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30 .\" $Id: terminfo.tail,v 1.102 2021/08/21 22:55:23 tom Exp $
32 .SS User-Defined Capabilities
34 The preceding section listed the \fIpredefined\fP capabilities.
35 They deal with some special features for terminals no longer
36 (or possibly never) produced.
37 Occasionally there are special features of newer terminals which
38 are awkward or impossible to represent by reusing the predefined
41 \fBncurses\fP addresses this limitation by allowing user-defined capabilities.
42 The \fB@TIC@\fP and \fB@INFOCMP@\fP programs provide
43 the \fB\-x\fP option for this purpose.
44 When \fB\-x\fP is set,
45 \fB@TIC@\fP treats unknown capabilities as user-defined.
46 That is, if \fB@TIC@\fP encounters a capability name
47 which it does not recognize,
48 it infers its type (boolean, number or string) from the syntax
49 and makes an extended table entry for that capability.
50 The \fBuse_extended_names\fP(3X) function makes this information
51 conditionally available to applications.
52 The ncurses library provides the data leaving most of the behavior
55 User-defined capability strings whose name begins
56 with \*(``k\*('' are treated as function keys.
58 The types (boolean, number, string) determined by \fB@TIC@\fP
59 can be inferred by successful calls on \fBtigetflag\fP, etc.
61 If the capability name happens to be two characters,
62 the capability is also available through the termcap interface.
64 While termcap is said to be extensible because it does not use a predefined set
66 in practice it has been limited to the capabilities defined by
67 terminfo implementations.
69 user-defined capabilities intended for use by termcap applications should
70 be limited to booleans and numbers to avoid running past the 1023 byte
71 limit assumed by termcap implementations and their applications.
72 In particular, providing extended sets of function keys (past the 60
73 numbered keys and the handful of special named keys) is best done using
74 the longer names available using terminfo.
78 The following entry, describing an ANSI-standard terminal, is representative
79 of what a \fBterminfo\fR entry for a modern terminal typically looks like.
83 \s-2ansi|ansi/pc-term compatible with color,
85 colors#8, cols#80, it#8, lines#24, ncv#3, pairs#64,
86 acsc=+\\020\\,\\021-\\030.^Y0\\333`\\004a\\261f\\370g\\361h\\260
87 j\\331k\\277l\\332m\\300n\\305o~p\\304q\\304r\\304s_t\\303
88 u\\264v\\301w\\302x\\263y\\363z\\362{\\343|\\330}\\234~\\376,
89 bel=^G, blink=\\E[5m, bold=\\E[1m, cbt=\\E[Z, clear=\\E[H\\E[J,
90 cr=^M, cub=\\E[%p1%dD, cub1=\\E[D, cud=\\E[%p1%dB, cud1=\\E[B,
91 cuf=\\E[%p1%dC, cuf1=\\E[C, cup=\\E[%i%p1%d;%p2%dH,
92 cuu=\\E[%p1%dA, cuu1=\\E[A, dch=\\E[%p1%dP, dch1=\\E[P,
93 dl=\\E[%p1%dM, dl1=\\E[M, ech=\\E[%p1%dX, ed=\\E[J, el=\\E[K,
94 el1=\\E[1K, home=\\E[H, hpa=\\E[%i%p1%dG, ht=\\E[I, hts=\\EH,
95 ich=\\E[%p1%d@, il=\\E[%p1%dL, il1=\\E[L, ind=^J,
96 indn=\\E[%p1%dS, invis=\\E[8m, kbs=^H, kcbt=\\E[Z, kcub1=\\E[D,
97 kcud1=\\E[B, kcuf1=\\E[C, kcuu1=\\E[A, khome=\\E[H, kich1=\\E[L,
98 mc4=\\E[4i, mc5=\\E[5i, nel=\\r\\E[S, op=\\E[39;49m,
99 rep=%p1%c\\E[%p2%{1}%-%db, rev=\\E[7m, rin=\\E[%p1%dT,
100 rmacs=\\E[10m, rmpch=\\E[10m, rmso=\\E[m, rmul=\\E[m,
101 s0ds=\\E(B, s1ds=\\E)B, s2ds=\\E*B, s3ds=\\E+B,
102 setab=\\E[4%p1%dm, setaf=\\E[3%p1%dm,
103 sgr=\\E[0;10%?%p1%t;7%;
110 sgr0=\\E[0;10m, smacs=\\E[11m, smpch=\\E[11m, smso=\\E[7m,
111 smul=\\E[4m, tbc=\\E[3g, u6=\\E[%i%d;%dR, u7=\\E[6n,
112 u8=\\E[?%[;0123456789]c, u9=\\E[c, vpa=\\E[%i%p1%dd,
116 Entries may continue onto multiple lines by placing white space at
117 the beginning of each line except the first.
118 Comments may be included on lines beginning with \*(``#\*(''.
123 Boolean capabilities which indicate that the terminal has
124 some particular feature,
126 numeric capabilities giving the size of the terminal
127 or the size of particular delays, and
130 capabilities, which give a sequence which can be used to perform particular
133 .SS Types of Capabilities
135 All capabilities have names.
136 For instance, the fact that
137 ANSI-standard terminals have
138 .I "automatic margins"
139 (i.e., an automatic return and line-feed
140 when the end of a line is reached) is indicated by the capability \fBam\fR.
141 Hence the description of ansi includes \fBam\fR.
142 Numeric capabilities are followed by the character \*(``#\*('' and then a positive value.
143 Thus \fBcols\fR, which indicates the number of columns the terminal has,
144 gives the value \*(``80\*('' for ansi.
145 Values for numeric capabilities may be specified in decimal, octal or hexadecimal,
146 using the C programming language conventions (e.g., 255, 0377 and 0xff or 0xFF).
148 Finally, string valued capabilities, such as \fBel\fR (clear to end of line
149 sequence) are given by the two-character code, an \*(``=\*('', and then a string
150 ending at the next following \*(``,\*(''.
152 A number of escape sequences are provided in the string valued capabilities
153 for easy encoding of characters there:
155 Both \fB\eE\fR and \fB\ee\fR
156 map to an \s-1ESCAPE\s0 character,
158 \fB^x\fR maps to a control-x for any appropriate \fIx\fP, and
163 \fB\en\fP, \fB\el\fP, \fB\er\fP, \fB\et\fP, \fB\eb\fP, \fB\ef\fP, and \fB\es\fR
169 \fInewline\fP, \fIline-feed\fP, \fIreturn\fP, \fItab\fP, \fIbackspace\fP, \fIform-feed\fP, and \fIspace\fP,
174 X/Open Curses does not say what \*(``appropriate \fIx\fP\*('' might be.
175 In practice, that is a printable ASCII graphic character.
176 The special case \*(``^?\*('' is interpreted as DEL (127).
177 In all other cases, the character value is AND'd with 0x1f,
178 mapping to ASCII control codes in the range 0 through 31.
180 Other escapes include
182 \fB\e^\fR for \fB^\fR,
184 \fB\e\e\fR for \fB\e\fR,
188 \fB\e:\fR for \fB:\fR,
190 and \fB\e0\fR for null.
192 \fB\e0\fR will produce \e200, which does not terminate a string but behaves
193 as a null character on most terminals, providing CS7 is specified.
196 The reason for this quirk is to maintain binary compatibility of the
197 compiled terminfo files with other implementations,
198 e.g., the SVr4 systems, which document this.
199 Compiled terminfo files use null-terminated strings, with no lengths.
200 Modifying this would require a new binary format,
201 which would not work with other implementations.
203 Finally, characters may be given as three octal digits after a \fB\e\fR.
205 A delay in milliseconds may appear anywhere in a string capability, enclosed in
206 $<..> brackets, as in \fBel\fP=\eEK$<5>,
207 and padding characters are supplied by \fBtputs\fP(3X)
208 to provide this delay.
210 The delay must be a number with at most one decimal
211 place of precision; it may be followed by suffixes \*(``*\*('' or \*(``/\*('' or both.
214 indicates that the padding required is proportional to the number of lines
215 affected by the operation, and the amount given is the per-affected-unit
217 (In the case of insert character, the factor is still the
218 number of \fIlines\fP affected.)
