-
- Announcing ncurses 5.4
+ Announcing ncurses 5.9
The ncurses (new curses) library is a free software emulation of
curses in System V Release 4.0, and more. It uses terminfo format,
enhancements over BSD curses.
In mid-June 1995, the maintainer of 4.4BSD curses declared that he
- considered 4.4BSD curses obsolete, and is encouraging the keepers of
- Unix releases such as BSD/OS, freeBSD and netBSD to switch over to
- ncurses.
+ considered 4.4BSD curses obsolete, and encouraged the keepers of Unix
+ releases such as BSD/OS, FreeBSD and NetBSD to switch over to ncurses.
The ncurses code was developed under GNU/Linux. It has been in use for
some time with OpenBSD as the system curses library, and on FreeBSD
Release Notes
- This release is designed to be upward compatible from ncurses 5.0 and
- 5.3; very few applications will require recompilation, depending on
- the platform. These are the highlights from the change-log since
- ncurses 5.3 release.
-
- Interface changes:
- * add the remaining functions for X/Open curses wide-character
- support.
- + pecho_wchar()
- + slk_wset()
- These are only available if the library is configured using the
- --enable-widec option.
- * write getyx() and related 2-return macros in terms of getcury(),
- getcurx(), etc.
- * simplify ifdef for bool declaration in curses.h
- * modify ifdef's in curses.h that disabled use of __attribute__()
- for g++, since recent versions implement the cases which ncurses
- uses.
- * add key_defined() function, to tell which keycode a string is
- bound to.
-
- New features and improvements:
- * library
- + implement logic in lib_mouse.c to handle position reports
- which are generated when XFree86 xterm is initialized with
- private modes 1002 or 1003. These are returned to the
- application as the REPORT_MOUSE_POSITION mask, which was not
- implemented.
- + modify soft-key initialization to use A_REVERSE if A_STANDOUT
- would not be shown when colors are used, i.e., if ncv#1 is
- set in the terminfo as is done in "screen".
- + add configure option for FreeBSD sysmouse, --with-sysmouse,
- and implement library support for that.
- * programs:
- + tack:
- o allow it to run from fallback terminfo data.
- o reset colors after each color test, correct a place
- where exit_standout_mode was used instead of
- exit_attribute_mode.
- o improve bce test by making it set colors other than
- black on white.
- + tic:
- o handle a case where an entry has no description, and
- capabilities begin on the same line as the entry name.
- o allow a terminfo entry with a leading 2-character name.
- o improved warnings when suppressing items to fit in
- termcap's 1023-byte limit.
- o add check for multiple "tc=" clauses in a termcap.
- o correct logic for resolving "use=" clauses allow infocmp
- and tic to show cancelled capabilities.
- o check for incomplete line-drawing character mapping.
- o check for missing/empty/illegal terminfo name.
- + tput:
- o modify tput to use the same parameter analysis as
- tparm() does, to provide for user-defined strings, e.g.,
- for xterm title, a corresponding capability might be
- title=\E]2;%p1%s^G,
- + tset:
- o use the system's default values for CKILL and other
- default control characters.
- o correct interchanged defaults for kill and interrupt
- characters, which caused it to report unnecessarily.
-
- Major bug fixes:
- * prevent recursion in wgetch() via wgetnstr() if the connection
- cannot be switched between cooked/raw modes because it is not a
- TTY.
- * correct a case in _nc_remove_string(), used by define_key(), to
- avoid infinite loop if the given string happens to be a substring
- of other strings which are assigned to keys.
- * modify logic of acsc to use the original character if no mapping
- is defined, rather than a null.
- * several improvements for handling multi-cell display of wide
- characters.
- + modify setcchar() to allow converting control characters to
- complex characters.
- + correct handling of multibyte characters in waddch_literal()
- which force wrapping because they are started too late on the
- line.
- + modify setcchar() to allow for wchar_t input strings that
- have more than one spacing character.
- * other fixes for wide-character support:
- + rewrote lib_acs.c to allow PutAttrChar() to decide how to
- render alternate-characters, i.e., to work with Linux console
- and UTF-8 locale.
