* sale, use or other dealings in this Software without prior written *
* authorization. *
****************************************************************************
- * @Id: terminfo.head,v 1.36 2019/07/13 23:17:33 tom Exp @
+ * @Id: terminfo.head,v 1.38 2019/07/27 11:51:04 tom Exp @
* Head of terminfo man page ends here
****************************************************************************
* Copyright (c) 1998-2018,2019 Free Software Foundation, Inc. *
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-DESCRIPTION">DESCRIPTION</a></H2><PRE>
<EM>Terminfo</EM> is a data base describing terminals, used by screen-oriented
- programs such as <STRONG>nvi(1)</STRONG>, <STRONG>rogue(1)</STRONG> and libraries such as <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG>.
+ programs such as <STRONG>nvi(1)</STRONG>, <STRONG>lynx(1)</STRONG>, <STRONG>mutt(1)</STRONG>, and other curses applica-
+ tions, using high-level calls to libraries such as <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG>. It is
+ also used via low-level calls by non-curses applications which may be
+ screen-oriented (such as <STRONG><A HREF="clear.1.html">clear(1)</A></STRONG>) or non-screen (such as <STRONG><A HREF="tabs.1.html">tabs(1)</A></STRONG>).
+
<EM>Terminfo</EM> describes terminals by giving a set of capabilities which they
have, by specifying how to perform screen operations, and by specifying
- padding requirements and initialization sequences. This describes
- <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> version 6.1 (patch 20190720).
+ padding requirements and initialization sequences.
+
+ This manual describes <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> version 6.1 (patch 20190727).
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Terminfo-Entry-Syntax">Terminfo Entry Syntax</a></H3><PRE>
Entries in <EM>terminfo</EM> consist of a sequence of fields:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Each field ends with a comma "," (embedded commas may be escaped
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Each field ends with a comma "," (embedded commas may be escaped
with a backslash or written as "\054").
<STRONG>o</STRONG> White space between fields is ignored.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> The first field in a <EM>terminfo</EM> entry begins in the first column.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Newlines and leading whitespace (spaces or tabs) may be used for
- formatting entries for readability. These are removed from parsed
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Newlines and leading whitespace (spaces or tabs) may be used for
+ formatting entries for readability. These are removed from parsed
entries.
- The <STRONG>infocmp</STRONG> <STRONG>-f</STRONG> and <STRONG>-W</STRONG> options rely on this to format if-then-else
- expressions, or to enforce maximum line-width. The resulting for-
+ The <STRONG>infocmp</STRONG> <STRONG>-f</STRONG> and <STRONG>-W</STRONG> options rely on this to format if-then-else
+ expressions, or to enforce maximum line-width. The resulting for-
matted terminal description can be read by <STRONG>tic</STRONG>.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> The first field for each terminal gives the names which are known
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The first field for each terminal gives the names which are known
for the terminal, separated by "|" characters.
The first name given is the most common abbreviation for the termi-
- nal (its primary name), the last name given should be a long name
- fully identifying the terminal (see <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termattrs.3x.html">longname(3x)</A></STRONG>), and all others
+ nal (its primary name), the last name given should be a long name
+ fully identifying the terminal (see <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termattrs.3x.html">longname(3x)</A></STRONG>), and all others
are treated as synonyms (aliases) for the primary terminal name.
- X/Open Curses advises that all names but the last should be in
- lower case and contain no blanks; the last name may well contain
+ X/Open Curses advises that all names but the last should be in
+ lower case and contain no blanks; the last name may well contain
upper case and blanks for readability.
- This implementation is not so strict; it allows mixed case in the
+ This implementation is not so strict; it allows mixed case in the
primary name and aliases. If the last name has no embedded blanks,
- it allows that to be both an alias and a verbose name (but will
+ it allows that to be both an alias and a verbose name (but will
warn about this ambiguity).
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Lines beginning with a "#" in the first column are treated as com-
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Lines beginning with a "#" in the first column are treated as com-
ments.
While comment lines are legal at any point, the output of <STRONG>captoinfo</STRONG>
- and <STRONG>infotocap</STRONG> (aliases for <STRONG>tic</STRONG>) will move comments so they occur
+ and <STRONG>infotocap</STRONG> (aliases for <STRONG>tic</STRONG>) will move comments so they occur
only between entries.
- Terminal names (except for the last, verbose entry) should be chosen
+ Terminal names (except for the last, verbose entry) should be chosen
using the following conventions. The particular piece of hardware mak-
- ing up the terminal should have a root name, thus "hp2621". This name
+ ing up the terminal should have a root name, thus "hp2621". This name
should not contain hyphens. Modes that the hardware can be in, or user
- preferences, should be indicated by appending a hyphen and a mode suf-
+ preferences, should be indicated by appending a hyphen and a mode suf-
fix. Thus, a vt100 in 132-column mode would be vt100-w. The following
suffixes should be used where possible:
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Terminfo-Capabilities-Syntax">Terminfo Capabilities Syntax</a></H3><PRE>
- The terminfo entry consists of several <EM>capabilities</EM>, i.e., features
- that the terminal has, or methods for exercising the terminal's fea-
+ The terminfo entry consists of several <EM>capabilities</EM>, i.e., features
+ that the terminal has, or methods for exercising the terminal's fea-
tures.
After the first field (giving the name(s) of the terminal entry), there
should be one or more <EM>capability</EM> fields. These are boolean, numeric or
string names with corresponding values:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Boolean capabilities are true when present, false when absent.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Boolean capabilities are true when present, false when absent.
There is no explicit value for boolean capabilities.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Numeric capabilities have a "#" following the name, then an
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Numeric capabilities have a "#" following the name, then an
unsigned decimal integer value.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> String capabilities have a "=" following the name, then an string
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> String capabilities have a "=" following the name, then an string
of characters making up the capability value.
- String capabilities can be split into multiple lines, just as the
- fields comprising a terminal entry can be split into multiple
- lines. While blanks between fields are ignored, blanks embedded
- within a string value are retained, except for leading blanks on a
+ String capabilities can be split into multiple lines, just as the
+ fields comprising a terminal entry can be split into multiple
+ lines. While blanks between fields are ignored, blanks embedded
+ within a string value are retained, except for leading blanks on a
line.
- Any capability can be <EM>canceled</EM>, i.e., suppressed from the terminal
+ Any capability can be <EM>canceled</EM>, i.e., suppressed from the terminal
entry, by following its name with "@" rather than a capability value.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Similar-Terminals">Similar Terminals</a></H3><PRE>
- If there are two very similar terminals, one (the variant) can be
- defined as being just like the other (the base) with certain excep-
+ If there are two very similar terminals, one (the variant) can be
+ defined as being just like the other (the base) with certain excep-
tions. In the definition of the variant, the string capability <STRONG>use</STRONG> can
be given with the name of the base terminal:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> The capabilities given before <STRONG>use</STRONG> override those in the base type
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The capabilities given before <STRONG>use</STRONG> override those in the base type
named by <STRONG>use</STRONG>.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> If there are multiple <STRONG>use</STRONG> capabilities, they are merged in reverse
- order. That is, the rightmost <STRONG>use</STRONG> reference is processed first,
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If there are multiple <STRONG>use</STRONG> capabilities, they are merged in reverse
+ order. That is, the rightmost <STRONG>use</STRONG> reference is processed first,
then the one to its left, and so forth.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Capabilities given explicitly in the entry override those brought
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Capabilities given explicitly in the entry override those brought
in by <STRONG>use</STRONG> references.
A capability can be canceled by placing <STRONG>xx@</STRONG> to the left of the use ref-
- erence that imports it, where <EM>xx</EM> is the capability. For example, the
+ erence that imports it, where <EM>xx</EM> is the capability. For example, the
entry
2621-nl, smkx@, rmkx@, use=2621,
defines a 2621-nl that does not have the <STRONG>smkx</STRONG> or <STRONG>rmkx</STRONG> capabilities, and
- hence does not turn on the function key labels when in visual mode.
- This is useful for different modes for a terminal, or for different
+ hence does not turn on the function key labels when in visual mode.
+ This is useful for different modes for a terminal, or for different
user preferences.
An entry included via <STRONG>use</STRONG> can contain canceled capabilities, which have
- the same effect as if those cancels were inline in the using terminal
+ the same effect as if those cancels were inline in the using terminal
entry.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Predefined-Capabilities">Predefined Capabilities</a></H3><PRE>
- The following is a complete table of the capabilities included in a
- terminfo description block and available to terminfo-using code. In
+ The following is a complete table of the capabilities included in a
+ terminfo description block and available to terminfo-using code. In
each line of the table,
- The <STRONG>variable</STRONG> is the name by which the programmer (at the terminfo
+ The <STRONG>variable</STRONG> is the name by which the programmer (at the terminfo
level) accesses the capability.
- The <STRONG>capname</STRONG> is the short name used in the text of the database, and is
- used by a person updating the database. Whenever possible, capnames
+ The <STRONG>capname</STRONG> is the short name used in the text of the database, and is
+ used by a person updating the database. Whenever possible, capnames
are chosen to be the same as or similar to the ANSI X3.64-1979 standard
- (now superseded by ECMA-48, which uses identical or very similar
- names). Semantics are also intended to match those of the specifica-
+ (now superseded by ECMA-48, which uses identical or very similar
+ names). Semantics are also intended to match those of the specifica-
tion.
- The termcap code is the old <STRONG>termcap</STRONG> capability name (some capabilities
+ The termcap code is the old <STRONG>termcap</STRONG> capability name (some capabilities
are new, and have names which termcap did not originate).
- Capability names have no hard length limit, but an informal limit of 5
+ Capability names have no hard length limit, but an informal limit of 5
characters has been adopted to keep them short and to allow the tabs in
the source file <STRONG>Caps</STRONG> to line up nicely.
- Finally, the description field attempts to convey the semantics of the
+ Finally, the description field attempts to convey the semantics of the
capability. You may find some codes in the description field:
(P) indicates that padding may be specified
- #[1-9] in the description field indicates that the string is passed
+ #[1-9] in the description field indicates that the string is passed
through tparm with parms as given (#<EM>i</EM>).
- (P*) indicates that padding may vary in proportion to the number of
+ (P*) indicates that padding may vary in proportion to the number of
lines affected
(#<EM>i</EM>) indicates the <EM>i</EM>th parameter.
matic margins
back_color_erase bce ut screen erased with
background color
+
+
+
can_change ccc cc terminal can re-
define existing col-
ors
by overwriting (hp)
col_addr_glitch xhpa YA only positive motion
for hpa/mhpa caps
-
cpi_changes_res cpix YF changing character
pitch changes reso-
lution
echo on screen
row_addr_glitch xvpa YD only positive motion
for vpa/mvpa caps
+
semi_auto_right_margin sam YE printing in last
column causes cr
status_line_esc_ok eslok es escape can be used
on the status line
tilde_glitch hz hz cannot print ~'s
(Hazeltine)
-
-
transparent_underline ul ul underline character
overstrikes
xon_xoff xon xo terminal uses
width_status_line wsl ws number of columns in
status line
- The following numeric capabilities are present in the SVr4.0 term
- structure, but are not yet documented in the man page. They came in
+ The following numeric capabilities are present in the SVr4.0 term
+ structure, but are not yet documented in the man page. They came in
with SVr4's printer support.
each bit-image row
bit_image_type bitype Yp type of bit-image
device
+
+
+
buffer_capacity bufsz Ya numbers of bytes
buffered before
printing
dot_horz_spacing spinh Yc spacing of dots hor-
izontally in dots
per inch
-
dot_vert_spacing spinv Yb spacing of pins ver-
tically in pins per
inch
(P)
char_padding rmp rP like ip but when in
insert mode
+
+
clear_all_tabs tbc ct clear all tab stops
(P)
clear_margins mgc MC clear right and left
home cursor (P*)
clr_bol el1 cb Clear to beginning
of line
-
-
clr_eol el ce clear to end of line
(P)
clr_eos ed cd clear to end of
enter_delete_mode smdc dm enter delete mode
enter_dim_mode dim mh turn on half-bright
mode
+
enter_doublewide_mode swidm ZF Enter double-wide
mode
enter_draft_quality sdrfq ZG Enter draft-quality
enter_italics_mode sitm ZH Enter italic mode
enter_leftward_mode slm ZI Start leftward car-
riage motion
-
enter_micro_mode smicm ZJ Start micro-motion
mode
enter_near_letter_quality snlq ZK Enter NLQ mode
not move cursor)
form_feed ff ff hardcopy terminal
page eject (P*)
+
from_status_line fsl fs return from status
line
goto_window wingo WG go to window #1
string
init_2string is2 is initialization
string
-
init_3string is3 i3 initialization
string
init_file if if name of initializa-
key_f15 kf15 F5 F15 function key
key_f16 kf16 F6 F16 function key
key_f17 kf17 F7 F17 function key
+
key_f18 kf18 F8 F18 function key
key_f19 kf19 F9 F19 function key
key_f2 kf2 k2 F2 function key
key_f22 kf22 FC F22 function key
key_f23 kf23 FD F23 function key
key_f24 kf24 FE F24 function key
-
key_f25 kf25 FF F25 function key
key_f26 kf26 FG F26 function key
key_f27 kf27 FH F27 function key
key_mark kmrk %2 mark key
key_message kmsg %3 message key
key_move kmov %4 move key
+
key_next knxt %5 next key
key_npage knp kN next-page key
key_open kopn %6 open key
key_previous kprv %8 previous key
key_print kprt %9 print key
key_redo krdo %0 redo key
-
key_reference kref &1 reference key
key_refresh krfr &2 refresh key
key_replace krpl &3 replace key
key f0 if not f0
lab_f1 lf1 l1 label on function
key f1 if not f1
+
+
lab_f10 lf10 la label on function
key f10 if not f10
lab_f2 lf2 l2 label on function
key f3 if not f3
lab_f4 lf4 l4 label on function
key f4 if not f4
-
-
lab_f5 lf5 l5 label on function
key f5 if not f5
lab_f6 lf6 l6 label on function
to the right (P*)
parm_right_micro mcuf Zh Like parm_right_cur-
sor in micro mode
+
parm_rindex rin SR scroll back #1 lines
(P)
parm_up_cursor cuu UP up #1 lines (P*)
in micro mode
pkey_key pfkey pk program function key
#1 to type string #2
-
-
pkey_local pfloc pl program function key
#1 to execute string
#2
pair to #1
set_foreground setf Sf Set foreground color
#1
+
+
+
+
+
set_left_margin smgl ML set left soft margin
at current col-
umn. See smgl.
set_right_margin smgr MR set right soft mar-
gin at current col-
umn
-
-
set_right_margin_parm smgrp Zn Set right margin at
column #1
set_tab hts st set a tab in every
lation
bit_image_carriage_return bicr Yv Move to beginning
of same row
-
-
bit_image_newline binel Zz Move to next row
of the bit image
bit_image_repeat birep Xy Repeat bit image
set_a_foreground setaf AF Set foreground
color to #1, using
ANSI escape
+
set_color_band setcolor Yz Change to ribbon
color #1
set_lr_margin smglr ML Set both left and
#1, #2. (ML is
not in BSD term-
cap).
-
-
set_page_length slines YZ Set page length to
#1 lines
set_tb_margin smgtb MT Sets both top and
bottom margins to
#1, #2
- The XSI Curses standard added these hardcopy capabilities. They were
- used in some post-4.1 versions of System V curses, e.g., Solaris 2.5
- and IRIX 6.x. Except for <STRONG>YI</STRONG>, the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> termcap names for them are
- invented. According to the XSI Curses standard, they have no termcap
- names. If your compiled terminfo entries use these, they may not be
+ The XSI Curses standard added these hardcopy capabilities. They were
+ used in some post-4.1 versions of System V curses, e.g., Solaris 2.5
+ and IRIX 6.x. Except for <STRONG>YI</STRONG>, the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> termcap names for them are
+ invented. 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!
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-User-Defined-Capabilities">User-Defined Capabilities</a></H3><PRE>
- The preceding section listed the <EM>predefined</EM> capabilities. They deal
- with some special features for terminals no longer (or possibly never)
- produced. Occasionally there are special features of newer terminals
- which are awkward or impossible to represent by reusing the predefined
+ The preceding section listed the <EM>predefined</EM> capabilities. They deal
+ with some special features for terminals no longer (or possibly never)
+ produced. Occasionally there are special features of newer terminals
+ which are awkward or impossible to represent by reusing the predefined
capabilities.
- <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> addresses this limitation by allowing user-defined capabili-
+ <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> addresses this limitation by allowing user-defined capabili-
ties. The <STRONG>tic</STRONG> and <STRONG>infocmp</STRONG> programs provide the <STRONG>-x</STRONG> option for this pur-
pose. When <STRONG>-x</STRONG> is set, <STRONG>tic</STRONG> treats unknown capabilities as user-defined.