220 Normally, padding is advisory if the device has the \fBxon\fR
221 capability; it is used for cost computation but does not trigger delays.
224 suffix indicates that the padding is mandatory and forces a delay of the given
225 number of milliseconds even on devices for which \fBxon\fR is present to
226 indicate flow control.
228 Sometimes individual capabilities must be commented out.
229 To do this, put a period before the capability name.
230 For example, see the second
232 in the example above.
236 .SS Fetching Compiled Descriptions
238 The \fBncurses\fP library searches for terminal descriptions in several places.
239 It uses only the first description found.
240 The library has a compiled-in list of places to search
241 which can be overridden by environment variables.
242 Before starting to search,
243 \fBncurses\fP eliminates duplicates in its search list.
245 If the environment variable TERMINFO is set, it is interpreted as the pathname
246 of a directory containing the compiled description you are working on.
247 Only that directory is searched.
249 If TERMINFO is not set,
250 \fBncurses\fR will instead look in the directory \fB$HOME/.terminfo\fR
251 for a compiled description.
253 Next, if the environment variable TERMINFO_DIRS is set,
254 \fBncurses\fR will interpret the contents of that variable
255 as a list of colon-separated directories (or database files) to be searched.
257 An empty directory name (i.e., if the variable begins or ends
258 with a colon, or contains adjacent colons)
259 is interpreted as the system location \fI\*d\fR.
261 Finally, \fBncurses\fP searches these compiled-in locations:
264 a list of directories (@TERMINFO_DIRS@), and
266 the system terminfo directory, \fI\*d\fR (the compiled-in default).
268 .SS Preparing Descriptions
270 We now outline how to prepare descriptions of terminals.
271 The most effective way to prepare a terminal description is by imitating
272 the description of a similar terminal in
274 and to build up a description gradually, using partial descriptions
277 or some other screen-oriented program to check that they are correct.
278 Be aware that a very unusual terminal may expose deficiencies in
282 or bugs in the screen-handling code of the test program.
284 To get the padding for insert line right (if the terminal manufacturer
285 did not document it) a severe test is to edit a large file at 9600 baud,
286 delete 16 or so lines from the middle of the screen, then hit the \*(``u\*(''
287 key several times quickly.
288 If the terminal messes up, more padding is usually needed.
289 A similar test can be used for insert character.
291 .SS Basic Capabilities
293 The number of columns on each line for the terminal is given by the
294 \fBcols\fR numeric capability.
295 If the terminal is a \s-1CRT\s0, then the
296 number of lines on the screen is given by the \fBlines\fR capability.
297 If the terminal wraps around to the beginning of the next line when
298 it reaches the right margin, then it should have the \fBam\fR capability.
299 If the terminal can clear its screen, leaving the cursor in the home
300 position, then this is given by the \fBclear\fR string capability.
301 If the terminal overstrikes
302 (rather than clearing a position when a character is struck over)
303 then it should have the \fBos\fR capability.
304 If the terminal is a printing terminal, with no soft copy unit,
310 applies to storage scope terminals, such as \s-1TEKTRONIX\s+1 4010
311 series, as well as hard copy and APL terminals.)
312 If there is a code to move the cursor to the left edge of the current
315 (Normally this will be carriage return, control/M.)
316 If there is a code to produce an audible signal (bell, beep, etc)
320 If there is a code to move the cursor one position to the left
321 (such as backspace) that capability should be given as
323 Similarly, codes to move to the right, up, and down should be
329 These local cursor motions should not alter the text they pass over,
330 for example, you would not normally use \*(``\fBcuf1\fP=\ \*('' because the
331 space would erase the character moved over.
333 A very important point here is that the local cursor motions encoded
336 are undefined at the left and top edges of a \s-1CRT\s0 terminal.
337 Programs should never attempt to backspace around the left edge,
341 and never attempt to go up locally off the top.
342 In order to scroll text up, a program will go to the bottom left corner
343 of the screen and send the
347 To scroll text down, a program goes to the top left corner
348 of the screen and sends the
350 (reverse index) string.
355 are undefined when not on their respective corners of the screen.
357 Parameterized versions of the scrolling sequences are
361 which have the same semantics as
365 except that they take one parameter, and scroll that many lines.
366 They are also undefined except at the appropriate edge of the screen.
368 The \fBam\fR capability tells whether the cursor sticks at the right
369 edge of the screen when text is output, but this does not necessarily
372 from the last column.
373 The only local motion which is defined from the left edge is if
377 from the left edge will move to the right edge of the previous row.
380 is not given, the effect is undefined.
381 This is useful for drawing a box around the edge of the screen, for example.
382 If the terminal has switch selectable automatic margins,
385 file usually assumes that this is on; i.e., \fBam\fR.
386 If the terminal has a command which moves to the first column of the next
387 line, that command can be given as
390 It does not matter if the command clears the remainder of the current line,
391 so if the terminal has no
395 it may still be possible to craft a working
397 out of one or both of them.
399 These capabilities suffice to describe hard-copy and \*(``glass-tty\*('' terminals.
400 Thus the model 33 teletype is described as
406 \s-133\||\|tty33\||\|tty\||\|model 33 teletype,
407 bel=^G, cols#72, cr=^M, cud1=^J, hc, ind=^J, os,\s+1
412 while the Lear Siegler \s-1ADM-3\s0 is described as
418 \s-1adm3\||\|3\||\|lsi adm3,
419 am, bel=^G, clear=^Z, cols#80, cr=^M, cub1=^H, cud1=^J,
420 ind=^J, lines#24,\s+1
425 .SS Parameterized Strings
427 Cursor addressing and other strings requiring parameters
428 in the terminal are described by a
429 parameterized string capability,
430 with \fIprintf\fP-like escapes such as \fI%x\fR in it.
431 For example, to address the cursor, the
433 capability is given, using two parameters:
434 the row and column to address to.
435 (Rows and columns are numbered from zero and refer to the
436 physical screen visible to the user, not to any unseen memory.)
437 If the terminal has memory relative cursor addressing,
438 that can be indicated by
441 The parameter mechanism uses a stack and special \fB%\fP codes
443 Typically a sequence will push one of the
444 parameters onto the stack and then print it in some format.
445 Print (e.g., "%d") is a special case.
446 Other operations, including "%t" pop their operand from the stack.
447 It is noted that more complex operations are often necessary,
448 e.g., in the \fBsgr\fP string.
450 The \fB%\fR encodings have the following meanings:
456 \fB%\fP\fI[[\fP:\fI]flags][width[.precision]][\fP\fBdoxXs\fP\fI]\fP
457 as in \fBprintf\fP(3), flags are \fI[\-+#]\fP and \fIspace\fP.
458 Use a \*(``:\*('' to allow the next character to be a \*(``\-\*('' flag,
459 avoiding interpreting \*(``%\-\*('' as an operator.
462 print \fIpop()\fP like %c in \fBprintf\fP
465 print \fIpop()\fP like %s in \fBprintf\fP
468 push \fIi\fP'th parameter
471 set dynamic variable \fI[a\-z]\fP to \fIpop()\fP
473 \fB%g\fP\fI[a\-z]/\fP
474 get dynamic variable \fI[a\-z]\fP and push it
477 set static variable \fI[a\-z]\fP to \fIpop()\fP
480 get static variable \fI[a\-z]\fP and push it
482 The terms \*(``static\*('' and \*(``dynamic\*('' are misleading.
483 Historically, these are simply two different sets of variables,
484 whose values are not reset between calls to \fBtparm\fP(3X).
485 However, that fact is not documented in other implementations.
486 Relying on it will adversely impact portability to other implementations:
489 SVr4 curses stores the \fIstatic\fP variables in the \fBTERMINAL\fP
490 structure (declared in \fBterm.h\fP), and the \fIdynamic variables\fP
491 on the stack in the \fBtparm\fP function.
492 The former are zeroed automatically when the \fBsetupterm\fP function
494 The latter are set only by a \fB%P\fP operator.
495 A \fB%g\fP for a given variable without first setting it with \fB%P\fP
496 will give unpredictable results.
