* sale, use or other dealings in this Software without prior written *
* authorization. *
****************************************************************************
- * @Id: terminfo.head,v 1.41 2021/08/15 19:32:53 tom Exp @
+ * @Id: terminfo.head,v 1.42 2021/12/25 17:39:16 tom Exp @
* Head of terminfo man page ends here
****************************************************************************
- * Copyright 2018-2020,2021 Thomas E. Dickey *
+ * Copyright 2018-2021,2022 Thomas E. Dickey *
* Copyright 1998-2016,2017 Free Software Foundation, Inc. *
* *
* Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a *
* sale, use or other dealings in this Software without prior written *
* authorization. *
****************************************************************************
- * @Id: terminfo.tail,v 1.106 2021/08/28 19:00:29 tom Exp @
+ * @Id: terminfo.tail,v 1.113 2022/12/10 19:51:10 tom Exp @
*.in -2
*.in +2
*.in -2
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<H1 class="no-header">terminfo 5 File Formats</H1>
have, by specifying how to perform screen operations, and by specifying
padding requirements and initialization sequences.
- This manual describes <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> version 6.2 (patch 20210828).
+ This manual describes <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> version 6.4 (patch 20230610).
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Terminfo-Entry-Syntax">Terminfo Entry Syntax</a></H3><PRE>
#1
set_left_margin smgl ML set left soft margin
at current
- column. See
- smgl. (ML is not in
- BSD termcap).
+ column. (ML is
+ not in BSD termcap).
set_left_margin_parm smglp Zm Set left (right)
margin at column #1
set_right_margin smgr MR set right soft
user3 u3 u3 User string #3
user4 u4 u4 User string #4
user5 u5 u5 User string #5
-
user6 u6 u6 User string #6
+
user7 u7 u7 User string #7
user8 u8 u8 User string #8
user9 u9 u9 User string #9
zero_motion zerom Zx No motion for
subsequent character
- The following string capabilities are present in the SVr4.0 term
+ The following string capabilities are present in the SVr4.0 term
structure, but were originally not documented in the man page.
key #1 to type
string #2 and show
string #3
-
-
req_mouse_pos reqmp RQ Request mouse
position
+
scancode_escape scesc S7 Escape for
scancode emulation
set0_des_seq s0ds s0 Shift to codeset 0
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
- capabilities. The <STRONG>tic</STRONG> and <STRONG>infocmp</STRONG> programs provide the <STRONG>-x</STRONG> option for
+ <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> addresses this limitation by allowing user-defined
+ capabilities. The <STRONG>tic</STRONG> and <STRONG>infocmp</STRONG> programs provide the <STRONG>-x</STRONG> option for
this purpose. 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 recognize, 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
+ defined. That is, if <STRONG>tic</STRONG> encounters a capability name which it does
+ not recognize, it infers its type (boolean, number or string) from the
+ syntax and makes an extended table entry for that 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
leaving 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
is also available through the termcap interface.
- While termcap is said to be extensible because it does not use a
- predefined set of capabilities, in practice it has been limited to the
- capabilities defined by terminfo implementations. As a rule, user-
+ While termcap is said to be extensible because it does not use a
+ predefined set of capabilities, in practice it has been limited to the
+ capabilities defined by terminfo implementations. As a rule, user-
defined capabilities intended for use by termcap applications should be
- limited to booleans and numbers to avoid running past the 1023 byte
- limit assumed by termcap implementations and their applications. In
- particular, providing extended sets of function keys (past the 60
+ limited to booleans and numbers to avoid running past the 1023 byte
+ limit assumed by termcap implementations and their applications. In
+ particular, providing extended sets of function keys (past the 60
numbered keys and the handful of special named keys) is best done using
the longer names available using terminfo.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-A-Sample-Entry">A Sample Entry</a></H3><PRE>
- The following entry, describing an ANSI-standard terminal, is
+ The following entry, describing an ANSI-standard terminal, is
representative of what a <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> entry for a modern terminal typically
looks like.
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
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Boolean capabilities which indicate that the terminal has some
particular feature,
<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
- in decimal, octal or hexadecimal, using the C programming language
+ value "80" for ansi. Values for numeric capabilities may be specified
+ in decimal, octal or hexadecimal, using the C programming language
conventions (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
+ A number of escape sequences are provided in the string valued
capabilities for easy encoding of characters there:
<STRONG>o</STRONG> Both <STRONG>\E</STRONG> and <STRONG>\e</STRONG> map to an ESCAPE character,
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
- require a new binary format, which would not work with other
+ 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
implementations.
