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-<H1 class="no-header">ncurses 3x</H1>
+<H1 class="no-header">ncurses 3x 2023-10-14 ncurses 6.4 Library calls</H1>
<PRE>
-<STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG>
+<STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG> Library calls <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG>
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-NAME">NAME</a></H2><PRE>
- <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> - CRT screen handling and optimization package
+ <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> - character-cell terminal interface with optimized output
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-SYNOPSIS">SYNOPSIS</a></H2><PRE>
method of updating character screens with reasonable optimization.
This implementation is "new curses" (ncurses) and is the approved
replacement for 4.4BSD classic curses, which has been discontinued.
- This describes <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> version 6.2 (patch 20210102).
+ This describes <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> version 6.4 (patch 20231111).
The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library emulates the curses library of System V Release 4
UNIX, and XPG4 (X/Open Portability Guide) curses (also known as XSI
curses). XSI stands for X/Open System Interfaces Extension. The
<STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library is freely redistributable in source form. Differences
- from the SVr4 curses are summarized under the <STRONG>EXTENSIONS</STRONG> and
- <STRONG>PORTABILITY</STRONG> sections below and described in detail in the respective
- <STRONG>EXTENSIONS</STRONG>, <STRONG>PORTABILITY</STRONG> and <STRONG>BUGS</STRONG> sections of individual man pages.
+ from the SVr4 curses are summarized under the <EM>EXTENSIONS</EM> and
+ <EM>PORTABILITY</EM> sections below and described in detail in the respective
+ <EM>EXTENSIONS</EM>, <EM>PORTABILITY</EM> and <EM>BUGS</EM> sections of individual man pages.
The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library also provides many useful extensions, i.e.,
features which cannot be implemented by a simple add-on library but
option, or (if it has been generated) with the debugging library
<STRONG>-lncurses_g</STRONG>. (Your system integrator may also have installed these
libraries under the names <STRONG>-lcurses</STRONG> and <STRONG>-lcurses_g</STRONG>.) The ncurses_g
- library generates trace logs (in a file called 'trace' in the current
+ library generates trace logs (in a file called "trace" in the current
directory) that describe curses actions. See also the section on
<STRONG>ALTERNATE</STRONG> <STRONG>CONFIGURATIONS</STRONG>.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Initialization">Initialization</a></H3><PRE>
The library uses the locale which the calling program has initialized.
- That is normally done with <STRONG>setlocale</STRONG>:
+ That is normally done with <STRONG>setlocale(3)</STRONG>:
<STRONG>setlocale(LC_ALL,</STRONG> <STRONG>"");</STRONG>
Before a <STRONG>curses</STRONG> program is run, the tab stops of the terminal should be
set and its initialization strings, if defined, must be output. This
can be done by executing the <STRONG>tput</STRONG> <STRONG>init</STRONG> command after the shell
- environment variable <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> has been exported. <STRONG>tset(1)</STRONG> is usually
- responsible for doing this. [See <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG> for further details.]
+ environment variable <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> has been exported. (The BSD-style <STRONG><A HREF="tset.1.html">tset(1)</A></STRONG>
+ utility also performs this function.) See subsection "Tabs and
+ Initialization" of <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Datatypes">Datatypes</a></H3><PRE>
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library permits manipulation of data structures, called
- <EM>windows</EM>, which can be thought of as two-dimensional arrays of
- characters representing all or part of a CRT screen. A default window
- called <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>, which is the size of the terminal screen, is supplied.
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library permits manipulation of data structures, called
+ <EM>windows</EM>, which can be thought of as two-dimensional arrays of
+ characters representing all or part of a CRT screen. A default window
+ called <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>, which is the size of the terminal screen, is supplied.
Others may be created with <STRONG>newwin</STRONG>.
- Note that <STRONG>curses</STRONG> does not handle overlapping windows, that's done by
- the <STRONG><A HREF="panel.3x.html">panel(3x)</A></STRONG> library. This means that you can either use <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG> or
- divide the screen into tiled windows and not using <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG> at all.
+ Note that <STRONG>curses</STRONG> does not handle overlapping windows, that's done by
+ the <STRONG><A HREF="panel.3x.html">panel(3x)</A></STRONG> library. This means that you can either use <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG> or
+ divide the screen into tiled windows and not using <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG> at all.
Mixing the two will result in unpredictable, and undesired, effects.
- Windows are referred to by variables declared as <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG>. These data
- structures are manipulated with routines described here and elsewhere
- in the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> manual pages. Among those, the most basic routines are
- <STRONG>move</STRONG> and <STRONG>addch</STRONG>. More general versions of these routines are included
- with names beginning with <STRONG>w</STRONG>, allowing the user to specify a window.
+ Windows are referred to by variables declared as <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG>. These data
+ structures are manipulated with routines described here and elsewhere
+ in the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> manual pages. Among those, the most basic routines are
+ <STRONG>move</STRONG> and <STRONG>addch</STRONG>. More general versions of these routines are included
+ with names beginning with <STRONG>w</STRONG>, allowing the user to specify a window.
The routines not beginning with <STRONG>w</STRONG> affect <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>.
- After using routines to manipulate a window, <STRONG><A HREF="curs_refresh.3x.html">refresh(3x)</A></STRONG> is called,
- telling <STRONG>curses</STRONG> to make the user's CRT screen look like <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>. The
- characters in a window are actually of type <STRONG>chtype</STRONG>, (character and
- attribute data) so that other information about the character may also
+ After using routines to manipulate a window, <STRONG><A HREF="curs_refresh.3x.html">refresh(3x)</A></STRONG> is called,
+ telling <STRONG>curses</STRONG> to make the user's CRT screen look like <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>. The
+ characters in a window are actually of type <STRONG>chtype</STRONG>, (character and
+ attribute data) so that other information about the character may also
be stored with each character.
Special windows called <EM>pads</EM> may also be manipulated. These are windows
- which are not constrained to the size of the screen and whose contents
- need not be completely displayed. See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_pad.3x.html">curs_pad(3x)</A></STRONG> for more
+ which are not constrained to the size of the screen and whose contents
+ need not be completely displayed. See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_pad.3x.html">curs_pad(3x)</A></STRONG> for more
information.
