cols co number of columns in
+ Variable Cap- TCap Description
+ Numeric name Code
+ 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
+ maximum_windows wnum MW maximum number of
defineable windows
- no_color_video ncv NC video attributes
+ 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
@@ -310,47 +310,47 @@
man page. They came in with SVr4's printer support.
- Variable Cap- TCap Description
- Numeric name Code
- bit_image_entwining bitwin Yo number of passes for
+ Variable Cap- TCap Description
+ Numeric name Code
+ 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
@@ -402,8 +402,8 @@
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)
@@ -904,8 +904,8 @@
zero_motion zerom Zx No motion for subse-
quent character
- The following string capabilities are present in the
- SVr4.0 term structure, but were originally not documented
+ The following string capabilities are present in the
+ SVr4.0 term structure, but were originally not documented
in the man page.
@@ -989,13 +989,14 @@
bottom margins to
#1, #2
- The XSI Curses standard added these. They are some
- post-4.1 versions of System V curses, e.g., Solaris 2.5
- and IRIX 6.x. The ncurses termcap names for them are
- invented; according 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 entries after SVr4.1; beware!
+ 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 YI,
+ the ncurses termcap names for them are invented. Accord-
+ 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
+ entries after SVr4.1; beware!
Variable Cap- TCap Description
@@ -1015,13 +1016,57 @@
set_a_attributes sgr1 sA Define second set of
video attributes
#1-#6
- set_pglen_inch slengthsL YI Set page length
- to #1 hundredth of
- an inch
+ set_pglen_inch slengthYI Set page length to
+ #1 hundredth of an
+ inch (some implemen-
+ tations use sL for
+ termcap).
+
+ User-Defined Capabilities
+ The preceding section listed the predefined 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.
+
+ ncurses addresses this limitation by allowing user-defined
+ capabilities. The tic and infocmp programs provide the -x
+ option for this purpose. When -x is set, tic treats
+ unknown capabilities as user-defined. That is, if tic
+ 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 use_extended_names function makes this informa-
+ tion conditionally available to applications. The ncurses
+ library provides the data leaving most of the behavior to
+ applications:
+
+ o User-defined capability strings whose name begins with
+ "k" are treated as function keys.
+
+ o The types (boolean, number, string) determined by tic
+ can be inferred by successful calls on tigetflag, etc.
+
+ o 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.
A Sample Entry
The following entry, describing an ANSI-standard terminal,
- is representative of what a terminfo entry for a modern
+ is representative of what a terminfo entry for a modern
terminal typically looks like.
ansi|ansi/pc-term compatible with color,
@@ -1045,93 +1090,126 @@
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,
- 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 terminfo 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.
+ 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 terminfo are of three types:
+
+ o Boolean capabilities which indicate that the terminal
+ has some particular feature,
+
+ o numeric capabilities giving the size of the terminal
+ or the size of particular delays, and
+ o string capabilities, which give a sequence which can
+ be used to perform particular terminal operations.
Types of Capabilities
- All capabilities have names. For instance, the fact that
- ANSI-standard terminals have automatic margins (i.e., an
- automatic return and line-feed when the end of a line is
- reached) is indicated by the capability am. Hence the
+ All capabilities have names. For instance, the fact that
+ ANSI-standard terminals have automatic margins (i.e., an
+ automatic return and line-feed when the end of a line is
+ reached) is indicated by the capability am. Hence the
description of ansi includes am. Numeric capabilities are
- followed by the character `#' and then a positive value.
- Thus cols, which indicates the number of columns the ter-
- minal has, gives the value `80' for ansi. Values for
+ followed by the character `#' and then a positive value.
+ Thus cols, which indicates the number of columns the ter-
+ 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
+ hexadecimal, using the C programming language conventions
(e.g., 255, 0377 and 0xff or 0xFF).
- Finally, string valued capabilities, such as el (clear to
+ Finally, string valued capabilities, such as el (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
+ A number of escape sequences are provided in the string
valued capabilities for easy encoding of characters there.
- Both \E and \e map to an ESCAPE character, ^x maps to a
- control-x for any appropriate x, and the sequences \n \l
- \r \t \b \f \s give a newline, line-feed, return, tab,
- backspace, form-feed, and space. Other escapes include \^
- for ^, \\ for \, \, for comma, \: for :, and \0 for null.
- (\0 will produce \200, which does not terminate a string
- but behaves as a null character on most terminals, provid-
- ing CS7 is specified. See stty(1).) Finally, characters
- may be given as three octal digits after a \.
-
- A delay in milliseconds may appear anywhere in a string
- capability, enclosed in $<..> brackets, as in el=\EK$<5>,
- and padding characters are supplied by tputs to provide
- this delay. The delay must be a number with at most one
+ Both \E and \e map to an ESCAPE character, ^x maps to a
+ control-x for any appropriate x, and the sequences \n \l
+ \r \t \b \f \s give a newline, line-feed, return, tab,
+ backspace, form-feed, and space. Other escapes include
+
+ o \^ for ^,
+
+ o \\ for \,
+
+ o \, for comma,
+
+ o \: for :,
+
+ o and \0 for null.