- + implement a workaround so that line-drawing works with
- screen's crippled UTF-8 support (tested with 3.9.13). This
- only works with the wide-character support (--enable-widec);
- the normal library will simply suppress line-drawing when
- running in a UTF-8 locale in screen.
- + corrections to lib_get_wstr.c:
- o null-terminate buffer passed to setcchar(), which
- occasionally failed.
- o map special characters such as erase- and
- kill-characters into key-codes so those will work as
- expected even if they are not mentioned in the terminfo.
- * modify setupterm() to check if the terminfo and terminal-modes
- have already been read. This ensures that it does not reinvoke
- def_prog_mode() when an application calls more than one function,
- such as tgetent() and initscr().
- * fix form_driver() cases for REQ_CLR_EOF, REQ_CLR_EOL,
- REQ_DEL_CHAR, REQ_DEL_PREV and REQ_NEW_LINE, which did not ensure
- the cursor was at the editing position before making
- modifications.
- * correct keybound(), which reported definitions in the wrong table,
- i.e., the list of definitions which are disabled by keyok().
- * fixes related to safe_sprintf.c:
- + correct an allocation size in safe_sprintf.c for the "*"
- format code.
- + correct safe_sprintf.c to not return a null pointer if the
- format happens to be an empty string.
- + make return value from _nc_printf_string() consistent.
- Before, depending on whether --enable-safe-sprintf was used,
- it might not be cached for reallocating.
- * other low-level improvements to the optimization code include:
- + if the output is a socket or other non-tty device, use 1
- millisecond for the cost in mvcur; previously it was 9
- milliseconds because the baudrate was not known.
- + modify lib_getch.c to avoid recursion via wgetnstr() when the
- input is not a tty and consequently mode-changes do not work.
- + fix several places in tack/pad.c which tested and used the
- parameter- and parameterless strings inconsistently.
- + change several tputs() calls in scrolling code to use putp(),
- to enable padding which may be needed for some terminals.
- + improve mvcur() by checking if it is safe to move when video
- attributes are set (msgr), and if not, reset/restore
- attributes within that function rather than doing it
- separately in the GoTo() function in tty_update.c.
- + use tputs() rather than putp() in a few cases in tty_update.c
- since the corresponding delays are proportional to the number
- of lines affected: repeat_char, clr_eos,
- change_scroll_region.
- * correct line/column reference in adjust_window(), needed to make
- special windows such as curscr track properly when resizing.
- * fix a potential recursion between napms() and _nc_timed_wait()
- * rewrote lib_insch.c, combining it with lib_insstr.c so both handle
- tab and other control characters consistently.
- * do not try to open gpm mouse driver if standard output is not a
- tty; the gpm library does not make this check.
-
- Portability:
- * configure script:
- + new options:
-
- --with-abi-version option.
- addresses platforms where packagers have diverged
- from ncurses ABI numbering.
-
- --with-manpage-format=catonly
- addresses behavior of BSDI, allow install of
- man+cat files on NetBSD, whose behavior has
- diverged by requiring both to be present.
-
- --with-manpage-aliases
- extends "--with-manpage-aliases" to provide the
- option of generating ".so" files rather than
- symbolic links for manpage aliases.
-
- --with-rel-version
- workaround to force libtool on Darwin generate the
- "same" library names as with the "--with-shared"
- option. The Darwin ld program does not work well
- with a zero as the minor-version value.
-
- --with-trace
- simplifies defining TRACE to incorporate trace() in
- libraries.
-
- + fixes/improvements for cross-compiling:
- o allow BUILD_CC and related configure script variables to
- be overridden from the environment.
- o use AC_CHECK_TOOL to get proper values for AR and LD for
- cross compiling.
- o use $cross_compiling variable in configure script rather
- than comparing $host_alias and $target alias, since
- "host" is traditionally misused in autoconf to refer to
- the target platform.
- o modify run_tic.in to avoid using wrong shared libraries
- when cross-compiling.