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
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The delay must be a number with at most one decimal place of
precision; 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
- environment 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
+ environment 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 (no default value), and
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> the system terminfo directory, <EM>/usr/share/terminfo</EM> (the
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> the system terminfo directory, <EM>/usr/share/terminfo</EM> (the
compiled-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
+ 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
overstrikes (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
+ 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
+ this will be carriage return, control/M.) If there is a code to
produce 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
- column 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
+ column 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"
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Parameterized-Strings">Parameterized Strings</a></H3><PRE>
Cursor addressing and other strings requiring parameters in the
- terminal 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 physical screen visible to the user, not to any unseen
- memory.) If the terminal has memory relative cursor addressing, that
+ terminal 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 physical screen visible to the user, not to any unseen
+ memory.) If the 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
- special case. Other operations, including "%t" pop their operand from
- the stack. It is noted that more complex operations are often
+ 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
+ special case. Other operations, including "%t" pop their operand from
+ the stack. It is noted that more complex operations are often
necessary, e.g., in the <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>%P</STRONG><EM>[a-z]</EM>
set dynamic variable <EM>[a-z]</EM> to <EM>pop()</EM>
- <STRONG>%g</STRONG><EM>[a-z]/</EM>
+ <STRONG>%g</STRONG><EM>[a-z]</EM>
get dynamic variable <EM>[a-z]</EM> and push it
<STRONG>%P</STRONG><EM>[A-Z]</EM>
<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>o</STRONG> SVr2 curses supported <EM>dynamic</EM> variables. Those are set only
- by a <STRONG>%P</STRONG> operator. A <STRONG>%g</STRONG> for a given variable without first
- setting it with <STRONG>%P</STRONG> will give unpredictable results, because
- dynamic variables are an uninitialized local array on the
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> SVr2 curses supported <EM>dynamic</EM> variables. Those are set only
+ by a <STRONG>%P</STRONG> operator. A <STRONG>%g</STRONG> for a given variable without first
+ setting it with <STRONG>%P</STRONG> will give unpredictable results, because
+ dynamic variables are an uninitialized local array on the
stack in the <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> function.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> SVr3.2 curses supported <EM>static</EM> variables. Those are an array
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> SVr3.2 curses supported <EM>static</EM> variables. Those are an array
in the <STRONG>TERMINAL</STRONG> structure (declared in <STRONG>term.h</STRONG>), and are zeroed
automatically when the <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> function allocates the data.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> SVr4 curses made no further improvements to the <EM>dynamic/static</EM>
variable feature.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Solaris XPG4 curses does not distinguish between <EM>dynamic</EM> and
- <EM>static</EM> variables. They are the same. Like SVr4 curses, XPG4
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Solaris XPG4 curses does not distinguish between <EM>dynamic</EM> and
+ <EM>static</EM> variables. They are the same. Like SVr4 curses, XPG4
curses does not initialize these explicitly.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Before version 6.3, ncurses stores both <EM>dynamic</EM> and <EM>static</EM>
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Before version 6.3, ncurses stores both <EM>dynamic</EM> and <EM>static</EM>
variables in persistent storage, initialized to zeros.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Beginning with version 6.3, ncurses stores <EM>static</EM> and <EM>dynamic</EM>
- variables in the same manner as SVr4. Unlike other
- implementations, ncurses zeros dynamic variables before the
- first <STRONG>%g</STRONG> or <STRONG>%P</STRONG> operator.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Beginning with version 6.3, ncurses stores <EM>static</EM> and <EM>dynamic</EM>
+ variables in the same manner as SVr4.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Unlike other implementations, ncurses zeros dynamic
+ variables before the first <STRONG>%g</STRONG> or <STRONG>%P</STRONG> operator.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Like SVr2, the scope of dynamic variables in ncurses is
+ within the current call to <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>. Use static variables if
+ persistent storage is needed.
<STRONG>%'</STRONG><EM>c</EM><STRONG>'</STRONG> char constant <EM>c</EM>
outputting <STRONG>rmcup</STRONG>), specify <STRONG>nrrmc</STRONG>.
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Margins">Margins</a></H3><PRE>
+ SVr4 (and X/Open Curses) list several string capabilities for setting
+ margins. Two were intended for use with terminals, and another six
+ were intended for use with printers.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The two terminal capabilities assume that the terminal may have the
+ capability of setting the left and/or right margin at the current
+ cursor column position.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The printer capabilities assume that the printer may have two types
+ of capability:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> the ability to set a top and/or bottom margin using the current
+ line position, and
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> parameterized capabilities for setting the top, bottom, left,
+ right margins given the number of rows or columns.
+
+ In practice, the categorization into "terminal" and "printer" is not
+ suitable:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The AT&T SVr4 terminal database uses <STRONG>smgl</STRONG> four times, for AT&T
+ hardware.
+
+ Three of the four are printers. They lack the ability to set
+ left/right margins by specifying the column.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Other (non-AT&T) terminals may support margins but using different
+ assumptions from AT&T.