+
+ \0 will produce \200, which does not terminate a
+ string but behaves as a null character on most termi-
+ nals, providing CS7 is specified. See stty(1).
+
+ 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 \.
+
+ A delay in milliseconds may appear anywhere in a string
+ capability, enclosed in $<..> brackets, as in el=\EK$<5>,
+ and padding characters are supplied by tputs 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
+ `*' 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 lines
- affected.) Normally, padding is advisory if the device
- has the xon 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 xon is
+ affected.) Normally, padding is advisory if the device
+ has the xon 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 xon is
present to indicate flow control.
- Sometimes individual capabilities must be commented out.
- To do this, put a period before the capability name. For
+ Sometimes individual capabilities must be commented out.
+ To do this, put a period before the capability name. For
example, see the second ind in the example above.
-
Fetching Compiled Descriptions
- 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 ncurses version of the ter-
- minfo reader code will instead look in the directory
- $HOME/.terminfo 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 to be
- searched (an empty entry is interpreted as a command to
- search /usr/share/terminfo). If no description is found
- in any of the TERMINFO_DIRS directories, the fetch fails.
-
- If neither TERMINFO nor TERMINFO_DIRS is set, the last
- place tried will be the system terminfo directory,
- /usr/share/terminfo.
-
- (Neither the $HOME/.terminfo lookups nor TERMINFO_DIRS
- extensions are supported under stock System V ter-
- minfo/curses.)
+ The ncurses 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, ncurses eliminates duplicates in its
+ search list.
+
+ o 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.
+
+ o If TERMINFO is not set, ncurses will instead look in
+ the directory $HOME/.terminfo for a compiled descrip-
+ tion.
+
+ o Next, if the environment variable TERMINFO_DIRS is
+ set, ncurses 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 adacent colons) is
+ interpreted as the system location /usr/share/ter-
+ minfo.
+ o Finally, ncurses searches these compiled-in locations:
+
+ o a list of directories
+ (/usr/local/ncurses/share/terminfo:/usr/share/ter-
+ minfo), and
+
+ o the system terminfo directory, /usr/share/terminfo
+ (the compiled-in default).
Preparing Descriptions
We now outline how to prepare descriptions of terminals.
@@ -1152,7 +1230,6 @@
ally needed. A similar test can be used for insert char-
acter.
-
Basic Capabilities
The number of columns on each line for the terminal is
given by the cols numeric capability. If the terminal is
@@ -1190,35 +1267,35 @@
left corner of the screen and send the ind (index) string.
To scroll text down, a program goes to the top left corner
- of the screen and sends the ri (reverse index) string.
- The strings ind and ri are undefined when not on their
+ of the screen and sends the ri (reverse index) string.
+ The strings ind and ri are undefined when not on their
respective corners of the screen.
Parameterized versions of the scrolling sequences are indn
and rin which have the same semantics as ind and ri except
- that they take one parameter, and scroll that many lines.
- They are also undefined except at the appropriate edge of
+ that they take one parameter, and scroll that many lines.
+ They are also undefined except at the appropriate edge of
the screen.
- The am capability tells whether the cursor sticks at the
- right edge of the screen when text is output, but this
+ The am capability tells whether the cursor sticks at the
+ right edge of the screen when text is output, but this
does not necessarily apply to a cuf1 from the last column.
- The only local motion which is defined from the left edge
- is if bw is given, then a cub1 from the left edge will
- move to the right edge of the previous row. If bw is not
- given, the effect is undefined. This is useful for draw-
- ing a box around the edge of the screen, for example. If
- the terminal has switch selectable automatic margins, the
- terminfo file usually assumes that this is on; i.e., am.
- If the terminal has a command which moves to the first
- column of the next line, that command can be given as nel
- (newline). It does not matter if the command clears the
- remainder of the current line, so if the terminal has no
- cr and lf it may still be possible to craft a working nel
+ The only local motion which is defined from the left edge
+ is if bw is given, then a cub1 from the left edge will
+ move to the right edge of the previous row. If bw is not
+ given, the effect is undefined. This is useful for draw-
+ ing a box around the edge of the screen, for example. If
+ the terminal has switch selectable automatic margins, the
+ terminfo file usually assumes that this is on; i.e., am.
+ If the terminal has a command which moves to the first
+ column of the next line, that command can be given as nel
+ (newline). It does not matter if the command clears the
+ remainder of the current line, so if the terminal has no
+ cr and lf it may still be possible to craft a working nel
out of one or both of them.