- That is, if <STRONG>tic</STRONG> encounters a capability name which it does not recog-
- nize, it infers its type (boolean, number or string) from the syntax
- and makes an extended table entry for that capability. The
- <STRONG><A HREF="curs_extend.3x.html">use_extended_names(3x)</A></STRONG> function makes this information conditionally
+ That is, if <STRONG>tic</STRONG> encounters a capability name which it does not recog-
+ nize, it infers its type (boolean, number or string) from the syntax
+ and makes an extended table entry for that capability. The
+ <STRONG><A HREF="curs_extend.3x.html">use_extended_names(3x)</A></STRONG> function makes this information conditionally
available to applications. The ncurses library provides the data leav-
ing most of the behavior to applications:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> User-defined capability strings whose name begins with "k" are
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> User-defined capability strings whose name begins with "k" are
treated as function keys.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> The types (boolean, number, string) determined by <STRONG>tic</STRONG> can be
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The types (boolean, number, string) determined by <STRONG>tic</STRONG> can be
inferred by successful calls on <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG>, etc.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> If the capability name happens to be two characters, the capability
While termcap is said to be extensible because it does not use a prede-
fined set of capabilities, in practice it has been limited to the capa-
- bilities defined by terminfo implementations. As a rule, user-defined
+ bilities 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
+ to booleans and numbers to avoid running past the 1023 byte limit
assumed by termcap implementations and their applications. In particu-
- lar, providing extended sets of function keys (past the 60 numbered
- keys and the handful of special named keys) is best done using the
+ lar, providing extended sets of function keys (past the 60 numbered
+ keys and the handful of special named keys) is best done using the
longer names available using terminfo.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-A-Sample-Entry">A Sample Entry</a></H3><PRE>
The following entry, describing an ANSI-standard terminal, is represen-
- tative of what a <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> entry for a modern terminal typically looks
+ tative of what a <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> entry for a modern terminal typically looks
like.
ansi|ansi/pc-term compatible with color,
smul=\E[4m, tbc=\E[3g, u6=\E[%i%d;%dR, u7=\E[6n,
u8=\E[?%[;0123456789]c, u9=\E[c, vpa=\E[%i%p1%dd,
- Entries may continue onto multiple lines by placing white space at the
- beginning of each line except the first. Comments may be included on
+ Entries may continue onto multiple lines by placing white space at the
+ beginning of each line except the first. Comments may be included on
lines beginning with "#". Capabilities in <EM>terminfo</EM> are of three types:
<STRONG>o</STRONG> Boolean capabilities which indicate that the terminal has some par-
<STRONG>o</STRONG> numeric capabilities giving the size of the terminal or the size of
particular delays, and
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> string capabilities, which give a sequence which can be used to
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> string capabilities, which give a sequence which can be used to
perform particular terminal operations.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Types-of-Capabilities">Types of Capabilities</a></H3><PRE>
All capabilities have names. For instance, the fact that ANSI-standard
- terminals have <EM>automatic</EM> <EM>margins</EM> (i.e., an automatic return and line-
- feed when the end of a line is reached) is indicated by the capability
- <STRONG>am</STRONG>. Hence the description of ansi includes <STRONG>am</STRONG>. Numeric capabilities
- are followed by the character "#" and then a positive value. Thus
+ terminals have <EM>automatic</EM> <EM>margins</EM> (i.e., an automatic return and line-
+ feed when the end of a line is reached) is indicated by the capability
+ <STRONG>am</STRONG>. Hence the description of ansi includes <STRONG>am</STRONG>. Numeric capabilities
+ are followed by the character "#" and then a positive value. Thus
<STRONG>cols</STRONG>, which indicates the number of columns the terminal has, gives the
- value "80" for ansi. Values for numeric capabilities may be specified
+ value "80" for ansi. Values for numeric capabilities may be specified
in decimal, octal or hexadecimal, using the C programming language con-
ventions (e.g., 255, 0377 and 0xff or 0xFF).
- Finally, string valued capabilities, such as <STRONG>el</STRONG> (clear to end of line
- sequence) are given by the two-character code, an "=", and then a
+ Finally, string valued capabilities, such as <STRONG>el</STRONG> (clear to end of line
+ sequence) are given by the two-character code, an "=", and then a
string ending at the next following ",".
A number of escape sequences are provided in the string valued capabil-
respectively.
X/Open Curses does not say what "appropriate <EM>x</EM>" might be. In practice,
- that is a printable ASCII graphic character. The special case "^?" is
- interpreted as DEL (127). In all other cases, the character value is
- AND'd with 0x1f, mapping to ASCII control codes in the range 0 through
+ that is a printable ASCII graphic character. The special case "^?" is
+ interpreted as DEL (127). In all other cases, the character value is
+ AND'd with 0x1f, mapping to ASCII control codes in the range 0 through
31.
Other escapes include
<STRONG>o</STRONG> and <STRONG>\0</STRONG> for null.
<STRONG>\0</STRONG> will produce \200, which does not terminate a string but behaves
- as a null character on most terminals, providing CS7 is specified.
+ as a null character on most terminals, providing CS7 is specified.
See <STRONG>stty(1)</STRONG>.
- The reason for this quirk is to maintain binary compatibility of
- the compiled terminfo files with other implementations, e.g., the
- SVr4 systems, which document this. Compiled terminfo files use
- null-terminated strings, with no lengths. Modifying this would
+ The reason for this quirk is to maintain binary compatibility of
+ the compiled terminfo files with other implementations, e.g., the
+ SVr4 systems, which document this. Compiled terminfo files use
+ null-terminated strings, with no lengths. Modifying this would
require a new binary format, which would not work with other imple-
mentations.
Finally, characters may be given as three octal digits after a <STRONG>\</STRONG>.
- A delay in milliseconds may appear anywhere in a string capability,
- enclosed in $<..> brackets, as in <STRONG>el</STRONG>=\EK$<5>, and padding characters
+ A delay in milliseconds may appear anywhere in a string capability,
+ enclosed in $<..> brackets, as in <STRONG>el</STRONG>=\EK$<5>, and padding characters
are supplied by <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">tputs(3x)</A></STRONG> to provide this delay.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> The delay must be a number with at most one decimal place of preci-
sion; it may be followed by suffixes "*" or "/" or both.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> 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
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> A "*" indicates that the padding required is proportional to the
+ number of lines affected by the operation, and the amount given is
+ the per-affected-unit padding required. (In the case of insert
character, the factor is still the number of <EM>lines</EM> affected.)
Normally, padding is advisory if the device has the <STRONG>xon</STRONG> capability;
it is used for cost computation but does not trigger delays.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> A "/" suffix indicates that the padding is mandatory and forces a
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> A "/" suffix indicates that the padding is mandatory and forces a
delay of the given number of milliseconds even on devices for which
<STRONG>xon</STRONG> is present to indicate flow control.
- Sometimes individual capabilities must be commented out. To do this,
- put a period before the capability name. For example, see the second
+ Sometimes individual capabilities must be commented out. To do this,
+ put a period before the capability name. For example, see the second
<STRONG>ind</STRONG> in the example above.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Fetching-Compiled-Descriptions">Fetching Compiled Descriptions</a></H3><PRE>
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library searches for terminal descriptions in several
- places. It uses only the first description found. The library has a
- compiled-in list of places to search which can be overridden by envi-
- ronment variables. Before starting to search, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> eliminates
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library searches for terminal descriptions in several
+ places. It uses only the first description found. The library has a
+ compiled-in list of places to search which can be overridden by envi-
+ ronment variables. Before starting to search, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> eliminates
duplicates in its search list.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> If the environment variable TERMINFO is set, it is interpreted as
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If the environment variable TERMINFO is set, it is interpreted as
the pathname of a directory containing the compiled description you
are working on. Only that directory is searched.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> If TERMINFO is not set, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> will instead look in the directory
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If TERMINFO is not set, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> will instead look in the directory
<STRONG>$HOME/.terminfo</STRONG> for a compiled description.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Next, if the environment variable TERMINFO_DIRS is set, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>
- will interpret the contents of that variable as a list of colon-
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Next, if the environment variable TERMINFO_DIRS is set, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>
+ will interpret the contents of that variable as a list of colon-
separated directories (or database files) to be searched.
- An empty directory name (i.e., if the variable begins or ends with
- a colon, or contains adjacent colons) is interpreted as the system
+ An empty directory name (i.e., if the variable begins or ends with
+ a colon, or contains adjacent colons) is interpreted as the system
location <EM>/usr/share/terminfo</EM>.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> Finally, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> searches these compiled-in locations:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> a list of directories (/usr/local/ncurses/share/ter-
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> a list of directories (/usr/local/ncurses/share/ter-
minfo:/usr/share/terminfo), and
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> the system terminfo directory, <EM>/usr/share/terminfo</EM> (the com-
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> the system terminfo directory, <EM>/usr/share/terminfo</EM> (the com-
piled-in default).
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Preparing-Descriptions">Preparing Descriptions</a></H3><PRE>
- We now outline how to prepare descriptions of terminals. The most
- effective way to prepare a terminal description is by imitating the
- description of a similar terminal in <EM>terminfo</EM> and to build up a
+ We now outline how to prepare descriptions of terminals. The most
+ effective way to prepare a terminal description is by imitating the
+ description of a similar terminal in <EM>terminfo</EM> and to build up a
description gradually, using partial descriptions with <EM>vi</EM> or some other
- screen-oriented program to check that they are correct. Be aware that
- a very unusual terminal may expose deficiencies in the ability of the
+ screen-oriented program to check that they are correct. Be aware that
+ a very unusual terminal may expose deficiencies in the ability of the
<EM>terminfo</EM> file to describe it or bugs in the screen-handling code of the
test program.
- To get the padding for insert line right (if the terminal manufacturer
- did not document it) a severe test is to edit a large file at 9600
+ To get the padding for insert line right (if the terminal manufacturer
+ did not document it) a severe test is to edit a large file at 9600
baud, delete 16 or so lines from the middle of the screen, then hit the
"u" key several times quickly. If the terminal messes up, more padding
is usually needed. A similar test can be used for insert character.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Basic-Capabilities">Basic Capabilities</a></H3><PRE>
- The number of columns on each line for the terminal is given by the
- <STRONG>cols</STRONG> numeric capability. If the terminal is a CRT, then the number of
- lines on the screen is given by the <STRONG>lines</STRONG> capability. If the terminal
- wraps around to the beginning of the next line when it reaches the
- right margin, then it should have the <STRONG>am</STRONG> capability. If the terminal
- can clear its screen, leaving the cursor in the home position, then
- this is given by the <STRONG>clear</STRONG> string capability. If the terminal over-
- strikes (rather than clearing a position when a character is struck
- over) then it should have the <STRONG>os</STRONG> capability. If the terminal is a
+ The number of columns on each line for the terminal is given by the
+ <STRONG>cols</STRONG> numeric capability. If the terminal is a CRT, then the number of
+ lines on the screen is given by the <STRONG>lines</STRONG> capability. If the terminal
+ wraps around to the beginning of the next line when it reaches the
+ right margin, then it should have the <STRONG>am</STRONG> capability. If the terminal
+ can clear its screen, leaving the cursor in the home position, then
+ this is given by the <STRONG>clear</STRONG> string capability. If the terminal over-
+ strikes (rather than clearing a position when a character is struck
+ over) then it should have the <STRONG>os</STRONG> capability. If the terminal is a
printing terminal, with no soft copy unit, give it both <STRONG>hc</STRONG> and <STRONG>os</STRONG>. (<STRONG>os</STRONG>
- applies to storage scope terminals, such as TEKTRONIX 4010 series, as
- well as hard copy and APL terminals.) If there is a code to move the
+ applies to storage scope terminals, such as TEKTRONIX 4010 series, as
+ well as hard copy and APL terminals.) If there is a code to move the
cursor to the left edge of the current row, give this as <STRONG>cr</STRONG>. (Normally
- this will be carriage return, control/M.) If there is a code to pro-
+ this will be carriage return, control/M.) If there is a code to pro-
duce an audible signal (bell, beep, etc) give this as <STRONG>bel</STRONG>.
If there is a code to move the cursor one position to the left (such as
- backspace) that capability should be given as <STRONG>cub1</STRONG>. Similarly, codes
- to move to the right, up, and down should be given as <STRONG>cuf1</STRONG>, <STRONG>cuu1</STRONG>, and
- <STRONG>cud1</STRONG>. These local cursor motions should not alter the text they pass
- over, for example, you would not normally use "<STRONG>cuf1</STRONG>= " because the
+ backspace) that capability should be given as <STRONG>cub1</STRONG>. Similarly, codes
+ to move to the right, up, and down should be given as <STRONG>cuf1</STRONG>, <STRONG>cuu1</STRONG>, and
+ <STRONG>cud1</STRONG>. These local cursor motions should not alter the text they pass
+ over, for example, you would not normally use "<STRONG>cuf1</STRONG>= " because the
space would erase the character moved over.
A very important point here is that the local cursor motions encoded in
- <EM>terminfo</EM> are undefined at the left and top edges of a CRT terminal.
+ <EM>terminfo</EM> are undefined at the left and top edges of a CRT terminal.
Programs should never attempt to backspace around the left edge, unless
- <STRONG>bw</STRONG> is given, and never attempt to go up locally off the top. In order
- to scroll text up, a program will go to the bottom left corner of the
+ <STRONG>bw</STRONG> is given, and never attempt to go up locally off the top. In order
+ to scroll text up, a program will go to the bottom left corner of the
screen and send the <STRONG>ind</STRONG> (index) string.
- To scroll text down, a program goes to the top left corner of the
+ To scroll text down, a program goes to the top left corner of the
screen and sends the <STRONG>ri</STRONG> (reverse index) string. The strings <STRONG>ind</STRONG> and <STRONG>ri</STRONG>
are undefined when not on their respective corners of the screen.
- Parameterized versions of the scrolling sequences are <STRONG>indn</STRONG> and <STRONG>rin</STRONG>
- which have the same semantics as <STRONG>ind</STRONG> and <STRONG>ri</STRONG> except that they take one
- parameter, and scroll that many lines. They are also undefined except
+ Parameterized versions of the scrolling sequences are <STRONG>indn</STRONG> and <STRONG>rin</STRONG>
+ which have the same semantics as <STRONG>ind</STRONG> and <STRONG>ri</STRONG> except that they take one
+ parameter, and scroll that many lines. They are also undefined except
at the appropriate edge of the screen.
- The <STRONG>am</STRONG> 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 <STRONG>cuf1</STRONG> from the last column. The only local motion which is defined
- from the left edge is if <STRONG>bw</STRONG> is given, then a <STRONG>cub1</STRONG> from the left edge
- will move to the right edge of the previous row. If <STRONG>bw</STRONG> is not given,
- the effect is undefined. This is useful for drawing a box around the
+ The <STRONG>am</STRONG> 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 <STRONG>cuf1</STRONG> from the last column. The only local motion which is defined
+ from the left edge is if <STRONG>bw</STRONG> is given, then a <STRONG>cub1</STRONG> from the left edge
+ will move to the right edge of the previous row. If <STRONG>bw</STRONG> is not given,
+ the effect is undefined. This is useful for drawing a box around the
edge of the screen, for example. If the terminal has switch selectable
- automatic margins, the <EM>terminfo</EM> file usually assumes that this is on;
- i.e., <STRONG>am</STRONG>. If the terminal has a command which moves to the first col-
- umn of the next line, that command can be given as <STRONG>nel</STRONG> (newline). It
- does not matter if the command clears the remainder of the current
- line, so if the terminal has no <STRONG>cr</STRONG> and <STRONG>lf</STRONG> it may still be possible to
+ automatic margins, the <EM>terminfo</EM> file usually assumes that this is on;
+ i.e., <STRONG>am</STRONG>. If the terminal has a command which moves to the first col-
+ umn of the next line, that command can be given as <STRONG>nel</STRONG> (newline). It
+ does not matter if the command clears the remainder of the current
+ line, so if the terminal has no <STRONG>cr</STRONG> and <STRONG>lf</STRONG> it may still be possible to
craft a working <STRONG>nel</STRONG> out of one or both of them.
These capabilities suffice to describe hard-copy and "glass-tty" termi-
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Parameterized-Strings">Parameterized Strings</a></H3><PRE>
- Cursor addressing and other strings requiring parameters in the termi-
- nal are described by a parameterized string capability, with <EM>printf</EM>-
+ Cursor addressing and other strings requiring parameters in the termi-
+ nal are described by a parameterized string capability, with <EM>printf</EM>-
like escapes such as <EM>%x</EM> in it. For example, to address the cursor, the
- <STRONG>cup</STRONG> capability is given, using two parameters: the row and column to
- address to. (Rows and columns are numbered from zero and refer to the
+ <STRONG>cup</STRONG> capability is given, using two parameters: the row and column to
+ address to. (Rows and columns are numbered from zero and refer to the
physical screen visible to the user, not to any unseen memory.) If the
- terminal has memory relative cursor addressing, that can be indicated
+ terminal has memory relative cursor addressing, that can be indicated
by <STRONG>mrcup</STRONG>.
- The parameter mechanism uses a stack and special <STRONG>%</STRONG> 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 spe-
+ The parameter mechanism uses a stack and special <STRONG>%</STRONG> 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 spe-
cial case. Other operations, including "%t" pop their operand from the
- stack. It is noted that more complex operations are often necessary,
+ stack. It is noted that more complex operations are often necessary,
e.g., in the <STRONG>sgr</STRONG> string.
The <STRONG>%</STRONG> encodings have the following meanings:
<STRONG>%%</STRONG> outputs "%"
<STRONG>%</STRONG><EM>[[</EM>:<EM>]flags][width[.precision]][</EM><STRONG>doxXs</STRONG><EM>]</EM>
- as in <STRONG>printf(3)</STRONG>, flags are <EM>[-+#]</EM> and <EM>space</EM>. Use a ":" to allow
+ as in <STRONG>printf(3)</STRONG>, flags are <EM>[-+#]</EM> and <EM>space</EM>. Use a ":" to allow
the next character to be a "-" flag, avoiding interpreting "%-" as
an operator.