498 Solaris XPG4 curses does not distinguish between \fIdynamic\fP and
499 \fIstatic\fP variables.
501 Like SVr4 curses, XPG4 curses does not initialize these explicitly.
503 Before version 6.3, ncurses stores both \fIdynamic\fP and \fIstatic\fP
504 variables in persistent storage, initialized to zeros.
506 Beginning with version 6.3, ncurses stores \fIstatic\fP and \fIdynamic\fP
507 variables in the same manner as SVr4.
508 Unlike other implementations, ncurses zeros dynamic variables
509 before the first \fB%g\fP or \fB%P\fP operator.
512 \fB%'\fP\fIc\fP\fB'\fP
513 char constant \fIc\fP
515 \fB%{\fP\fInn\fP\fB}\fP
516 integer constant \fInn\fP
521 \fB%+\fP, \fB%\-\fP, \fB%*\fP, \fB%/\fP, \fB%m\fP
522 arithmetic (%m is \fImod\fP): \fIpush(pop() op pop())\fP
524 \fB%&\fP, \fB%|\fP, \fB%^\fP
525 bit operations (AND, OR and exclusive-OR): \fIpush(pop() op pop())\fP
527 \fB%=\fP, \fB%>\fP, \fB%<\fP
528 logical operations: \fIpush(pop() op pop())\fP
531 logical AND and OR operations (for conditionals)
534 unary operations (logical and bit complement): \fIpush(op pop())\fP
537 add 1 to first two parameters (for ANSI terminals)
539 \fB%?\fP \fIexpr\fP \fB%t\fP \fIthenpart\fP \fB%e\fP \fIelsepart\fP \fB%;\fP
540 This forms an if-then-else.
541 The \fB%e\fP \fIelsepart\fP is optional.
542 Usually the \fB%?\fP \fIexpr\fP part pushes a value onto the stack,
543 and \fB%t\fP pops it from the stack, testing if it is nonzero (true).
544 If it is zero (false), control passes to the \fB%e\fP (else) part.
546 It is possible to form else-if's a la Algol 68:
548 \fB%?\fP c\d1\u \fB%t\fP b\d1\u \fB%e\fP c\d2\u \fB%t\fP b\d2\u \fB%e\fP c\d3\u \fB%t\fP b\d3\u \fB%e\fP c\d4\u \fB%t\fP b\d4\u \fB%e\fP \fB%;\fP
551 where c\di\u are conditions, b\di\u are bodies.
553 Use the \fB\-f\fP option of \fB@TIC@\fP or \fB@INFOCMP@\fP to see
554 the structure of if-then-else's.
555 Some strings, e.g., \fBsgr\fP can be very complicated when written
557 The \fB\-f\fP option splits the string into lines with the parts indented.
559 Binary operations are in postfix form with the operands in the usual order.
560 That is, to get x\-5 one would use "%gx%{5}%-".
561 \fB%P\fP and \fB%g\fP variables are
562 persistent across escape-string evaluations.
564 Consider the HP2645, which, to get to row 3 and column 12, needs
565 to be sent \eE&a12c03Y padded for 6 milliseconds.
567 of the rows and columns is inverted here, and that the row and column
568 are printed as two digits.
569 Thus its \fBcup\fR capability is \*(``cup=6\eE&%p2%2dc%p1%2dY\*(''.
571 The Microterm \s-1ACT-IV\s0 needs the current row and column sent
572 preceded by a \fB^T\fR, with the row and column simply encoded in binary,
573 \*(``cup=^T%p1%c%p2%c\*(''.
574 Terminals which use \*(``%c\*('' need to be able to
575 backspace the cursor (\fBcub1\fR),
576 and to move the cursor up one line on the screen (\fBcuu1\fR).
577 This is necessary because it is not always safe to transmit \fB\en\fR
578 \fB^D\fR and \fB\er\fR, as the system may change or discard them.
579 (The library routines dealing with terminfo set tty modes so that
580 tabs are never expanded, so \et is safe to send.
581 This turns out to be essential for the Ann Arbor 4080.)
583 A final example is the \s-1LSI ADM\s0-3a, which uses row and column
584 offset by a blank character, thus \*(``cup=\eE=%p1%' '%+%c%p2%' '%+%c\*(''.
585 After sending \*(``\eE=\*('', this pushes the first parameter, pushes the
586 ASCII value for a space (32), adds them (pushing the sum on the stack
587 in place of the two previous values) and outputs that value as a character.
588 Then the same is done for the second parameter.
589 More complex arithmetic is possible using the stack.
593 If the terminal has a fast way to home the cursor
594 (to very upper left corner of screen) then this can be given as
595 \fBhome\fR; similarly a fast way of getting to the lower left-hand corner
596 can be given as \fBll\fR; this may involve going up with \fBcuu1\fR
597 from the home position,
598 but a program should never do this itself (unless \fBll\fR does) because it
599 can make no assumption about the effect of moving up from the home position.
600 Note that the home position is the same as addressing to (0,0):
601 to the top left corner of the screen, not of memory.
602 (Thus, the \eEH sequence on HP terminals cannot be used for
605 If the terminal has row or column absolute cursor addressing,
606 these can be given as single parameter capabilities
608 (horizontal position absolute)
611 (vertical position absolute).
612 Sometimes these are shorter than the more general two parameter
613 sequence (as with the hp2645) and can be used in preference to
615 If there are parameterized local motions (e.g., move
617 spaces to the right) these can be given as
623 with a single parameter indicating how many spaces to move.
624 These are primarily useful if the terminal does not have
626 such as the \s-1TEKTRONIX\s+1 4025.
628 If the terminal needs to be in a special mode when running
629 a program that uses these capabilities,
630 the codes to enter and exit this mode can be given as \fBsmcup\fR and \fBrmcup\fR.
631 This arises, for example, from terminals like the Concept with more than
633 If the terminal has only memory relative cursor addressing and not screen
634 relative cursor addressing, a one screen-sized window must be fixed into
635 the terminal for cursor addressing to work properly.
636 This is also used for the \s-1TEKTRONIX\s+1 4025,
639 sets the command character to be the one used by terminfo.
640 If the \fBsmcup\fP sequence will not restore the screen after an
641 \fBrmcup\fP sequence is output (to the state prior to outputting
642 \fBrmcup\fP), specify \fBnrrmc\fP.
646 If the terminal can clear from the current position to the end of the
647 line, leaving the cursor where it is, this should be given as \fBel\fR.
648 If the terminal can clear from the beginning of the line to the current
649 position inclusive, leaving
650 the cursor where it is, this should be given as \fBel1\fP.
651 If the terminal can clear from the current position to the end of the
652 display, then this should be given as \fBed\fR.
653 \fBEd\fR is only defined from the first column of a line.
654 (Thus, it can be simulated by a request to delete a large number of lines,
659 .SS Insert/delete line and vertical motions
661 If the terminal can open a new blank line before the line where the cursor
662 is, this should be given as \fBil1\fR; this is done only from the first
664 The cursor must then appear on the newly blank line.
665 If the terminal can delete the line which the cursor is on, then this
666 should be given as \fBdl1\fR; this is done only from the first position on
667 the line to be deleted.
672 which take a single parameter and insert or delete that many lines can
678 If the terminal has a settable scrolling region (like the vt100)
679 the command to set this can be described with the
681 capability, which takes two parameters:
682 the top and bottom lines of the scrolling region.
683 The cursor position is, alas, undefined after using this command.
685 It is possible to get the effect of insert or delete line using
687 on a properly chosen region; the
691 (save and restore cursor) commands may be useful for ensuring that
692 your synthesized insert/delete string does not move the cursor.
693 (Note that the \fBncurses\fR(3X) library does this synthesis
694 automatically, so you need not compose insert/delete strings for
695 an entry with \fBcsr\fR).
697 Yet another way to construct insert and delete might be to use a combination of
698 index with the memory-lock feature found on some terminals (like the HP\-700/90
699 series, which however also has insert/delete).
701 Inserting lines at the top or bottom of the screen can also be
706 on many terminals without a true insert/delete line,
707 and is often faster even on terminals with those features.