- + fixes for Mac OS X:
- o fix a redefinition of $RANLIB in the configure script
- when libtool is used.
- o modify MKlib_gen.sh to avoid passing "#" tokens through
- the C preprocessor. This works around Mac OS X's
- preprocessor, which insists on adding a blank on each
- side of the token.
- + workarounds for broken tools:
- o add configure check for wchar_t and wint_t types, rather
- than rely on preprocessor definitions. Also work around
- for gcc fixinclude bug which creates a shadow copy of
- curses.h if it sees these symbols apparently typedef'd.
- o modify configure script to omit -Winline for gcc 3.3,
- since that feature is broken.
- o several script fixes to work around the ironically named
- POSIXLY_CORRECT feature of GNU sed 4.0.
- o modify configure script to avoid using "head -1", which
- does not work if POSIXLY_CORRECT (sic) is set.
- o update configure script to reflect fix for
- AC_PROG_GCC_TRADITIONAL, which is broken in autoconf
- 2.5x for Mac OS X 10.2.3.
- o repair check for missing C++ compiler, which is broken
- in autoconf 2.5x by hardcoding it to g++.
- + corrected ifdef's relating to configure check for wchar_t,
- etc.
- + remove configure script check to allow -Wconversion for older
- versions of gcc
- + modify configure script to accommodate libtool 1.5, as well
- as add an parameter to the "--with-libtool" option which can
- specify the pathname of libtool.
- + change several sed scripts to avoid using "\+" since it is
- not a BRE (basic regular expression). One instance caused
- terminfo.5 to be misformatted on FreeBSD.
- + use '%' as sed substitute delimiter in run_tic script to
- avoid problems with pathname delimiters such as ':' and '@'.
- + add -D_XOPEN_SOURCE=500 if needed when configuring with
- "--enable-widec", to get mbstate_t declaration on HPUX 11.11.
- * library:
- + adjust include-options in CF_ETIP_DEFINES to avoid missing
- ncurses_dll.h, fixing special definitions that may be needed
- for etip.h.
- + modify CF_LIB_SUFFIX for Itanium releases of HP-UX, which use
- a ".so" suffix.
- + improve ifdef's to guard against redefinition of wchar_t and
- wint_t in curses.h.
- + remove an #undef for KEY_EVENT from curses.tail used in the
- experimental NCURSES_WGETCH_EVENTS feature. The #undef
- confuses Debian dpkg's build script.
+ This release is designed to be upward compatible from ncurses 5.0
+ through 5.8; very few applications will require recompilation,
+ depending on the platform. These are the highlights from the
+ change-log since ncurses 5.8 release.
+
+ This is a bug-fix release, correcting a small number of urgent
+ problems in the ncurses library from the 5.8 release.
+
+ It also improves the Ada95 binding:
+ * fixes a longstanding portability problem with its use of the
+ [3]set_field_type function. Because that function uses
+ variable-length argument lists, its interface with gnat does not
+ work with certain platforms.
+ * improves configurability and portability, particularly when built
+ separately from the main ncurses tree. The 5.8 release introduced
+ scripts which can be used to construct separate tarballs for the
+ Ada95 and ncurses examples.
+ Those were a proof of concept. For the 5.9 release, those scripts
+ are augmented with rpm- and dpkg-scripts used in test builds
+ against a variety of gnat- and system ncurses versions as old as
+ gnat 3.15 and ncurses 5.4 (see snapshots and systems tested
+ [4]here.
+ * additional improvements were made for portability of the ncurses
+ examples, adding rpm- and dpkg-scripts for test-builds. See
+ [5]this page for snapshots and other information.
Features of Ncurses
The ncurses package also has many useful extensions over SVr4:
* The API is 8-bit clean and base-level conformant with the X/OPEN
curses specification, XSI curses (that is, it implements all BASE
- level features, but not all EXTENDED features). Most
- EXTENDED-level features not directly concerned with wide-character
- support are implemented, including many function calls not
- supported under SVr4 curses (but portability of all calls is
- documented so you can use the SVr4 subset only).