These capabilities suffice to describe hard-copy and
- "glass-tty" terminals. Thus the model 33 teletype is
+ "glass-tty" terminals. Thus the model 33 teletype is
described as
33|tty33|tty|model 33 teletype,
@@ -1230,34 +1307,32 @@
am, bel=^G, clear=^Z, cols#80, cr=^M, cub1=^H, cud1=^J,
ind=^J, lines#24,
-
Parameterized Strings
- Cursor addressing and other strings requiring parameters
- in the terminal are described by a parameterized string
- capability, with printf(3) like escapes %x in it. For
- example, to address the cursor, the cup capability is
+ Cursor addressing and other strings requiring parameters
+ in the terminal are described by a parameterized string
+ capability, with printf(3) like escapes %x in it. For
+ example, to address the cursor, the cup 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
- memory.) If the terminal has memory relative cursor
+ memory.) If the terminal has memory relative cursor
addressing, that can be indicated by mrcup.
- The parameter mechanism uses a stack and special % codes
- to manipulate it. Typically a sequence will push one of
- the parameters onto the stack and then print it in some
- format. Print (e.g., "%d") is a special case. Other
- operations, including "%t" pop their operand from the
+ The parameter mechanism uses a stack and special % codes
+ to manipulate it. Typically a sequence will push one of
+ the parameters onto the stack and then print it in some
+ format. Print (e.g., "%d") is a special case. Other
+ operations, including "%t" pop their operand from the
stack. It is noted that more complex operations are often
necessary, e.g., in the sgr string.
The % encodings have the following meanings:
-
%% outputs `%'
%[[:]flags][width[.precision]][doxXs]
- as in printf, flags are [-+#] and space. Use a `:'
- to allow the next character to be a `-' flag, avoid-
+ as in printf, flags are [-+#] and space. Use a `:'
+ to allow the next character to be a `-' flag, avoid-
ing interpreting "%-" as an operator.
%c print pop() like %c in printf
@@ -1279,11 +1354,11 @@
%g[A-Z]
get static variable [a-z] 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 tparm. However, that fact is not documented in
- other implementations. Relying on it will adversely
+ The terms "static" and "dynamic" are misleading.
+ Historically, these are simply two different sets of
+ variables, whose values are not reset between calls
+ to tparm. However, that fact is not documented in
+ other implementations. Relying on it will adversely
impact portability to other implementations.
%'c' char constant c
@@ -1307,16 +1382,16 @@
logical AND and OR operations (for conditionals)
%! %~
- unary operations (logical and bit complement):
+ unary operations (logical and bit complement):
push(op pop())
%i add 1 to first two parameters (for ANSI terminals)
%? expr %t thenpart %e elsepart %;
- This forms an if-then-else. The %e elsepart is
- optional. Usually the %? expr 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),
+ This forms an if-then-else. The %e elsepart is
+ optional. Usually the %? expr 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.
It is possible to form else-if's a la Algol 68:
@@ -1325,7 +1400,7 @@
where ci are conditions, bi are bodies.
Use the -f option of tic or infocmp to see the struc-
- ture of if-the-else's. Some strings, e.g., sgr can
+ ture of if-then-else's. Some strings, e.g., sgr can
be very complicated when written on one line. The -f
option splits the string into lines with the parts
indented.
@@ -1342,241 +1417,238 @@
its. Thus its cup capability is "cup=6\E&%p2%2dc%p1%2dY".
The Microterm ACT-IV needs the current row and column sent
- preceded by a ^T, 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 (cub1), and to
+ preceded by a ^T, 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 (cub1), and to
move the cursor up one line on the screen (cuu1). This is
- necessary because it is not always safe to transmit \n ^D
- and \r, 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 \n ^D
+ and \r, 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.
-
Cursor Motions
If the terminal has a fast way to home the cursor (to very
- upper left corner of screen) then this can be given as
- home; similarly a fast way of getting to the lower left-
- hand corner can be given as ll; this may involve going up
- with cuu1 from the home position, but a program should
- never do this itself (unless ll 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
+ home; similarly a fast way of getting to the lower left-
+ hand corner can be given as ll; this may involve going up
+ with cuu1 from the home position, but a program should
+ never do this itself (unless ll 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 home.)
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
hpa (horizontal position absolute) and vpa (vertical posi-
tion absolute). Sometimes these are shorter than the more
- general two parameter sequence (as with the hp2645) and
- can be used in preference to cup. If there are
- parameterized local motions (e.g., move n spaces to the
- right) these can be given as cud, cub, cuf, and cuu with a
- single parameter indicating how many spaces to move.
- These are primarily useful if the terminal does not have
- cup, such as the TEKTRONIX 4025.
+ general two parameter sequence (as with the hp2645) and
+ can be used in preference to cup. If there are parameter-
+ ized local motions (e.g., move n spaces to the right)
+ these can be given as cud, cub, cuf, and cuu with a single
+ parameter indicating how many spaces to move. These are
+ primarily useful if the terminal does not have cup, 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 smcup and rmcup. 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 smcup and rmcup. 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 smcup sets
- the command character to be the one used by terminfo. If
- the smcup sequence will not restore the screen after an
+ the command character to be the one used by terminfo. If
+ the smcup sequence will not restore the screen after an
rmcup sequence is output (to the state prior to outputting
rmcup), specify nrrmc.
-
Area Clears
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 el. 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
- el1. If the terminal can clear from the current position
- to the end of the display, then this should be given as
- ed. Ed 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
+ el1. If the terminal can clear from the current position
+ to the end of the display, then this should be given as
+ ed. Ed 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 ed is not available.)
-
Insert/delete line and vertical motions
- If the terminal can open a new blank line before the line
- where the cursor is, this should be given as il1; this is
- done only from the first position of a line. The cursor
+ If the terminal can open a new blank line before the line
+ where the cursor is, this should be given as il1; 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 dl1; this is done only from the first
- position on the line to be deleted. Versions of il1 and
- dl1 which take a single parameter and insert or delete
+ can delete the line which the cursor is on, then this
+ should be given as dl1; this is done only from the first
+ position on the line to be deleted. Versions of il1 and
+ dl1 which take a single parameter and insert or delete
that many lines can be given as il and dl.
- If the terminal has a settable scrolling region (like the
- vt100) the command to set this can be described with the
- csr 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
+ csr 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 csr on a properly chosen region; the sc and rc (save
- and restore cursor) commands may be useful for ensuring
- that your synthesized insert/delete string does not move
- the cursor. (Note that the ncurses(3x) 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 ncurses(3x) library does this
+ synthesis automatically, so you need not compose
insert/delete strings for an entry with csr).
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 ri or ind 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 ri or ind on many terminals without a
+ true insert/delete line, and is often faster even on ter-
minals with those features.
- The boolean non_dest_scroll_region 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 non_dest_scroll_region 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 ri followed by dl1 or ind. If the data
- scrolled off the bottom of the region by the ri re-
- appears, then scrolling is non-destructive. System V and
- XSI Curses expect that ind, ri, indn, and rin will simu-
- late destructive scrolling; their documentation cautions
- you not to define csr unless this is true. This curses
+ scrolled off the bottom of the region by the ri re-
+ appears, then scrolling is non-destructive. System V and
+ XSI Curses expect that ind, ri, indn, and rin will simu-
+ late destructive scrolling; their documentation cautions
+ you not to define csr unless this is true. This curses
implementation is more liberal and will do explicit erases
after scrolling if ndstr 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 wind. 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
- da capability should be given; if display memory can be
- retained below, then db should be given. These indicate
- that deleting a line or scrolling may bring non-blank
- lines up from below or that scrolling back with ri may
+ If the terminal can retain display memory above, then the
+ da capability should be given; if display memory can be
+ retained below, then db should be given. These indicate
+ that deleting a line or scrolling may bring non-blank
+ lines up from below or that scrolling back with ri may
bring down non-blank lines.
-
Insert/Delete Character
- There are two basic kinds of intelligent terminals with
- respect to insert/delete character which can be described
- using terminfo. 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 in, 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
+ There are two basic kinds of intelligent terminals with
+ respect to insert/delete character which can be described
+ using terminfo. 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 in, 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 smir the
- sequence to get into insert mode. Give as rmir the
- sequence to leave insert mode. Now give as ich1 any
- sequence needed to be sent just before sending the
- character to be inserted. Most terminals with a true
- insert mode will not give ich1; 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 ich1. 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 smir the
+ sequence to get into insert mode. Give as rmir the
+ sequence to leave insert mode. Now give as ich1 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 ich1; 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 ich1. 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 ich sequences do not require previous smir,
and most smir insert modes do not require ich1 before each
- character. Therefore, the new curses actually assumes
- this is the case and uses either rmir/smir or ich/ich1 as
+ character. Therefore, the new curses actually assumes
+ this is the case and uses either rmir/smir or ich/ich1 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 rmir/smir sequences in ich1.
If post insert padding is needed, give this as a number of
- milliseconds in ip (a string option). Any other sequence
- which may need to be sent after an insert of a single
+ milliseconds in ip (a string option). Any other sequence
+ which may need to be sent after an insert of a single
character may also be given in ip. If your terminal needs
both to be placed into an `insert mode' and a special code
- to precede each inserted character, then both smir/rmir
- and ich1 can be given, and both will be used. The ich
+ to precede each inserted character, then both smir/rmir
+ and ich1 can be given, and both will be used. The ich
capability, with one parameter, n, will repeat the effects
of ich1 n times.
If padding is necessary between characters typed while not
- in insert mode, give this as a number of milliseconds
- padding in rmp.
-
- 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 mir to speed up inserting in this case.
- Omitting mir will affect only speed. Some terminals
+ in insert mode, give this as a number of milliseconds pad-
+ ding in rmp.
+
+ 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 mir to speed up inserting in this case.
+ Omitting mir will affect only speed. Some terminals
(notably Datamedia's) must not have mir because of the way
their insert mode works.