<STRONG>%g</STRONG><EM>[A-Z]</EM>
get static variable <EM>[a-z]</EM> and push it
- The terms "static" and "dynamic" are misleading. Historically,
+ The terms "static" and "dynamic" are misleading. Historically,
these are simply two different sets of variables, whose values are
- not reset between calls to <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">tparm(3x)</A></STRONG>. However, that fact is not
+ not reset between calls to <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">tparm(3x)</A></STRONG>. However, that fact is not
documented in other implementations. Relying on it will adversely
impact portability to other implementations.
<STRONG>%?</STRONG> <EM>expr</EM> <STRONG>%t</STRONG> <EM>thenpart</EM> <STRONG>%e</STRONG> <EM>elsepart</EM> <STRONG>%;</STRONG>
This forms an if-then-else. The <STRONG>%e</STRONG> <EM>elsepart</EM> is optional. Usually
- the <STRONG>%?</STRONG> <EM>expr</EM> part pushes a value onto the stack, and <STRONG>%t</STRONG> pops it
- from the stack, testing if it is nonzero (true). If it is zero
+ the <STRONG>%?</STRONG> <EM>expr</EM> part pushes a value onto the stack, and <STRONG>%t</STRONG> pops it
+ from the stack, testing if it is nonzero (true). If it is zero
(false), control passes to the <STRONG>%e</STRONG> (else) part.
It is possible to form else-if's a la Algol 68:
where ci are conditions, bi are bodies.
- Use the <STRONG>-f</STRONG> option of <STRONG>tic</STRONG> or <STRONG>infocmp</STRONG> to see the structure of if-
+ Use the <STRONG>-f</STRONG> option of <STRONG>tic</STRONG> or <STRONG>infocmp</STRONG> to see the structure of if-
then-else's. Some strings, e.g., <STRONG>sgr</STRONG> can be very complicated when
- written on one line. The <STRONG>-f</STRONG> option splits the string into lines
+ written on one line. The <STRONG>-f</STRONG> option splits the string into lines
with the parts indented.
- Binary operations are in postfix form with the operands in the usual
+ Binary operations are in postfix form with the operands in the usual
order. That is, to get x-5 one would use "%gx%{5}%-". <STRONG>%P</STRONG> and <STRONG>%g</STRONG> vari-
ables are persistent across escape-string evaluations.
- Consider the HP2645, which, to get to row 3 and column 12, needs to be
- sent \E&a12c03Y padded for 6 milliseconds. Note that the order of the
- rows and columns is inverted here, and that the row and column are
- printed as two digits. Thus its <STRONG>cup</STRONG> capability is
+ Consider the HP2645, which, to get to row 3 and column 12, needs to be
+ sent \E&a12c03Y padded for 6 milliseconds. Note that the order of the
+ rows and columns is inverted here, and that the row and column are
+ printed as two digits. Thus its <STRONG>cup</STRONG> capability is
"cup=6\E&%p2%2dc%p1%2dY".
- The Microterm ACT-IV needs the current row and column sent preceded by
- a <STRONG>^T</STRONG>, with the row and column simply encoded in binary,
- "cup=^T%p1%c%p2%c". Terminals which use "%c" need to be able to
- backspace the cursor (<STRONG>cub1</STRONG>), and to move the cursor up one line on the
- screen (<STRONG>cuu1</STRONG>). This is necessary because it is not always safe to
- transmit <STRONG>\n</STRONG> <STRONG>^D</STRONG> and <STRONG>\r</STRONG>, as the system may change or discard them. (The
- library routines dealing with terminfo set tty modes so that tabs are
- never expanded, so \t is safe to send. This turns out to be essential
+ The Microterm ACT-IV needs the current row and column sent preceded by
+ a <STRONG>^T</STRONG>, with the row and column simply encoded in binary,
+ "cup=^T%p1%c%p2%c". Terminals which use "%c" need to be able to
+ backspace the cursor (<STRONG>cub1</STRONG>), and to move the cursor up one line on the
+ screen (<STRONG>cuu1</STRONG>). This is necessary because it is not always safe to
+ transmit <STRONG>\n</STRONG> <STRONG>^D</STRONG> and <STRONG>\r</STRONG>, as the system may change or discard them. (The
+ library routines dealing with terminfo set tty modes so 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 column offset by
+ A final example is the LSI ADM-3a, which uses row and column 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
+ "\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 character. Then the same
- is done for the second parameter. More complex arithmetic is possible
+ previous values) and outputs that value as a character. Then the same
+ is done for the second parameter. More complex arithmetic is possible
using the stack.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Cursor-Motions">Cursor Motions</a></H3><PRE>
- If the terminal has a fast way to home the cursor (to very upper left
- corner of screen) then this can be given as <STRONG>home</STRONG>; similarly a fast way
- of getting to the lower left-hand corner can be given as <STRONG>ll</STRONG>; this may
+ If the terminal has a fast way to home the cursor (to very upper left
+ corner of screen) then this can be given as <STRONG>home</STRONG>; similarly a fast way
+ of getting to the lower left-hand corner can be given as <STRONG>ll</STRONG>; this may
involve going up with <STRONG>cuu1</STRONG> from the home position, but a program should
never do this itself (unless <STRONG>ll</STRONG> does) because it can make no assumption
- about the effect of moving up from the home position. Note that the
- home position is the same as addressing to (0,0): to the top left cor-
+ 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 cor-
ner of the screen, not of memory. (Thus, the \EH sequence on HP termi-
nals cannot be used for <STRONG>home</STRONG>.)
If the terminal has row or column absolute cursor addressing, these can
- be given as single parameter capabilities <STRONG>hpa</STRONG> (horizontal position
- absolute) and <STRONG>vpa</STRONG> (vertical position absolute). Sometimes these are
- shorter than the more general two parameter sequence (as with the
- hp2645) and can be used in preference to <STRONG>cup</STRONG>. If there are parameter-
- ized local motions (e.g., move <EM>n</EM> spaces to the right) these can be
- given as <STRONG>cud</STRONG>, <STRONG>cub</STRONG>, <STRONG>cuf</STRONG>, and <STRONG>cuu</STRONG> with a single parameter indicating how
- many spaces to move. These are primarily useful if the terminal does
+ be given as single parameter capabilities <STRONG>hpa</STRONG> (horizontal position
+ absolute) and <STRONG>vpa</STRONG> (vertical position absolute). Sometimes these are
+ shorter than the more general two parameter sequence (as with the
+ hp2645) and can be used in preference to <STRONG>cup</STRONG>. If there are parameter-
+ ized local motions (e.g., move <EM>n</EM> spaces to the right) these can be
+ given as <STRONG>cud</STRONG>, <STRONG>cub</STRONG>, <STRONG>cuf</STRONG>, and <STRONG>cuu</STRONG> with a single parameter indicating how
+ many spaces to move. These are primarily useful if the terminal does
not have <STRONG>cup</STRONG>, such as the TEKTRONIX 4025.
- If the terminal needs to be in a special mode when running a program
+ If the terminal needs to be in a special mode when running a program
that uses these capabilities, the codes to enter and exit this mode can
- be given as <STRONG>smcup</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmcup</STRONG>. This arises, for example, from terminals
- like the Concept with more than one page of memory. If the terminal
+ be given as <STRONG>smcup</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmcup</STRONG>. This arises, for example, from terminals
+ like the Concept with more than one page of memory. If the terminal
has only memory relative cursor addressing and not screen relative cur-
sor addressing, a one screen-sized window must be fixed into the termi-
- nal for cursor addressing to work properly. This is also used for the
- TEKTRONIX 4025, where <STRONG>smcup</STRONG> sets the command character to be the one
- used by terminfo. If the <STRONG>smcup</STRONG> sequence will not restore the screen
- after an <STRONG>rmcup</STRONG> sequence is output (to the state prior to outputting
+ nal for cursor addressing to work properly. This is also used for the
+ TEKTRONIX 4025, where <STRONG>smcup</STRONG> sets the command character to be the one
+ used by terminfo. If the <STRONG>smcup</STRONG> sequence will not restore the screen
+ after an <STRONG>rmcup</STRONG> sequence is output (to the state prior to outputting
<STRONG>rmcup</STRONG>), specify <STRONG>nrrmc</STRONG>.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Area-Clears">Area Clears</a></H3><PRE>
- If the terminal can clear from the current position to the end of the
- line, leaving the cursor where it is, this should be given as <STRONG>el</STRONG>. If
- the terminal can clear from the beginning of the line to the current
- position inclusive, leaving the cursor where it is, this should be
- given as <STRONG>el1</STRONG>. If the terminal can clear from the current position to
- the end of the display, then this should be given as <STRONG>ed</STRONG>. <STRONG>Ed</STRONG> is only
+ If the terminal can clear from the current position to the end of the
+ line, leaving the cursor where it is, this should be given as <STRONG>el</STRONG>. If
+ the terminal can clear from the beginning of the line to the current
+ position inclusive, leaving the cursor where it is, this should be
+ given as <STRONG>el1</STRONG>. If the terminal can clear from the current position to
+ the end of the display, then this should be given as <STRONG>ed</STRONG>. <STRONG>Ed</STRONG> is only
defined from the first column of a line. (Thus, it can be simulated by
a request to delete a large number of lines, if a true <STRONG>ed</STRONG> is not avail-
able.)
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Insert_delete-line-and-vertical-motions">Insert/delete line and vertical motions</a></H3><PRE>
- If the terminal can open a new blank line before the line where the
- cursor is, this should be given as <STRONG>il1</STRONG>; this is done only from the
- first position of a line. The cursor must then appear on the newly
- blank line. If the terminal can delete the line which the cursor is
- on, then this should be given as <STRONG>dl1</STRONG>; this is done only from the first
+ If the terminal can open a new blank line before the line where the
+ cursor is, this should be given as <STRONG>il1</STRONG>; this is done only from the
+ first position of a line. The cursor must then appear on the newly
+ blank line. If the terminal can delete the line which the cursor is
+ on, then this should be given as <STRONG>dl1</STRONG>; this is done only from the first
position on the line to be deleted. Versions of <STRONG>il1</STRONG> and <STRONG>dl1</STRONG> which take
a single parameter and insert or delete that many lines can be given as
<STRONG>il</STRONG> and <STRONG>dl</STRONG>.
- If the terminal has a settable scrolling region (like the vt100) the
- command to set this can be described with the <STRONG>csr</STRONG> capability, which
+ If the terminal has a settable scrolling region (like the vt100) the
+ command to set this can be described with the <STRONG>csr</STRONG> capability, which
takes two parameters: the top and bottom lines of the scrolling region.
The cursor position is, alas, undefined after using this command.
- It is possible to get the effect of insert or delete line using <STRONG>csr</STRONG> on
- a properly chosen region; the <STRONG>sc</STRONG> and <STRONG>rc</STRONG> (save and restore cursor) com-
- mands may be useful for ensuring that your synthesized insert/delete
- string does not move the cursor. (Note that the <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG> library
- does this synthesis automatically, so you need not compose
+ It is possible to get the effect of insert or delete line using <STRONG>csr</STRONG> on
+ a properly chosen region; the <STRONG>sc</STRONG> and <STRONG>rc</STRONG> (save and restore cursor) com-
+ mands may be useful for ensuring that your synthesized insert/delete
+ string does not move the cursor. (Note that the <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG> library
+ does this synthesis automatically, so you need not compose
insert/delete strings for an entry with <STRONG>csr</STRONG>).
Yet another way to construct insert and delete might be to use a combi-
- nation of index with the memory-lock feature found on some terminals
+ nation of index with the memory-lock feature found on some terminals
(like the HP-700/90 series, which however also has insert/delete).
- Inserting lines at the top or bottom of the screen can also be done
- using <STRONG>ri</STRONG> or <STRONG>ind</STRONG> on many terminals without a true insert/delete line,
+ Inserting lines at the top or bottom of the screen can also be done
+ using <STRONG>ri</STRONG> or <STRONG>ind</STRONG> on many terminals without a true insert/delete line,
and is often faster even on terminals with those features.
The boolean <STRONG>non_dest_scroll_region</STRONG> should be set if each scrolling win-
- dow is effectively a view port on a screen-sized canvas. To test for
+ dow 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 something to the bottom line, move the cursor to the top of the
+ write something to the bottom line, move the cursor to the top of the
region, and do <STRONG>ri</STRONG> followed by <STRONG>dl1</STRONG> or <STRONG>ind</STRONG>. If the data scrolled off the
- bottom of the region by the <STRONG>ri</STRONG> re-appears, then scrolling is non-
- destructive. System V and XSI Curses expect that <STRONG>ind</STRONG>, <STRONG>ri</STRONG>, <STRONG>indn</STRONG>, and
- <STRONG>rin</STRONG> will simulate destructive scrolling; their documentation cautions
- you not to define <STRONG>csr</STRONG> unless this is true. This <STRONG>curses</STRONG> implementation
+ bottom of the region by the <STRONG>ri</STRONG> re-appears, then scrolling is non-
+ destructive. System V and XSI Curses expect that <STRONG>ind</STRONG>, <STRONG>ri</STRONG>, <STRONG>indn</STRONG>, and
+ <STRONG>rin</STRONG> will simulate destructive scrolling; their documentation cautions
+ you not to define <STRONG>csr</STRONG> unless this is true. This <STRONG>curses</STRONG> implementation
is more liberal and will do explicit erases after scrolling if <STRONG>ndsrc</STRONG> is
defined.
- If the terminal has the ability to define a window as part of memory,
- which all commands affect, it should be given as the parameterized
- string <STRONG>wind</STRONG>. The four parameters are the starting and ending lines in
+ If the terminal has the ability to define a window as part of memory,
+ which all commands affect, it should be given as the parameterized
+ string <STRONG>wind</STRONG>. The four parameters are the starting and ending lines in
memory and the starting and ending columns in memory, in that order.
If the terminal can retain display memory above, then the <STRONG>da</STRONG> capability
- should be given; if display memory can be retained below, then <STRONG>db</STRONG>
- should be given. These indicate that deleting a line or scrolling may
- bring non-blank lines up from below or that scrolling back with <STRONG>ri</STRONG> may
+ should be given; if display memory can be retained below, then <STRONG>db</STRONG>
+ should be given. These indicate that deleting a line or scrolling may
+ bring non-blank lines up from below or that scrolling back with <STRONG>ri</STRONG> may
bring down non-blank lines.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Insert_Delete-Character">Insert/Delete Character</a></H3><PRE>
- There are two basic kinds of intelligent terminals with respect to
- insert/delete character which can be described using <EM>terminfo.</EM> The
- most common insert/delete character operations affect only the charac-
- ters on the current line and shift characters off the end of the line
+ There are two basic kinds of intelligent terminals with respect to
+ insert/delete character which can be described using <EM>terminfo.</EM> The
+ most common insert/delete character operations affect only the charac-
+ ters 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
+ 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 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 sec-
- ond type of terminal, and should give the capability <STRONG>in</STRONG>, which stands
+ 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 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 sec-
+ ond type of terminal, and should give the capability <STRONG>in</STRONG>, which stands
for "insert null".
- While these are two logically separate attributes (one line versus
- multi-line insert mode, and special treatment of untyped spaces) we
- have seen no terminals whose insert mode cannot be described with the
+ 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
+ Terminfo can describe both terminals which have an insert mode, and
+ terminals which send a simple sequence to open a blank position on the
current line. Give as <STRONG>smir</STRONG> the sequence to get into insert mode. Give
- as <STRONG>rmir</STRONG> the sequence to leave insert mode. Now give as <STRONG>ich1</STRONG> any
- sequence needed to be sent just before sending the character to be
- inserted. Most terminals with a true insert mode will not give <STRONG>ich1</STRONG>;
- terminals which send a sequence to open a screen position should give
+ as <STRONG>rmir</STRONG> the sequence to leave insert mode. Now give as <STRONG>ich1</STRONG> any
+ sequence needed to be sent just before sending the character to be
+ inserted. Most terminals with a true insert mode will not give <STRONG>ich1</STRONG>;
+ terminals which send a sequence to open a screen position should give
it here.
- If your terminal has both, insert mode is usually preferable to <STRONG>ich1</STRONG>.
- Technically, you should not give both unless the terminal actually
- requires both to be used in combination. Accordingly, some non-curses
- applications get confused if both are present; the symptom is doubled
- characters in an update using insert. This requirement is now rare;
- most <STRONG>ich</STRONG> sequences do not require previous smir, and most smir insert
- modes do not require <STRONG>ich1</STRONG> before each character. Therefore, the new
- <STRONG>curses</STRONG> actually assumes this is the case and uses either <STRONG>rmir</STRONG>/<STRONG>smir</STRONG> or
- <STRONG>ich</STRONG>/<STRONG>ich1</STRONG> as appropriate (but not both). If you have to write an entry
- to be used under new curses for a terminal old enough to need both,
+ If your terminal has both, insert mode is usually preferable to <STRONG>ich1</STRONG>.