- In addition to drawing characters on the screen, video attributes and
- colors may be supported, causing the characters to show up in such
- modes as underlined, in reverse video, or in color on terminals that
- support such display enhancements. Line drawing characters may be
- specified to be output. On input, <STRONG>curses</STRONG> is also able to translate
- arrow and function keys that transmit escape sequences into single
- values. The video attributes, line drawing characters, and input
- values use names, defined in <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG>, such as <STRONG>A_REVERSE</STRONG>, <STRONG>ACS_HLINE</STRONG>,
+ In addition to drawing characters on the screen, video attributes and
+ colors may be supported, causing the characters to show up in such
+ modes as underlined, in reverse video, or in color on terminals that
+ support such display enhancements. Line drawing characters may be
+ specified to be output. On input, <STRONG>curses</STRONG> is also able to translate
+ arrow and function keys that transmit escape sequences into single
+ values. The video attributes, line drawing characters, and input
+ values use names, defined in <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG>, such as <STRONG>A_REVERSE</STRONG>, <STRONG>ACS_HLINE</STRONG>,
and <STRONG>KEY_LEFT</STRONG>.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Environment-variables">Environment variables</a></H3><PRE>
- If the environment variables <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> and <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> are set, or if the
- program is executing in a window environment, line and column
- information in the environment will override information read by
- <EM>terminfo</EM>. This would affect a program running in an AT&T 630 layer,
- for example, where the size of a screen is changeable (see
+ If the environment variables <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> and <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> are set, or if the
+ program is executing in a window environment, line and column
+ information in the environment will override information read by
+ <EM>terminfo</EM>. This would affect a program running in an AT&T 630 layer,
+ for example, where the size of a screen is changeable (see
<STRONG>ENVIRONMENT</STRONG>).
- If the environment variable <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> is defined, any program using
- <STRONG>curses</STRONG> checks for a local terminal definition before checking in the
- standard place. For example, if <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> is set to <STRONG>att4424</STRONG>, then the
+ If the environment variable <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> is defined, any program using
+ <STRONG>curses</STRONG> checks for a local terminal definition before checking in the
+ standard place. For example, if <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> is set to <STRONG>att4424</STRONG>, then the
compiled terminal definition is found in
<STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo/a/att4424</STRONG>.
- (The <STRONG>a</STRONG> is copied from the first letter of <STRONG>att4424</STRONG> to avoid creation of
- huge directories.) However, if <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> is set to <STRONG>$HOME/myterms</STRONG>,
+ (The <STRONG>a</STRONG> is copied from the first letter of <STRONG>att4424</STRONG> to avoid creation of
+ huge directories.) However, if <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> is set to <STRONG>$HOME/myterms</STRONG>,
<STRONG>curses</STRONG> first checks
<STRONG>$HOME/myterms/a/att4424</STRONG>,
<STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo/a/att4424</STRONG>.
- This is useful for developing experimental definitions or when write
+ This is useful for developing experimental definitions or when write
permission in <STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo</STRONG> is not available.
The integer variables <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> and <STRONG>COLS</STRONG> are defined in <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG> and will
- be filled in by <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> with the size of the screen. The constants
+ be filled in by <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> with the size of the screen. The constants
<STRONG>TRUE</STRONG> and <STRONG>FALSE</STRONG> have the values <STRONG>1</STRONG> and <STRONG>0</STRONG>, respectively.
- The <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routines also define the <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG> variable <STRONG>curscr</STRONG> which is
- used for certain low-level operations like clearing and redrawing a
- screen containing garbage. The <STRONG>curscr</STRONG> can be used in only a few
+ The <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routines also define the <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG> variable <STRONG>curscr</STRONG> which is
+ used for certain low-level operations like clearing and redrawing a
+ screen containing garbage. The <STRONG>curscr</STRONG> can be used in only a few
routines.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Routine-and-Argument-Names">Routine and Argument Names</a></H3><PRE>
- Many <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routines have two or more versions. The routines prefixed
- with <STRONG>w</STRONG> require a window argument. The routines prefixed with <STRONG>p</STRONG> require
+ Many <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routines have two or more versions. The routines prefixed
+ with <EM>w</EM> require a window argument. The routines prefixed with <EM>p</EM> require
a pad argument. Those without a prefix generally use <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>.
- The routines prefixed with <STRONG>mv</STRONG> require a <EM>y</EM> and <EM>x</EM> coordinate to move to
+ The routines prefixed with <STRONG>mv</STRONG> require a <EM>y</EM> and <EM>x</EM> coordinate to move to
before performing the appropriate action. The <STRONG>mv</STRONG> routines imply a call
- to <STRONG>move</STRONG> before the call to the other routine. The coordinate <EM>y</EM> always
- refers to the row (of the window), and <EM>x</EM> always refers to the column.
+ to <STRONG>move</STRONG> before the call to the other routine. The coordinate <EM>y</EM> always
+ refers to the row (of the window), and <EM>x</EM> always refers to the column.
The upper left-hand corner is always (0,0), not (1,1).
- The routines prefixed with <STRONG>mvw</STRONG> take both a window argument and <EM>x</EM> and <EM>y</EM>
- coordinates. The window argument is always specified before the
+ The routines prefixed with <STRONG>mvw</STRONG> take both a window argument and <EM>x</EM> and <EM>y</EM>
+ coordinates. The window argument is always specified before the
coordinates.
- In each case, <EM>win</EM> is the window affected, and <EM>pad</EM> is the pad affected;
+ In each case, <EM>win</EM> is the window affected, and <EM>pad</EM> is the pad affected;
<EM>win</EM> and <EM>pad</EM> are always pointers to type <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG>.
- Option setting routines require a Boolean flag <EM>bf</EM> with the value <STRONG>TRUE</STRONG>
- or <STRONG>FALSE</STRONG>; <EM>bf</EM> is always of type <STRONG>bool</STRONG>. Most of the data types used in
- the library routines, such as <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG>, <STRONG>SCREEN</STRONG>, <STRONG>bool</STRONG>, and <STRONG>chtype</STRONG> are
- defined in <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG>. Types used for the terminfo routines such as
+ Option setting routines require a Boolean flag <EM>bf</EM> with the value <STRONG>TRUE</STRONG>
+ or <STRONG>FALSE</STRONG>; <EM>bf</EM> is always of type <STRONG>bool</STRONG>. Most of the data types used in
+ the library routines, such as <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG>, <STRONG>SCREEN</STRONG>, <STRONG>bool</STRONG>, and <STRONG>chtype</STRONG> are
+ defined in <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG>. Types used for the terminfo routines such as
<STRONG>TERMINAL</STRONG> are defined in <STRONG><term.h></STRONG>.
- This manual page describes functions which may appear in any
- configuration of the library. There are two common configurations of
+ This manual page describes functions which may appear in any
+ configuration of the library. There are two common configurations of
the library:
<EM>ncurses</EM>
- the "normal" library, which handles 8-bit characters. The
- normal (8-bit) library stores characters combined with
+ the "normal" library, which handles 8-bit characters. The
+ normal (8-bit) library stores characters combined with
attributes in <STRONG>chtype</STRONG> data.
- Attributes alone (no corresponding character) may be stored in
+ Attributes alone (no corresponding character) may be stored in
<STRONG>chtype</STRONG> or the equivalent <STRONG>attr_t</STRONG> data. In either case, the data
is stored in something like an integer.
Each cell (row and column) in a <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG> is stored as a <STRONG>chtype</STRONG>.
<EM>ncursesw</EM>
- the so-called "wide" library, which handles multibyte
- characters (see the section on <STRONG>ALTERNATE</STRONG> <STRONG>CONFIGURATIONS</STRONG>). The
- "wide" library includes all of the calls from the "normal"
- library. It adds about one third more calls using data types
+ the so-called "wide" library, which handles multibyte
+ characters (see the section on <STRONG>ALTERNATE</STRONG> <STRONG>CONFIGURATIONS</STRONG>). The
+ "wide" library includes all of the calls from the "normal"
+ library. It adds about one third more calls using data types
which store multibyte characters:
<STRONG>cchar_t</STRONG>
corresponds to <STRONG>chtype</STRONG>. However it is a structure, because
- more data is stored than can fit into an integer. The
- characters are large enough to require a full integer
+ more data is stored than can fit into an integer. The
+ characters are large enough to require a full integer
value - and there may be more than one character per cell.
- The video attributes and color are stored in separate
+ The video attributes and color are stored in separate
fields of the structure.
- Each cell (row and column) in a <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG> is stored as a
+ Each cell (row and column) in a <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG> is stored as a
<STRONG>cchar_t</STRONG>.
- The <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getcchar.3x.html">setcchar(3x)</A></STRONG> and <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getcchar.3x.html">getcchar(3x)</A></STRONG> functions store and
+ The <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getcchar.3x.html">setcchar(3x)</A></STRONG> and <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getcchar.3x.html">getcchar(3x)</A></STRONG> functions store and
retrieve the data from a <STRONG>cchar_t</STRONG> structure.
<STRONG>wchar_t</STRONG>
- stores a "wide" character. Like <STRONG>chtype</STRONG>, this may be an
+ stores a "wide" character. Like <STRONG>chtype</STRONG>, this may be an
integer.
<STRONG>wint_t</STRONG>
- stores a <STRONG>wchar_t</STRONG> or <STRONG>WEOF</STRONG> - not the same, though both may
+ stores a <STRONG>wchar_t</STRONG> or <STRONG>WEOF</STRONG> - not the same, though both may
have the same size.
- The "wide" library provides new functions which are analogous
- to functions in the "normal" library. There is a naming
- convention which relates many of the normal/wide variants: a
- "_w" is inserted into the name. For example, <STRONG>waddch</STRONG> becomes
+ The "wide" library provides new functions which are analogous
+ to functions in the "normal" library. There is a naming
+ convention which relates many of the normal/wide variants: a
+ "_w" is inserted into the name. For example, <STRONG>waddch</STRONG> becomes
<STRONG>wadd_wch</STRONG>.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Routine-Name-Index">Routine Name Index</a></H3><PRE>
- The following table lists the <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routines provided in the "normal"
- and "wide" libraries and the names of the manual pages on which they
- are described. Routines flagged with "*" are ncurses-specific, not
+ The following table lists the <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routines provided in the "normal"
+ and "wide" libraries and the names of the manual pages on which they
+ are described. Routines flagged with "*" are ncurses-specific, not
described by XPG4 or present in SVr4.
<STRONG>curses</STRONG> Routine Name Manual Page Name
bkgdset <STRONG><A HREF="curs_bkgd.3x.html">curs_bkgd(3x)</A></STRONG>
bkgrnd <STRONG><A HREF="curs_bkgrnd.3x.html">curs_bkgrnd(3x)</A></STRONG>
bkgrndset <STRONG><A HREF="curs_bkgrnd.3x.html">curs_bkgrnd(3x)</A></STRONG>
- border <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ border <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
border_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border_set.3x.html">curs_border_set(3x)</A></STRONG>
box <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
box_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border_set.3x.html">curs_border_set(3x)</A></STRONG>
getn_wstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_get_wstr.3x.html">curs_get_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
getnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getstr.3x.html">curs_getstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
getparx <STRONG><A HREF="curs_legacy.3x.html">curs_legacy(3x)</A></STRONG>*
- getpary <STRONG><A HREF="curs_legacy.3x.html">curs_legacy(3x)</A></STRONG>*
+ getpary <STRONG><A HREF="curs_legacy.3x.html">curs_legacy(3x)</A></STRONG>*
getparyx <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getyx.3x.html">curs_getyx(3x)</A></STRONG>
getstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getstr.3x.html">curs_getstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
getsyx <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>
instr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_instr.3x.html">curs_instr(3x)</A></STRONG>
intrflush <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
inwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inwstr.3x.html">curs_inwstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ is_cbreak <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>*
is_cleared <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG>*
+ is_echo <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>*
is_idcok <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG>*
is_idlok <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG>*
is_immedok <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG>*
is_keypad <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG>*
is_leaveok <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG>*
is_linetouched <STRONG><A HREF="curs_touch.3x.html">curs_touch(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ is_nl <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>*
is_nodelay <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG>*
is_notimeout <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG>*
is_pad <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG>*
+ is_raw <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>*
is_scrollok <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG>*
is_subwin <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG>*
is_syncok <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">curs_opaque(3x)</A></STRONG>*
key_name <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>
keybound <STRONG><A HREF="keybound.3x.html">keybound(3x)</A></STRONG>*
keyname <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
keyok <STRONG><A HREF="keyok.3x.html">keyok(3x)</A></STRONG>*
keypad <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
killchar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termattrs.3x.html">curs_termattrs(3x)</A></STRONG>
killwchar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termattrs.3x.html">curs_termattrs(3x)</A></STRONG>
leaveok <STRONG><A HREF="curs_outopts.3x.html">curs_outopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
longname <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termattrs.3x.html">curs_termattrs(3x)</A></STRONG>
mcprint <STRONG><A HREF="curs_print.3x.html">curs_print(3x)</A></STRONG>*
meta <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwaddstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addstr.3x.html">curs_addstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwaddwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addwstr.3x.html">curs_addwstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwchgat <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
mvwdelch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_delch.3x.html">curs_delch(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwget_wch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_get_wch.3x.html">curs_get_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwget_wstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_get_wstr.3x.html">curs_get_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwgetch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getch.3x.html">curs_getch(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwgetn_wstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_get_wstr.3x.html">curs_get_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
mvwgetnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getstr.3x.html">curs_getstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwgetstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getstr.3x.html">curs_getstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwhline <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
newpad <STRONG><A HREF="curs_pad.3x.html">curs_pad(3x)</A></STRONG>
newterm <STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">curs_initscr(3x)</A></STRONG>
newwin <STRONG><A HREF="curs_window.3x.html">curs_window(3x)</A></STRONG>
- nl <STRONG><A HREF="curs_outopts.3x.html">curs_outopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ nl <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
nocbreak <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
nodelay <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
noecho <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
overlay <STRONG><A HREF="curs_overlay.3x.html">curs_overlay(3x)</A></STRONG>
overwrite <STRONG><A HREF="curs_overlay.3x.html">curs_overlay(3x)</A></STRONG>
pair_content <STRONG><A HREF="curs_color.3x.html">curs_color(3x)</A></STRONG>
- pecho_wchar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_pad.3x.html">curs_pad(3x)</A></STRONG>*
+ pecho_wchar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_pad.3x.html">curs_pad(3x)</A></STRONG>
pechochar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_pad.3x.html">curs_pad(3x)</A></STRONG>
pnoutrefresh <STRONG><A HREF="curs_pad.3x.html">curs_pad(3x)</A></STRONG>
prefresh <STRONG><A HREF="curs_pad.3x.html">curs_pad(3x)</A></STRONG>
resizeterm <STRONG><A HREF="resizeterm.3x.html">resizeterm(3x)</A></STRONG>*
restartterm <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
ripoffline <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
savetty <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>
scanw <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scanw.3x.html">curs_scanw(3x)</A></STRONG>
scr_dump <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scr_dump.3x.html">curs_scr_dump(3x)</A></STRONG>
scr_init <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scr_dump.3x.html">curs_scr_dump(3x)</A></STRONG>
scr_restore <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scr_dump.3x.html">curs_scr_dump(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
scr_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scr_dump.3x.html">curs_scr_dump(3x)</A></STRONG>
scrl <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scroll.3x.html">curs_scroll(3x)</A></STRONG>
scroll <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scroll.3x.html">curs_scroll(3x)</A></STRONG>
setcchar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getcchar.3x.html">curs_getcchar(3x)</A></STRONG>
setscrreg <STRONG><A HREF="curs_outopts.3x.html">curs_outopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
setsyx <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>
- setterm <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
setupterm <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_attr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>*
slk_attr_off <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_restore <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_touch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
- slk_wset <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>*
+ slk_wset <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
standend <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
standout <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
start_color <STRONG><A HREF="curs_color.3x.html">curs_color(3x)</A></STRONG>
tigetnum <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
tigetstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
timeout <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
- tiparm <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>*
+ tiparm <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ tiparm_s <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>*
+ tiscan_s <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>*
touchline <STRONG><A HREF="curs_touch.3x.html">curs_touch(3x)</A></STRONG>
touchwin <STRONG><A HREF="curs_touch.3x.html">curs_touch(3x)</A></STRONG>
tparm <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
ungetch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getch.3x.html">curs_getch(3x)</A></STRONG>
ungetmouse <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG>*
untouchwin <STRONG><A HREF="curs_touch.3x.html">curs_touch(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
use_default_colors <STRONG><A HREF="default_colors.3x.html">default_colors(3x)</A></STRONG>*
use_env <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>
use_extended_names <STRONG><A HREF="curs_extend.3x.html">curs_extend(3x)</A></STRONG>*
use_legacy_coding <STRONG><A HREF="legacy_coding.3x.html">legacy_coding(3x)</A></STRONG>*
use_tioctl <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>*
vid_attr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
vid_puts <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
vidattr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
vidputs <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
win_wch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_in_wch.3x.html">curs_in_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>
win_wchnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_in_wchstr.3x.html">curs_in_wchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
win_wchstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_in_wchstr.3x.html">curs_in_wchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
winch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inch.3x.html">curs_inch(3x)</A></STRONG>
winchnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inchstr.3x.html">curs_inchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
winchstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inchstr.3x.html">curs_inchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
winnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_instr.3x.html">curs_instr(3x)</A></STRONG>
winnwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inwstr.3x.html">curs_inwstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
wins_nwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_ins_wstr.3x.html">curs_ins_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
wins_wch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_ins_wch.3x.html">curs_ins_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>
wins_wstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_ins_wstr.3x.html">curs_ins_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
winsch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_insch.3x.html">curs_insch(3x)</A></STRONG>
wvline <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
wvline_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border_set.3x.html">curs_border_set(3x)</A></STRONG>
- Depending on the configuration, additional sets of functions may be
+ Depending on the configuration, additional sets of functions may be
available:
<STRONG><A HREF="curs_memleaks.3x.html">curs_memleaks(3x)</A></STRONG> - curses memory-leak checking
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-RETURN-VALUE">RETURN VALUE</a></H2><PRE>
- Routines that return an integer return <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> upon failure and an integer
+ Routines that return an integer return <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> upon failure and an integer
value other than <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> upon successful completion, unless otherwise noted
in the routine descriptions.
As a general rule, routines check for null pointers passed as
parameters, and handle this as an error.
- All macros return the value of the <STRONG>w</STRONG> version, except <STRONG>setscrreg</STRONG>,
- <STRONG>wsetscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>getyx</STRONG>, <STRONG>getbegyx</STRONG>, and <STRONG>getmaxyx</STRONG>. The return values of
- <STRONG>setscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>wsetscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>getyx</STRONG>, <STRONG>getbegyx</STRONG>, and <STRONG>getmaxyx</STRONG> are undefined
- (i.e., these should not be used as the right-hand side of assignment
+ All macros return the value of the <STRONG>w</STRONG> version, except <STRONG>setscrreg</STRONG>,
+ <STRONG>wsetscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>getyx</STRONG>, <STRONG>getbegyx</STRONG>, and <STRONG>getmaxyx</STRONG>. The return values of
+ <STRONG>setscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>wsetscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>getyx</STRONG>, <STRONG>getbegyx</STRONG>, and <STRONG>getmaxyx</STRONG> are undefined
+ (i.e., these should not be used as the right-hand side of assignment
statements).
- Functions with a "mv" prefix first perform a cursor movement using
+ Functions with a "mv" prefix first perform a cursor movement using
<STRONG>wmove</STRONG>, and return an error if the position is outside the window, or if
- the window pointer is null. Most "mv"-prefixed functions (except
- variadic functions such as <STRONG>mvprintw</STRONG>) are provided both as macros and
+ the window pointer is null. Most "mv"-prefixed functions (except
+ variadic functions such as <STRONG>mvprintw</STRONG>) are provided both as macros and
functions.
Routines that return pointers return <STRONG>NULL</STRONG> on error.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-ENVIRONMENT">ENVIRONMENT</a></H2><PRE>
- The following environment symbols are useful for customizing the
- runtime behavior of the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library. The most important ones have
+ The following environment symbols are useful for customizing the
+ runtime behavior of the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library. The most important ones have
been already discussed in detail.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-CC-command-character">CC command-character</a></H3><PRE>
- When set, change occurrences of the command_character (i.e., the <STRONG>cmdch</STRONG>
- capability) of the loaded terminfo entries to the value of this
+ When set, change occurrences of the command_character (i.e., the <STRONG>cmdch</STRONG>
+ capability) of the loaded terminfo entries to the value of this
variable. Very few terminfo entries provide this feature.
Because this name is also used in development environments to represent
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-BAUDRATE">BAUDRATE</a></H3><PRE>
The debugging library checks this environment variable when the
- application has redirected output to a file. The variable's numeric
- value is used for the baudrate. If no value is found, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses
+ application has redirected output to a file. The variable's numeric
+ value is used for the baudrate. If no value is found, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses
9600. This allows testers to construct repeatable test-cases that take
into account costs that depend on baudrate.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-COLUMNS">COLUMNS</a></H3><PRE>
Specify the width of the screen in characters. Applications running in
- a windowing environment usually are able to obtain the width of the
- window in which they are executing. If neither the <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> value nor
- the terminal's screen size is available, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses the size which
+ a windowing environment usually are able to obtain the width of the
+ window in which they are executing. If neither the <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> value nor
+ the terminal's screen size is available, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses the size which
may be specified in the terminfo database (i.e., the <STRONG>cols</STRONG> capability).
- It is important that your application use a correct size for the
- screen. This is not always possible because your application may be
- running on a host which does not honor NAWS (Negotiations About Window
+ It is important that your application use a correct size for the
+ screen. This is not always possible because your application may be
+ running on a host which does not honor NAWS (Negotiations About Window
Size), or because you are temporarily running as another user.
- However, setting <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> and/or <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> overrides the library's use of
+ However, setting <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> and/or <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> overrides the library's use of
the screen size obtained from the operating system.
- Either <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> or <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> symbols may be specified independently. This
- is mainly useful to circumvent legacy misfeatures of terminal
- descriptions, e.g., xterm which commonly specifies a 65 line screen.
- For best results, <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and <STRONG>cols</STRONG> should not be specified in a terminal
+ Either <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> or <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> symbols may be specified independently. This
+ is mainly useful to circumvent legacy misfeatures of terminal
+ descriptions, e.g., xterm which commonly specifies a 65 line screen.
+ For best results, <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and <STRONG>cols</STRONG> should not be specified in a terminal
description for terminals which are run as emulations.
- Use the <STRONG>use_env</STRONG> function to disable all use of external environment
+ Use the <STRONG>use_env</STRONG> function to disable all use of external environment
(but not including system calls) to determine the screen size. Use the
<STRONG>use_tioctl</STRONG> function to update <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> or <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> to match the screen size
obtained from system calls or the terminal database.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-ESCDELAY">ESCDELAY</a></H3><PRE>
Specifies the total time, in milliseconds, for which ncurses will await
- a character sequence, e.g., a function key. The default value, 1000
- milliseconds, is enough for most uses. However, it is made a variable
+ a character sequence, e.g., a function key. The default value, 1000
+ milliseconds, is enough for most uses. However, it is made a variable
to accommodate unusual applications.
- The most common instance where you may wish to change this value is to
- work with slow hosts, e.g., running on a network. If the host cannot
- read characters rapidly enough, it will have the same effect as if the
- terminal did not send characters rapidly enough. The library will
+ The most common instance where you may wish to change this value is to
+ work with slow hosts, e.g., running on a network. If the host cannot
+ read characters rapidly enough, it will have the same effect as if the
+ terminal did not send characters rapidly enough. The library will
still see a timeout.
- Note that xterm mouse events are built up from character sequences
- received from the xterm. If your application makes heavy use of
- multiple-clicking, you may wish to lengthen this default value because
- the timeout applies to the composed multi-click event as well as the
+ Note that xterm mouse events are built up from character sequences
+ received from the xterm. If your application makes heavy use of
+ multiple-clicking, you may wish to lengthen this default value because
+ the timeout applies to the composed multi-click event as well as the
individual clicks.
In addition to the environment variable, this implementation provides a
- global variable with the same name. Portable applications should not
- rely upon the presence of ESCDELAY in either form, but setting the
- environment variable rather than the global variable does not create
+ global variable with the same name. Portable applications should not
+ rely upon the presence of ESCDELAY in either form, but setting the
+ environment variable rather than the global variable does not create
problems when compiling an application.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-HOME">HOME</a></H3><PRE>
- Tells <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> where your home directory is. That is where it may read
+ Tells <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> where your home directory is. That is where it may read
and write auxiliary terminal descriptions:
$HOME/.termcap
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-LINES">LINES</a></H3><PRE>
- Like COLUMNS, specify the height of the screen in characters. See
+ Like COLUMNS, specify the height of the screen in characters. See
COLUMNS for a detailed description.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-MOUSE_BUTTONS_123">MOUSE_BUTTONS_123</a></H3><PRE>
- This applies only to the OS/2 EMX port. It specifies the order of
- buttons on the mouse. OS/2 numbers a 3-button mouse inconsistently
+ This applies only to the OS/2 EMX port. It specifies the order of
+ buttons on the mouse. OS/2 numbers a 3-button mouse inconsistently
from other platforms:
1 = left
3 = middle.
This variable lets you customize the mouse. The variable must be three
- numeric digits 1-3 in any order, e.g., 123 or 321. If it is not
+ numeric digits 1-3 in any order, e.g., 123 or 321. If it is not
specified, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses 132.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_ASSUMED_COLORS">NCURSES_ASSUMED_COLORS</a></H3><PRE>
- Override the compiled-in assumption that the terminal's default colors
- are white-on-black (see <STRONG><A HREF="default_colors.3x.html">default_colors(3x)</A></STRONG>). You may set the
- foreground and background color values with this environment variable
- by proving a 2-element list: foreground,background. For example, to
- tell ncurses to not assume anything about the colors, set this to
- "-1,-1". To make it green-on-black, set it to "2,0". Any positive
+ Override the compiled-in assumption that the terminal's default colors
+ are white-on-black (see <STRONG><A HREF="default_colors.3x.html">default_colors(3x)</A></STRONG>). You may set the
+ foreground and background color values with this environment variable
+ by proving a 2-element list: foreground,background. For example, to
+ tell ncurses to not assume anything about the colors, set this to
+ "-1,-1". To make it green-on-black, set it to "2,0". Any positive
value from zero to the terminfo <STRONG>max_colors</STRONG> value is allowed.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_CONSOLE2">NCURSES_CONSOLE2</a></H3><PRE>
This applies only to the MinGW port of ncurses.
- The <STRONG>Console2</STRONG> program's handling of the Microsoft Console API call
- <STRONG>CreateConsoleScreenBuffer</STRONG> is defective. Applications which use this
+ The <STRONG>Console2</STRONG> program's handling of the Microsoft Console API call
+ <STRONG>CreateConsoleScreenBuffer</STRONG> is defective. Applications which use this
will hang. However, it is possible to simulate the action of this call
- by mapping coordinates, explicitly saving and restoring the original
- screen contents. Setting the environment variable <STRONG>NCGDB</STRONG> has the same
+ by mapping coordinates, explicitly saving and restoring the original
+ screen contents. Setting the environment variable <STRONG>NCGDB</STRONG> has the same
effect.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_GPM_TERMS">NCURSES_GPM_TERMS</a></H3><PRE>
This applies only to ncurses configured to use the GPM interface.
- If present, the environment variable is a list of one or more terminal
- names against which the <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> environment variable is matched. Setting
- it to an empty value disables the GPM interface; using the built-in
+ If present, the environment variable is a list of one or more terminal
+ names against which the <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> environment variable is matched. Setting
+ it to an empty value disables the GPM interface; using the built-in
support for xterm, etc.
If the environment variable is absent, ncurses will attempt to open GPM
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_NO_HARD_TABS">NCURSES_NO_HARD_TABS</a></H3><PRE>
- <STRONG>Ncurses</STRONG> may use tabs as part of the cursor movement optimization. In
- some cases, your terminal driver may not handle these properly. Set
- this environment variable to disable the feature. You can also adjust
- your <STRONG>stty</STRONG> settings to avoid the problem.
+ <STRONG>Ncurses</STRONG> may use tabs as part of the cursor movement optimization. In
+ some cases, your terminal driver may not handle these properly. Set
+ this environment variable to disable the feature. You can also adjust
+ your <STRONG>stty(1)</STRONG> settings to avoid the problem.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_NO_MAGIC_COOKIE">NCURSES_NO_MAGIC_COOKIE</a></H3><PRE>
- Some terminals use a magic-cookie feature which requires special
- handling to make highlighting and other video attributes display
+ Some terminals use a magic-cookie feature which requires special
+ handling to make highlighting and other video attributes display
properly. You can suppress the highlighting entirely for these
terminals by setting this environment variable.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_NO_PADDING">NCURSES_NO_PADDING</a></H3><PRE>
- Most of the terminal descriptions in the terminfo database are written
- for real "hardware" terminals. Many people use terminal emulators
+ Most of the terminal descriptions in the terminfo database are written
+ for real "hardware" terminals. Many people use terminal emulators
which run in a windowing environment and use curses-based applications.
- Terminal emulators can duplicate all of the important aspects of a
- hardware terminal, but they do not have the same limitations. The
- chief limitation of a hardware terminal from the standpoint of your
- application is the management of dataflow, i.e., timing. Unless a
- hardware terminal is interfaced into a terminal concentrator (which
- does flow control), it (or your application) must manage dataflow,
- preventing overruns. The cheapest solution (no hardware cost) is for
- your program to do this by pausing after operations that the terminal
+ Terminal emulators can duplicate all of the important aspects of a
+ hardware terminal, but they do not have the same limitations. The
+ chief limitation of a hardware terminal from the standpoint of your
+ application is the management of dataflow, i.e., timing. Unless a
+ hardware terminal is interfaced into a terminal concentrator (which
+ does flow control), it (or your application) must manage dataflow,
+ preventing overruns. The cheapest solution (no hardware cost) is for
+ your program to do this by pausing after operations that the terminal
does slowly, such as clearing the display.
- As a result, many terminal descriptions (including the vt100) have
- delay times embedded. You may wish to use these descriptions, but not
+ As a result, many terminal descriptions (including the vt100) have
+ delay times embedded. You may wish to use these descriptions, but not
want to pay the performance penalty.
- Set the NCURSES_NO_PADDING environment variable to disable all but
- mandatory padding. Mandatory padding is used as a part of special
- control sequences such as <EM>flash</EM>.
+ Set the NCURSES_NO_PADDING environment variable to disable all but
+ mandatory padding. Mandatory padding is used as a part of special
+ control sequences such as <STRONG>flash</STRONG>.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_NO_SETBUF">NCURSES_NO_SETBUF</a></H3><PRE>
<STRONG>o</STRONG> continued though 5.9 patch 20130126
- <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> enabled buffered output during terminal initialization. This
- was done (as in SVr4 curses) for performance reasons. For testing
- purposes, both of <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> and certain applications, this feature was
- made optional. Setting the NCURSES_NO_SETBUF variable disabled output
- buffering, leaving the output in the original (usually line buffered)
+ <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> enabled buffered output during terminal initialization. This
+ was done (as in SVr4 curses) for performance reasons. For testing
+ purposes, both of <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> and certain applications, this feature was
+ made optional. Setting the NCURSES_NO_SETBUF variable disabled output
+ buffering, leaving the output in the original (usually line buffered)
mode.
- In the current implementation, ncurses performs its own buffering and
- does not require this workaround. It does not modify the buffering of
+ In the current implementation, ncurses performs its own buffering and
+ does not require this workaround. It does not modify the buffering of
the standard output.
- The reason for the change was to make the behavior for interrupts and
- other signals more robust. One drawback is that certain
- nonconventional programs would mix ordinary stdio calls with ncurses
- calls and (usually) work. This is no longer possible since ncurses is
- not using the buffered standard output but its own output (to the same
- file descriptor). As a special case, the low-level calls such as <STRONG>putp</STRONG>
+ The reason for the change was to make the behavior for interrupts and
+ other signals more robust. One drawback is that certain
+ nonconventional programs would mix ordinary stdio calls with ncurses
+ calls and (usually) work. This is no longer possible since ncurses is
+ not using the buffered standard output but its own output (to the same
+ file descriptor). As a special case, the low-level calls such as <STRONG>putp</STRONG>
still use the standard output. But high-level curses calls do not.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_NO_UTF8_ACS">NCURSES_NO_UTF8_ACS</a></H3><PRE>
- During initialization, the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library checks for special cases
+ During initialization, the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library checks for special cases
where VT100 line-drawing (and the corresponding alternate character set
- capabilities) described in the terminfo are known to be missing.
- Specifically, when running in a UTF-8 locale, the Linux console
- emulator and the GNU screen program ignore these. Ncurses checks the
- <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> environment variable for these. For other special cases, you
- should set this environment variable. Doing this tells ncurses to use
+ capabilities) described in the terminfo are known to be missing.
+ Specifically, when running in a UTF-8 locale, the Linux console
+ emulator and the GNU screen program ignore these. Ncurses checks the
+ <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> environment variable for these. For other special cases, you
+ should set this environment variable. Doing this tells ncurses to use
Unicode values which correspond to the VT100 line-drawing glyphs. That
- works for the special cases cited, and is likely to work for terminal
+ works for the special cases cited, and is likely to work for terminal
emulators.
- When setting this variable, you should set it to a nonzero value.
- Setting it to zero (or to a nonnumber) disables the special check for
+ When setting this variable, you should set it to a nonzero value.
+ Setting it to zero (or to a nonnumber) disables the special check for
"linux" and "screen".
- As an alternative to the environment variable, ncurses checks for an
- extended terminfo capability <STRONG>U8</STRONG>. This is a numeric capability which
+ As an alternative to the environment variable, ncurses checks for an
+ extended terminfo capability <STRONG>U8</STRONG>. This is a numeric capability which
can be compiled using <STRONG>tic</STRONG> <STRONG>-x</STRONG>. For example
# linux console, if patched to provide working
xterm-utf8|xterm relying on UTF-8 line-graphics,
U8#1, use=xterm,
- The name "U8" is chosen to be two characters, to permit it to be used
+ The name "U8" is chosen to be two characters, to permit it to be used
by applications that use ncurses' termcap interface.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-NCURSES_TRACE">NCURSES_TRACE</a></H3><PRE>
- During initialization, the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> debugging library checks the
- NCURSES_TRACE environment variable. If it is defined, to a numeric
- value, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> calls the <STRONG>trace</STRONG> function, using that value as the
+ During initialization, the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> debugging library checks the
+ NCURSES_TRACE environment variable. If it is defined, to a numeric
+ value, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> calls the <STRONG>trace</STRONG> function, using that value as the
argument.