709 The boolean \fBnon_dest_scroll_region\fR should be set if each scrolling
710 window is effectively a view port on a screen-sized canvas.
712 this capability, create a scrolling region in the middle of the screen,
713 write something to the bottom line, move the cursor to the top of the region,
714 and do \fBri\fR followed by \fBdl1\fR or \fBind\fR.
716 off the bottom of the region by the \fBri\fR re-appears, then scrolling
718 System V and XSI Curses expect that \fBind\fR, \fBri\fR,
719 \fBindn\fR, and \fBrin\fR will simulate destructive scrolling; their
720 documentation cautions you not to define \fBcsr\fR unless this is true.
721 This \fBcurses\fR implementation is more liberal and will do explicit erases
722 after scrolling if \fBndsrc\fR is defined.
724 If the terminal has the ability to define a window as part of
725 memory, which all commands affect,
726 it should be given as the parameterized string
728 The four parameters are the starting and ending lines in memory
729 and the starting and ending columns in memory, in that order.
731 If the terminal can retain display memory above, then the
732 \fBda\fR capability should be given; if display memory can be retained
733 below, then \fBdb\fR should be given.
735 that deleting a line or scrolling may bring non-blank lines up from below
736 or that scrolling back with \fBri\fR may bring down non-blank lines.
738 .SS Insert/Delete Character
740 There are two basic kinds of intelligent terminals with respect to
741 insert/delete character which can be described using
743 The most common insert/delete character operations affect only the characters
744 on the current line and shift characters off the end of the line rigidly.
745 Other terminals, such as the Concept 100 and the Perkin Elmer Owl, make
746 a distinction between typed and untyped blanks on the screen, shifting
747 upon an insert or delete only to an untyped blank on the screen which is
748 either eliminated, or expanded to two untyped blanks.
750 You can determine the
751 kind of terminal you have by clearing the screen and then typing
752 text separated by cursor motions.
753 Type \*(``abc\ \ \ \ def\*('' using local
754 cursor motions (not spaces) between the \*(``abc\*('' and the \*(``def\*(''.
755 Then position the cursor before the \*(``abc\*('' and put the terminal in insert
757 If typing characters causes the rest of the line to shift
758 rigidly and characters to fall off the end, then your terminal does
759 not distinguish between blanks and untyped positions.
761 shifts over to the \*(``def\*('' which then move together around the end of the
762 current line and onto the next as you insert, you have the second type of
763 terminal, and should give the capability \fBin\fR, which stands for
764 \*(``insert null\*(''.
766 While these are two logically separate attributes (one line versus multi-line
767 insert mode, and special treatment of untyped spaces) we have seen no
768 terminals whose insert mode cannot be described with the single attribute.
770 Terminfo can describe both terminals which have an insert mode, and terminals
771 which send a simple sequence to open a blank position on the current line.
772 Give as \fBsmir\fR the sequence to get into insert mode.
773 Give as \fBrmir\fR the sequence to leave insert mode.
774 Now give as \fBich1\fR any sequence needed to be sent just before sending
775 the character to be inserted.
776 Most terminals with a true insert mode
777 will not give \fBich1\fR; terminals which send a sequence to open a screen
778 position should give it here.
780 If your terminal has both, insert mode is usually preferable to \fBich1\fR.
781 Technically, you should not give both unless the terminal actually requires
782 both to be used in combination.
783 Accordingly, some non-curses applications get
784 confused if both are present; the symptom is doubled characters in an update
786 This requirement is now rare; most \fBich\fR sequences do not
787 require previous smir, and most smir insert modes do not require \fBich1\fR
788 before each character.
789 Therefore, the new \fBcurses\fR actually assumes this
790 is the case and uses either \fBrmir\fR/\fBsmir\fR or \fBich\fR/\fBich1\fR as
791 appropriate (but not both).
792 If you have to write an entry to be used under
793 new curses for a terminal old enough to need both, include the
794 \fBrmir\fR/\fBsmir\fR sequences in \fBich1\fR.
796 If post insert padding is needed, give this as a number of milliseconds
797 in \fBip\fR (a string option).
798 Any other sequence which may need to be
799 sent after an insert of a single character may also be given in \fBip\fR.
800 If your terminal needs both to be placed into an \*(``insert mode\*('' and
801 a special code to precede each inserted character, then both
805 can be given, and both will be used.
808 capability, with one parameter,
810 will repeat the effects of
815 If padding is necessary between characters typed while not
816 in insert mode, give this as a number of milliseconds padding in \fBrmp\fP.
818 It is occasionally necessary to move around while in insert mode
819 to delete characters on the same line (e.g., if there is a tab after
820 the insertion position).
821 If your terminal allows motion while in
822 insert mode you can give the capability \fBmir\fR to speed up inserting
824 Omitting \fBmir\fR will affect only speed.
826 (notably Datamedia's) must not have \fBmir\fR because of the way their
829 Finally, you can specify
831 to delete a single character,
837 and delete mode by giving \fBsmdc\fR and \fBrmdc\fR
838 to enter and exit delete mode (any mode the terminal needs to be placed
845 characters (equivalent to outputting
847 blanks without moving the cursor)
852 .SS "Highlighting, Underlining, and Visible Bells"
854 If your terminal has one or more kinds of display attributes,
855 these can be represented in a number of different ways.
856 You should choose one display form as
858 representing a good, high contrast, easy-on-the-eyes,
859 format for highlighting error messages and other attention getters.
860 (If you have a choice, reverse video plus half-bright is good,
861 or reverse video alone.)
862 The sequences to enter and exit standout mode
863 are given as \fBsmso\fR and \fBrmso\fR, respectively.
864 If the code to change into or out of standout
865 mode leaves one or even two blank spaces on the screen,
866 as the TVI 912 and Teleray 1061 do,
867 then \fBxmc\fR should be given to tell how many spaces are left.
869 Codes to begin underlining and end underlining can be given as \fBsmul\fR
870 and \fBrmul\fR respectively.
871 If the terminal has a code to underline the current character and move
872 the cursor one space to the right,
873 such as the Microterm Mime,
874 this can be given as \fBuc\fR.
876 Other capabilities to enter various highlighting modes include
880 (bold or extra bright)
884 (blanking or invisible text)
894 (enter alternate character set mode)
897 (exit alternate character set mode).
898 Turning on any of these modes singly may or may not turn off other modes.
900 If there is a sequence to set arbitrary combinations of modes,
901 this should be given as
905 Each parameter is either 0 or nonzero, as the corresponding attribute is on or off.
906 The 9 parameters are, in order:
907 standout, underline, reverse, blink, dim, bold, blank, protect, alternate
909 Not all modes need be supported by
911 only those for which corresponding separate attribute commands exist.
913 For example, the DEC vt220 supports most of the modes:
920 \fBtparm parameter attribute escape sequence\fP
923 p1 standout \\E[0;1;7m
924 p2 underline \\E[0;4m
931 p9 altcharset ^O (off) ^N (on)
934 We begin each escape sequence by turning off any existing modes, since
935 there is no quick way to determine whether they are active.
936 Standout is set up to be the combination of reverse and bold.
937 The vt220 terminal has a protect mode,
938 though it is not commonly used in sgr
939 because it protects characters on the screen from the host's erasures.
940 The altcharset mode also is different in that it is either ^O or ^N,
941 depending on whether it is off or on.
942 If all modes are turned on, the resulting sequence is \\E[0;1;4;5;7;8m^N.
944 Some sequences are common to different modes.
945 For example, ;7 is output when either p1 or p3 is true, that is, if
946 either standout or reverse modes are turned on.
948 Writing out the above sequences, along with their dependencies yields
956 \fBsequence when to output terminfo translation\fP
960 ;1 if p1 or p6 %?%p1%p6%|%t;1%;
961 ;4 if p2 %?%p2%|%t;4%;
962 ;5 if p4 %?%p4%|%t;5%;
963 ;7 if p1 or p3 %?%p1%p3%|%t;7%;
964 ;8 if p7 %?%p7%|%t;8%;
966 ^N or ^O if p9 ^N, else ^O %?%p9%t^N%e^O%;
970 Putting this all together into the sgr sequence gives:
974 sgr=\\E[0%?%p1%p6%|%t;1%;%?%p2%t;4%;%?%p4%t;5%;
975 %?%p1%p3%|%t;7%;%?%p7%t;8%;m%?%p9%t\\016%e\\017%;,
979 Remember that if you specify sgr, you must also specify sgr0.
980 Also, some implementations rely on sgr being given if sgr0 is,
981 Not all terminfo entries necessarily have an sgr string, however.
982 Many terminfo entries are derived from termcap entries
983 which have no sgr string.
984 The only drawback to adding an sgr string is that termcap also
985 assumes that sgr0 does not exit alternate character set mode.
987 Terminals with the \*(``magic cookie\*('' glitch
989 deposit special \*(``cookies\*('' when they receive mode-setting sequences,
990 which affect the display algorithm rather than having extra bits for
992 Some terminals, such as the HP 2621, automatically leave standout
993 mode when they move to a new line or the cursor is addressed.
994 Programs using standout mode should exit standout mode before
995 moving the cursor or sending a newline,
998 capability, asserting that it is safe to move in standout mode, is present.
1001 a way of flashing the screen to indicate an error quietly (a bell replacement)
1002 then this can be given as \fBflash\fR; it must not move the cursor.
1004 If the cursor needs to be made more visible than normal when it is
1005 not on the bottom line (to make, for example, a non-blinking underline into an
1006 easier to find block or blinking underline)
1007 give this sequence as
1009 If there is a way to make the cursor completely invisible, give that as
1013 should be given which undoes the effects of both of these modes.
1015 If your terminal correctly generates underlined characters
1016 (with no special codes needed)
1017 even though it does not overstrike,
1018 then you should give the capability \fBul\fR.
1019 If a character overstriking another leaves both characters on the screen,
1020 specify the capability \fBos\fP.
1021 If overstrikes are erasable with a blank,
1022 then this should be indicated by giving \fBeo\fR.
1024 .SS Keypad and Function Keys
1026 If the terminal has a keypad that transmits codes when the keys are pressed,
1027 this information can be given.
1028 Note that it is not possible to handle
1029 terminals where the keypad only works in local (this applies, for example,
1030 to the unshifted HP 2621 keys).
1031 If the keypad can be set to transmit or not transmit,
1032 give these codes as \fBsmkx\fR and \fBrmkx\fR.
1033 Otherwise the keypad is assumed to always transmit.
1035 The codes sent by the left arrow, right arrow, up arrow, down arrow,
1036 and home keys can be given as
1037 \fBkcub1, kcuf1, kcuu1, kcud1, \fRand\fB khome\fR respectively.
1038 If there are function keys such as f0, f1, ..., f10, the codes they send
1039 can be given as \fBkf0, kf1, ..., kf10\fR.
1040 If these keys have labels other than the default f0 through f10, the labels
1041 can be given as \fBlf0, lf1, ..., lf10\fR.
1043 The codes transmitted by certain other special keys can be given:
1055 (clear the tab stop in this column),
1058 (clear screen or erase key),
1070 (clear to end of line),
1073 (clear to end of screen),
1076 (insert character or enter insert mode),
1088 (scroll forward/down),
1091 (scroll backward/up),
1094 (set a tab stop in this column).
1096 In addition, if the keypad has a 3 by 3 array of keys including the four
1097 arrow keys, the other five keys can be given as
1104 These keys are useful when the effects of a 3 by 3 directional pad are needed.
1106 Strings to program function keys can be given as
1111 A string to program screen labels should be specified as \fBpln\fP.
1112 Each of these strings takes two parameters: the function key number to
1113 program (from 0 to 10) and the string to program it with.
1114 Function key numbers out of this range may program undefined keys in
1115 a terminal dependent manner.
1116 The difference between the capabilities is that
1118 causes pressing the given key to be the same as the user typing the
1121 causes the string to be executed by the terminal in local; and
1123 causes the string to be transmitted to the computer.
1125 The capabilities \fBnlab\fP, \fBlw\fP and \fBlh\fP
1126 define the number of programmable
1127 screen labels and their width and height.
1128 If there are commands to turn the labels on and off,
1129 give them in \fBsmln\fP and \fBrmln\fP.
1130 \fBsmln\fP is normally output after one or more pln
1131 sequences to make sure that the change becomes visible.
1133 .SS Tabs and Initialization
1135 A few capabilities are used only for tabs:
1137 If the terminal has hardware tabs, the command to advance to the next
1138 tab stop can be given as
1140 (usually control/I).
1142 A \*(``back-tab\*('' command which moves leftward to the preceding tab stop can
1146 By convention, if the teletype modes indicate that tabs are being
1147 expanded by the computer rather than being sent to the terminal,
1148 programs should not use
1152 even if they are present, since the user may not have the tab stops
1155 If the terminal has hardware tabs which are initially set every
1157 spaces when the terminal is powered up,
1158 the numeric parameter
1160 is given, showing the number of spaces the tabs are set to.
1162 The \fBit\fP capability is normally used by the \fB@TSET@\fP
1163 command to determine whether to set the mode for hardware tab expansion,
1164 and whether to set the tab stops.
1165 If the terminal has tab stops that can be saved in non-volatile memory,
1166 the terminfo description can assume that they are properly set.
1175 initialization strings for the terminal,
1178 the path name of a program to be run to initialize the terminal,
1180 and \fBif\fR, the name of a file containing long initialization strings.
1182 These strings are expected to set the terminal into modes consistent
1183 with the rest of the terminfo description.
1184 They are normally sent to the terminal, by the
1186 option of the \fB@TPUT@\fP program, each time the user logs in.
1187 They will be printed in the following order:
1199 set the margins using
1202 \fBsmglp\fP and \fBsmgrp\fP or
1204 \fBsmgl\fP and \fBsmgr\fP
1218 Most initialization is done with
1220 Special terminal modes can be set up without duplicating strings
1221 by putting the common sequences in
1223 and special cases in
1228 A set of sequences that does a harder reset from a totally unknown state
1242 These strings are output
1243 by \fIreset\fP option of \fB@TPUT@\fP,
1244 or by the \fB@RESET@\fP program
1245 (an alias of \fB@TSET@\fP),
1246 which is used when the terminal gets into a wedged state.
1247 Commands are normally placed in
1253 only if they produce annoying effects on the screen and are not
1254 necessary when logging in.
1255 For example, the command to set the vt100 into 80-column mode would
1258 but it causes an annoying glitch of the screen and is not normally
1259 needed since the terminal is usually already in 80-column mode.
1261 The \fB@RESET@\fP program writes strings including
1263 etc., in the same order as the
1276 reset capability strings are missing,
1277 the \fB@RESET@\fP program
1278 falls back upon the corresponding initialization capability string.
1280 If there are commands to set and clear tab stops, they can be given as
1282 (clear all tab stops)
1285 (set a tab stop in the current column of every row).
1286 If a more complex sequence is needed to set the tabs than can be
1287 described by this, the sequence can be placed in
1292 The \fB@TPUT@ reset\fP command uses the same capability strings
1293 as the \fB@RESET@\fP command,
1294 although the two programs (\fB@TPUT@\fP and \fB@RESET@\fP)
1295 provide different command-line options.
1297 In practice, these terminfo capabilities are not often used in
1298 initialization of tabs
1299 (though they are required for the \fB@TABS@\fP program):
1301 Almost all hardware terminals (at least those which supported tabs)
1302 initialized those to every \fIeight\fP columns:
1304 The only exception was the AT&T 2300 series,
1305 which set tabs to every \fIfive\fP columns.
1307 In particular, developers of the hardware terminals which are commonly used
1308 as models for modern terminal emulators provided documentation demonstrating
1309 that \fIeight\fP columns were the standard.
1311 Because of this, the terminal initialization programs
1312 \fB@TPUT@\fP and \fB@TSET@\fP
1314 \fBtbc\fP (\fBclear_all_tabs\fP) and
1315 \fBhts\fP (\fBset_tab\fP) capabilities directly
1316 only when the \fBit\fP (\fBinit_tabs\fP) capability
1317 is set to a value other than \fIeight\fP.
1318 .SS Delays and Padding
1320 Many older and slower terminals do not support either XON/XOFF or DTR
1321 handshaking, including hard copy terminals and some very archaic CRTs
1322 (including, for example, DEC VT100s).
1323 These may require padding characters
1324 after certain cursor motions and screen changes.
1326 If the terminal uses xon/xoff handshaking for flow control (that is,
1327 it automatically emits ^S back to the host when its input buffers are
1330 This capability suppresses the emission of padding.
1332 for memory-mapped console devices effectively that do not have a speed limit.
1333 Padding information should still be included so that routines can
1334 make better decisions about relative costs, but actual pad characters will
1337 If \fBpb\fR (padding baud rate) is given, padding is suppressed at baud rates
1338 below the value of \fBpb\fR.
1339 If the entry has no padding baud rate, then
1340 whether padding is emitted or not is completely controlled by \fBxon\fR.
1342 If the terminal requires other than a null (zero) character as a pad,
1343 then this can be given as \fBpad\fR.
1344 Only the first character of the
1349 Some terminals have an extra \*(``status line\*('' which is not normally used by
1350 software (and thus not counted in the terminal's \fBlines\fR capability).
1352 The simplest case is a status line which is cursor-addressable but not
1353 part of the main scrolling region on the screen; the Heathkit H19 has
1354 a status line of this kind, as would a 24-line VT100 with a 23-line
1355 scrolling region set up on initialization.
1356 This situation is indicated
1357 by the \fBhs\fR capability.
1359 Some terminals with status lines need special sequences to access the
1361 These may be expressed as a string with single parameter
1362 \fBtsl\fR which takes the cursor to a given zero-origin column on the
1364 The capability \fBfsl\fR must return to the main-screen
1365 cursor positions before the last \fBtsl\fR.
1366 You may need to embed the
1367 string values of \fBsc\fR (save cursor) and \fBrc\fR (restore cursor)
1368 in \fBtsl\fR and \fBfsl\fR to accomplish this.
1370 The status line is normally assumed to be the same width as the width
1372 If this is untrue, you can specify it with the numeric
1373 capability \fBwsl\fR.
1375 A command to erase or blank the status line may be specified as \fBdsl\fR.
1377 The boolean capability \fBeslok\fR specifies that escape sequences, tabs,
1378 etc., work ordinarily in the status line.
1380 The \fBncurses\fR implementation does not yet use any of these capabilities.
1381 They are documented here in case they ever become important.
1385 Many terminals have alternate character sets useful for forms-drawing.
1386 Terminfo and \fBcurses\fR have built-in support
1387 for most of the drawing characters
1388 supported by the VT100, with some characters from the AT&T 4410v1 added.
1389 This alternate character set may be specified by the \fBacsc\fR capability.
1396 lw25 lw10 lw6 lw6 lw6.
1398 \fBGlyph ACS Ascii acsc acsc\fR
1399 \fBName Name Default Char Value\fR
1400 arrow pointing right ACS_RARROW > + 0x2b
1401 arrow pointing left ACS_LARROW < , 0x2c
1402 arrow pointing up ACS_UARROW ^ \- 0x2d
1403 arrow pointing down ACS_DARROW v . 0x2e
1404 solid square block ACS_BLOCK # 0 0x30
1405 diamond ACS_DIAMOND + ` 0x60
1406 checker board (stipple) ACS_CKBOARD : a 0x61
1407 degree symbol ACS_DEGREE \e f 0x66
1408 plus/minus ACS_PLMINUS # g 0x67
1409 board of squares ACS_BOARD # h 0x68
1410 lantern symbol ACS_LANTERN # i 0x69
1411 lower right corner ACS_LRCORNER + j 0x6a
1412 upper right corner ACS_URCORNER + k 0x6b
1413 upper left corner ACS_ULCORNER + l 0x6c
1414 lower left corner ACS_LLCORNER + m 0x6d
1415 large plus or crossover ACS_PLUS + n 0x6e
1416 scan line 1 ACS_S1 ~ o 0x6f
1417 scan line 3 ACS_S3 \- p 0x70
1418 horizontal line ACS_HLINE \- q 0x71
1419 scan line 7 ACS_S7 \- r 0x72
1420 scan line 9 ACS_S9 \&_ s 0x73
1421 tee pointing right ACS_LTEE + t 0x74
1422 tee pointing left ACS_RTEE + u 0x75
1423 tee pointing up ACS_BTEE + v 0x76
1424 tee pointing down ACS_TTEE + w 0x77
1425 vertical line ACS_VLINE | x 0x78
1426 less-than-or-equal-to ACS_LEQUAL < y 0x79
1427 greater-than-or-equal-to ACS_GEQUAL > z 0x7a
1428 greek pi ACS_PI * { 0x7b
1429 not-equal ACS_NEQUAL ! | 0x7c
1430 UK pound sign ACS_STERLING f } 0x7d
1431 bullet ACS_BULLET o ~ 0x7e
1434 A few notes apply to the table itself:
1436 X/Open Curses incorrectly states that the mapping for \fIlantern\fP is
1437 uppercase \*(``I\*('' although Unix implementations use the
1438 lowercase \*(``i\*('' mapping.
1440 The DEC VT100 implemented graphics using the alternate character set
1441 feature, temporarily switching \fImodes\fP and sending characters
1442 in the range 0x60 (96) to 0x7e (126)
1443 (the \fBacsc Value\fP column in the table).
1445 The AT&T terminal added graphics characters outside that range.
1447 Some of the characters within the range do not match the VT100;
1448 presumably they were used in the AT&T terminal:
1449 \fIboard of squares\fP replaces the VT100 \fInewline\fP symbol, while
1450 \fIlantern symbol\fP replaces the VT100 \fIvertical tab\fP symbol.
1451 The other VT100 symbols for control characters (\fIhorizontal tab\fP,
1452 \fIcarriage return\fP and \fIline-feed\fP) are not (re)used in curses.
1454 The best way to define a new device's graphics set is to add a column
1455 to a copy of this table for your terminal, giving the character which
1456 (when emitted between \fBsmacs\fR/\fBrmacs\fR switches) will be rendered
1457 as the corresponding graphic.
1458 Then read off the VT100/your terminal
1459 character pairs right to left in sequence; these become the ACSC string.
1463 The curses library functions \fBinit_pair\fP and \fBinit_color\fP
1464 manipulate the \fIcolor pairs\fP and \fIcolor values\fP discussed in this
1466 (see \fBcurs_color\fP(3X) for details on these and related functions).
1468 Most color terminals are either \*(``Tektronix-like\*('' or \*(``HP-like\*('':
1471 terminals have a predefined set of \fIN\fP colors
1472 (where \fIN\fP is usually 8),
1474 character-cell foreground and background characters independently, mixing them
1475 into \fIN\fP\ *\ \fIN\fP color-pairs.
1477 On HP-like terminals, the user must set each color
1478 pair up separately (foreground and background are not independently settable).
1479 Up to \fIM\fP color-pairs may be set up from 2*\fIM\fP different colors.
1480 ANSI-compatible terminals are Tektronix-like.
1482 Some basic color capabilities are independent of the color method.
1484 capabilities \fBcolors\fR and \fBpairs\fR specify the maximum numbers of colors
1485 and color-pairs that can be displayed simultaneously.
1486 The \fBop\fR (original
1487 pair) string resets foreground and background colors to their default values
1489 The \fBoc\fR string resets all colors or color-pairs to
1490 their default values for the terminal.
1491 Some terminals (including many PC
1492 terminal emulators) erase screen areas with the current background color rather
1493 than the power-up default background; these should have the boolean capability
1496 While the curses library works with \fIcolor pairs\fP
1497 (reflecting the inability of some devices to set foreground
1498 and background colors independently),
1499 there are separate capabilities for setting these features:
1501 To change the current foreground or background color on a Tektronix-type
1502 terminal, use \fBsetaf\fR (set ANSI foreground) and \fBsetab\fR (set ANSI
1503 background) or \fBsetf\fR (set foreground) and \fBsetb\fR (set background).