+ Technically, you should not give both unless the terminal actually
+ requires both to be used in combination. Accordingly, some non-curses
+ applications get confused if both are present; the symptom is doubled
+ characters in an update using insert. This requirement is now rare;
+ most <STRONG>ich</STRONG> sequences do not require previous smir, and most smir insert
+ modes do not require <STRONG>ich1</STRONG> before each character. Therefore, the new
+ <STRONG>curses</STRONG> actually assumes this is the case and uses either <STRONG>rmir</STRONG>/<STRONG>smir</STRONG> or
+ <STRONG>ich</STRONG>/<STRONG>ich1</STRONG> as appropriate (but not both). If you have to write an entry
+ to be used under new curses for a terminal old enough to need both,
include the <STRONG>rmir</STRONG>/<STRONG>smir</STRONG> sequences in <STRONG>ich1</STRONG>.
If post insert padding is needed, give this as a number of milliseconds
- in <STRONG>ip</STRONG> (a string option). Any other sequence which may need to be sent
+ in <STRONG>ip</STRONG> (a string option). Any other sequence which may need to be sent
after an insert of a single character may also be given in <STRONG>ip</STRONG>. If your
- terminal needs both to be placed into an "insert mode" and a special
- code to precede each inserted character, then both <STRONG>smir</STRONG>/<STRONG>rmir</STRONG> and <STRONG>ich1</STRONG>
- can be given, and both will be used. The <STRONG>ich</STRONG> capability, with one
+ terminal needs both to be placed into an "insert mode" and a special
+ code to precede each inserted character, then both <STRONG>smir</STRONG>/<STRONG>rmir</STRONG> and <STRONG>ich1</STRONG>
+ can be given, and both will be used. The <STRONG>ich</STRONG> capability, with one
parameter, <EM>n</EM>, will repeat the effects of <STRONG>ich1</STRONG> <EM>n</EM> times.
- If padding is necessary between characters typed while not in insert
+ If padding is necessary between characters typed while not in insert
mode, give this as a number of milliseconds padding in <STRONG>rmp</STRONG>.
- It is occasionally necessary to move around while in insert mode to
- delete characters on the same line (e.g., if there is a tab after the
- insertion position). If your terminal allows motion while in insert
- mode you can give the capability <STRONG>mir</STRONG> to speed up inserting in this
- case. Omitting <STRONG>mir</STRONG> will affect only speed. Some terminals (notably
- Datamedia's) must not have <STRONG>mir</STRONG> because of the way their insert mode
+ It is occasionally necessary to move around while in insert mode to
+ delete characters on the same line (e.g., if there is a tab after the
+ insertion position). If your terminal allows motion while in insert
+ mode you can give the capability <STRONG>mir</STRONG> to speed up inserting in this
+ case. Omitting <STRONG>mir</STRONG> will affect only speed. Some terminals (notably
+ Datamedia's) must not have <STRONG>mir</STRONG> because of the way their insert mode
works.
- Finally, you can specify <STRONG>dch1</STRONG> to delete a single character, <STRONG>dch</STRONG> with
- one parameter, <EM>n</EM>, to delete <EM>n</EM> <EM>characters,</EM> and delete mode by giving
- <STRONG>smdc</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmdc</STRONG> to enter and exit delete mode (any mode the terminal
+ Finally, you can specify <STRONG>dch1</STRONG> to delete a single character, <STRONG>dch</STRONG> with
+ one parameter, <EM>n</EM>, to delete <EM>n</EM> <EM>characters,</EM> and delete mode by giving
+ <STRONG>smdc</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmdc</STRONG> to enter and exit delete mode (any mode the terminal
needs to be placed in for <STRONG>dch1</STRONG> to work).
- A command to erase <EM>n</EM> characters (equivalent to outputting <EM>n</EM> blanks
+ A command to erase <EM>n</EM> characters (equivalent to outputting <EM>n</EM> blanks
without moving the cursor) can be given as <STRONG>ech</STRONG> with one parameter.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Highlighting_-Underlining_-and-Visible-Bells">Highlighting, Underlining, and Visible Bells</a></H3><PRE>
If your terminal has one or more kinds of display attributes, these can
- be represented in a number of different ways. You should choose one
- display form as <EM>standout</EM> <EM>mode</EM>, representing a good, high contrast,
- easy-on-the-eyes, format for highlighting error messages and other
- attention getters. (If you have a choice, reverse video plus half-
- bright is good, or reverse video alone.) The sequences to enter and
- exit standout mode are given as <STRONG>smso</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmso</STRONG>, respectively. If the
- code to change into or out of standout mode leaves one or even two
- blank spaces on the screen, as the TVI 912 and Teleray 1061 do, then
+ be represented in a number of different ways. You should choose one
+ display form as <EM>standout</EM> <EM>mode</EM>, representing a good, high contrast,
+ easy-on-the-eyes, format for highlighting error messages and other
+ attention getters. (If you have a choice, reverse video plus half-
+ bright is good, or reverse video alone.) The sequences to enter and
+ exit standout mode are given as <STRONG>smso</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmso</STRONG>, respectively. If the
+ code to change into or out of standout mode leaves one or even two
+ blank spaces on the screen, as the TVI 912 and Teleray 1061 do, then
<STRONG>xmc</STRONG> should be given to tell how many spaces are left.
Codes to begin underlining and end underlining can be given as <STRONG>smul</STRONG> and
<STRONG>rmul</STRONG> respectively. If the terminal has a code to underline the current
- character and move the cursor one space to the right, such as the
+ character and move the cursor one space to the right, such as the
Microterm Mime, this can be given as <STRONG>uc</STRONG>.
- Other capabilities to enter various highlighting modes include <STRONG>blink</STRONG>
- (blinking) <STRONG>bold</STRONG> (bold or extra bright) <STRONG>dim</STRONG> (dim or half-bright) <STRONG>invis</STRONG>
- (blanking or invisible text) <STRONG>prot</STRONG> (protected) <STRONG>rev</STRONG> (reverse video) <STRONG>sgr0</STRONG>
- (turn off <EM>all</EM> attribute modes) <STRONG>smacs</STRONG> (enter alternate character set
+ Other capabilities to enter various highlighting modes include <STRONG>blink</STRONG>
+ (blinking) <STRONG>bold</STRONG> (bold or extra bright) <STRONG>dim</STRONG> (dim or half-bright) <STRONG>invis</STRONG>
+ (blanking or invisible text) <STRONG>prot</STRONG> (protected) <STRONG>rev</STRONG> (reverse video) <STRONG>sgr0</STRONG>
+ (turn off <EM>all</EM> attribute modes) <STRONG>smacs</STRONG> (enter alternate character set
mode) and <STRONG>rmacs</STRONG> (exit alternate character set mode). Turning on any of
these modes singly may or may not turn off other modes.
- If there is a sequence to set arbitrary combinations of modes, this
- should be given as <STRONG>sgr</STRONG> (set attributes), taking 9 parameters. Each
- parameter is either 0 or nonzero, as the corresponding attribute is on
- or off. The 9 parameters are, in order: standout, underline, reverse,
- blink, dim, bold, blank, protect, alternate character set. Not all
+ If there is a sequence to set arbitrary combinations of modes, this
+ should be given as <STRONG>sgr</STRONG> (set attributes), taking 9 parameters. Each
+ parameter is either 0 or nonzero, as the corresponding attribute is on
+ or off. The 9 parameters are, in order: standout, underline, reverse,
+ blink, dim, bold, blank, protect, alternate character set. Not all
modes need be supported by <STRONG>sgr</STRONG>, only those for which corresponding sep-
arate attribute commands exist.
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 they are active. Standout
- is set up to be the combination of reverse and bold. The vt220 termi-
- nal has a protect mode, though it is not commonly used in sgr because
- it protects characters on the screen from the host's erasures. The
- altcharset mode also is different in that it is either ^O or ^N,
- depending on whether it is off or on. If all modes are turned on, the
+ We begin each escape sequence by turning off any existing modes, since
+ there is no quick way to determine whether they are active. Standout
+ is set up to be the combination of reverse and bold. The vt220 termi-
+ nal has a protect mode, though it is not commonly used in sgr because
+ it protects characters on the screen from the host's erasures. The
+ altcharset mode also is different in that it is either ^O or ^N,
+ depending on whether it is off or on. If all modes are turned on, the
resulting sequence is \E[0;1;4;5;7;8m^N.
- Some sequences are common to different modes. For example, ;7 is out-
- put when either p1 or p3 is true, that is, if either standout or
+ Some sequences are common to different modes. For example, ;7 is out-
+ put when either p1 or p3 is true, that is, if either standout or
reverse modes are turned on.
Writing out the above sequences, along with their dependencies yields
sgr=\E[0%?%p1%p6%|%t;1%;%?%p2%t;4%;%?%p4%t;5%;
%?%p1%p3%|%t;7%;%?%p7%t;8%;m%?%p9%t\016%e\017%;,
- Remember that if you specify sgr, you must also specify sgr0. Also,
- some implementations rely on sgr being given if sgr0 is, Not all ter-
- minfo entries necessarily have an sgr string, however. Many terminfo
+ Remember that if you specify sgr, you must also specify sgr0. Also,
+ some implementations rely on sgr being given if sgr0 is, Not all ter-
+ minfo entries necessarily have an sgr string, however. Many terminfo
entries are derived from termcap entries which have no sgr string. The
only drawback to adding an sgr string is that termcap also assumes that
sgr0 does not exit alternate character set mode.
- Terminals with the "magic cookie" glitch (<STRONG>xmc</STRONG>) deposit special "cook-
+ Terminals with the "magic cookie" glitch (<STRONG>xmc</STRONG>) deposit special "cook-
ies" when they receive mode-setting sequences, which affect the display
- algorithm rather than having extra bits for each character. Some ter-
- minals, such as the HP 2621, automatically leave standout mode when
- they move to a new line or the cursor is addressed. Programs using
- standout mode should exit standout mode before moving the cursor or
- sending a newline, unless the <STRONG>msgr</STRONG> capability, asserting that it is
+ algorithm rather than having extra bits for each character. Some ter-
+ minals, such as the HP 2621, automatically leave standout mode when
+ they move to a new line or the cursor is addressed. Programs using
+ standout mode should exit standout mode before moving the cursor or
+ sending a newline, unless the <STRONG>msgr</STRONG> capability, asserting that it is
safe to move in standout mode, is present.
- If the terminal has a way of flashing the screen to indicate an error
- quietly (a bell replacement) then this can be given as <STRONG>flash</STRONG>; it must
+ If the terminal has a way of flashing the screen to indicate an error
+ quietly (a bell replacement) then this can be given as <STRONG>flash</STRONG>; it must
not move the cursor.
- If the cursor needs to be made more visible than normal when it is not
+ If the cursor needs to be made more visible than normal when it is not
on the bottom line (to make, for example, a non-blinking underline into
- an easier to find block or blinking underline) give this sequence as
+ an easier to find block or blinking underline) give this sequence as
<STRONG>cvvis</STRONG>. If there is a way to make the cursor completely invisible, give
- that as <STRONG>civis</STRONG>. The capability <STRONG>cnorm</STRONG> should be given which undoes the
+ that as <STRONG>civis</STRONG>. The capability <STRONG>cnorm</STRONG> should be given which undoes the
effects of both of these modes.
- If your terminal correctly generates underlined characters (with no
- special codes needed) even though it does not overstrike, then you
- should give the capability <STRONG>ul</STRONG>. If a character overstriking another
- leaves both characters on the screen, specify the capability <STRONG>os</STRONG>. If
+ If your terminal correctly generates underlined characters (with no
+ special codes needed) even though it does not overstrike, then you
+ should give the capability <STRONG>ul</STRONG>. If a character overstriking another
+ leaves both characters on the screen, specify the capability <STRONG>os</STRONG>. If
overstrikes are erasable with a blank, then this should be indicated by
giving <STRONG>eo</STRONG>.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Keypad-and-Function-Keys">Keypad and Function Keys</a></H3><PRE>
- If the terminal has a keypad that transmits codes when the keys are
- pressed, this information can be given. Note that it is not possible
+ If the terminal has a keypad that transmits codes when the keys are
+ pressed, this information can be given. Note that it is not possible
to handle terminals where the keypad only works in local (this applies,
- for example, to the unshifted HP 2621 keys). If the keypad can be set
+ for example, to the unshifted HP 2621 keys). If the keypad can be set
to transmit or not transmit, give these codes as <STRONG>smkx</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmkx</STRONG>. Other-
wise the keypad is assumed to always transmit.
- The codes sent by the left arrow, right arrow, up arrow, down arrow,
- and home keys can be given as <STRONG>kcub1,</STRONG> <STRONG>kcuf1,</STRONG> <STRONG>kcuu1,</STRONG> <STRONG>kcud1,</STRONG> and <STRONG>khome</STRONG>
+ The codes sent by the left arrow, right arrow, up arrow, down arrow,
+ and home keys can be given as <STRONG>kcub1,</STRONG> <STRONG>kcuf1,</STRONG> <STRONG>kcuu1,</STRONG> <STRONG>kcud1,</STRONG> and <STRONG>khome</STRONG>
respectively. If there are function keys such as f0, f1, ..., f10, the
- codes they send can be given as <STRONG>kf0,</STRONG> <STRONG>kf1,</STRONG> <STRONG>...,</STRONG> <STRONG>kf10</STRONG>. If these keys
- have labels other than the default f0 through f10, the labels can be
+ codes they send can be given as <STRONG>kf0,</STRONG> <STRONG>kf1,</STRONG> <STRONG>...,</STRONG> <STRONG>kf10</STRONG>. If these keys
+ have labels other than the default f0 through f10, the labels can be
given as <STRONG>lf0,</STRONG> <STRONG>lf1,</STRONG> <STRONG>...,</STRONG> <STRONG>lf10</STRONG>.
The codes transmitted by certain other special keys can be given:
<STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>khts</STRONG> (set a tab stop in this column).
- In addition, if the keypad has a 3 by 3 array of keys including the
- four arrow keys, the other five keys can be given as <STRONG>ka1</STRONG>, <STRONG>ka3</STRONG>, <STRONG>kb2</STRONG>,
- <STRONG>kc1</STRONG>, and <STRONG>kc3</STRONG>. These keys are useful when the effects of a 3 by 3
+ In addition, if the keypad has a 3 by 3 array of keys including the
+ four arrow keys, the other five keys can be given as <STRONG>ka1</STRONG>, <STRONG>ka3</STRONG>, <STRONG>kb2</STRONG>,
+ <STRONG>kc1</STRONG>, and <STRONG>kc3</STRONG>. These keys are useful when the effects of a 3 by 3
directional pad are needed.
Strings to program function keys can be given as <STRONG>pfkey</STRONG>, <STRONG>pfloc</STRONG>, and <STRONG>pfx</STRONG>.
- A string to program screen labels should be specified as <STRONG>pln</STRONG>. Each of
- these strings takes two parameters: the function key number to program
+ A string to program screen labels should be specified as <STRONG>pln</STRONG>. Each of
+ these strings takes two parameters: the function key number to program
(from 0 to 10) and the string to program it with. Function key numbers
- out of this range may program undefined keys in a terminal dependent
- manner. The difference between the capabilities is that <STRONG>pfkey</STRONG> causes
- pressing the given key to be the same as the user typing the given
- string; <STRONG>pfloc</STRONG> causes the string to be executed by the terminal in
+ out of this range may program undefined keys in a terminal dependent
+ manner. The difference between the capabilities is that <STRONG>pfkey</STRONG> causes
+ pressing the given key to be the same as the user typing the given
+ string; <STRONG>pfloc</STRONG> causes the string to be executed by the terminal in
local; and <STRONG>pfx</STRONG> causes the string to be transmitted to the computer.
- The capabilities <STRONG>nlab</STRONG>, <STRONG>lw</STRONG> and <STRONG>lh</STRONG> define the number of programmable
- screen labels and their width and height. If there are commands to
- turn the labels on and off, give them in <STRONG>smln</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmln</STRONG>. <STRONG>smln</STRONG> is nor-
- mally output after one or more pln sequences to make sure that the
+ The capabilities <STRONG>nlab</STRONG>, <STRONG>lw</STRONG> and <STRONG>lh</STRONG> define the number of programmable
+ screen labels and their width and height. If there are commands to
+ turn the labels on and off, give them in <STRONG>smln</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmln</STRONG>. <STRONG>smln</STRONG> is nor-
+ mally output after one or more pln sequences to make sure that the
change becomes visible.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Tabs-and-Initialization">Tabs and Initialization</a></H3><PRE>
A few capabilities are used only for tabs:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> If the terminal has hardware tabs, the command to advance to the
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If the terminal has hardware tabs, the command to advance to the
next tab stop can be given as <STRONG>ht</STRONG> (usually control/I).
<STRONG>o</STRONG> A "back-tab" command which moves leftward to the preceding tab stop
can be given as <STRONG>cbt</STRONG>.
- By convention, if the teletype modes indicate that tabs are being
- expanded by the computer rather than being sent to the terminal,
- programs should not use <STRONG>ht</STRONG> or <STRONG>cbt</STRONG> even if they are present, since
+ By convention, if the teletype modes indicate that tabs are being
+ expanded by the computer rather than being sent to the terminal,
+ programs should not use <STRONG>ht</STRONG> or <STRONG>cbt</STRONG> even if they are present, since
the user may not have the tab stops properly set.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> If the terminal has hardware tabs which are initially set every <EM>n</EM>
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If the terminal has hardware tabs which are initially set every <EM>n</EM>
spaces when the terminal is powered up, the numeric parameter <STRONG>it</STRONG> is
given, showing the number of spaces the tabs are set to.
