+.PP
+Some terminals support more than the eight (8) \*(lqANSI\*(rq colors.
+There are no standard names for those additional colors.
+.SH VARIABLES
+.SS COLORS
+is initialized by \fBstart_color\fP to the maximum number of colors
+the terminal can support.
+.SS COLOR_PAIRS
+is initialized by \fBstart_color\fP to the maximum number of color pairs
+the terminal can support.
+.SH FUNCTIONS
+.SS start_color
+The \fBstart_color\fR routine requires no arguments.
+It must be called if the programmer wants to use colors, and before any other
+color manipulation routine is called.
+It is good practice to call this routine right after \fBinitscr\fR.
+\fBstart_color\fR does this:
+.bP
+It initializes two global variables, \fBCOLORS\fR and
+\fBCOLOR_PAIRS\fR (respectively defining the maximum number of colors
+and color-pairs the terminal can support).
+.bP
+It initializes the special color pair \fB0\fP to the default foreground
+and background colors.
+No other color pairs are initialized.
+.bP
+It restores the colors on the terminal to the values
+they had when the terminal was just turned on.
+.bP
+If the terminal supports the \fBinitc\fP (\fBinitialize_color\fP) capability,
+\fBstart_color\fP
+initializes its internal table representing the
+red, green and blue components of the color palette.
+.IP
+The components depend on whether the terminal uses
+CGA (aka \*(lqANSI\*(rq) or
+HLS (i.e., the \fBhls\fP (\fBhue_lightness_saturation\fP) capability is set).
+The table is initialized first for eight basic colors
+(black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, and white),
+and after that (if the terminal supports more than eight colors)
+the components are initialized to \fB1000\fP.
+.IP
+\fBstart_color\fP does not attempt to set the terminal's color palette
+to match its built-in table.
+An application may use \fBinit_color\fP to alter the internal table
+along with the terminal's color.
+.PP
+These limits apply to color values and color pairs.
+Values outside these limits are not legal, and may result in a runtime error:
+.bP
+\fBCOLORS\fP corresponds to the terminal database's \fBmax_colors\fR capability,
+(see \fBterminfo\fR(\*n)).
+.bP
+color values are expected to be in the range \fB0\fP to \fBCOLORS\-1\fP,
+inclusive (including \fB0\fP and \fBCOLORS\-1\fP).
+.bP
+a special color value \fB\-1\fP is used in certain extended functions
+to denote the \fIdefault color\fP (see \fBuse_default_colors\fP).
+.bP
+\fBCOLOR_PAIRS\fP corresponds to the terminal database's \fBmax_pairs\fP capability,
+(see \fBterminfo\fR(\*n)).
+.bP
+legal color pair values are in the range \fB1\fP to \fBCOLOR_PAIRS\-1\fP,
+inclusive.
+.bP
+color pair \fB0\fP is special; it denotes \*(``no color\*(''.
+.IP
+Color pair \fB0\fP is assumed to be white on black,
+but is actually whatever the terminal implements before color is initialized.
+It cannot be modified by the application.
+.SS has_colors
+.PP
+The \fBhas_colors\fR routine requires no arguments.
+It returns \fBTRUE\fR if
+the terminal can manipulate colors; otherwise, it returns \fBFALSE\fR.
+This routine facilitates writing terminal-independent programs.
+For example, a programmer can use it to decide
+whether to use color or some other video attribute.
+.SS can_change_color
+.PP
+The \fBcan_change_color\fR routine requires no arguments.
+It returns \fBTRUE\fR if the terminal supports colors
+and can change their definitions;
+other, it returns \fBFALSE\fR.
+This routine facilitates writing terminal-independent programs.
+.SS init_pair
+.PP
+The \fBinit_pair\fR routine changes the definition of a color-pair.
+It takes three arguments: the number of the color-pair to be changed, the foreground
+color number, and the background color number.
+For portable applications:
+.bP
+The first argument must be a legal color pair value.
+If default colors are used (see \fBuse_default_colors\fP)
+the upper limit is adjusted to allow for extra pairs which use
+a default color in foreground and/or background.
+.bP
+The second and third arguments must be legal color values.
+.PP
+If the color-pair was previously initialized,
+the screen is refreshed and all occurrences of that color-pair
+are changed to the new definition.
+.PP
+As an extension, ncurses allows you to set color pair \fB0\fP via
+the \fBassume_default_colors\fR(3X) routine, or to specify the use of
+default colors (color number \fB\-1\fR) if you first invoke the
+\fBuse_default_colors\fR(3X) routine.
+.SS init_color
+.PP
+The \fBinit_color\fR routine changes the definition of a color.
+It takes four arguments: the number of the color to be changed followed by three RGB values
+(for the amounts of red, green, and blue components).
+.bP
+The first argument must be a legal color value;
+default colors are not allowed here.
+(See the section \fBColors\fR for the default color index.)
+.bP
+Each of the last three arguments
+must be a value in the range \fB0\fP through \fB1000\fP.
+.PP
+When \fBinit_color\fR is used, all
+occurrences of that color on the screen immediately change to the new
+definition.
+.SS color_content
+.PP
+The \fBcolor_content\fR routine gives programmers a way to find the intensity
+of the red, green, and blue (RGB) components in a color.
+It requires four arguments: the color number, and three addresses
+of \fBshort\fRs for storing
+the information about the amounts of red, green, and blue components in the
+given color.
+.bP
+The first argument must be a legal color value, i.e.,
+\fB0\fP through \fBCOLORS\-1\fP, inclusive.
+.bP
+The values that are stored at the addresses pointed to by the
+last three arguments are in the range
+\fB0\fP (no component) through \fB1000\fP (maximum amount of component), inclusive.
+.SS pair_content
+.PP
+The \fBpair_content\fR routine allows programmers to find out what colors a
+given color-pair consists of.
+It requires three arguments: the color-pair
+number, and two addresses of \fBshort\fRs for storing the foreground and the
+background color numbers.
+.bP
+The first argument must be a legal color value,
+i.e., in the range \fB1\fP through \fBCOLOR_PAIRS\-1\fR, inclusive.
+.bP
+The values that are stored at the addresses pointed
+to by the second and third arguments are in the
+range \fB0\fP through \fBCOLORS\fR, inclusive.
+.SS PAIR_NUMBER
+.PP
+\fBPAIR_NUMBER(\fR\fIattrs\fR) extracts the color
+value from its \fIattrs\fP parameter and returns it as a color pair number.
+.SS COLOR_PAIR
+Its inverse \fBCOLOR_PAIR(\fR\fIn\fR\fB)\fR converts a color pair number
+to an attribute.
+Attributes can hold color pairs in the range 0 to 255.
+If you need a color pair larger than that, you must use functions
+such as \fBattr_set\fP (which pass the color pair as a separate parameter)
+rather than the legacy functions such as \fBattrset\fP.