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+<!--
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- * Copyright (c) 1998-2018,2019 Free Software Foundation, Inc. *
+ * Copyright 2018-2020,2021 Thomas E. Dickey *
+ * Copyright 1998-2010,2017 Free Software Foundation, Inc. *
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- * @Id: curs_getstr.3x,v 1.28 2019/07/20 19:14:56 tom Exp @
+ * @Id: curs_getstr.3x,v 1.33 2021/05/22 21:36:35 tom Exp @
* X/Open says also until EOf
* X/Open says then an EOS is added to the result
* X/Open doesn't mention n<0
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-<H1 class="no-header">curs_getstr 3x</H1>
+<H1 class="no-header">curs_getstr 3X</H1>
<PRE>
-<STRONG><A HREF="curs_getstr.3x.html">curs_getstr(3x)</A></STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getstr.3x.html">curs_getstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
+<B><A HREF="curs_getstr.3X.html">curs_getstr(3X)</A></B> <B><A HREF="curs_getstr.3X.html">curs_getstr(3X)</A></B>
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-NAME">NAME</a></H2><PRE>
- <STRONG>getstr</STRONG>, <STRONG>getnstr</STRONG>, <STRONG>wgetstr</STRONG>, <STRONG>wgetnstr</STRONG>, <STRONG>mvgetstr</STRONG>, <STRONG>mvgetnstr</STRONG>, <STRONG>mvwgetstr</STRONG>,
- <STRONG>mvwgetnstr</STRONG> - accept character strings from <STRONG>curses</STRONG> terminal keyboard
+ <B>getstr</B>, <B>getnstr</B>, <B>wgetstr</B>, <B>wgetnstr</B>, <B>mvgetstr</B>, <B>mvgetnstr</B>, <B>mvwgetstr</B>,
+ <B>mvwgetnstr</B> - accept character strings from <B>curses</B> terminal keyboard
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-SYNOPSIS">SYNOPSIS</a></H2><PRE>
- <STRONG>#include</STRONG> <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG>
+ <B>#include</B> <B><curses.h></B>
- <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>getstr(char</STRONG> <STRONG>*str);</STRONG>
- <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>getnstr(char</STRONG> <STRONG>*str,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>n);</STRONG>
- <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>wgetstr(WINDOW</STRONG> <STRONG>*win,</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*str);</STRONG>
- <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>wgetnstr(WINDOW</STRONG> <STRONG>*win,</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*str,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>n);</STRONG>
- <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>mvgetstr(int</STRONG> <STRONG>y,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>x,</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*str);</STRONG>
- <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>mvwgetstr(WINDOW</STRONG> <STRONG>*win,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>y,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>x,</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*str);</STRONG>
- <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>mvgetnstr(int</STRONG> <STRONG>y,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>x,</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*str,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>n);</STRONG>
- <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>mvwgetnstr(WINDOW</STRONG> <STRONG>*,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>y,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>x,</STRONG> <STRONG>char</STRONG> <STRONG>*str,</STRONG> <STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>n);</STRONG>
+ <B>int</B> <B>getstr(char</B> <B>*</B><I>str</I><B>);</B>
+ <B>int</B> <B>getnstr(char</B> <B>*</B><I>str</I><B>,</B> <B>int</B> <I>n</I><B>);</B>
+ <B>int</B> <B>wgetstr(WINDOW</B> <B>*</B><I>win</I><B>,</B> <B>char</B> <B>*</B><I>str</I><B>);</B>
+ <B>int</B> <B>wgetnstr(WINDOW</B> <B>*</B><I>win</I><B>,</B> <B>char</B> <B>*</B><I>str</I><B>,</B> <B>int</B> <I>n</I><B>);</B>
+
+ <B>int</B> <B>mvgetstr(int</B> <I>y</I><B>,</B> <B>int</B> <I>x</I><B>,</B> <B>char</B> <B>*</B><I>str</I><B>);</B>
+ <B>int</B> <B>mvwgetstr(WINDOW</B> <B>*</B><I>win</I><B>,</B> <B>int</B> <I>y</I><B>,</B> <B>int</B> <I>x</I><B>,</B> <B>char</B> <B>*</B><I>str</I><B>);</B>
+ <B>int</B> <B>mvgetnstr(int</B> <I>y</I><B>,</B> <B>int</B> <I>x</I><B>,</B> <B>char</B> <B>*</B><I>str</I><B>,</B> <B>int</B> <I>n</I><B>);</B>
+ <B>int</B> <B>mvwgetnstr(WINDOW</B> <B>*</B><I>win</I><B>,</B> <B>int</B> <I>y</I><B>,</B> <B>int</B> <I>x</I><B>,</B> <B>char</B> <B>*</B><I>str</I><B>,</B> <B>int</B> <I>n</I><B>);</B>
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-DESCRIPTION">DESCRIPTION</a></H2><PRE>
- The function <STRONG>getstr</STRONG> is equivalent to a series of calls to <STRONG>getch</STRONG>, until
+ The function <B>getstr</B> is equivalent to a series of calls to <B>getch</B>, until
a newline or carriage return is received (the terminating character is
not included in the returned string). The resulting value is placed in
- the area pointed to by the character pointer <EM>str</EM>, followed by a NUL.