The <STRONG>it</STRONG> capability is normally used by the <STRONG>tset</STRONG> command to determine
- whether to set the mode for hardware tab expansion, and whether to
+ whether to set the mode for hardware tab expansion, and whether to
set the tab stops. If the terminal has tab stops that can be saved
- in non-volatile memory, the terminfo description can assume that
+ in non-volatile memory, the terminfo description can assume that
they are properly set.
Other capabilities include
<STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>is1</STRONG>, <STRONG>is2</STRONG>, and <STRONG>is3</STRONG>, initialization strings for the terminal,
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>iprog</STRONG>, the path name of a program to be run to initialize the ter-
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>iprog</STRONG>, the path name of a program to be run to initialize the ter-
minal,
<STRONG>o</STRONG> and <STRONG>if</STRONG>, the name of a file containing long initialization strings.
- These strings are expected to set the terminal into modes consistent
- with the rest of the terminfo description. They are normally sent to
- the terminal, by the <EM>init</EM> option of the <STRONG>tput</STRONG> program, each time the
+ These strings are expected to set the terminal into modes consistent
+ with the rest of the terminfo description. They are normally sent to
+ the terminal, by the <EM>init</EM> option of the <STRONG>tput</STRONG> program, each time the
user logs in. They will be printed in the following order:
run the program
and finally output
<STRONG>is3</STRONG>.
- Most initialization is done with <STRONG>is2</STRONG>. Special terminal modes can be
- set up without duplicating strings by putting the common sequences in
+ Most initialization is done with <STRONG>is2</STRONG>. Special terminal modes can be
+ set up without duplicating strings by putting the common sequences in
<STRONG>is2</STRONG> and special cases in <STRONG>is1</STRONG> and <STRONG>is3</STRONG>.
- A set of sequences that does a harder reset from a totally unknown
+ A set of sequences that does a harder reset from a totally unknown
state can be given as <STRONG>rs1</STRONG>, <STRONG>rs2</STRONG>, <STRONG>rf</STRONG> and <STRONG>rs3</STRONG>, analogous to <STRONG>is1</STRONG> <STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>is2</STRONG> <STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>if</STRONG>
- and <STRONG>is3</STRONG> respectively. These strings are output by <EM>reset</EM> option of
- <STRONG>tput</STRONG>, or by the <STRONG>reset</STRONG> program (an alias of <STRONG>tset</STRONG>), which is used when
+ and <STRONG>is3</STRONG> respectively. These strings are output by <EM>reset</EM> option of
+ <STRONG>tput</STRONG>, or by the <STRONG>reset</STRONG> program (an alias of <STRONG>tset</STRONG>), which is used when
the terminal gets into a wedged state. Commands are normally placed in
<STRONG>rs1</STRONG>, <STRONG>rs2</STRONG> <STRONG>rs3</STRONG> and <STRONG>rf</STRONG> only if they produce annoying effects on the screen
and are not necessary when logging in. For example, the command to set
- the vt100 into 80-column mode would normally be part of <STRONG>is2</STRONG>, but it
- causes an annoying glitch of the screen and is not normally needed
+ the vt100 into 80-column mode would normally be part of <STRONG>is2</STRONG>, but it
+ causes an annoying glitch of the screen and is not normally needed
since the terminal is usually already in 80-column mode.
- The <STRONG>reset</STRONG> program writes strings including <STRONG>iprog</STRONG>, etc., in the same
- order as the <EM>init</EM> program, using <STRONG>rs1</STRONG>, etc., instead of <STRONG>is1</STRONG>, etc. If
- any of <STRONG>rs1</STRONG>, <STRONG>rs2</STRONG>, <STRONG>rs3</STRONG>, or <STRONG>rf</STRONG> reset capability strings are missing, the
+ The <STRONG>reset</STRONG> program writes strings including <STRONG>iprog</STRONG>, etc., in the same
+ order as the <EM>init</EM> program, using <STRONG>rs1</STRONG>, etc., instead of <STRONG>is1</STRONG>, etc. If
+ any of <STRONG>rs1</STRONG>, <STRONG>rs2</STRONG>, <STRONG>rs3</STRONG>, or <STRONG>rf</STRONG> reset capability strings are missing, the
<STRONG>reset</STRONG> program falls back upon the corresponding initialization capabil-
ity string.
- If there are commands to set and clear tab stops, they can be given as
+ If there are commands to set and clear tab stops, they can be given as
<STRONG>tbc</STRONG> (clear all tab stops) and <STRONG>hts</STRONG> (set a tab stop in the current column
- of every row). If a more complex sequence is needed to set the tabs
+ of every row). If a more complex sequence is needed to set the tabs
than can be described by this, the sequence can be placed in <STRONG>is2</STRONG> or <STRONG>if</STRONG>.
- The <STRONG>tput</STRONG> <STRONG>reset</STRONG> command uses the same capability strings as the <STRONG>reset</STRONG>
- command, although the two programs (<STRONG>tput</STRONG> and <STRONG>reset</STRONG>) provide different
+ The <STRONG>tput</STRONG> <STRONG>reset</STRONG> command uses the same capability strings as the <STRONG>reset</STRONG>
+ command, although the two programs (<STRONG>tput</STRONG> and <STRONG>reset</STRONG>) provide different
command-line options.
In practice, these terminfo capabilities are not often used in initial-
<STRONG>o</STRONG> Almost all hardware terminals (at least those which supported tabs)
initialized those to every <EM>eight</EM> columns:
- The only exception was the AT&T 2300 series, which set tabs to
+ The only exception was the AT&T 2300 series, which set tabs to
every <EM>five</EM> columns.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> In particular, developers of the hardware terminals which are com-
- monly used as models for modern terminal emulators provided docu-
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> In particular, developers of the hardware terminals which are com-
+ monly used as models for modern terminal emulators provided docu-
mentation demonstrating that <EM>eight</EM> columns were the standard.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> Because of this, the terminal initialization programs <STRONG>tput</STRONG> and <STRONG>tset</STRONG>
- use the <STRONG>tbc</STRONG> (<STRONG>clear_all_tabs</STRONG>) and <STRONG>hts</STRONG> (<STRONG>set_tab</STRONG>) capabilities
- directly only when the <STRONG>it</STRONG> (<STRONG>init_tabs</STRONG>) capability is set to a value
+ use the <STRONG>tbc</STRONG> (<STRONG>clear_all_tabs</STRONG>) and <STRONG>hts</STRONG> (<STRONG>set_tab</STRONG>) capabilities
+ directly only when the <STRONG>it</STRONG> (<STRONG>init_tabs</STRONG>) capability is set to a value
other than <EM>eight</EM>.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Delays-and-Padding">Delays and Padding</a></H3><PRE>
- Many older and slower terminals do not support either XON/XOFF or DTR
- handshaking, including hard copy terminals and some very archaic CRTs
- (including, for example, DEC VT100s). These may require padding char-
+ Many older and slower terminals do not support either XON/XOFF or DTR
+ handshaking, including hard copy terminals and some very archaic CRTs
+ (including, for example, DEC VT100s). These may require padding char-
acters after certain cursor motions and screen changes.
If the terminal uses xon/xoff handshaking for flow control (that is, it
- automatically emits ^S back to the host when its input buffers are
- close to full), set <STRONG>xon</STRONG>. This capability suppresses the emission of
- padding. You can also set it for memory-mapped console devices effec-
- tively that do not have a speed limit. Padding information should
+ automatically emits ^S back to the host when its input buffers are
+ close to full), set <STRONG>xon</STRONG>. This capability suppresses the emission of
+ padding. You can also set it for memory-mapped console devices effec-
+ tively that do not have a speed limit. Padding information should
still be included so that routines can make better decisions about rel-
ative costs, but actual pad characters will not be transmitted.
If <STRONG>pb</STRONG> (padding baud rate) is given, padding is suppressed at baud rates
- below the value of <STRONG>pb</STRONG>. If the entry has no padding baud rate, then
+ below the value of <STRONG>pb</STRONG>. If the entry has no padding baud rate, then
whether padding is emitted or not is completely controlled by <STRONG>xon</STRONG>.
- If the terminal requires other than a null (zero) character as a pad,
- then this can be given as <STRONG>pad</STRONG>. Only the first character of the <STRONG>pad</STRONG>
+ If the terminal requires other than a null (zero) character as a pad,
+ then this can be given as <STRONG>pad</STRONG>. Only the first character of the <STRONG>pad</STRONG>
string is used.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Status-Lines">Status Lines</a></H3><PRE>
- Some terminals have an extra "status line" which is not normally used
+ Some terminals have an extra "status line" which is not normally used
by software (and thus not counted in the terminal's <STRONG>lines</STRONG> capability).
- The simplest case is a status line which is cursor-addressable but not
+ The simplest case is a status line which is cursor-addressable but not
part of the main scrolling region on the screen; the Heathkit H19 has a
- status line of this kind, as would a 24-line VT100 with a 23-line
+ status line of this kind, as would a 24-line VT100 with a 23-line
scrolling region set up on initialization. This situation is indicated
by the <STRONG>hs</STRONG> capability.
- Some terminals with status lines need special sequences to access the
- status line. These may be expressed as a string with single parameter
- <STRONG>tsl</STRONG> which takes the cursor to a given zero-origin column on the status
- line. The capability <STRONG>fsl</STRONG> must return to the main-screen cursor posi-
- tions before the last <STRONG>tsl</STRONG>. You may need to embed the string values of
- <STRONG>sc</STRONG> (save cursor) and <STRONG>rc</STRONG> (restore cursor) in <STRONG>tsl</STRONG> and <STRONG>fsl</STRONG> to accomplish
+ Some terminals with status lines need special sequences to access the
+ status line. These may be expressed as a string with single parameter
+ <STRONG>tsl</STRONG> which takes the cursor to a given zero-origin column on the status
+ line. The capability <STRONG>fsl</STRONG> must return to the main-screen cursor posi-
+ tions before the last <STRONG>tsl</STRONG>. You may need to embed the string values of
+ <STRONG>sc</STRONG> (save cursor) and <STRONG>rc</STRONG> (restore cursor) in <STRONG>tsl</STRONG> and <STRONG>fsl</STRONG> to accomplish
this.
- The status line is normally assumed to be the same width as the width
- of the terminal. If this is untrue, you can specify it with the
+ The status line is normally assumed to be the same width as the width
+ of the terminal. If this is untrue, you can specify it with the
numeric capability <STRONG>wsl</STRONG>.
A command to erase or blank the status line may be specified as <STRONG>dsl</STRONG>.
- The boolean capability <STRONG>eslok</STRONG> specifies that escape sequences, tabs,
+ The boolean capability <STRONG>eslok</STRONG> specifies that escape sequences, tabs,
etc., work ordinarily in the status line.
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> implementation does not yet use any of these capabilities.
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> implementation does not yet use any of these capabilities.
They are documented here in case they ever become important.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Line-Graphics">Line Graphics</a></H3><PRE>
- Many terminals have alternate character sets useful for forms-drawing.
+ Many terminals have alternate character sets useful for forms-drawing.
Terminfo and <STRONG>curses</STRONG> have built-in support for most of the drawing char-
- acters supported by the VT100, with some characters from the AT&T
- 4410v1 added. This alternate character set may be specified by the
+ acters supported by the VT100, with some characters from the AT&T
+ 4410v1 added. This alternate character set may be specified by the
<STRONG>acsc</STRONG> capability.
<STRONG>Glyph</STRONG> <STRONG>ACS</STRONG> <STRONG>Ascii</STRONG> <STRONG>acsc</STRONG> <STRONG>acsc</STRONG>
A few notes apply to the table itself:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses incorrectly states that the mapping for <EM>lantern</EM> is
- uppercase "I" although Unix implementations use the lowercase "i"
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses incorrectly states that the mapping for <EM>lantern</EM> is
+ uppercase "I" although Unix implementations use the lowercase "i"
mapping.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> The DEC VT100 implemented graphics using the alternate character
- set feature, temporarily switching <EM>modes</EM> and sending characters in
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The DEC VT100 implemented graphics using the alternate character
+ set feature, temporarily switching <EM>modes</EM> and sending characters in
the range 0x60 (96) to 0x7e (126) (the <STRONG>acsc</STRONG> <STRONG>Value</STRONG> column in the ta-
ble).
<STRONG>o</STRONG> The AT&T terminal added graphics characters outside that range.
- Some of the characters within the range do not match the VT100;
- presumably they were used in the AT&T terminal: <EM>board</EM> <EM>of</EM> <EM>squares</EM>
- replaces the VT100 <EM>newline</EM> symbol, while <EM>lantern</EM> <EM>symbol</EM> replaces
+ Some of the characters within the range do not match the VT100;
+ presumably they were used in the AT&T terminal: <EM>board</EM> <EM>of</EM> <EM>squares</EM>
+ replaces the VT100 <EM>newline</EM> symbol, while <EM>lantern</EM> <EM>symbol</EM> replaces
the VT100 <EM>vertical</EM> <EM>tab</EM> symbol. The other VT100 symbols for control
- characters (<EM>horizontal</EM> <EM>tab</EM>, <EM>carriage</EM> <EM>return</EM> and <EM>line-feed</EM>) are not
+ characters (<EM>horizontal</EM> <EM>tab</EM>, <EM>carriage</EM> <EM>return</EM> and <EM>line-feed</EM>) are not
(re)used in curses.
- 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 <STRONG>smacs</STRONG>/<STRONG>rmacs</STRONG> switches) will be rendered as the
+ 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 <STRONG>smacs</STRONG>/<STRONG>rmacs</STRONG> switches) will be rendered as the
corresponding graphic. Then read off the VT100/your terminal character
pairs right to left in sequence; these become the ACSC string.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Color-Handling">Color Handling</a></H3><PRE>
- The curses library functions <STRONG>init_pair</STRONG> and <STRONG>init_color</STRONG> manipulate the
- <EM>color</EM> <EM>pairs</EM> and <EM>color</EM> <EM>values</EM> discussed in this section (see
+ The curses library functions <STRONG>init_pair</STRONG> and <STRONG>init_color</STRONG> manipulate the
+ <EM>color</EM> <EM>pairs</EM> and <EM>color</EM> <EM>values</EM> discussed in this section (see
<STRONG><A HREF="curs_color.3x.html">curs_color(3x)</A></STRONG> for details on these and related functions).
Most color terminals are either "Tektronix-like" or "HP-like":
is usually 8), and can set character-cell foreground and background
characters independently, mixing them into <EM>N</EM> * <EM>N</EM> color-pairs.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> On HP-like terminals, the user must set each color pair up sepa-
- rately (foreground and background are not independently settable).
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> On HP-like terminals, the user must set each color pair up sepa-
+ rately (foreground and background are not independently settable).
Up to <EM>M</EM> color-pairs may be set up from 2*<EM>M</EM> different colors. ANSI-
compatible terminals are Tektronix-like.
Some basic color capabilities are independent of the color method. The
- numeric capabilities <STRONG>colors</STRONG> and <STRONG>pairs</STRONG> specify the maximum numbers of
- colors and color-pairs that can be displayed simultaneously. The <STRONG>op</STRONG>
+ numeric capabilities <STRONG>colors</STRONG> and <STRONG>pairs</STRONG> specify the maximum numbers of
+ colors and color-pairs that can be displayed simultaneously. The <STRONG>op</STRONG>
(original pair) string resets foreground and background colors to their
- default values for the terminal. The <STRONG>oc</STRONG> string resets all colors or
- color-pairs to their default values for the terminal. Some terminals
+ default values for the terminal. The <STRONG>oc</STRONG> string resets all colors or
+ color-pairs to their default values for the terminal. Some terminals
(including many PC terminal emulators) erase screen areas with the cur-
- rent background color rather than the power-up default background;
+ rent background color rather than the power-up default background;
these should have the boolean capability <STRONG>bce</STRONG>.
While the curses library works with <EM>color</EM> <EM>pairs</EM> (reflecting the inabil-
- ity of some devices to set foreground and background colors indepen-
+ ity of some devices to set foreground and background colors indepen-
dently), there are separate capabilities for setting these features:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> To change the current foreground or background color on a Tek-
- tronix-type terminal, use <STRONG>setaf</STRONG> (set ANSI foreground) and <STRONG>setab</STRONG>
- (set ANSI background) or <STRONG>setf</STRONG> (set foreground) and <STRONG>setb</STRONG> (set back-
- ground). These take one parameter, the color number. The SVr4
- documentation describes only <STRONG>setaf</STRONG>/<STRONG>setab</STRONG>; the XPG4 draft says that
- "If the terminal supports ANSI escape sequences to set background
- and foreground, they should be coded as <STRONG>setaf</STRONG> and <STRONG>setab</STRONG>, respec-
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> To change the current foreground or background color on a Tek-
+ tronix-type terminal, use <STRONG>setaf</STRONG> (set ANSI foreground) and <STRONG>setab</STRONG>
+ (set ANSI background) or <STRONG>setf</STRONG> (set foreground) and <STRONG>setb</STRONG> (set back-
+ ground). These take one parameter, the color number. The SVr4
+ documentation describes only <STRONG>setaf</STRONG>/<STRONG>setab</STRONG>; the XPG4 draft says that
+ "If the terminal supports ANSI escape sequences to set background
+ and foreground, they should be coded as <STRONG>setaf</STRONG> and <STRONG>setab</STRONG>, respec-
tively.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> If the terminal supports other escape sequences to set background
- and foreground, they should be coded as <STRONG>setf</STRONG> and <STRONG>setb</STRONG>, respec-
- tively. The <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> and the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_refresh.3x.html">refresh(3x)</A></STRONG> functions use the <STRONG>setaf</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If the terminal supports other escape sequences to set background
+ and foreground, they should be coded as <STRONG>setf</STRONG> and <STRONG>setb</STRONG>, respec-
+ tively. The <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> and the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_refresh.3x.html">refresh(3x)</A></STRONG> functions use the <STRONG>setaf</STRONG>
and <STRONG>setab</STRONG> capabilities if they are defined.
