+<H1>Release Notes</H1>
+
+We decided to release ncurses as a new whole number release (5.0) because it
+incorporates several interface changes, including some that would invalidate
+existing shared libraries. These are the highlights from the change-log
+since ncurses 4.2 release.
+<p>
+Interface changes:
+<ul>
+ <li>The principal source of changes to the interface comes from the
+ release of X/Open Curses in 1997. Earlier versions of ncurses (4.0
+ and before) were based on a draft version of the specification. The
+ release version adds parameters to some functions to support the
+ evolving internationalization of curses. These summarize the impact:
+<ul>
+ <li>modified several prototypes to correspond with 1997 version of
+ X/Open Curses (affects ABI since developers have used attr_get).
+
+ <li>corrected prototypes for slk_* functions, using chtype rather than
+ attr_t.
+
+ <li>the slk_attr_{set,off,on} functions need an additional void*
+ parameter according to XSI.
+
+ <li>correct macros for wattr_set, wattr_get, separate wattrset macro from
+ these to preserve behavior that allows attributes to be combined with
+ color pair numbers.
+
+ <li>reviewed/updated curses.h, term.h against X/Open Curses Issue 4
+ Version 2. This includes making some parameters NCURSES_CONST
+ rather than const, e.g., in termcap.h.
+
+ <li>reviewed/corrected macros in curses.h as per XSI document.
+
+ <li>add set_a_attributes and set_pglen_inch to terminfo structure, as per
+ XSI and Solaris 2.5.
+</ul>
+ <li>The newest version of the X/Open Curses is implemented on Solaris
+ and other vendor's systems. It adds new features to the terminfo
+ descriptions:
+<ul>
+ <li>implement tparm %l format.
+
+ <li>implement tparm printf-style width and precision for %s, %d, %x, %o
+ as per XSI.
+</ul>
+ <li>We made additional changes to reduce impact by future interface
+ changes:
+<ul>
+ <li>rename key_names[] array to _nc_key_names since it is not part of
+ the curses interface.
+
+ <li>move macro winch to a function, to hide details of struct ldat
+</ul>
+ <li>modify configure script to embed ABI in shared libraries for HP-UX
+ 10.x (detailed request by Tim Mooney).
+
+ <li>modify configuration of shared libraries on Digital Unix so that
+ versioning is embedded in the library, rather than implied by
+ links (patch by Tim Mooney).
+</ul>
+New features:
+<ul>
+ <li>enable sigwinch handler by default.
+
+ <li>turn on hashmap scrolling code by default
+
+ <li>improved support for termcap applications
+<ul>
+ <li>modify tput to accept termcap names as an alternative to terminfo
+ names.
+
+ <li>provide support for termcap PC variable by copying it from terminfo
+ data and using it as the padding character in tputs.
+
+ <li>provide support for termcap ospeed variable by copying it from the
+ internal cur_term member, and using ospeed as the baudrate
+ reference for the delay_output and tputs functions.
+
+ <li>change name-comparisons in lib_termcap to compare no more than 2
+ characters.
+
+ <li>add configure option --enable-tcap-names, which essentially
+ allows users to define new capabilities as in termcap.
+</ul>
+ <li>add mouse support to ncurses menus.
+
+ <li>add mouse and dll support for OS/2 EMX
+
+ <li>modify terminfo parsing to accept octal and hexadecimal constants
+
+ <li>add configure option --enable-no-padding, to allow environment
+ variable $NCURSES_NO_PADDING to eliminate non-mandatory padding,
+ thereby making terminal emulators (e.g., for vt100) a little more
+ efficient.
+
+ <li>modify lib_color.c to eliminate dependency on orig_colors and
+ orig_pair, since SVr4 curses does not require these either, but
+ uses them when they are available.
+
+ <li>add -f option to infocmp and tic, which formats the terminfo
+ if/then/else/endif so that they are readable (with newlines and
+ tabs).
+
+ <li>modify tic to compile into %'char' form in preference to %{number},
+ since that is a little more efficient.
+</ul>
+Major bug fixes:
+<ul>
+ <li>modify lib_tstp.c to block SIGTTOU when handling SIGTSTP, fixes a
+ problem where ncurses applications which were run via a shell script
+ would hang when given a ^Z. Also, check if the terminal's process
+ group is consistent, i.e., a shell has not taken ownership of it,
+ before deciding to save the current terminal settings in the SIGTSTP
+ handler.
+
+ <li>suppress sc/rc capabilities from terminal description if they appear
+ in smcup/rmcup. This affects only scrolling optimization, to fix a
+ problem reported by several people with xterm's alternate screen,
+ though the problem is more general.
+
+ <li>modify relative_move and tputs to avoid an interaction with the
+ BSD-style padding. The relative_move function could produce a string
+ to replace on the screen which began with a numeric character, which
+ was then interpreted by tputs as padding.
+
+ <li>modify setupterm so that cancelled strings are treated the same as
+ absent strings, cancelled and absent booleans false (does not affect
+ tic, infocmp).
+
+ <li>modify lib_vidattr.c to allow for terminal types (e.g., xterm-color)
+ which may reset all attributes in the 'op' capability, so that colors
+ are set before turning on bold and other attributes, but still after
+ turning attributes off.
+
+ <li>use 'access()' to check if ncurses library should be permitted to
+ open or modify files with fopen/open/link/unlink/remove calls, in
+ case the calling application is running in setuid mode.
+
+ <li>correction to doupdate, for case where terminal does not support
+ insert/delete character. The logic did not check that there was a
+ difference in alignment of changes to old/new screens before
+ repainting the whole non-blank portion of the line. Modified to fall
+ through into logic that reduces by the portion which does not differ.
+</ul>
+
+<H1>Features of Ncurses</H1>
+
+The ncurses package is fully compatible with SVr4 (System V Release 4) curses: