curs_termcap 3x

curs_termcap(3x)                                       curs_termcap(3x)

NAME

       tgetent, tgetflag, tgetnum, tgetstr, tgoto, tputs - direct
       curses interface to the terminfo capability database

SYNOPSIS

       #include <curses.h>
       #include <term.h>

       extern char PC;
       extern char * UP;
       extern char * BC;
       extern short ospeed;

       int tgetent(char *bp, const char *name);
       int tgetflag(char *id);
       int tgetnum(char *id);
       char *tgetstr(char *id, char **area);
       char *tgoto(const char *cap, int col, int row);
       int tputs(const char *str, int affcnt, int (*putc)(int));

DESCRIPTION

       These routines are included as a conversion aid  for  pro-
       grams  that use the termcap library.  Their parameters are
       the same and the routines are emulated using the  terminfo
       database.   Thus, they can only be used to query the capa-
       bilities of entries for which a terminfo  entry  has  been
       compiled.

       The  tgetent routine loads the entry for name.  It returns
       1 on success, 0 if there is no such entry, and -1  if  the
       terminfo  database  could  not  be  found.   The emulation
       ignores the buffer pointer bp.

       The tgetflag routine gets the boolean  entry  for  id,  or
       zero if it is not available.

       The  tgetnum  routine gets the numeric entry for id, or -1
       if it is not available.

       The tgetstr routine returns the string entry  for  id,  or
       zero  if  it  is  not  available.  Use tputs to output the
       returned string.  The return value will also be copied  to
       the  buffer pointed to by area, and the area value will be
       updated to point past the null ending this value.

       Only the first two characters of the id parameter of tget-
       flag, tgetnum and tgetstr are compared in lookups.

       The  tgoto  routine  instantiates  the parameters into the
       given capability.  The output from this routine is  to  be
       passed to tputs.

       The  tputs  routine  is described on the curs_terminfo(3x)
       manual page.  It can retrieve capabilities by either term-
       cap or terminfo name.

       The variables PC, UP and BC are set by tgetent to the ter-
       minfo   entry's   data   for   pad_char,   cursor_up   and
       backspace_if_not_bs,  respectively.   UP  is  not  used by
       ncurses.  PC is used in the tdelay_output function.  BC is
       used  in  the tgoto emulation.  The variable ospeed is set
       by ncurses in a  system-specific  coding  to  reflect  the
       terminal speed.

RETURN VALUE

       Except  where  explicitly  noted,  routines that return an
       integer return ERR upon failure and OK (SVr4  only  speci-
       fies  "an  integer  value other than ERR") upon successful
       completion.

       Routines that return pointers return NULL on error.

BUGS

       If you call tgetstr to fetch ca or any other parameterized
       string,  be  aware  that  it  will be returned in terminfo
       notation, not the older and  not-quite-compatible  termcap
       notation.  This won't cause problems if all you do with it
       is call tgoto or tparm, which both  expand  terminfo-style
       strings  as  terminfo.  (The tgoto function, if configured
       to support termcap, will check if  the  string  is  indeed
       terminfo-style  by  looking for "%p" parameters or "$<..>"
       delays, and invoke a termcap-style parser  if  the  string
       does not appear to be terminfo).

       Because  terminfo  conventions for representing padding in
       string capabilities differ  from  termcap's,  tputs("50");
       will  put  out a literal "50" rather than busy-waiting for
       50 milliseconds.  Cope with it.

       Note that termcap has nothing analogous to terminfo's  sgr
       string.   One consequence of this is that termcap applica-
       tions assume me (terminfo sgr0) does not reset the  alter-
       nate  character  set.  This implementation checks for, and
       modifies the data shown to the termcap interface to accom-
       modate termcap's limitation in this respect.

PORTABILITY

       The  XSI  Curses  standard,  Issue 4 describes these func-
       tions.  However, they are marked TO BE WITHDRAWN  and  may
       be removed in future versions.

       Neither  the  XSI  Curses  standard nor the SVr4 man pages
       documented the return values of tgetent correctly,  though
       all  three were in fact returned ever since SVr1.  In par-
       ticular, an omission in the XSI Curses  documentation  has
       been  misinterpreted  to  mean  that tgetent returns OK or
       ERR.  Because the purpose of these functions is to provide
       compatibility  with  the termcap library, that is a defect
       in XCurses, Issue 4, Version 2 rather than in ncurses.

       External variables are provided  for  support  of  certain
       termcap  applications.  However, termcap applications' use
       of those variables is poorly documented, e.g., not distin-
       guishing  between  input  and output.  In particular, some
       applications are reported to declare and/or modify ospeed.

SEE ALSO

       curses(3x), terminfo(5), putc(3).



                                                       curs_termcap(3x)