-The \fBgetbegy\fR and \fBgetbegx\fR functions return the same
-data as \fBgetbegyx\fR.
-.PP
-The \fBgetcury\fR and \fBgetcurx\fR functions return the same
-data as \fBgetyx\fR.
-.PP
-The \fBgetmaxy\fR and \fBgetmaxx\fR functions return the same
-data as \fBgetmaxyx\fR.
-.PP
-The \fBgetpary\fR and \fBgetparx\fR functions return the same
-data as \fBgetparyx\fR.
+These legacy functions are simpler to use than the X/Open Curses functions:
+.bP
+The \fBgetattrs\fP function returns the same attribute data as \fBwattr_get\fP.
+.IP
+However, \fBgetattrs\fP returns an integer (actually a \fBchtype\fP),
+while \fBwattr_get\fP returns the current color pair in a separate parameter.
+In the wide-character library configuration,
+color pairs may not fit into a \fBchtype\fP,
+so \fBwattr_get\fP is the only way to obtain the color information.
+.IP
+Because \fBgetattrs\fP returns the attributes in a single parameter,
+it would not be possible for an application to distinguish that from
+\fBERR\fP (a \fI-1\fP).
+If the window parameter is null, \fBgetattrs\fP returns \fBA_NORMAL\fP (zero).
+.bP
+The \fBgetbegy\fP and \fBgetbegx\fP functions return the same
+data as \fBgetbegyx\fP.
+.bP
+The \fBgetcury\fP and \fBgetcurx\fP functions return the same
+data as \fBgetyx\fP.
+.bP
+The \fBgetmaxy\fP and \fBgetmaxx\fP functions return the same
+data as \fBgetmaxyx\fP.
+.bP
+The \fBgetpary\fP and \fBgetparx\fP functions return the same
+data as \fBgetparyx\fP.