+ the area pointed to by the character pointer <I>str</I>, followed by a NUL.
+
+ The <B>getnstr</B> function reads from the <I>stdscr</I> default window. The other
+ functions, such as <B>wgetnstr</B>, read from the window given as a parameter.
+
+ <B>getnstr</B> reads at most <I>n</I> characters, thus preventing a possible overflow
+ of the input buffer. Any attempt to enter more characters (other than
+ the terminating newline or carriage return) causes a beep. Function
+ keys also cause a beep and are ignored.
+
+ The user's <I>erase</I> and <I>kill</I> characters are interpreted:
- <STRONG>wgetnstr</STRONG> reads at most <EM>n</EM> characters, thus preventing a possible over-
- flow of the input buffer. Any attempt to enter more characters (other
- than the terminating newline or carriage return) causes a beep. Func-
- tion keys also cause a beep and are ignored. The <STRONG>getnstr</STRONG> function
- reads from the <EM>stdscr</EM> default window.
+ <B>o</B> The <I>erase</I> character (e.g., <B>^H</B>) erases the character at the end of
+ the buffer, moving the cursor to the left.
- The user's erase and kill characters are interpreted. If keypad mode
- is on for the window, <STRONG>KEY_LEFT</STRONG> and <STRONG>KEY_BACKSPACE</STRONG> are both considered
- equivalent to the user's kill character.
+ If <I>keypad</I> mode is on for the window, <B>KEY_LEFT</B> and <B>KEY_BACKSPACE</B> are
+ both considered equivalent to the user's erase character.
- Characters input are echoed only if <STRONG>echo</STRONG> is currently on. In that
- case, backspace is echoed as deletion of the previous character (typi-
+ <B>o</B> The <I>kill</I> character (e.g., <B>^U</B>) erases the entire buffer, leaving the
+ cursor at the beginning of the buffer.
+
+ Characters input are echoed only if <B>echo</B> is currently on. In that
+ case, backspace is echoed as deletion of the previous character (typi-
cally a left motion).
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-RETURN-VALUE">RETURN VALUE</a></H2><PRE>
- All routines return the integer <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> upon failure and an <STRONG>OK</STRONG> (SVr4 speci-
- fies only "an integer value other than <STRONG>ERR</STRONG>") upon successful comple-
+ All routines return the integer <B>ERR</B> upon failure and an <B>OK</B> (SVr4 speci-
+ fies only "an integer value other than <B>ERR</B>") upon successful comple-
tion.
X/Open defines no error conditions.
- In this implementation, these functions return an error if the window
+ In this implementation, these functions return an error if the window
pointer is null, or if its timeout expires without having any data.
- This implementation provides an extension as well. If a <STRONG>SIGWINCH</STRONG> in-
- terrupts the function, it will return <STRONG>KEY_RESIZE</STRONG> rather than <STRONG>OK</STRONG> or <STRONG>ERR</STRONG>.
+ This implementation provides an extension as well. If a <B>SIGWINCH</B> in-
+ terrupts the function, it will return <B>KEY_RESIZE</B> rather than <B>OK</B> or <B>ERR</B>.
- Functions with a "mv" prefix first perform a cursor movement using
- <STRONG>wmove</STRONG>, and return an error if the position is outside the window, or if
+ Functions with a "mv" prefix first perform a cursor movement using
+ <B>wmove</B>, and return an error if the position is outside the window, or if
the window pointer is null.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-NOTES">NOTES</a></H2><PRE>
- Note that <STRONG>getstr</STRONG>, <STRONG>mvgetstr</STRONG>, and <STRONG>mvwgetstr</STRONG> may be macros.
+ Note that <B>getstr</B>, <B>mvgetstr</B>, and <B>mvwgetstr</B> may be macros.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-PORTABILITY">PORTABILITY</a></H2><PRE>
- These functions are described in the XSI Curses standard, Issue 4.
- They read single-byte characters only. The standard does not define
- any error conditions. This implementation returns <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> if the window
- pointer is null, or if the lower-level <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getch.3x.html">wgetch(3x)</A></STRONG> call returns an <STRONG>ERR</STRONG>.
-
- SVr3 and early SVr4 curses implementations did not reject function
- keys; the SVr4.0 documentation claimed that "special keys" (such as
- function keys, "home" key, "clear" key, <EM>etc</EM>.) are "interpreted", with-
- out giving details. It lied. In fact, the "character" value appended
- to the string by those implementations was predictable but not useful
+ These functions are described in the XSI Curses standard, Issue 4.
+ They read single-byte characters only. The standard does not define
+ any error conditions. This implementation returns <B>ERR</B> if the window
+ pointer is null, or if the lower-level <B><A HREF="curs_getch.3X.html">wgetch(3X)</A></B> call returns an <B>ERR</B>.