- The <STRONG>setaf</STRONG>/<STRONG>setab</STRONG> and <STRONG>setf</STRONG>/<STRONG>setb</STRONG> capabilities take a single numeric argu-
- ment each. Argument values 0-7 of <STRONG>setaf</STRONG>/<STRONG>setab</STRONG> are portably defined as
- follows (the middle column is the symbolic #define available in the
- header for the <STRONG>curses</STRONG> or <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> libraries). The terminal hardware is
+ The <STRONG>setaf</STRONG>/<STRONG>setab</STRONG> and <STRONG>setf</STRONG>/<STRONG>setb</STRONG> capabilities take a single numeric argu-
+ ment each. Argument values 0-7 of <STRONG>setaf</STRONG>/<STRONG>setab</STRONG> are portably defined as
+ follows (the middle column is the symbolic #define available in the
+ header for the <STRONG>curses</STRONG> or <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> libraries). The terminal hardware is
free to map these as it likes, but the RGB values indicate normal loca-
tions in color space.
It is important to not confuse the two sets of color capabilities; oth-
erwise red/blue will be interchanged on the display.
- On an HP-like terminal, use <STRONG>scp</STRONG> with a color-pair number parameter to
+ On an HP-like terminal, use <STRONG>scp</STRONG> with a color-pair number parameter to
set which color pair is current.
Some terminals allow the <EM>color</EM> <EM>values</EM> to be modified:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> On a Tektronix-like terminal, the capability <STRONG>ccc</STRONG> may be present to
- indicate that colors can be modified. If so, the <STRONG>initc</STRONG> capability
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> On a Tektronix-like terminal, the capability <STRONG>ccc</STRONG> may be present to
+ indicate that colors can be modified. If so, the <STRONG>initc</STRONG> capability
will take a color number (0 to <STRONG>colors</STRONG> - 1)and three more parameters
- which describe the color. These three parameters default to being
+ which describe the color. These three parameters default to being
interpreted as RGB (Red, Green, Blue) values. If the boolean capa-
- bility <STRONG>hls</STRONG> is present, they are instead as HLS (Hue, Lightness,
+ bility <STRONG>hls</STRONG> is present, they are instead as HLS (Hue, Lightness,
Saturation) indices. The ranges are terminal-dependent.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> On an HP-like terminal, <STRONG>initp</STRONG> may give a capability for changing a
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> On an HP-like terminal, <STRONG>initp</STRONG> may give a capability for changing a
color-pair value. It will take seven parameters; a color-pair num-
- ber (0 to <STRONG>max_pairs</STRONG> - 1), and two triples describing first back-
- ground and then foreground colors. These parameters must be (Red,
+ ber (0 to <STRONG>max_pairs</STRONG> - 1), and two triples describing first back-
+ ground and then foreground colors. These parameters must be (Red,
Green, Blue) or (Hue, Lightness, Saturation) depending on <STRONG>hls</STRONG>.
- On some color terminals, colors collide with highlights. You can reg-
- ister these collisions with the <STRONG>ncv</STRONG> capability. This is a bit-mask of
- attributes not to be used when colors are enabled. The correspondence
+ On some color terminals, colors collide with highlights. You can reg-
+ ister these collisions with the <STRONG>ncv</STRONG> capability. This is a bit-mask of
+ attributes not to be used when colors are enabled. The correspondence
with the attributes understood by <STRONG>curses</STRONG> is as follows:
<STRONG>Attribute</STRONG> <STRONG>Bit</STRONG> <STRONG>Decimal</STRONG> <STRONG>Set</STRONG> <STRONG>by</STRONG>
A_BOLD 5 32 sgr
A_INVIS 6 64 sgr
A_PROTECT 7 128 sgr
+
A_ALTCHARSET 8 256 sgr
A_HORIZONTAL 9 512 sgr1
A_LEFT 10 1024 sgr1
A_VERTICAL 14 16384 sgr1
A_ITALIC 15 32768 sitm
- For example, on many IBM PC consoles, the underline attribute collides
- with the foreground color blue and is not available in color mode.
+ 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 <STRONG>ncv</STRONG> capability of 2.
- SVr4 curses does nothing with <STRONG>ncv</STRONG>, ncurses recognizes it and optimizes
+ SVr4 curses does nothing with <STRONG>ncv</STRONG>, ncurses recognizes it and optimizes
the output in favor of colors.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Miscellaneous">Miscellaneous</a></H3><PRE>
- If the terminal requires other than a null (zero) character as a pad,
- then this can be given as pad. Only the first character of the pad
+ If the terminal requires other than a null (zero) character as a pad,
+ then this can be given as pad. Only the first character of the pad
string is used. If the terminal does not have a pad character, specify
- npc. Note that ncurses implements the termcap-compatible <STRONG>PC</STRONG> variable;
- though the application may set this value to something other than a
- null, ncurses will test <STRONG>npc</STRONG> first and use napms if the terminal has no
+ npc. Note that ncurses implements the termcap-compatible <STRONG>PC</STRONG> variable;
+ though the application may set this value to something other than a
+ null, ncurses will test <STRONG>npc</STRONG> 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
+ If the terminal can move up or down half a line, this can be indicated
with <STRONG>hu</STRONG> (half-line up) and <STRONG>hd</STRONG> (half-line down). This is primarily use-
ful for superscripts and subscripts on hard-copy terminals. If a hard-
- copy terminal can eject to the next page (form feed), give this as <STRONG>ff</STRONG>
+ copy terminal can eject to the next page (form feed), give this as <STRONG>ff</STRONG>
(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 charac-
- ters) this can be indicated with the parameterized string <STRONG>rep</STRONG>. The
- first parameter is the character to be repeated and the second is the
+ If there is a command to repeat a given character a given number of
+ times (to save time transmitting a large number of identical charac-
+ ters) this can be indicated with the parameterized string <STRONG>rep</STRONG>. The
+ first parameter is the character to be repeated and the second is the
number of times to repeat it. Thus, tparm(repeat_char, 'x', 10) is the
same as "xxxxxxxxxx".
If the terminal has a settable command character, such as the TEKTRONIX
- 4025, this can be indicated with <STRONG>cmdch</STRONG>. A prototype command character
- is chosen which is used in all capabilities. This character is given
- in the <STRONG>cmdch</STRONG> capability to identify it. The following convention is
+ 4025, this can be indicated with <STRONG>cmdch</STRONG>. A prototype command character
+ is chosen which is used in all capabilities. This character is given
+ in the <STRONG>cmdch</STRONG> capability to identify it. The following convention is
supported on some UNIX systems: The environment is to be searched for a
- <STRONG>CC</STRONG> variable, and if found, all occurrences of the prototype character
+ <STRONG>CC</STRONG> 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 kind of known
- terminal, such as <EM>switch</EM>, <EM>dialup</EM>, <EM>patch</EM>, and <EM>network</EM>, should include
- the <STRONG>gn</STRONG> (generic) capability so that programs can complain that they do
- not know how to talk to the terminal. (This capability does not apply
- to <EM>virtual</EM> terminal descriptions for which the escape sequences are
+ Terminal descriptions that do not represent a specific kind of known
+ terminal, such as <EM>switch</EM>, <EM>dialup</EM>, <EM>patch</EM>, and <EM>network</EM>, should include
+ the <STRONG>gn</STRONG> (generic) capability so that programs can complain that they do
+ not know how to talk to the terminal. (This capability does not apply
+ to <EM>virtual</EM> 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
- <STRONG>km</STRONG>. Otherwise, software will assume that the 8th bit is parity and it
- will usually be cleared. If strings exist to turn this "meta mode" on
+ 8th bit of any character transmitted, this fact can be indicated with
+ <STRONG>km</STRONG>. Otherwise, software will assume that the 8th bit is parity and it
+ will usually be cleared. If strings exist to turn this "meta mode" on
and off, they can be given as <STRONG>smm</STRONG> and <STRONG>rmm</STRONG>.
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 <STRONG>lm</STRONG>. A value
+ once, the number of lines of memory can be indicated with <STRONG>lm</STRONG>. A value
of <STRONG>lm</STRONG>#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 virtual terminal
+ If the terminal is one of those supported by the UNIX virtual terminal
protocol, the terminal number can be given as <STRONG>vt</STRONG>.
- Media copy strings which control an auxiliary printer connected to the
- terminal can be given as <STRONG>mc0</STRONG>: print the contents of the screen, <STRONG>mc4</STRONG>:
- turn off the printer, and <STRONG>mc5</STRONG>: 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 terminal screen
- when the printer is on. A variation <STRONG>mc5p</STRONG> takes one parameter, and
+ Media copy strings which control an auxiliary printer connected to the
+ terminal can be given as <STRONG>mc0</STRONG>: print the contents of the screen, <STRONG>mc4</STRONG>:
+ turn off the printer, and <STRONG>mc5</STRONG>: 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 terminal screen
+ when the printer is on. A variation <STRONG>mc5p</STRONG> takes one parameter, and
leaves the printer on for as many characters as the value of the param-
eter, then turns the printer off. The parameter should not exceed 255.
- All text, including <STRONG>mc4</STRONG>, is transparently passed to the printer while
+ All text, including <STRONG>mc4</STRONG>, is transparently passed to the printer while
an <STRONG>mc5p</STRONG> is in effect.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Glitches-and-Braindamage">Glitches and Braindamage</a></H3><PRE>
- Hazeltine terminals, which do not allow "~" characters to be displayed
+ Hazeltine terminals, which do not allow "~" characters to be displayed
should indicate <STRONG>hz</STRONG>.
- Terminals which ignore a line-feed immediately after an <STRONG>am</STRONG> wrap, such
+ Terminals which ignore a line-feed immediately after an <STRONG>am</STRONG> wrap, such
as the Concept and vt100, should indicate <STRONG>xenl</STRONG>.
- If <STRONG>el</STRONG> is required to get rid of standout (instead of merely writing
+ If <STRONG>el</STRONG> is required to get rid of standout (instead of merely writing
normal text on top of it), <STRONG>xhp</STRONG> should be given.
Teleray terminals, where tabs turn all characters moved over to blanks,
- should indicate <STRONG>xt</STRONG> (destructive tabs). Note: the variable indicating
- this is now "dest_tabs_magic_smso"; in older versions, it was tel-
+ should indicate <STRONG>xt</STRONG> (destructive tabs). Note: the variable indicating
+ this is now "dest_tabs_magic_smso"; in older versions, it was tel-
eray_glitch. This glitch is also taken to mean that it is not possible
to position the cursor on top of a "magic cookie", that to erase stand-
- out mode it is instead necessary to use delete and insert line. The
+ out mode it is instead necessary to use delete and insert line. The
ncurses implementation ignores this glitch.
- The Beehive Superbee, which is unable to correctly transmit the escape
- or control/C characters, has <STRONG>xsb</STRONG>, indicating that the f1 key is used
- for escape and f2 for control/C. (Only certain Superbees have this
- problem, depending on the ROM.) Note that in older terminfo versions,
+ The Beehive Superbee, which is unable to correctly transmit the escape
+ or control/C characters, has <STRONG>xsb</STRONG>, indicating that the f1 key is used
+ for escape and f2 for control/C. (Only certain Superbees have this
+ problem, depending on the ROM.) Note that in older terminfo versions,
this capability was called "beehive_glitch"; it is now "no_esc_ctl_c".
- Other specific terminal problems may be corrected by adding more capa-
+ Other specific terminal problems may be corrected by adding more capa-
bilities of the form <STRONG>x</STRONG><EM>x</EM>.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Pitfalls-of-Long-Entries">Pitfalls of Long Entries</a></H3><PRE>
- Long terminfo entries are unlikely to be a problem; to date, no entry
- has even approached terminfo's 4096-byte string-table maximum. Unfor-
- tunately, the termcap translations are much more strictly limited (to
- 1023 bytes), thus termcap translations of long terminfo entries can
+ Long terminfo entries are unlikely to be a problem; to date, no entry
+ has even approached terminfo's 4096-byte string-table maximum. Unfor-
+ tunately, the termcap translations are much more strictly limited (to
+ 1023 bytes), thus termcap translations of long terminfo entries can
cause problems.
- The man pages for 4.3BSD and older versions of <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> instruct the
- user to allocate a 1024-byte buffer for the termcap entry. The entry
- gets null-terminated by the termcap library, so that makes the maximum
- safe length for a termcap entry 1k-1 (1023) bytes. Depending on what
- the application and the termcap library being used does, and where in
- the termcap file the terminal type that <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> is searching for is,
+ The man pages for 4.3BSD and older versions of <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> instruct the
+ user to allocate a 1024-byte buffer for the termcap entry. The entry
+ gets null-terminated by the termcap library, so that makes the maximum
+ safe length for a termcap entry 1k-1 (1023) bytes. Depending on what
+ the application and the termcap library being used does, and where in
+ the termcap file the terminal type that <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> is searching for is,
several bad things can happen.
- Some termcap libraries print a warning message or exit if they find an
+ Some termcap libraries print a warning message or exit if they find an
entry that's longer than 1023 bytes; others do not; others truncate the
- entries to 1023 bytes. Some application programs allocate more than
+ entries to 1023 bytes. Some application programs allocate more than
the recommended 1K for the termcap entry; others do not.
- Each termcap entry has two important sizes associated with it: before
- "tc" expansion, and after "tc" expansion. "tc" is the capability that
+ Each termcap entry has two important sizes associated with it: before
+ "tc" expansion, and after "tc" expansion. "tc" is the capability that
tacks on another termcap entry to the end of the current one, to add on
its capabilities. If a termcap entry does not use the "tc" capability,
then of course the two lengths are the same.
- The "before tc expansion" length is the most important one, because it
- affects more than just users of that particular terminal. This is the
- length of the entry as it exists in /etc/termcap, minus the backslash-
+ The "before tc expansion" length is the most important one, because it
+ affects more than just users of that particular terminal. This is the
+ length of the entry as it exists in /etc/termcap, minus the backslash-
newline pairs, which <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> strips out while reading it. Some termcap
libraries strip off the final newline, too (GNU termcap does not). Now
suppose:
<STRONG>o</STRONG> and the application has only allocated a 1k buffer,
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> and the termcap library (like the one in BSD/OS 1.1 and GNU) reads
- the whole entry into the buffer, no matter what its length, to see
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> and the termcap library (like the one in BSD/OS 1.1 and GNU) reads
+ the whole entry into the buffer, no matter what its length, to see
if it is the entry it wants,
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> and <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> is searching for a terminal type that either is the
- long entry, appears in the termcap file after the long entry, or
- does not appear in the file at all (so that <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> has to search
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> and <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> is searching for a terminal type that either is the
+ long entry, appears in the termcap file after the long entry, or
+ does not appear in the file at all (so that <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> has to search
the whole termcap file).
- Then <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> will overwrite memory, perhaps its stack, and probably
- core dump the program. Programs like telnet are particularly vulnera-
- ble; modern telnets pass along values like the terminal type automati-
- cally. The results are almost as undesirable with a termcap library,
- like SunOS 4.1.3 and Ultrix 4.4, that prints warning messages when it
- reads an overly long termcap entry. If a termcap library truncates
- long entries, like OSF/1 3.0, it is immune to dying here but will
+ Then <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> will overwrite memory, perhaps its stack, and probably
+ core dump the program. Programs like telnet are particularly vulnera-
+ ble; modern telnets pass along values like the terminal type automati-
+ cally. The results are almost as undesirable with a termcap library,
+ like SunOS 4.1.3 and Ultrix 4.4, that prints warning messages when it
+ reads an overly long termcap entry. If a termcap library truncates
+ long entries, like OSF/1 3.0, it is immune to dying here but will
return incorrect data for the terminal.
- The "after tc expansion" length will have a similar effect to the
+ The "after tc expansion" length will have a similar effect to the
above, but only for people who actually set TERM to that terminal type,
- since <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> only does "tc" expansion once it is found the terminal
+ since <STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> only does "tc" expansion once it is found the terminal
type it was looking for, not while searching.
- In summary, a termcap entry that is longer than 1023 bytes can cause,
- on various combinations of termcap libraries and applications, a core
- dump, warnings, or incorrect operation. If it is too long even before
- "tc" expansion, it will have this effect even for users of some other
- terminal types and users whose TERM variable does not have a termcap
+ In summary, a termcap entry that is longer than 1023 bytes can cause,
+ on various combinations of termcap libraries and applications, a core
+ dump, warnings, or incorrect operation. If it is too long even before
+ "tc" expansion, it will have this effect even for users of some other
+ terminal types and users whose TERM variable does not have a termcap
entry.
- When in -C (translate to termcap) mode, the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> implementation of
- <STRONG><A HREF="tic.1m.html">tic(1m)</A></STRONG> issues warning messages when the pre-tc length of a termcap
- translation is too long. The -c (check) option also checks resolved
+ When in -C (translate to termcap) mode, the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> implementation of
+ <STRONG><A HREF="tic.1m.html">tic(1m)</A></STRONG> issues warning messages when the pre-tc length of a termcap
+ translation is too long. The -c (check) option also checks resolved
(after tc expansion) lengths.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Binary-Compatibility">Binary Compatibility</a></H3><PRE>
- It is not wise to count on portability of binary terminfo entries
- between commercial UNIX versions. The problem is that there are at
- least two versions of terminfo (under HP-UX and AIX) which diverged
- from System V terminfo after SVr1, and have added extension capabili-
- ties to the string table that (in the binary format) collide with Sys-
+ It is not wise to count on portability of binary terminfo entries
+ between commercial UNIX versions. The problem is that there are at
+ least two versions of terminfo (under HP-UX and AIX) which diverged
+ from System V terminfo after SVr1, and have added extension capabili-
+ ties to the string table that (in the binary format) collide with Sys-
tem V and XSI Curses extensions.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-EXTENSIONS">EXTENSIONS</a></H2><PRE>
- Searching for terminal descriptions in <STRONG>$HOME/.terminfo</STRONG> and TER-
+ Searching for terminal descriptions in <STRONG>$HOME/.terminfo</STRONG> and TER-
MINFO_DIRS is not supported by older implementations.
- Some SVr4 <STRONG>curses</STRONG> implementations, and all previous to SVr4, do not
+ Some SVr4 <STRONG>curses</STRONG> implementations, and all previous to SVr4, do not
interpret the %A and %O operators in parameter strings.
- SVr4/XPG4 do not specify whether <STRONG>msgr</STRONG> licenses movement while in an
- alternate-character-set mode (such modes may, among other things, map
- CR and NL to characters that do not trigger local motions). The
- <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> implementation ignores <STRONG>msgr</STRONG> in <STRONG>ALTCHARSET</STRONG> mode. This raises
- the possibility that an XPG4 implementation making the opposite inter-
- pretation may need terminfo entries made for <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> to have <STRONG>msgr</STRONG>
+ SVr4/XPG4 do not specify whether <STRONG>msgr</STRONG> licenses movement while in an
+ alternate-character-set mode (such modes may, among other things, map
+ CR and NL to characters that do not trigger local motions). The
+ <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> implementation ignores <STRONG>msgr</STRONG> in <STRONG>ALTCHARSET</STRONG> mode. This raises
+ the possibility that an XPG4 implementation making the opposite inter-
+ pretation may need terminfo entries made for <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> to have <STRONG>msgr</STRONG>
turned off.
The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library handles insert-character and insert-character modes
- in a slightly non-standard way to get better update efficiency. See
+ in a slightly non-standard way to get better update efficiency. See
the <STRONG>Insert/Delete</STRONG> <STRONG>Character</STRONG> subsection above.
- The parameter substitutions for <STRONG>set_clock</STRONG> and <STRONG>display_clock</STRONG> are not
- documented in SVr4 or the XSI Curses standard. They are deduced from
+ The parameter substitutions for <STRONG>set_clock</STRONG> and <STRONG>display_clock</STRONG> are not
+ documented in SVr4 or the XSI Curses standard. They are deduced from
the documentation for the AT&T 505 terminal.
- Be careful assigning the <STRONG>kmous</STRONG> capability. The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library wants
- to interpret it as <STRONG>KEY_MOUSE</STRONG>, for use by terminals and emulators like
- xterm that can return mouse-tracking information in the keyboard-input
+ Be careful assigning the <STRONG>kmous</STRONG> capability. The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library wants
+ to interpret it as <STRONG>KEY_MOUSE</STRONG>, for use by terminals and emulators like
+ xterm that can return mouse-tracking information in the keyboard-input
stream.
- X/Open Curses does not mention italics. Portable applications must
- assume that numeric capabilities are signed 16-bit values. This
- includes the <EM>no</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>color</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>video</EM> (ncv) capability. The 32768 mask value
- used for italics with ncv can be confused with an absent or cancelled
- ncv. If italics should work with colors, then the ncv value must be
+ X/Open Curses does not mention italics. Portable applications must
+ assume that numeric capabilities are signed 16-bit values. This
+ includes the <EM>no</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>color</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>video</EM> (ncv) capability. The 32768 mask value
+ used for italics with ncv can be confused with an absent or cancelled
+ ncv. If italics should work with colors, then the ncv value must be
specified, even if it is zero.
- Different commercial ports of terminfo and curses support different
+ Different commercial ports of terminfo and curses support different
subsets of the XSI Curses standard and (in some cases) different exten-
sion sets. Here is a summary, accurate as of October 1995:
capability (<STRONG>set_pglen</STRONG>).
<STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>SVr1,</STRONG> <STRONG>Ultrix</STRONG> -- These support a restricted subset of terminfo capa-
- bilities. The booleans end with <STRONG>xon_xoff</STRONG>; the numerics with
+ bilities. The booleans end with <STRONG>xon_xoff</STRONG>; the numerics with
<STRONG>width_status_line</STRONG>; and the strings with <STRONG>prtr_non</STRONG>.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>HP/UX</STRONG> -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus the SVr[234] numerics
- <STRONG>num_labels</STRONG>, <STRONG>label_height</STRONG>, <STRONG>label_width</STRONG>, plus function keys 11
- through 63, plus <STRONG>plab_norm</STRONG>, <STRONG>label_on</STRONG>, and <STRONG>label_off</STRONG>, plus some
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>HP/UX</STRONG> -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus the SVr[234] numerics
+ <STRONG>num_labels</STRONG>, <STRONG>label_height</STRONG>, <STRONG>label_width</STRONG>, plus function keys 11
+ through 63, plus <STRONG>plab_norm</STRONG>, <STRONG>label_on</STRONG>, and <STRONG>label_off</STRONG>, plus some
incompatible extensions in the string table.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>AIX</STRONG> -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus function keys 11 through 63,
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>AIX</STRONG> -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus function keys 11 through 63,
plus a number of incompatible string table extensions.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>OSF</STRONG> -- Supports both the SVr4 set and the AIX extensions.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></H2><PRE>
- <STRONG><A HREF="tabs.1.html">tabs(1)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="tic.1m.html">tic(1m)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="infocmp.1m.html">infocmp(1m)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="curs_color.3x.html">curs_color(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG>curs_vari-</STRONG>
+ <STRONG><A HREF="tabs.1.html">tabs(1)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="tic.1m.html">tic(1m)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="infocmp.1m.html">infocmp(1m)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="curs_color.3x.html">curs_color(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG>curs_vari-</STRONG>
<STRONG><A HREF="curs_variables.3x.html">ables(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG>printf(3)</STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="term.5.html">term(5)</A></STRONG>. <STRONG><A HREF="term_variables.3x.html">term_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>. <STRONG><A HREF="user_caps.5.html">user_caps(5)</A></STRONG>.
<!--
- $Id: ncurses-intro.html,v 1.48 2019/03/16 19:39:05 tom Exp $
+ $Id: ncurses-intro.html,v 1.51 2019/07/27 11:47:10 tom Exp $
****************************************************************************
* Copyright (c) 1998-2017,2019 Free Software Foundation, Inc. *
* *
<html>
<head>
<meta name="generator" content=
- "HTML Tidy for Linux (vers 25 March 2009), see www.w3.org">
+ "HTML Tidy for HTML5 for Linux version 5.2.0">
<title>Writing Programs with NCURSES</title>
<link rel="author" href="mailto:bugs-ncurses@gnu.org">
<li><a href="#input">Input</a></li>
- <li><a href="#formschars">Using Forms
- Characters</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#formschars">Using Forms Characters</a></li>
<li><a href="#attributes">Character Attributes and
Color</a></li>
<ul>
<li><a href="#init">Initialization and Wrapup</a></li>
- <li><a href="#flush">Causing Output to the
- Terminal</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#flush">Causing Output to the Terminal</a></li>
- <li><a href="#lowlevel">Low-Level Capability
- Access</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#lowlevel">Low-Level Capability Access</a></li>
<li><a href="#debugging">Debugging</a></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="#hiding">Hiding Panels</a></li>
- <li><a href="#pmisc">Miscellaneous Other
- Facilities</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#pmisc">Miscellaneous Other Facilities</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<a href="#menu">The Menu Library</a>
<ul>
- <li><a href="#mcompile">Compiling with the menu
- Library</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#mcompile">Compiling with the menu Library</a></li>
<li><a href="#moverview">Overview of Menus</a></li>
<li><a href="#flocation">Changing the Field
Location</a></li>
- <li><a href="#fjust">The Justification
- Attribute</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#fjust">The Justification Attribute</a></li>
- <li><a href="#fdispatts">Field Display
- Attributes</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#fdispatts">Field Display Attributes</a></li>
<li><a href="#foptions">Field Option Bits</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
- <li><a href="#fbuffer">Direct Field Buffer
- Manipulation</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#fbuffer">Direct Field Buffer Manipulation</a></li>
<li><a href="#formattrs">Attributes of Forms</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
+
<hr>
- <h1><a name="introduction" id=
- "introduction">Introduction</a></h1>
+ <h1><a name="introduction" id="introduction">Introduction</a></h1>
<p>This document is an introduction to programming with
<code>curses</code>. It is not an exhaustive reference for the
<code>curses</code> will typically be a great deal simpler and
less expensive than one using an X toolkit.</p>
- <h2><a name="history" id="history">A Brief History of
- Curses</a></h2>
+ <h2><a name="history" id="history">A Brief History of Curses</a></h2>
<p>Historically, the first ancestor of <code>curses</code> was
- the routines written to provide screen-handling for the game
- <code>rogue</code>; these used the already-existing
+ the routines written to provide screen-handling for the
+ <code>vi</code> editor; these used the already-existing
<code>termcap</code> database facility for describing terminal
capabilities. These routines were abstracted into a documented
- library and first released with the early BSD UNIX versions.</p>
-
- <p>System III UNIX from Bell Labs featured a rewritten and
- much-improved <code>curses</code> library. It introduced the
- terminfo format. Terminfo is based on Berkeley's termcap
- database, but contains a number of improvements and extensions.
+ library and first released with the early BSD UNIX versions. All
+ of this work was done by students at the University of
+ California.</p>
+
+ <p>After graduation, one of those students went to work at
+ AT&T Bell Labs, and made an improved <code>termcap</code>
+ library called <code>terminfo</code> (i.e.,
+ “libterm”). That was subsequently released in System
+ V Release 2. Thereafter, other developers added to the terminfo
+ library. For instance, a student at Cornell University wrote an
+ improved terminfo library as well as a tool (<code>tic</code>) to
+ compile the terminal descriptions. As a general rule, AT&T
+ did not identify the developers in the source-code or
+ documentation; the <code>tic</code> and <code>infocmp</code>
+ programs are the exceptions.</p>
+
+ <p>System V Release 3 (System III UNIX) from Bell Labs featured a
+ rewritten and much-improved <code>curses</code> library,l along
+ with the <code>tic</code> program.</p>
+
+ <p>To recap, terminfo is based on Berkeley's termcap database,
+ but contains a number of improvements and extensions.
Parameterized capabilities strings were introduced, making it
possible to describe multiple video attributes, and colors and to
handle far more unusual terminals than possible with termcap. In
<h1><a name="curses" id="curses">The Curses Library</a></h1>
- <h2><a name="overview" id="overview">An Overview of
- Curses</a></h2>
+ <h2><a name="overview" id="overview">An Overview of Curses</a></h2>
<h3><a name="compiling" id="compiling">Compiling Programs using
Curses</a></h3>
<p>In order to use the library, it is necessary to have certain
types and variables defined. Therefore, the programmer must have
a line:</p>
+
<pre>
#include <curses.h>
</pre>
avoid clumsiness, most I/O routines can be preceded by the prefix
“mv” and the desired (y, x) coordinates prepended to
the arguments to the function. For example, the calls</p>
+
<pre>
move(y, x);
addch(ch);
</pre>
<p>can be replaced by</p>
+
<pre>
mvaddch(y, x, ch);
</pre>
<p>and</p>
+
<pre>
wmove(win, y, x);
waddch(win, ch);
</pre>
<p>can be replaced by</p>
+
<pre>
mvwaddch(win, y, x, ch);
</pre>
<p>The <code>curses</code> library sets some variables describing
the terminal capabilities.</p>
+
<pre>
type name description
------------------------------------------------------------------
usefulness:</p>
<dl>
- <dt><code>bool</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>bool</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>boolean type, actually a “char” (e.g.,
<code>bool doneit;</code>)</dd>
- <dt><code>TRUE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>TRUE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>boolean “true” flag (1).</dd>
- <dt><code>FALSE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>FALSE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>boolean “false” flag (0).</dd>
- <dt><code>ERR</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>ERR</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>error flag returned by routines on a failure (-1).</dd>
- <dt><code>OK</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>OK</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>error flag returned by routines when things go right.</dd>
</dl>
mentioned above.</p>
<p>Here is a sample program to motivate the discussion:</p>
+
<pre>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <curses.h>
anytime after the call to initscr, <code>endwin()</code> should
be called before exiting.</p>
- <h2><a name="functions" id="functions">Function
- Descriptions</a></h2>
+ <h2><a name="functions" id="functions">Function Descriptions</a></h2>
<p>We describe the detailed behavior of some important curses
functions here, as a supplement to the manual page
<h3><a name="init" id="init">Initialization and Wrapup</a></h3>
<dl>
- <dt><code>initscr()</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>initscr()</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>The first function called should almost always be
<code>initscr()</code>. This will determine the terminal type
<code>ripoffline()</code>, <code>use_env()</code>, and, if you
are using multiple terminals, <code>newterm()</code>.)</dd>
- <dt><code>endwin()</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>endwin()</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Your program should always call <code>endwin()</code>
before exiting or shelling out of the program. This function
program will restore the ncurses screen from before the
escape.</dd>
- <dt><code>newterm(type, ofp, ifp)</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>newterm(type, ofp, ifp)</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>A program which outputs to more than one terminal should
use <code>newterm()</code> instead of <code>initscr()</code>.
<code>endwin()</code> should called once at wrapup time for
each terminal opened using this function.</dd>
- <dt><code>set_term(new)</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>set_term(new)</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>This function is used to switch to a different terminal
previously opened by <code>newterm()</code>. The screen
previous terminal is returned by the function. All other calls
affect only the current terminal.</dd>
- <dt><code>delscreen(sp)</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>delscreen(sp)</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>The inverse of <code>newterm()</code>; deallocates the data
structures associated with a given <code>SCREEN</code>
reference.</dd>
</dl>
- <h3><a name="flush" id="flush">Causing Output to the
- Terminal</a></h3>
+ <h3><a name="flush" id="flush">Causing Output to the Terminal</a></h3>
<dl>
<dt><code>refresh()</code> and <code>wrefresh(win)</code></dt>
Access</a></h3>
<dl>
- <dt><code>setupterm(term, filenum, errret)</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>setupterm(term, filenum, errret)</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>
This routine is called to initialize a terminal's
</blockquote>
<dl>
- <dt><code>trace()</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>trace()</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>This function can be used to explicitly set a trace level.