+
+ For instance, the DEC VT420 supports left/right margins, but only
+ using a column parameter. As an added complication, the VT420 uses
+ two settings to fully enable left/right margins (left/right margin
+ mode, and origin mode). The former enables the margins, which
+ causes printed text to wrap within margins, but the latter is
+ needed to prevent cursor-addressing outside those margins.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Both DEC VT420 left/right margins are set with a single control
+ sequence. If either is omitted, the corresponding margin is set to
+ the left or right edge of the display (rather than leaving the
+ margin unmodified).
+
+ These are the margin-related capabilities:
+
+ <STRONG>Name</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
+ ------------------------------------------------------
+ smgl Set left margin at current column
+ smgr Set right margin at current column
+ smgb Set bottom margin at current line
+ smgt Set top margin at current line
+ smgbp Set bottom margin at line <EM>N</EM>
+ smglp Set left margin at column <EM>N</EM>
+ smgrp Set right margin at column <EM>N</EM>
+ smgtp Set top margin at line <EM>N</EM>
+ smglr Set both left and right margins to <EM>L</EM> and <EM>R</EM>
+ smgtb Set both top and bottom margins to <EM>T</EM> and <EM>B</EM>
+
+ When writing an application that uses these string capabilities, the
+ pairs should be first checked to see if each capability in the pair is
+ set or only one is set:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If both <STRONG>smglp</STRONG> and <STRONG>smgrp</STRONG> are set, each is used with a single
+ argument, <EM>N</EM>, that gives the column number of the left and right
+ margin, respectively.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If both <STRONG>smgtp</STRONG> and <STRONG>smgbp</STRONG> are set, each is used to set the top and
+ bottom margin, respectively:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>smgtp</STRONG> is used with a single argument, <EM>N</EM>, the line number of the
+ top margin.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>smgbp</STRONG> is used with two arguments, <EM>N</EM> and <EM>M</EM>, that give the line
+ number of the bottom margin, the first counting from the top of
+ the page and the second counting from the bottom. This
+ accommodates the two styles of specifying the bottom margin in
+ different manufacturers' printers.
+
+ When designing a terminfo entry for a printer that has a settable
+ bottom margin, only the first or second argument should be used,
+ depending on the printer. When developing an application that uses
+ <STRONG>smgbp</STRONG> to set the bottom margin, both arguments must be given.
+
+ Conversely, when only one capability in the pair is set:
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If only one of <STRONG>smglp</STRONG> and <STRONG>smgrp</STRONG> is set, then it is used with two
+ arguments, the column number of the left and right margins, in that
+ order.
+
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Likewise, if only one of <STRONG>smgtp</STRONG> and <STRONG>smgbp</STRONG> is set, then it is used
+ with two arguments that give the top and bottom margins, in that
+ order, counting from the top of the page.
+
+ When designing a terminfo entry for a printer that requires setting
+ both left and right or top and bottom margins simultaneously, only
+ one capability in the pairs <STRONG>smglp</STRONG> and <STRONG>smgrp</STRONG> or <STRONG>smgtp</STRONG> and <STRONG>smgbp</STRONG>
+ should be defined, leaving the other unset.
+
+ Except for very old terminal descriptions, e.g., those developed for
+ SVr4, the scheme just described should be considered obsolete. An
+ improved set of capabilities was added late in the SVr4 releases (<STRONG>smglr</STRONG>
+ and <STRONG>smgtb</STRONG>), which explicitly use two parameters for setting the
+ left/right or top/bottom margins.
+
+ When setting margins, the line- and column-values are zero-based.
+
+ The <STRONG>mgc</STRONG> string capability should be defined. Applications such as
+ <STRONG><A HREF="tabs.1.html">tabs(1)</A></STRONG> rely upon this to reset all margins.
+
+
</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
--------------------------------------------------------------------
arrow pointing right ACS_RARROW > + 0x2b
arrow pointing left ACS_LARROW < , 0x2c
+
arrow pointing up ACS_UARROW ^ - 0x2d
arrow pointing down ACS_DARROW v . 0x2e
solid square block ACS_BLOCK # 0 0x30
diamond ACS_DIAMOND + ` 0x60
checker board (stipple) ACS_CKBOARD : a 0x61
-
degree symbol ACS_DEGREE \ f 0x66
plus/minus ACS_PLMINUS # g 0x67
board of squares ACS_BOARD # h 0x68
</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.
<li><a href="#h3-Basic-Capabilities">Basic Capabilities</a></li>
<li><a href="#h3-Parameterized-Strings">Parameterized Strings</a></li>
<li><a href="#h3-Cursor-Motions">Cursor Motions</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Margins">Margins</a></li>
<li><a href="#h3-Area-Clears">Area Clears</a></li>
<li><a href="#h3-Insert_delete-line-and-vertical-motions">Insert/delete line and vertical motions</a></li>
<li><a href="#h3-Insert_Delete-Character">Insert/Delete Character</a></li>