1504 These take one parameter, the color number.
1505 The SVr4 documentation describes
1506 only \fBsetaf\fR/\fBsetab\fR; the XPG4 draft says that "If the terminal
1507 supports ANSI escape sequences to set background and foreground, they should
1508 be coded as \fBsetaf\fR and \fBsetab\fR, respectively.
1511 supports other escape sequences to set background and foreground, they should
1512 be coded as \fBsetf\fR and \fBsetb\fR, respectively.
1513 The \fBvidputs\fR and the \fBrefresh\fP(3X) functions
1514 use the \fBsetaf\fR and \fBsetab\fR capabilities if they are defined.
1516 The \fBsetaf\fR/\fBsetab\fR and \fBsetf\fR/\fBsetb\fR capabilities take a
1517 single numeric argument each.
1518 Argument values 0-7 of \fBsetaf\fR/\fBsetab\fR are portably defined as
1519 follows (the middle column is the symbolic #define available in the header for
1520 the \fBcurses\fR or \fBncurses\fR libraries).
1521 The terminal hardware is free to
1522 map these as it likes, but the RGB values indicate normal locations in color
1529 \fBColor #define Value RGB\fR
1530 black \fBCOLOR_BLACK\fR 0 0, 0, 0
1531 red \fBCOLOR_RED\ \fR 1 max,0,0
1532 green \fBCOLOR_GREEN\fR 2 0,max,0
1533 yellow \fBCOLOR_YELLOW\fR 3 max,max,0
1534 blue \fBCOLOR_BLUE\fR 4 0,0,max
1535 magenta \fBCOLOR_MAGENTA\fR 5 max,0,max
1536 cyan \fBCOLOR_CYAN\fR 6 0,max,max
1537 white \fBCOLOR_WHITE\fR 7 max,max,max
1540 The argument values of \fBsetf\fR/\fBsetb\fR historically correspond to
1541 a different mapping, i.e.,
1546 \fBColor #define Value RGB\fR
1547 black \fBCOLOR_BLACK\fR 0 0, 0, 0
1548 blue \fBCOLOR_BLUE\fR 1 0,0,max
1549 green \fBCOLOR_GREEN\fR 2 0,max,0
1550 cyan \fBCOLOR_CYAN\fR 3 0,max,max
1551 red \fBCOLOR_RED\ \fR 4 max,0,0
1552 magenta \fBCOLOR_MAGENTA\fR 5 max,0,max
1553 yellow \fBCOLOR_YELLOW\fR 6 max,max,0
1554 white \fBCOLOR_WHITE\fR 7 max,max,max
1557 It is important to not confuse the two sets of color capabilities;
1558 otherwise red/blue will be interchanged on the display.
1560 On an HP-like terminal, use \fBscp\fR with a color-pair number parameter to set
1561 which color pair is current.
1563 Some terminals allow the \fIcolor values\fP to be modified:
1565 On a Tektronix-like terminal, the capability \fBccc\fR may be present to
1566 indicate that colors can be modified.
1567 If so, the \fBinitc\fR capability will
1568 take a color number (0 to \fBcolors\fR \- 1)and three more parameters which
1570 These three parameters default to being interpreted as RGB
1571 (Red, Green, Blue) values.
1572 If the boolean capability \fBhls\fR is present,
1573 they are instead as HLS (Hue, Lightness, Saturation) indices.
1577 On an HP-like terminal, \fBinitp\fR may give a capability for changing a
1579 It will take seven parameters; a color-pair number (0 to
1580 \fBmax_pairs\fR \- 1), and two triples describing first background and then
1582 These parameters must be (Red, Green, Blue) or
1583 (Hue, Lightness, Saturation) depending on \fBhls\fR.
1585 On some color terminals, colors collide with highlights.
1587 these collisions with the \fBncv\fR capability.
1588 This is a bit-mask of
1589 attributes not to be used when colors are enabled.
1590 The correspondence with the
1591 attributes understood by \fBcurses\fR is as follows:
1597 \fBAttribute Bit Decimal Set by\fR
1606 A_ALTCHARSET 8 256 sgr
1607 A_HORIZONTAL 9 512 sgr1
1610 A_RIGHT 12 4096 sgr1
1612 A_VERTICAL 14 16384 sgr1
1613 A_ITALIC 15 32768 sitm
1616 For example, on many IBM PC consoles, the underline attribute collides with the
1617 foreground color blue and is not available in color mode.
1619 an \fBncv\fR capability of 2.
1621 SVr4 curses does nothing with \fBncv\fR, ncurses recognizes it and optimizes
1622 the output in favor of colors.
1625 If the terminal requires other than a null (zero) character as a pad, then this
1626 can be given as pad.
1627 Only the first character of the pad string is used.
1628 If the terminal does not have a pad character, specify npc.
1629 Note that ncurses implements the termcap-compatible \fBPC\fR variable;
1630 though the application may set this value to something other than
1631 a null, ncurses will test \fBnpc\fR first and use napms if the terminal
1632 has no pad character.
1634 If the terminal can move up or down half a line,
1635 this can be indicated with
1641 This is primarily useful for superscripts and subscripts on hard-copy terminals.
1642 If a hard-copy terminal can eject to the next page (form feed), give this as
1644 (usually control/L).
1646 If there is a command to repeat a given character a given number of
1647 times (to save time transmitting a large number of identical characters)
1648 this can be indicated with the parameterized string
1650 The first parameter is the character to be repeated and the second
1651 is the number of times to repeat it.
1652 Thus, tparm(repeat_char, 'x', 10) is the same as \*(``xxxxxxxxxx\*(''.
1654 If the terminal has a settable command character, such as the \s-1TEKTRONIX\s+1 4025,
1655 this can be indicated with
1657 A prototype command character is chosen which is used in all capabilities.
1658 This character is given in the
1660 capability to identify it.
1661 The following convention is supported on some UNIX systems:
1662 The environment is to be searched for a
1664 variable, and if found, all
1665 occurrences of the prototype character are replaced with the character
1666 in the environment variable.
1668 Terminal descriptions that do not represent a specific kind of known
1677 (generic) capability so that programs can complain that they do not know
1678 how to talk to the terminal.
1679 (This capability does not apply to
1681 terminal descriptions for which the escape sequences are known.)
1683 If the terminal has a \*(``meta key\*('' which acts as a shift key,
1684 setting the 8th bit of any character transmitted, this fact can
1687 Otherwise, software will assume that the 8th bit is parity and it
1688 will usually be cleared.
1689 If strings exist to turn this \*(``meta mode\*('' on and off, they
1695 If the terminal has more lines of memory than will fit on the screen
1696 at once, the number of lines of memory can be indicated with
1700 indicates that the number of lines is not fixed,
1701 but that there is still more memory than fits on the screen.
1703 If the terminal is one of those supported by the \s-1UNIX\s+1 virtual
1704 terminal protocol, the terminal number can be given as
1708 strings which control an auxiliary printer connected to the terminal
1711 print the contents of the screen,
1713 turn off the printer, and
1715 turn on the printer.
1716 When the printer is on, all text sent to the terminal will be sent
1718 It is undefined whether the text is also displayed on the terminal screen
1719 when the printer is on.
1722 takes one parameter, and leaves the printer on for as many characters
1723 as the value of the parameter, then turns the printer off.
1724 The parameter should not exceed 255.
1727 is transparently passed to the printer while an
1731 .SS Glitches and Braindamage
1733 Hazeltine terminals, which do not allow \*(``~\*('' characters to be displayed should
1736 Terminals which ignore a line-feed immediately after an \fBam\fR wrap,
1737 such as the Concept and vt100,
1738 should indicate \fBxenl\fR.
1742 is required to get rid of standout
1743 (instead of merely writing normal text on top of it),
1744 \fBxhp\fP should be given.
1746 Teleray terminals, where tabs turn all characters moved over to blanks,
1747 should indicate \fBxt\fR (destructive tabs).
1748 Note: the variable indicating this is now \*(``dest_tabs_magic_smso\*(''; in
1749 older versions, it was teleray_glitch.