- Finally, you can specify dch1 to delete a single charac-
- ter, dch with one parameter, n, to delete n characters,
- and delete mode by giving smdc and rmdc to enter and exit
- delete mode (any mode the terminal needs to be placed in
+ Finally, you can specify dch1 to delete a single charac-
+ ter, dch with one parameter, n, to delete n characters,
+ and delete mode by giving smdc and rmdc to enter and exit
+ delete mode (any mode the terminal needs to be placed in
for dch1 to work).
- A command to erase n characters (equivalent to outputting
- n blanks without moving the cursor) can be given as ech
+ A command to erase n characters (equivalent to outputting
+ n blanks without moving the cursor) can be given as ech
with one parameter.
-
Highlighting, Underlining, and Visible Bells
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 stand-
out mode, 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
- smso and rmso, 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
+ smso and rmso, 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 xmc should be given to tell how many spaces are left.
Codes to begin underlining and end underlining can be
@@ -1605,19 +1677,18 @@
For example, the DEC vt220 supports most of the modes:
+ tparm parameter attribute escape sequence
- tparm parameter attribute escape sequence
-
- 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
@@ -1637,18 +1708,17 @@
Writing out the above sequences, along with their depen-
dencies yields
+ sequence when to output terminfo translation
- sequence when to output terminfo translation
-
- \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:
@@ -1664,8 +1734,8 @@
assumes that sgr0 does not exit alternate character set
mode.
- Terminals with the ``magic cookie'' glitch (xmc) deposit
- special ``cookies'' when they receive mode-setting
+ Terminals with the "magic cookie" glitch (xmc) 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
@@ -1695,7 +1765,6 @@
erasable with a blank, then this should be indicated by
giving eo.
-
Keypad and Function Keys
If the terminal has a keypad that transmits codes when the
keys are pressed, this information can be given. Note
@@ -1704,27 +1773,57 @@
unshifted HP 2621 keys). If the keypad can be set to
transmit or not transmit, give these codes as smkx and
rmkx. 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 kcub1, kcuf1,
- kcuu1, kcud1, and khome respectively. If there are func-
- tion keys such as f0, f1, ..., f10, the codes they send
- can be given as kf0, kf1, ..., kf10. If these keys have
- labels other than the default f0 through f10, the labels
- can be given as lf0, lf1, ..., lf10. The codes
- transmitted by certain other special keys can be given:
- kll (home down), kbs (backspace), ktbc (clear all tabs),
- kctab (clear the tab stop in this column), kclr (clear
- screen or erase key), kdch1 (delete character), kdl1
- (delete line), krmir (exit insert mode), kel (clear to end
- of line), ked (clear to end of screen), kich1 (insert
- character or enter insert mode), kil1 (insert line), knp
- (next page), kpp (previous page), kind (scroll for-
- ward/down), kri (scroll backward/up), khts (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 ka1, ka3, kb2, kc1, and kc3.
- These keys are useful when the effects of a 3 by 3 direc-
- tional pad are needed.
+
+ The codes sent by the left arrow, right arrow, up arrow,
+ down arrow, and home keys can be given as kcub1, kcuf1,
+ kcuu1, kcud1, and khome respectively. If there are func-
+ tion keys such as f0, f1, ..., f10, the codes they send
+ can be given as kf0, kf1, ..., kf10. If these keys have
+ labels other than the default f0 through f10, the labels
+ can be given as lf0, lf1, ..., lf10.
+
+ The codes transmitted by certain other special keys can be
+ given:
+
+ o kll (home down),
+
+ o kbs (backspace),
+
+ o ktbc (clear all tabs),
+
+ o kctab (clear the tab stop in this column),
+
+ o kclr (clear screen or erase key),
+
+ o kdch1 (delete character),
+
+ o kdl1 (delete line),
+
+ o krmir (exit insert mode),
+
+ o kel (clear to end of line),
+
+ o ked (clear to end of screen),
+
+ o kich1 (insert character or enter insert mode),
+
+ o kil1 (insert line),
+
+ o knp (next page),
+
+ o kpp (previous page),
+
+ o kind (scroll forward/down),
+
+ o kri (scroll backward/up),
+
+ o khts (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 ka1, ka3, kb2, kc1, and kc3. 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 pfkey,
pfloc, and pfx. A string to program screen labels should
@@ -1746,12 +1845,11 @@
or more pln sequences to make sure that the change becomes
visible.
-
Tabs and Initialization
If the terminal has hardware tabs, the command to advance
to the next tab stop can be given as ht (usually control
- I). A ``back-tab'' command which moves leftward to the
- preceding tab stop can be given as cbt. By convention, if
+ I). A "back-tab" command which moves leftward to the pre-
+ ceding tab stop can be given as cbt. 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 ht or cbt even if they are
@@ -1851,7 +1949,6 @@
ter as a pad, then this can be given as pad. Only the
first character of the pad string is used.
-
Status Lines
Some terminals have an extra `status line' which is not
normally used by software (and thus not counted in the
@@ -1883,110 +1980,105 @@
The boolean capability eslok specifies that escape
sequences, tabs, etc., work ordinarily in the status line.