+ level features, and most EXTENDED features). It includes many
+ function calls not supported under SVr4 curses (but portability of
+ all calls is documented so you can use the SVr4 subset only).
* Unlike SVr3 curses, ncurses can write to the rightmost-bottommost
corner of the screen if your terminal has an insert-character
capability.
* Ada95 and C++ bindings.
- * Support for mouse event reporting with X Window xterm and OS/2
- console windows.
+ * Support for mouse event reporting with X Window xterm and FreeBSD
+ and OS/2 console windows.
* Extended mouse support via Alessandro Rubini's gpm package.
- * The function wresize() allows you to resize windows, preserving
+ * The function wresize allows you to resize windows, preserving
their data.
- * The function use_default_colors() allows you to use the terminal's
+ * The function use_default_colors allows you to use the terminal's
default colors for the default color pair, achieving the effect of
transparent colors.
- * The functions keyok() and define_key() allow you to better control
- the use of function keys, e.g., disabling the ncurses KEY_MOUSE,
- or by defining more than one control sequence to map to a given
- key code.
- * Support for 16-color terminals, such as aixterm and XFree86 xterm.
+ * The functions keyok and define_key allow you to better control the
+ use of function keys, e.g., disabling the ncurses KEY_MOUSE, or by
+ defining more than one control sequence to map to a given key
+ code.
+ * Support for 256-color terminals, such as modern xterm, when
+ configured using the --enable-ext-colors option.
+ * Support for 16-color terminals, such as aixterm and modern xterm.
* Better cursor-movement optimization. The package now features a
cursor-local-movement computation more efficient than either BSD's
or System V's.
incorporates a novel, simple, and cheap algorithm that enables it
to make optimal use of hardware scrolling, line-insertion, and
line-deletion for screen-line movements. This algorithm is more
- powerful than the 4.4BSD curses quickch() routine.
+ powerful than the 4.4BSD curses quickch routine.
* Real support for terminals with the magic-cookie glitch. The
screen-update code will refrain from drawing a highlight if the
magic- cookie unattributed spaces required just before the
cdk
Curses Development Kit
- [3]http://invisible-island.net/cdk/
- [4]http://www.vexus.ca/products/CDK/
+ [6]http://invisible-island.net/cdk/
+ [7]http://www.vexus.ca/products/CDK/
ded
directory-editor
- [5]http://invisible-island.net/ded/
+ [8]http://invisible-island.net/ded/
dialog
the underlying application used in Slackware's setup, and the
basis for similar applications on GNU/Linux.
- [6]http://invisible-island.net/dialog/
+ [9]http://invisible-island.net/dialog/
lynx
the character-screen WWW browser
- [7]http://lynx.isc.org/release/
+ [10]http://lynx.isc.org/release/
Midnight Commander
file manager
- [8]http://www.ibiblio.org/mc/
+ [11]http://www.midnight-commander.org/
mutt
mail utility
- [9]http://www.mutt.org/
+ [12]http://www.mutt.org/
ncftp
file-transfer utility
- [10]http://www.ncftp.com/
+ [13]http://www.ncftp.com/
nvi
New vi versions 1.50 are able to use ncurses versions 1.9.7 and
later.
- [11]http://www.bostic.com/vi/
+ [14]https://sites.google.com/a/bostic.com/keithbostic/nvi
pinfo
Lynx-like info browser.
- [12]http://dione.ids.pl/~pborys/software/pinfo/
+ [15]https://alioth.debian.org/projects/pinfo/
tin
- newsreader, supporting color, MIME [13]http://www.tin.org/
-
- vh-1.6
- Volks-Hypertext browser for the Jargon File
- [14]http://www.debian.org/Packages/unstable/text/vh.html
+ newsreader, supporting color, MIME [16]http://www.tin.org/
as well as some that use ncurses for the terminfo support alone:
minicom
terminal emulator
- [15]http://www.netsonic.fi/~walker/minicom.html
+ [17]http://alioth.debian.org/projects/minicom/
vile
vi-like-emacs
- [16]http://invisible-island.net/vile/
+ [18]http://invisible-island.net/vile/
The ncurses distribution includes a selection of test programs
(including a few games).
Who's Who and What's What
Zeyd Ben-Halim started it from a previous package pcurses, written by
- Pavel Curtis. Eric S. Raymond continued development. Jürgen Pfeifer
+ Pavel Curtis. Eric S. Raymond continued development. Juergen Pfeifer
wrote most of the form and menu libraries. Ongoing work is being done
- by [17]Thomas Dickey. Thomas Dickey acts as the maintainer for the
+ by [19]Thomas Dickey. Thomas Dickey acts as the maintainer for the
Free Software Foundation, which holds the copyright on ncurses.
- Contact the current maintainers at [18]bug-ncurses@gnu.org.
+ Contact the current maintainers at [20]bug-ncurses@gnu.org.
To join the ncurses mailing list, please write email to
bug-ncurses-request@gnu.org containing the line:
and testing of this package.
Beta versions of ncurses and patches to the current release are made
- available at [19]ftp://invisible-island.net/ncurses/ .
+ available at [21]ftp://invisible-island.net/ncurses/ .
Future Plans
Other Related Resources
The distribution provides a newer version of the terminfo-format
- terminal description file maintained by [20]Eric Raymond . Unlike the
- older version, the termcap and terminfo data are provided in the same
- file.
+ terminal description file once maintained by [22]Eric Raymond . Unlike
+ the older version, the termcap and terminfo data are provided in the
+ same file, and provides several user-definable extensions beyond the
+ X/Open specification.
You can find lots of information on terminal-related topics not
- covered in the terminfo file at [21]Richard Shuford's archive .
+ covered in the terminfo file at [23]Richard Shuford's archive .
References
1. ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/ncurses/
2. ftp://invisible-island.net/ncurses/
- 3. http://invisible-island.net/cdk/
- 4. http://www.vexus.ca/products/CDK/
- 5. http://invisible-island.net/ded/
- 6. http://invisible-island.net/dialog/
- 7. http://lynx.isc.org/release/
- 8. http://www.ibiblio.org/mc/
- 9. http://www.mutt.org/
- 10. http://www.ncftp.com/
- 11. http://www.bostic.com/vi/
- 12. http://dione.ids.pl/~pborys/software/pinfo/
- 13. http://www.tin.org/
- 14. http://www.debian.org/Packages/unstable/text/vh.html
- 15. http://www.netsonic.fi/~walker/minicom.html
- 16. http://invisible-island.net/vile/
- 17. mailto:dickey@invisible-island.net
- 18. mailto:bug-ncurses@gnu.org
- 19. ftp://invisible-island.net/ncurses/
- 20. http://www.catb.org/~esr/terminfo/
- 21. http://www.cs.utk.edu/~shuford/terminal_index.html
+ 3. http://invisible-island.net/ncurses/man/form_fieldtype.3x
+ 4. http://invisible-island.net/ncurses/ncurses-Ada95.html
+ 5. http://invisible-island.net/ncurses/ncurses-examples.html
+ 6. http://invisible-island.net/cdk/
+ 7. http://www.vexus.ca/products/CDK/
+ 8. http://invisible-island.net/ded/
+ 9. http://invisible-island.net/dialog/
+ 10. http://lynx.isc.org/release/
+ 11. http://www.midnight-commander.org/
+ 12. http://www.mutt.org/
+ 13. http://www.ncftp.com/
+ 14. https://sites.google.com/a/bostic.com/keithbostic/nvi
+ 15. https://alioth.debian.org/projects/pinfo/
+ 16. http://www.tin.org/
+ 17. http://alioth.debian.org/projects/minicom/
+ 18. http://invisible-island.net/vile/
+ 19. mailto:dickey@invisible-island.net
+ 20. mailto:bug-ncurses@gnu.org
+ 21. ftp://invisible-island.net/ncurses/
+ 22. http://www.catb.org/~esr/terminfo/
+ 23. http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.cs.utk.edu/~shuford/terminal
projects / ncurses.git / blobdiff