- The argument values, which are defined in <STRONG>curses.h</STRONG>, provide several
- types of information. When running with traces enabled, your
+ The argument values, which are defined in <STRONG>curses.h</STRONG>, provide several
+ types of information. When running with traces enabled, your
application will write the file <STRONG>trace</STRONG> to the current directory.
See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_trace.3x.html">curs_trace(3x)</A></STRONG> for more information.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERM">TERM</a></H3><PRE>
- Denotes your terminal type. Each terminal type is distinct, though
+ Denotes your terminal type. Each terminal type is distinct, though
many are similar.
- <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> is commonly set by terminal emulators to help applications find a
- workable terminal description. Some of those choose a popular
+ <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> is commonly set by terminal emulators to help applications find a
+ workable terminal description. Some of those choose a popular
approximation, e.g., "ansi", "vt100", "xterm" rather than an exact fit.
Not infrequently, your application will have problems with that
approach, e.g., incorrect function-key definitions.
- If you set <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> in your environment, it has no effect on the operation
- of the terminal emulator. It only affects the way applications work
- within the terminal. Likewise, as a general rule (<STRONG>xterm</STRONG> being a rare
- exception), terminal emulators which allow you to specify <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> as a
- parameter or configuration value do not change their behavior to match
- that setting.
+ If you set <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> in your environment, it has no effect on the operation
+ of the terminal emulator. It only affects the way applications work
+ within the terminal. Likewise, as a general rule (<STRONG>xterm(1)</STRONG> being a
+ rare exception), terminal emulators which allow you to specify <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> as
+ a parameter or configuration value do not change their behavior to
+ match that setting.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMCAP">TERMCAP</a></H3><PRE>
- If the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library has been configured with <EM>termcap</EM> support,
- <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> will check for a terminal's description in termcap form if it
+ If the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library has been configured with <EM>termcap</EM> support,
+ <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> will check for a terminal's description in termcap form if it
is not available in the terminfo database.
The <STRONG>TERMCAP</STRONG> environment variable contains either a terminal description
- (with newlines stripped out), or a file name telling where the
+ (with newlines stripped out), or a file name telling where the
information denoted by the <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> environment variable exists. In either
- case, setting it directs <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> to ignore the usual place for this
+ case, setting it directs <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> to ignore the usual place for this
information, e.g., /etc/termcap.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMINFO">TERMINFO</a></H3><PRE>
- <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> can be configured to read from multiple terminal databases.
- The <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> variable overrides the location for the default terminal
- database. Terminal descriptions (in terminal format) are stored in
+ <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> can be configured to read from multiple terminal databases.
+ The <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> variable overrides the location for the default terminal
+ database. Terminal descriptions (in terminal format) are stored in
terminal databases:
<STRONG>o</STRONG> Normally these are stored in a directory tree, using subdirectories
named by the first letter of the terminal names therein.
This is the scheme used in System V, which legacy Unix systems use,
- and the <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> variable is used by <EM>curses</EM> applications on those
+ and the <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> variable is used by <EM>curses</EM> applications on those
systems to override the default location of the terminal database.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> If <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> is built to use hashed databases, then each entry in
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> is built to use hashed databases, then each entry in
this list may be the path of a hashed database file, e.g.,
/usr/share/terminfo.db
/usr/share/terminfo/
- The hashed database uses less disk-space and is a little faster
- than the directory tree. However, some applications assume the
- existence of the directory tree, reading it directly rather than
+ The hashed database uses less disk-space and is a little faster
+ than the directory tree. However, some applications assume the
+ existence of the directory tree, reading it directly rather than
using the terminfo library calls.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> If <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> is built with a support for reading termcap files
- directly, then an entry in this list may be the path of a termcap
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> is built with a support for reading termcap files
+ directly, then an entry in this list may be the path of a termcap
file.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> If the <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> variable begins with "hex:" or "b64:", <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses
- the remainder of that variable as a compiled terminal description.
+ the remainder of that variable as a compiled terminal description.
You might produce the base64 format using <STRONG><A HREF="infocmp.1m.html">infocmp(1m)</A></STRONG>:
TERMINFO="$(infocmp -0 -Q2 -q)"
export TERMINFO
- The compiled description is used if it corresponds to the terminal
+ The compiled description is used if it corresponds to the terminal
identified by the <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> variable.
- Setting <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> is the simplest, but not the only way to set location
- of the default terminal database. The complete list of database
+ Setting <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> is the simplest, but not the only way to set location
+ of the default terminal database. The complete list of database
locations in order follows:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> the last terminal database to which <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> wrote, if any, is
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> the last terminal database to which <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> wrote, if any, is
searched first
<STRONG>o</STRONG> the location specified by the TERMINFO environment variable
<STRONG>o</STRONG> locations listed in the TERMINFO_DIRS environment variable
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> one or more locations whose names are configured and compiled
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> one or more locations whose names are configured and compiled
into the ncurses library, i.e.,
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> no default value (corresponding to the TERMINFO_DIRS
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> /usr/share/terminfo (corresponding to the TERMINFO_DIRS
variable)
<STRONG>o</STRONG> /usr/share/terminfo (corresponding to the TERMINFO variable)
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMINFO_DIRS">TERMINFO_DIRS</a></H3><PRE>
- Specifies a list of locations to search for terminal descriptions.
- Each location in the list is a terminal database as described in the
- section on the <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> variable. The list is separated by colons
+ Specifies a list of locations to search for terminal descriptions.
+ Each location in the list is a terminal database as described in the
+ section on the <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> variable. The list is separated by colons
(i.e., ":") on Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX.
- There is no corresponding feature in System V terminfo; it is an
+ There is no corresponding feature in System V terminfo; it is an
extension developed for <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMPATH">TERMPATH</a></H3><PRE>
- If <STRONG>TERMCAP</STRONG> does not hold a file name then <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> checks the <STRONG>TERMPATH</STRONG>
- environment variable. This is a list of filenames separated by spaces
+ If <STRONG>TERMCAP</STRONG> does not hold a file name then <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> checks the <STRONG>TERMPATH</STRONG>
+ environment variable. This is a list of filenames separated by spaces
or colons (i.e., ":") on Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX.
- If the <STRONG>TERMPATH</STRONG> environment variable is not set, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> looks in the
+ If the <STRONG>TERMPATH</STRONG> environment variable is not set, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> looks in the
files
/etc/termcap, /usr/share/misc/termcap and $HOME/.termcap,
in that order.