1750 This glitch is also taken to mean that it is not possible to position
1751 the cursor on top of a \*(``magic cookie\*('',
1752 that to erase standout mode it is instead necessary to use
1753 delete and insert line.
1754 The ncurses implementation ignores this glitch.
1756 The Beehive Superbee, which is unable to correctly transmit the escape
1757 or control/C characters, has
1759 indicating that the f1 key is used for escape and f2 for control/C.
1760 (Only certain Superbees have this problem, depending on the ROM.)
1761 Note that in older terminfo versions, this capability was called
1762 \*(``beehive_glitch\*(''; it is now \*(``no_esc_ctl_c\*(''.
1764 Other specific terminal problems may be corrected by adding more
1765 capabilities of the form \fBx\fR\fIx\fR.
1767 .SS Pitfalls of Long Entries
1769 Long terminfo entries are unlikely to be a problem; to date, no entry has even
1770 approached terminfo's 4096-byte string-table maximum.
1771 Unfortunately, the termcap
1772 translations are much more strictly limited (to 1023 bytes), thus termcap translations
1773 of long terminfo entries can cause problems.
1775 The man pages for 4.3BSD and older versions of \fBtgetent\fP instruct the user to
1776 allocate a 1024-byte buffer for the termcap entry.
1777 The entry gets null-terminated by
1778 the termcap library, so that makes the maximum safe length for a termcap entry
1780 Depending on what the application and the termcap library
1781 being used does, and where in the termcap file the terminal type that \fBtgetent\fP
1782 is searching for is, several bad things can happen.
1784 Some termcap libraries print a warning message or exit if they find an
1785 entry that's longer than 1023 bytes; others do not; others truncate the
1786 entries to 1023 bytes.
1787 Some application programs allocate more than
1788 the recommended 1K for the termcap entry; others do not.
1790 Each termcap entry has two important sizes associated with it: before
1791 \*(``tc\*('' expansion, and after \*(``tc\*('' expansion.
1792 \*(``tc\*('' is the capability that
1793 tacks on another termcap entry to the end of the current one, to add
1794 on its capabilities.
1795 If a termcap entry does not use the \*(``tc\*(''
1796 capability, then of course the two lengths are the same.
1798 The \*(``before tc expansion\*('' length is the most important one, because it
1799 affects more than just users of that particular terminal.
1801 length of the entry as it exists in /etc/termcap, minus the
1802 backslash-newline pairs, which \fBtgetent\fP strips out while reading it.
1803 Some termcap libraries strip off the final newline, too (GNU termcap does not).
1806 a termcap entry before expansion is more than 1023 bytes long,
1808 and the application has only allocated a 1k buffer,
1810 and the termcap library (like the one in BSD/OS 1.1 and GNU) reads
1811 the whole entry into the buffer, no matter what its length, to see
1812 if it is the entry it wants,
1814 and \fBtgetent\fP is searching for a terminal type that either is the
1815 long entry, appears in the termcap file after the long entry, or
1816 does not appear in the file at all (so that \fBtgetent\fP has to search
1817 the whole termcap file).
1819 Then \fBtgetent\fP will overwrite memory, perhaps its stack, and probably core dump
1821 Programs like telnet are particularly vulnerable; modern telnets
1822 pass along values like the terminal type automatically.
1823 The results are almost
1824 as undesirable with a termcap library, like SunOS 4.1.3 and Ultrix 4.4, that
1825 prints warning messages when it reads an overly long termcap entry.
1827 termcap library truncates long entries, like OSF/1 3.0, it is immune to dying
1828 here but will return incorrect data for the terminal.
1830 The \*(``after tc expansion\*('' length will have a similar effect to the
1831 above, but only for people who actually set TERM to that terminal
1832 type, since \fBtgetent\fP only does \*(``tc\*('' expansion once it is found the
1833 terminal type it was looking for, not while searching.
1835 In summary, a termcap entry that is longer than 1023 bytes can cause,
1836 on various combinations of termcap libraries and applications, a core
1837 dump, warnings, or incorrect operation.
1838 If it is too long even before
1839 \*(``tc\*('' expansion, it will have this effect even for users of some other
1840 terminal types and users whose TERM variable does not have a termcap
1843 When in \-C (translate to termcap) mode, the \fBncurses\fR implementation of
1844 \fB@TIC@\fR(1M) issues warning messages when the pre-tc length of a termcap
1845 translation is too long.
1846 The \-c (check) option also checks resolved (after tc
1848 .SS Binary Compatibility
1849 It is not wise to count on portability of binary terminfo entries between
1850 commercial UNIX versions.
1851 The problem is that there are at least two versions
1852 of terminfo (under HP\-UX and AIX) which diverged from System V terminfo after
1853 SVr1, and have added extension capabilities to the string table that (in the
1854 binary format) collide with System V and XSI Curses extensions.
1857 Searching for terminal descriptions in
1858 \fB$HOME/.terminfo\fR and TERMINFO_DIRS
1859 is not supported by older implementations.
1861 Some SVr4 \fBcurses\fR implementations, and all previous to SVr4, do not
1862 interpret the %A and %O operators in parameter strings.
1864 SVr4/XPG4 do not specify whether \fBmsgr\fR licenses movement while in
1865 an alternate-character-set mode (such modes may, among other things, map
1866 CR and NL to characters that do not trigger local motions).
1867 The \fBncurses\fR implementation ignores \fBmsgr\fR in \fBALTCHARSET\fR
1869 This raises the possibility that an XPG4
1870 implementation making the opposite interpretation may need terminfo
1871 entries made for \fBncurses\fR to have \fBmsgr\fR turned off.
1873 The \fBncurses\fR library handles insert-character and insert-character modes
1874 in a slightly non-standard way to get better update efficiency.
1876 the \fBInsert/Delete Character\fR subsection above.
1878 The parameter substitutions for \fBset_clock\fR and \fBdisplay_clock\fR are
1879 not documented in SVr4 or the XSI Curses standard.
1880 They are deduced from the
1881 documentation for the AT&T 505 terminal.
1883 Be careful assigning the \fBkmous\fR capability.
1884 The \fBncurses\fR library wants to interpret it as \fBKEY_MOUSE\fR,
1885 for use by terminals and emulators like xterm
1886 that can return mouse-tracking information in the keyboard-input stream.
1888 X/Open Curses does not mention italics.
1889 Portable applications must assume that numeric capabilities are
1890 signed 16-bit values.
1891 This includes the \fIno_color_video\fP (ncv) capability.
1892 The 32768 mask value used for italics with ncv can be confused with
1893 an absent or cancelled ncv.
1894 If italics should work with colors,
1895 then the ncv value must be specified, even if it is zero.
1897 Different commercial ports of terminfo and curses support different subsets of
1898 the XSI Curses standard and (in some cases) different extension sets.
1900 is a summary, accurate as of October 1995:
1902 \fBSVR4, Solaris, ncurses\fR \-\-
1903 These support all SVr4 capabilities.
1906 Supports the SVr4 set, adds one undocumented extended string
1907 capability (\fBset_pglen\fR).
1909 \fBSVr1, Ultrix\fR \-\-
1910 These support a restricted subset of terminfo capabilities.
1911 The booleans end with \fBxon_xoff\fR;
1912 the numerics with \fBwidth_status_line\fR;
1913 and the strings with \fBprtr_non\fR.
1916 Supports the SVr1 subset, plus the SVr[234] numerics \fBnum_labels\fR,
1917 \fBlabel_height\fR, \fBlabel_width\fR, plus function keys 11 through 63, plus
1918 \fBplab_norm\fR, \fBlabel_on\fR, and \fBlabel_off\fR, plus some incompatible
1919 extensions in the string table.
1922 Supports the SVr1 subset, plus function keys 11 through 63, plus a number
1923 of incompatible string table extensions.
1926 Supports both the SVr4 set and the AIX extensions.
1930 files containing terminal descriptions
1932 \fB@INFOCMP@\fR(1M),
1936 \fBcurs_color\fR(3X),
1937 \fBcurs_variables\fR(3X),
1939 \fBterm_variables\fR(3X).
1943 Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey.
1944 Based on pcurses by Pavel Curtis.