- The ncurses implementation does not yet use any of these
- capabilities. They are documented here in case they ever
+ The ncurses implementation does not yet use any of these
+ capabilities. They are documented here in case they ever
become important.
-
Line Graphics
- Many terminals have alternate character sets useful for
- forms-drawing. Terminfo and curses build in support for
- the drawing characters supported by the VT100, with some
- characters from the AT&T 4410v1 added. This alternate
+ Many terminals have alternate character sets useful for
+ forms-drawing. Terminfo and curses build 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 acsc capability.
-
- Glyph ACS Ascii VT100
- Name Name Default Name
- 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
-
- 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,
- giving the character which (when emitted between
- smacs/rmacs switches) will be rendered as the correspond-
- ing graphic. Then read off the VT100/your terminal char-
- acter pairs right to left in sequence; these become the
+ Glyph ACS Ascii VT100
+ Name Name Default Name
+ 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
+
+ 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,
+ giving the character which (when emitted between
+ smacs/rmacs switches) will be rendered as the correspond-
+ ing graphic. Then read off the VT100/your terminal char-
+ acter pairs right to left in sequence; these become the
ACSC string.
-
Color Handling
- 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
+ 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
+ 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.
+ 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.
Some basic color capabilities are independent of the color
method. The numeric capabilities colors and pairs specify
- the maximum numbers of colors and color-pairs that can be
- displayed simultaneously. The op (original pair) string
- resets foreground and background colors to their default
- values for the terminal. The oc 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 op (original pair) string
+ resets foreground and background colors to their default
+ values for the terminal. The oc 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 bce.
- To change the current foreground or background color on a
- Tektronix-type terminal, use setaf (set ANSI foreground)
- and setab (set ANSI background) or setf (set foreground)
- and setb (set background). These take one parameter, the
+ To change the current foreground or background color on a
+ Tektronix-type terminal, use setaf (set ANSI foreground)
+ and setab (set ANSI background) or setf (set foreground)
+ and setb (set background). These take one parameter, the
color number. The SVr4 documentation describes only
- setaf/setab; the XPG4 draft says that "If the terminal
+ setaf/setab; the XPG4 draft says that "If the terminal
supports ANSI escape sequences to set background and fore-
- ground, they should be coded as setaf and setab, respec-
- tively. If the terminal supports other escape sequences
- to set background and foreground, they should be coded as
- setf and setb, respectively. The vidputs() function and
- the refresh functions use setaf and setab if they are
+ ground, they should be coded as setaf and setab, respec-
+ tively. If the terminal supports other escape sequences
+ to set background and foreground, they should be coded as
+ setf and setb, respectively. The vidputs() function and
+ the refresh functions use setaf and setab if they are
defined."
- The setaf/setab and setf/setb capabilities take a single
+ The setaf/setab and setf/setb capabilities take a single
numeric argument each. Argument values 0-7 of setaf/setab
- are portably defined as follows (the middle column is the
+ are portably defined as follows (the middle column is the
symbolic #define available in the header for the curses or
- ncurses libraries). The terminal hardware is free to map
- these as it likes, but the RGB values indicate normal
+ ncurses libraries). The terminal hardware is free to map
+ these as it likes, but the RGB values indicate normal
locations in color space.
-
Color #define Value RGB
black COLOR_BLACK 0 0, 0, 0
red COLOR_RED 1 max,0,0
@@ -1997,7 +2089,7 @@
cyan COLOR_CYAN 6 0,max,max
white COLOR_WHITE 7 max,max,max
- The argument values of setf/setb historically correspond
+ The argument values of setf/setb historically correspond
to a different mapping, i.e.,
Color #define Value RGB
@@ -2009,132 +2101,130 @@
magenta COLOR_MAGENTA 5 max,0,max
yellow COLOR_YELLOW 6 max,max,0
white COLOR_WHITE 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
+ bilities; otherwise red/blue will be interchanged on the
display.
- On an HP-like terminal, use scp with a color-pair number
+ On an HP-like terminal, use scp with a color-pair number
parameter to set which color pair is current.
- On a Tektronix-like terminal, the capability ccc may be
- present to indicate that colors can be modified. If so,
+ On a Tektronix-like terminal, the capability ccc may be
+ present to indicate that colors can be modified. If so,
the initc capability will take a color number (0 to colors
- - 1)and three more parameters which describe the color.
+ - 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 hls
+ (Red, Green, Blue) values. If the boolean capability hls
is present, they are instead as HLS (Hue, Lightness, Satu-
ration) indices. The ranges are terminal-dependent.
- On an HP-like terminal, initp may give a capability for
- changing a color-pair value. It will take seven parame-
- ters; a color-pair number (0 to max_pairs - 1), and two
- triples describing first background and then foreground
- colors. These parameters must be (Red, Green, Blue) or
+ On an HP-like terminal, initp may give a capability for
+ changing a color-pair value. It will take seven parame-
+ ters; a color-pair number (0 to max_pairs - 1), and two
+ triples describing first background and then foreground
+ colors. These parameters must be (Red, Green, Blue) or
(Hue, Lightness, Saturation) depending on hls.