If the trace level is nonzero, execution of your program will
value to the environment variable
<code>NCURSES_TRACE</code>).</dd>
- <dt><code>_tracef()</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>_tracef()</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>This function can be used to output your own debugging
information. It is only available only if you link with
<code>refresh()</code>, <code>FALSE</code> otherwise.</p>
<p>Here is some sample code for shellout:</p>
+
<pre>
addstr("Shelling out...");
def_prog_mode(); /* save current tty modes */
<p>This change in behavior conforms <code>ncurses</code> to
System V Release 4 and the XSI Curses standard.</p>
- <h2><a name="xsifuncs" id="xsifuncs">XSI Curses
- Conformance</a></h2>
+ <h2><a name="xsifuncs" id="xsifuncs">XSI Curses Conformance</a></h2>
<p>The <code>ncurses</code> library is intended to be base-level
conformant with the XSI Curses standard from X/Open. Many
<p>Your panels-using modules must import the panels library
declarations with</p>
+
<pre>
#include <panel.h>
</pre>
still good practice to put <code>-lpanel</code> first and
<code>-lncurses</code> second.</p>
- <h2><a name="poverview" id="poverview">Overview of
- Panels</a></h2>
+ <h2><a name="poverview" id="poverview">Overview of Panels</a></h2>
<p>A panel object is a window that is implicitly treated as part
of a <dfn>deck</dfn> including all other panel objects. The deck
cannot do <code>top_panel()</code> or <code>bottom_panel</code>
on a hidden panel(). Other panels operations are applicable.</p>
- <h2><a name="pmisc" id="pmisc">Miscellaneous Other
- Facilities</a></h2>
+ <h2><a name="pmisc" id="pmisc">Miscellaneous Other Facilities</a></h2>
<p>It is possible to navigate the deck using the functions
<code>panel_above()</code> and <code>panel_below</code>. Handed a
<p>Your menu-using modules must import the menu library
declarations with</p>
+
<pre>
#include <menu.h>
</pre>
commands. The <code>menu_driver()</code> code ignores them and
returns <code>E_UNKNOWN_COMMAND</code>.</p>
- <h2><a name="mmisc" id="mmisc">Miscellaneous Other
- Features</a></h2>
+ <h2><a name="mmisc" id="mmisc">Miscellaneous Other Features</a></h2>
<p>Various menu options can affect the processing and visual
appearance and input processing of menus. See <code>menu_opts(3x)
<p>Your form-using modules must import the form library
declarations with</p>
+
<pre>
#include <form.h>
</pre>
<p>The basic function for creating fields is
<code>new_field()</code>:</p>
+
<pre>
FIELD *new_field(int height, int width, /* new field size */
int top, int left, /* upper left corner */
terminator. The sixth argument is the number of additional data
buffers to allocate for the field; your application can use them
for its own purposes.</p>
+
<pre>
FIELD *dup_field(FIELD *field, /* field to copy */
int top, int left); /* location of new copy */
field at a new location. Size and buffering information are
copied; some attribute flags and status bits are not (see the
<code>form_field_new(3X)</code> for details).</p>
+
<pre>
FIELD *link_field(FIELD *field, /* field to copy */
int top, int left); /* location of new copy */
an out-of-memory error or out-of-bounds arguments.</p>
<p>To connect fields to a form, use</p>
+
<pre>
FORM *new_form(FIELD **fields);
</pre>
Data</a></h3>
<p>You can retrieve field sizes and locations through:</p>
+
<pre>
int field_info(FIELD *field, /* field from which to fetch */
int *height, *int width, /* field size */
Location</a></h3>
<p>It is possible to move a field's location on the screen:</p>
+
<pre>
int move_field(FIELD *field, /* field to alter */
int top, int left); /* new upper-left corner */
<p>You can, of course. query the current location through
<code>field_info()</code>.</p>
- <h3><a name="fjust" id="fjust">The Justification
- Attribute</a></h3>
+ <h3><a name="fjust" id="fjust">The Justification Attribute</a></h3>
<p>One-line fields may be unjustified, justified right, justified
left, or centered. Here is how you manipulate this attribute:</p>
+
<pre>
int set_field_just(FIELD *field, /* field to alter */
int justmode); /* mode to set */
<p>This group of four field attributes controls the visual
appearance of the field on the screen, without affecting in any
way the data in the field buffer.</p>
+
<pre>
int set_field_fore(FIELD *field, /* field to alter */
chtype attr); /* attribute to set */
<p>There is also a large collection of field option bits you can
set to control various aspects of forms processing. You can
manipulate them with these functions:</p>
+
<pre>
int set_field_opts(FIELD *field, /* field to alter */
int attr); /* attribute to set */
<p>Every field has a status flag, which is set to FALSE when the
field is created and TRUE when the value in field buffer 0
changes. This flag can be queried and set directly:</p>
+
<pre>
int set_field_status(FIELD *field, /* field to alter */
int status); /* mode to set */
is not used by the forms library. It is intended to be used by
applications to store private per-field data. You can manipulate
it with:</p>
+
<pre>
int set_field_userptr(FIELD *field, /* field to alter */
char *userptr); /* mode to set */
pointer.) When a new field is created, the default-field user
pointer is copied to initialize the new field's user pointer.</p>
- <h2><a name="fdynamic" id="fdynamic">Variable-Sized
- Fields</a></h2>
+ <h2><a name="fdynamic" id="fdynamic">Variable-Sized Fields</a></h2>
<p>Normally, a field is fixed at the size specified for it at
creation time. If, however, you turn off its O_STATIC bit, it
<p>Normally, a dynamic field is allowed to grow without limit.
But it is possible to set an upper limit on the size of a dynamic
field. You do it with this function:</p>
+
<pre>
int set_max_field(FIELD *field, /* field to alter (may not be NULL) */
int max_size); /* upper limit on field size */
size.</li>
</ul>
- <h2><a name="fvalidation" id="fvalidation">Field
- Validation</a></h2>
+ <h2><a name="fvalidation" id="fvalidation">Field Validation</a></h2>
<p>By default, a field will accept any data that will fit in its
input buffer. However, it is possible to attach a validation type
pre-defined validation types, and gives you the capability to
define custom ones of your own. You can examine and change field
validation attributes with the following functions:</p>
+
<pre>
int set_field_type(FIELD *field, /* field to alter */
FIELDTYPE *ftype, /* type to associate */
<p>This field type accepts alphabetic data; no blanks, no digits,
no special characters (this is checked at character-entry time).
It is set up with:</p>
+
<pre>
int set_field_type(FIELD *field, /* field to alter */
TYPE_ALPHA, /* type to associate */
<p>This field type accepts alphabetic data and digits; no blanks,
no special characters (this is checked at character-entry time).
It is set up with:</p>
+
<pre>
int set_field_type(FIELD *field, /* field to alter */
TYPE_ALNUM, /* type to associate */
<p>This type allows you to restrict a field's values to be among
a specified set of string values (for example, the two-letter
postal codes for U.S. states). It is set up with:</p>
+
<pre>
int set_field_type(FIELD *field, /* field to alter */
TYPE_ENUM, /* type to associate */
<code>REQ_PREV_CHOICE</code> input requests can be particularly
useful with these fields.</p>
- <h3><a name="ftype_integer" id=
- "ftype_integer">TYPE_INTEGER</a></h3>
+ <h3><a name="ftype_integer" id="ftype_integer">TYPE_INTEGER</a></h3>
<p>This field type accepts an integer. It is set up as
follows:</p>
+
<pre>
int set_field_type(FIELD *field, /* field to alter */
TYPE_INTEGER, /* type to associate */
<p>A <code>TYPE_INTEGER</code> value buffer can conveniently be
interpreted with the C library function <code>atoi(3)</code>.</p>
- <h3><a name="ftype_numeric" id=
- "ftype_numeric">TYPE_NUMERIC</a></h3>
+ <h3><a name="ftype_numeric" id="ftype_numeric">TYPE_NUMERIC</a></h3>
<p>This field type accepts a decimal number. It is set up as
follows:</p>
+
<pre>
int set_field_type(FIELD *field, /* field to alter */
TYPE_NUMERIC, /* type to associate */
<p>This field type accepts data matching a regular expression. It
is set up as follows:</p>
+
<pre>
int set_field_type(FIELD *field, /* field to alter */
TYPE_REGEXP, /* type to associate */
<p>The chief attribute of a field is its buffer contents. When a
form has been completed, your application usually needs to know
the state of each field buffer. You can find this out with:</p>
+
<pre>
char *field_buffer(FIELD *field, /* field to query */
int bufindex); /* number of buffer to query */
is set by the user's editing actions on that field. It is
sometimes useful to be able to set the value of the zero-numbered
(or some other) buffer from your application:</p>
+
<pre>
int set_field_buffer(FIELD *field, /* field to alter */
int bufindex, /* number of buffer to alter */
<code>REQ_VALIDATION</code> request has been processed by the
forms driver.</p>
- <h2><a name="formattrs" id="formattrs">Attributes of
- Forms</a></h2>
+ <h2><a name="formattrs" id="formattrs">Attributes of Forms</a></h2>
<p>As with field attributes, form attributes inherit a default
from a system default form structure. These defaults can be
<p>The principal attribute of a form is its field list. You can
query and change this list with:</p>
+
<pre>
int set_form_fields(FORM *form, /* form to alter */
FIELD **fields); /* fields to connect */
number of fields connected to a given from. It returns -1 if the
form-pointer argument is NULL.</p>
- <h2><a name="fdisplay" id="fdisplay">Control of Form
- Display</a></h2>
+ <h2><a name="fdisplay" id="fdisplay">Control of Form Display</a></h2>
<p>In the overview section, you saw that to display a form you
normally start by defining its size (and fields), posting it, and
<p>In order to declare your own frame window for a form, you will
need to know the size of the form's bounding rectangle. You can
get this information with:</p>
+
<pre>
int scale_form(FORM *form, /* form to query */
int *rows, /* form rows */
<p>The form dimensions are passed back in the locations pointed
to by the arguments. Once you have this information, you can use
it to declare of windows, then use one of these functions:</p>
+
<pre>
int set_form_win(FORM *form, /* form to alter */
WINDOW *win); /* frame window to connect */
<p>It is possible to check from your application whether all of a
scrollable field is actually displayed within the menu subwindow.
Use these functions:</p>
+
<pre>
int data_ahead(FORM *form); /* form to be queried */
<p>Finally, there is a function to restore the form window's
cursor to the value expected by the forms driver:</p>
+
<pre>
int pos_form_cursor(FORM *) /* form to be queried */
</pre>
input requests for form navigation, editing, and validation
requests, just as <code>menu_driver</code> does for menus (see
the section on <a href="#minput">menu input handling</a>).</p>
+
<pre>
int form_driver(FORM *form, /* form to pass input to */
int request); /* form request code */
triggering display of a new form screen.</p>
<dl>
- <dt><code>REQ_NEXT_PAGE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_NEXT_PAGE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to the next form page.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_PREV_PAGE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_PREV_PAGE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to the previous form page.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_FIRST_PAGE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_FIRST_PAGE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to the first form page.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_LAST_PAGE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_LAST_PAGE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to the last form page.</dd>
</dl>
page.</p>
<dl>
- <dt><code>REQ_NEXT_FIELD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_NEXT_FIELD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to next field.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_PREV_FIELD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_PREV_FIELD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to previous field.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_FIRST_FIELD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_FIRST_FIELD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to the first field.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_LAST_FIELD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_LAST_FIELD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to the last field.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_SNEXT_FIELD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_SNEXT_FIELD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to sorted next field.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_SPREV_FIELD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_SPREV_FIELD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to sorted previous field.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_SFIRST_FIELD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_SFIRST_FIELD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to the sorted first field.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_SLAST_FIELD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_SLAST_FIELD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to the sorted last field.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_LEFT_FIELD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_LEFT_FIELD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move left to field.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_RIGHT_FIELD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_RIGHT_FIELD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move right to field.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_UP_FIELD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_UP_FIELD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move up to field.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_DOWN_FIELD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_DOWN_FIELD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move down to field.</dd>
</dl>
currently selected field.</p>
<dl>
- <dt><code>REQ_NEXT_CHAR</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_NEXT_CHAR</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to next character.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_PREV_CHAR</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_PREV_CHAR</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to previous character.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_NEXT_LINE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_NEXT_LINE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to next line.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_PREV_LINE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_PREV_LINE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to previous line.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_NEXT_WORD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_NEXT_WORD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to next word.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_PREV_WORD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_PREV_WORD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to previous word.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_BEG_FIELD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_BEG_FIELD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to beginning of field.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_END_FIELD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_END_FIELD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to end of field.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_BEG_LINE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_BEG_LINE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to beginning of line.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_END_LINE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_END_LINE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move to end of line.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_LEFT_CHAR</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_LEFT_CHAR</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move left in field.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_RIGHT_CHAR</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_RIGHT_CHAR</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move right in field.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_UP_CHAR</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_UP_CHAR</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move up in field.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_DOWN_CHAR</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_DOWN_CHAR</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Move down in field.</dd>
</dl>
requests:</p>
<dl>
- <dt><code>REQ_SCR_FLINE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_SCR_FLINE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Scroll vertically forward a line.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_SCR_BLINE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_SCR_BLINE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Scroll vertically backward a line.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_SCR_FPAGE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_SCR_FPAGE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Scroll vertically forward a page.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_SCR_BPAGE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_SCR_BPAGE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Scroll vertically backward a page.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_SCR_FHPAGE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_SCR_FHPAGE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Scroll vertically forward half a page.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_SCR_BHPAGE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_SCR_BHPAGE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Scroll vertically backward half a page.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_SCR_FCHAR</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_SCR_FCHAR</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Scroll horizontally forward a character.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_SCR_BCHAR</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_SCR_BCHAR</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Scroll horizontally backward a character.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_SCR_HFLINE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_SCR_HFLINE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Scroll horizontally one field width forward.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_SCR_HBLINE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_SCR_HBLINE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Scroll horizontally one field width backward.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_SCR_HFHALF</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_SCR_HFHALF</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Scroll horizontally one half field width forward.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_SCR_HBHALF</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_SCR_HBHALF</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Scroll horizontally one half field width backward.</dd>
</dl>
the edit mode:</p>
<dl>
- <dt><code>REQ_INS_MODE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_INS_MODE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Set insertion mode.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_OVL_MODE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_OVL_MODE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Set overlay mode.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_NEW_LINE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_NEW_LINE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>New line request (see below for explanation).</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_INS_CHAR</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_INS_CHAR</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Insert space at character location.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_INS_LINE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_INS_LINE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Insert blank line at character location.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_DEL_CHAR</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_DEL_CHAR</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Delete character at cursor.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_DEL_PREV</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_DEL_PREV</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Delete previous word at cursor.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_DEL_LINE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_DEL_LINE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Delete line at cursor.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_DEL_WORD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_DEL_WORD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Delete word at cursor.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_CLR_EOL</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_CLR_EOL</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Clear to end of line.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_CLR_EOF</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_CLR_EOF</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Clear to end of field.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_CLEAR_FIELD</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_CLEAR_FIELD</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Clear entire field.</dd>
</dl>
into the field buffer:</p>
<dl>
- <dt><code>REQ_NEXT_CHOICE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_NEXT_CHOICE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Place the successor value of the current value in the
buffer.</dd>
- <dt><code>REQ_PREV_CHOICE</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>REQ_PREV_CHOICE</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>Place the predecessor value of the current value in the
buffer.</dd>
field type of your own (see <a href="#fcustom">Custom Validation
Types</a>), you can associate our own ordering functions.</p>
- <h3><a name="fappcmds" id="fappcmds">Application
- Commands</a></h3>
+ <h3><a name="fappcmds" id="fappcmds">Application Commands</a></h3>
<p>Form requests are represented as integers above the
<code>curses</code> value greater than <code>KEY_MAX</code> and
<p>It is possible to set function hooks to be executed whenever
the current field or form changes. Here are the functions that
support this:</p>
+
<pre>
typedef void (*HOOK)(); /* pointer to function returning void */
move the focus for editing and viewing under control of your
application, or ask which field it currently is in. The following
functions help you accomplish this:</p>
+
<pre>
int set_current_field(FORM *form, /* form to alter */
FIELD *field); /* field to shift to */
resets this.</p>
<p>It is also possible to move around by pages.</p>
+
<pre>
int set_form_page(FORM *form, /* form to alter */
int page); /* page to go to (0-origin) */
<p>Like fields, forms may have control option bits. They can be
changed or queried with these functions:</p>
+
<pre>
int set_form_opts(FORM *form, /* form to alter */
int attr); /* attribute to set */
<p>The option values are bit-masks and can be composed with
logical-or in the obvious way.</p>
- <h2><a name="fcustom" id="fcustom">Custom Validation
- Types</a></h2>
+ <h2><a name="fcustom" id="fcustom">Custom Validation Types</a></h2>
<p>The <code>form</code> library gives you the capability to
define custom validation types of your own. Further, the optional
<p>The simplest way to create a custom data type is to compose it
from two preexisting ones:</p>
+
<pre>
FIELD *link_fieldtype(FIELDTYPE *type1,
FIELDTYPE *type2);
</ul>
<p>Here is how you do that:</p>
+
<pre>
typedef int (*HOOK)(); /* pointer to function returning int */
FIELDTYPE *new_fieldtype(HOOK f_validate, /* field validator */
HOOK c_validate) /* character validator */
-
int free_fieldtype(FIELDTYPE *ftype); /* type to free */
</pre>
pile will be passed to the validation functions.</p>
<p>Here is how you make the association:</p>
+
<pre>
typedef char *(*PTRHOOK)(); /* pointer to function returning (char *) */
typedef void (*VOIDHOOK)(); /* pointer to function returning void */
<p>Here is how the storage-management hooks are used:</p>
<dl>
- <dt><code>make_str</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>make_str</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>This function is called by <code>set_field_type()</code>.
It gets one argument, a <code>va_list</code> of the
pointer to a data structure that encapsulates those
arguments.</dd>
- <dt><code>copy_str</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>copy_str</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>This function is called by form library functions that
allocate new field instances. It is expected to take a pile
pointer, copy the pile to allocated storage, and return the
address of the pile copy.</dd>
- <dt><code>free_str</code></dt>
+ <dt><code>free_str</code>
+ </dt>
<dd>This function is called by field- and type-deallocation
routines in the library. It takes a pile pointer argument, and
it is possible to define successor and predecessor functions to
support the <code>REQ_NEXT_CHOICE</code> and
<code>REQ_PREV_CHOICE</code> requests. Here is how:</p>
+
<pre>
typedef int (*INTHOOK)(); /* pointer to function returning int */
(a legal next or previous value was set) or FALSE to indicate
failure.</p>
- <h3><a name="fcustprobs" id="fcustprobs">Avoiding
- Problems</a></h3>
+ <h3><a name="fcustprobs" id="fcustprobs">Avoiding Problems</a></h3>
<p>The interface for defining custom types is complicated and
tricky. Rather than attempting to create a custom type entirely
projects / ncurses.git / commitdiff