The library may be configured to disregard the following variables when
- the current user is the superuser (root), or if the application uses
+ the current user is the superuser (root), or if the application uses
setuid or setgid permissions:
$TERMINFO, $TERMINFO_DIRS, $TERMPATH, as well as $HOME.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-ALTERNATE-CONFIGURATIONS">ALTERNATE CONFIGURATIONS</a></H2><PRE>
- Several different configurations are possible, depending on the
- configure script options used when building <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>. There are a few
- main options whose effects are visible to the applications developer
+ Several different configurations are possible, depending on the
+ configure script options used when building <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>. There are a few
+ main options whose effects are visible to the applications developer
using <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>:
--disable-overwrite
<STRONG>#include</STRONG> <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG>
- This option is used to avoid filename conflicts when <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> is
+ This option is used to avoid filename conflicts when <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> is
not the main implementation of curses of the computer. If <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>
- is installed disabling overwrite, it puts its headers in a
+ is installed disabling overwrite, it puts its headers in a
subdirectory, e.g.,
<STRONG>#include</STRONG> <STRONG><ncurses/curses.h></STRONG>
- It also omits a symbolic link which would allow you to use
+ It also omits a symbolic link which would allow you to use
<STRONG>-lcurses</STRONG> to build executables.
--enable-widec
- The configure script renames the library and (if the
- <STRONG>--disable-overwrite</STRONG> option is used) puts the header files in a
- different subdirectory. All of the library names have a "w"
+ The configure script renames the library and (if the
+ <STRONG>--disable-overwrite</STRONG> option is used) puts the header files in a
+ different subdirectory. All of the library names have a "w"
appended to them, i.e., instead of
<STRONG>-lncurses</STRONG>
<STRONG>-lncursesw</STRONG>
- You must also enable the wide-character features in the header
- file when compiling for the wide-character library to use the
- extended (wide-character) functions. The symbol which enables
+ You must also enable the wide-character features in the header
+ file when compiling for the wide-character library to use the
+ extended (wide-character) functions. The symbol which enables
these features has changed since XSI Curses, Issue 4:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Originally, the wide-character feature required the symbol
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Originally, the wide-character feature required the symbol
<STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED</STRONG> but that was only valid for XPG4
(1996).
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Later, that was deemed conflicting with <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE</STRONG> defined
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Later, that was deemed conflicting with <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE</STRONG> defined
to 500.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> As of mid-2018, none of the features in this implementation
- require a <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE</STRONG> feature greater than 600. However,
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> As of mid-2018, none of the features in this implementation
+ require a <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE</STRONG> feature greater than 600. However,
X/Open Curses, Issue 7 (2009) recommends defining it to 700.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Alternatively, you can enable the feature by defining
- <STRONG>NCURSES_WIDECHAR</STRONG> with the caveat that some other header file
- than <STRONG>curses.h</STRONG> may require a specific value for <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Alternatively, you can enable the feature by defining
+ <STRONG>NCURSES_WIDECHAR</STRONG> with the caveat that some other header file
+ than <STRONG>curses.h</STRONG> may require a specific value for <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE</STRONG>
(or a system-specific symbol).
- The <STRONG>curses.h</STRONG> file which is installed for the wide-character
- library is designed to be compatible with the normal library's
- header. Only the size of the <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG> structure differs, and very
+ The <STRONG>curses.h</STRONG> file which is installed for the wide-character
+ library is designed to be compatible with the normal library's
+ header. Only the size of the <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG> structure differs, and very
few applications require more than a pointer to <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG>s.
If the headers are installed allowing overwrite, the wide-
- character library's headers should be installed last, to allow
+ character library's headers should be installed last, to allow
applications to be built using either library from the same set of
headers.
--with-pthread
- The configure script renames the library. All of the library
- names have a "t" appended to them (before any "w" added by
+ The configure script renames the library. All of the library
+ names have a "t" appended to them (before any "w" added by
<STRONG>--enable-widec</STRONG>).
The global variables such as <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> are replaced by macros to allow
read-only access. At the same time, setter-functions are provided
- to set these values. Some applications (very few) may require
+ to set these values. Some applications (very few) may require
changes to work with this convention.
--with-shared
--with-debug
--with-profile
- The shared and normal (static) library names differ by their
- suffixes, e.g., <STRONG>libncurses.so</STRONG> and <STRONG>libncurses.a</STRONG>. The debug and
- profiling libraries add a "_g" and a "_p" to the root names
+ The shared and normal (static) library names differ by their
+ suffixes, e.g., <STRONG>libncurses.so</STRONG> and <STRONG>libncurses.a</STRONG>. The debug and
+ profiling libraries add a "_g" and a "_p" to the root names
respectively, e.g., <STRONG>libncurses_g.a</STRONG> and <STRONG>libncurses_p.a</STRONG>.
--with-termlib
- Low-level functions which do not depend upon whether the library
+ Low-level functions which do not depend upon whether the library
supports wide-characters, are provided in the tinfo library.
- By doing this, it is possible to share the tinfo library between
- wide/normal configurations as well as reduce the size of the
+ By doing this, it is possible to share the tinfo library between
+ wide/normal configurations as well as reduce the size of the
library when only low-level functions are needed.
Those functions are described in these pages:
<STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG> - miscellaneous <STRONG>curses</STRONG> utility routines
--with-trace
- The <STRONG>trace</STRONG> function normally resides in the debug library, but it
- is sometimes useful to configure this in the shared library.
+ The <STRONG>trace</STRONG> function normally resides in the debug library, but it
+ is sometimes useful to configure this in the shared library.
Configure scripts should check for the function's existence rather
than assuming it is always in the debug library.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-FILES">FILES</a></H2><PRE>
- /usr/share/tabset
- directory containing initialization files for the terminal
- capability database /usr/share/terminfo terminal capability
- database
+ <EM>/usr/share/tabset</EM>
+ tab stop initialization database
-
-</PRE><H2><a name="h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></H2><PRE>
- <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG> and related pages whose names begin "curs_" for detailed
- routine descriptions.
- <STRONG><A HREF="curs_variables.3x.html">curs_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>
- <STRONG><A HREF="user_caps.5.html">user_caps(5)</A></STRONG> for user-defined capabilities
+ <EM>/usr/share/terminfo</EM>
+ compiled terminal capability database
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-EXTENSIONS">EXTENSIONS</a></H2><PRE>
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-AUTHORS">AUTHORS</a></H2><PRE>
- Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey. Based on pcurses
+ Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey. Based on <EM>pcurses</EM>
by Pavel Curtis.
+</PRE><H2><a name="h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></H2><PRE>
+ <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG> and related pages whose names begin "curs_" for detailed
+ routine descriptions.
+ <STRONG><A HREF="curs_variables.3x.html">curs_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ <STRONG><A HREF="user_caps.5.html">user_caps(5)</A></STRONG> for user-defined capabilities
+
- <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
+ncurses 6.4 2023-10-14 <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG>
</PRE>
<div class="nav">
<ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#h2-ALTERNATE-CONFIGURATIONS">ALTERNATE CONFIGURATIONS</a></li>
<li><a href="#h2-FILES">FILES</a></li>
-<li><a href="#h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></li>
<li><a href="#h2-EXTENSIONS">EXTENSIONS</a></li>
<li><a href="#h2-PORTABILITY">PORTABILITY</a>
<ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#h2-NOTES">NOTES</a></li>
<li><a href="#h2-AUTHORS">AUTHORS</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
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