- On some color terminals, colors collide with highlights.
+ On some color terminals, colors collide with highlights.
You can register these collisions with the ncv capability.
- This is a bit-mask of attributes not to be used when col-
- ors are enabled. The correspondence with the attributes
+ This is a bit-mask of attributes not to be used when col-
+ ors are enabled. The correspondence with the attributes
understood by curses is as follows:
-
- Attribute Bit Decimal
- 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
-
- For example, on many IBM PC consoles, the underline
- attribute collides with the foreground color blue and is
- not available in color mode. These should have an ncv
+ Attribute Bit Decimal
+ 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
+
+ For example, on many IBM PC consoles, the underline
+ attribute collides with the foreground color blue and is
+ not available in color mode. These should have an ncv
capability of 2.
- SVr4 curses does nothing with ncv, ncurses recognizes it
+ SVr4 curses does nothing with ncv, ncurses recognizes it
and optimizes the output in favor of colors.
-
Miscellaneous
- 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-
+ 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-
nal does not have a pad character, specify npc. Note that
- ncurses implements the termcap-compatible PC variable;
- though the application may set this value to something
- other than a null, ncurses will test npc first and use
+ ncurses implements the termcap-compatible PC variable;
+ though the application may set this value to something
+ other than a null, ncurses will test npc first and use
napms if the terminal has no pad character.
- If the terminal can move up or down half a line, this can
- be indicated with hu (half-line up) and hd (half-line
+ If the terminal can move up or down half a line, this can
+ be indicated with hu (half-line up) and hd (half-line
down). This is primarily useful for superscripts and sub-
- scripts on hard-copy terminals. If a hard-copy terminal
- can eject to the next page (form feed), give this as ff
+ scripts on hard-copy terminals. If a hard-copy terminal
+ can eject to the next page (form feed), give this as ff
(usually control L).
- If there is a command to repeat a given character a given
- number of times (to save time transmitting a large number
- of identical characters) this can be indicated with the
- parameterized string rep. 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
+ If there is a command to repeat a given character a given
+ number of times (to save time transmitting a large number
+ of identical characters) this can be indicated with the
+ parameterized string rep. 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'.
- If the terminal has a settable command character, such as
- the TEKTRONIX 4025, this can be indicated with cmdch. A
+ If the terminal has a settable command character, such as
+ the TEKTRONIX 4025, this can be indicated with cmdch. A
prototype command character is chosen which is used in all
- capabilities. This character is given in the cmdch capa-
- bility to identify it. The following convention is sup-
- ported on some UNIX systems: The environment is to be
- searched for a CC variable, and if found, all occurrences
+ capabilities. This character is given in the cmdch capa-
+ bility to identify it. The following convention is sup-
+ ported on some UNIX systems: The environment is to be
+ searched for a CC variable, and if found, all occurrences
of the prototype character are replaced with the character
in the environment variable.
- Terminal descriptions that do not represent a specific
+ Terminal descriptions that do not represent a specific
kind of known terminal, such as switch, dialup, patch, and
- network, should include the gn (generic) capability so
- that programs can complain that they do not know how to
- talk to the terminal. (This capability does not apply to
- virtual terminal descriptions for which the escape
+ network, should include the gn (generic) capability so
+ that programs can complain that they do not know how to
+ talk to the terminal. (This capability does not apply to
+ virtual terminal descriptions for which the escape
sequences are known.)
- 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 km. Otherwise, software
+ 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 km. 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 smm and rmm.
+ be cleared. If strings exist to turn this "meta mode" on
+ and off, they can be given as smm and rmm.
- If the terminal has more lines of memory than will fit on
- the screen at once, the number of lines of memory can be
- indicated with lm. A value of lm#0 indicates that the
+ If the terminal has more lines of memory than will fit on
+ the screen at once, the number of lines of memory can be
+ indicated with lm. A value of lm#0 indicates that the
number of lines is not fixed, but that there is still more
memory than fits on the screen.
If the terminal is one of those supported by the UNIX vir-
- tual terminal protocol, the terminal number can be given
+ tual terminal protocol, the terminal number can be given
as vt.
Media copy strings which control an auxiliary printer con-
nected to the terminal can be given as mc0: print the con-
- tents of the screen, mc4: turn off the printer, and mc5:
- turn on the printer. When the printer is on, all text
- sent to the terminal will be sent to the printer. It is
+ tents of the screen, mc4: turn off the printer, and mc5:
+ turn on the printer. When the printer is on, all text
+ sent to the terminal will be sent to the printer. It is
undefined whether the text is also displayed on the termi-
nal screen when the printer is on. A variation mc5p takes
one parameter, and leaves the printer on for as many char-
- acters as the value of the parameter, then turns the
- printer off. The parameter should not exceed 255. All
+ acters as the value of the parameter, then turns the
+ printer off. The parameter should not exceed 255. All
text, including mc4, is transparently passed to the
printer while an mc5p is in effect.
-
Glitches and Braindamage
- Hazeltine terminals, which do not allow `~' characters to
+ Hazeltine terminals, which do not allow `~' characters to
be displayed should indicate hz.
Terminals which ignore a line-feed immediately after an am
@@ -2149,8 +2239,8 @@
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.
@@ -2165,7 +2255,6 @@
Other specific terminal problems may be corrected by
adding more capabilities of the form xx.
-
Similar Terminals
If there are two very similar terminals, one (the variant)
can be defined as being just like the other (the base)
@@ -2183,14 +2272,13 @@
the use reference that imports it, where xx is the capa-
bility. For example, the entry
- 2621-nl, smkx@, rmkx@, use=2621,
+ 2621-nl, smkx@, rmkx@, use=2621,
defines a 2621-nl that does not have the smkx or rmkx
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.
-
Pitfalls of Long Entries
Long terminfo entries are unlikely to be a problem; to
date, no entry has even approached terminfo's 4096-byte
@@ -2229,21 +2317,21 @@
libraries strip off the final newline, too (GNU termcap
does not). Now suppose:
- * a termcap entry before expansion is more than 1023
- bytes long,
+ o a termcap entry before expansion is more than 1023
+ bytes long,
- * and the application has only allocated a 1k buffer,
+ o 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,
+ o 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 tgetent() 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 tgetent() has to search the whole
- termcap file).
+ o and tgetent() 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 tgetent() has to search the whole
+ termcap file).
Then tgetent() will overwrite memory, perhaps its stack,
and probably core dump the program. Programs like telnet
@@ -2288,61 +2376,64 @@
EXTENSIONS
- Some SVr4 curses implementations, and all previous to
- SVr4, do not interpret the %A and %O operators in parame-
+ Searching for terminal descriptions in $HOME/.terminfo and
+ TERMINFO_DIRS is not supported by older implementations.
+
+ Some SVr4 curses implementations, and all previous to
+ SVr4, do not interpret the %A and %O operators in parame-
ter strings.
- SVr4/XPG4 do not specify whether msgr 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 ncurses implementation
- ignores msgr in ALTCHARSET mode. This raises the possi-
- bility that an XPG4 implementation making the opposite
- interpretation may need terminfo entries made for ncurses
+ SVr4/XPG4 do not specify whether msgr 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 ncurses implementation
+ ignores msgr in ALTCHARSET mode. This raises the possi-
+ bility that an XPG4 implementation making the opposite
+ interpretation may need terminfo entries made for ncurses
to have msgr turned off.
- The ncurses library handles insert-character and insert-
+ The ncurses library handles insert-character and insert-
character modes in a slightly non-standard way to get bet-
- ter update efficiency. See the Insert/Delete Character
+ ter update efficiency. See the Insert/Delete Character
subsection above.
- The parameter substitutions for set_clock and dis-
- play_clock are not documented in SVr4 or the XSI Curses
+ The parameter substitutions for set_clock and dis-
+ play_clock 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 kmous capability. The ncurses
- wants to interpret it as KEY_MOUSE, for use by terminals
- and emulators like xterm that can return mouse-tracking
+ Be careful assigning the kmous capability. The ncurses
+ wants to interpret it as KEY_MOUSE, 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
+ 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:
SVR4, Solaris, ncurses -- These support all SVr4 capabili-
ties.
- SGI -- Supports the SVr4 set, adds one undocumented
+ SGI -- Supports the SVr4 set, adds one undocumented
extended string capability (set_pglen).
- SVr1, Ultrix -- These support a restricted subset of ter-
- minfo capabilities. The booleans end with xon_xoff; the
- numerics with width_status_line; and the strings with
+ SVr1, Ultrix -- These support a restricted subset of ter-
+ minfo capabilities. The booleans end with xon_xoff; the
+ numerics with width_status_line; and the strings with
prtr_non.
- HP/UX -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus the SVr[234]
+ HP/UX -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus the SVr[234]
numerics num_labels, label_height, label_width, plus func-
- tion keys 11 through 63, plus plab_norm, label_on, and
+ tion keys 11 through 63, plus plab_norm, label_on, and
label_off, plus some incompatible extensions in the string
table.
- AIX -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus function keys 11
- through 63, plus a number of incompatible string table
+ AIX -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus function keys 11
+ through 63, plus a number of incompatible string table
extensions.
- OSF -- Supports both the SVr4 set and the AIX extensions.
+ OSF -- Supports both the SVr4 set and the AIX extensions.
@@ -2353,12 +2444,13 @@
SEE ALSO
- tic(1m), infocmp(1m), curses(3x), printf(3), term(5).
+ tic(1m), infocmp(1m), curses(3x), printf(3), term(5).
+ term_variables(3x).
AUTHORS
- Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey.
+ Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey.
Based on pcurses by Pavel Curtis.