+
+ SVr3 and early SVr4 curses implementations did not reject function
+ keys; the SVr4.0 documentation claimed that "special keys" (such as
+ function keys, "home" key, "clear" key, <I>etc</I>.) are "interpreted", with-
+ out giving details. It lied. In fact, the "character" value appended
+ to the string by those implementations was predictable but not useful
(being, in fact, the low-order eight bits of the key's KEY_ value).
- The functions <STRONG>getnstr</STRONG>, <STRONG>mvgetnstr</STRONG>, and <STRONG>mvwgetnstr</STRONG> were present but not
+ The functions <B>getnstr</B>, <B>mvgetnstr</B>, and <B>mvwgetnstr</B> were present but not
documented in SVr4.
X/Open Curses, Issue 5 (2007) stated that these functions "read at most
- <EM>n</EM> bytes" but did not state whether the terminating NUL is counted in
- that limit. X/Open Curses, Issue 7 (2009) changed that to say they
- "read at most <EM>n</EM>-1 bytes" to allow for the terminating NUL. As of 2018,
+ <I>n</I> bytes" but did not state whether the terminating NUL is counted in
+ that limit. X/Open Curses, Issue 7 (2009) changed that to say they
+ "read at most <I>n</I>-1 bytes" to allow for the terminating NUL. As of 2018,
some implementations do, some do not count it:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> ncurses 6.1 and PDCurses do not count the NUL in the given limit,
+ <B>o</B> ncurses 6.1 and PDCurses do not count the NUL in the given limit,
while
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Solaris SVr4 and NetBSD curses count the NUL as part of the limit.
+ <B>o</B> Solaris SVr4 and NetBSD curses count the NUL as part of the limit.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Solaris xcurses provides both: its wide-character <STRONG>wget_nstr</STRONG> re-
- serves a NUL, but its <STRONG>wgetnstr</STRONG> does not count the NUL consistently.
+ <B>o</B> Solaris xcurses provides both: its wide-character <B>wget_nstr</B> re-
+ serves a NUL, but its <B>wgetnstr</B> does not count the NUL consistently.
- In SVr4 curses, a negative value of <EM>n</EM> tells <STRONG>wgetnstr</STRONG> to assume that the
- caller's buffer is large enough to hold the result, i.e., to act like
- <STRONG>wgetstr</STRONG>. X/Open Curses does not mention this (or anything related to
- negative or zero values of <EM>n</EM>), however most implementations use the
+ In SVr4 curses, a negative value of <I>n</I> tells <B>wgetnstr</B> to assume that the
+ caller's buffer is large enough to hold the result, i.e., to act like
+ <B>wgetstr</B>. X/Open Curses does not mention this (or anything related to
+ negative or zero values of <I>n</I>), however most implementations use the
feature, with different limits:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Solaris SVr4 curses and PDCurses limit the result to 255 bytes.
+ <B>o</B> Solaris SVr4 curses and PDCurses limit the result to 255 bytes.
Other Unix systems than Solaris are likely to use the same limit.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Solaris xcurses limits the result to <STRONG>LINE_MAX</STRONG> bytes.
+ <B>o</B> Solaris xcurses limits the result to <B>LINE_MAX</B> bytes.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> NetBSD 7 assumes no particular limit for the result from <STRONG>wgetstr</STRONG>.
- However, it limits the <STRONG>wgetnstr</STRONG> parameter <EM>n</EM> to ensure that it is
+ <B>o</B> NetBSD 7 assumes no particular limit for the result from <B>wgetstr</B>.
+ However, it limits the <B>wgetnstr</B> parameter <I>n</I> to ensure that it is
greater than zero.
- A comment in NetBSD's source code states that this is specified in
+ A comment in NetBSD's source code states that this is specified in
SUSv2.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> ncurses (before 6.2) assumes no particular limit for the result
- from <STRONG>wgetstr</STRONG>, and treats the <EM>n</EM> parameter of <STRONG>wgetnstr</STRONG> like SVr4
+ <B>o</B> ncurses (before 6.2) assumes no particular limit for the result
+ from <B>wgetstr</B>, and treats the <I>n</I> parameter of <B>wgetnstr</B> like SVr4
curses.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> ncurses 6.2 uses <STRONG>LINE_MAX</STRONG>, or a larger (system-dependent) value
- which the <STRONG>sysconf</STRONG> function may provide. If neither <STRONG>LINE_MAX</STRONG> or
- <STRONG>sysconf</STRONG> is available, ncurses uses the POSIX value for <STRONG>LINE_MAX</STRONG> (a
- 2048 byte limit). In either case, it reserves a byte for the ter-
+ <B>o</B> ncurses 6.2 uses <B>LINE_MAX</B>, or a larger (system-dependent) value
+ which the <B>sysconf</B> function may provide. If neither <B>LINE_MAX</B> or
+ <B>sysconf</B> is available, ncurses uses the POSIX value for <B>LINE_MAX</B> (a
+ 2048 byte limit). In either case, it reserves a byte for the ter-
minating NUL.
+ Although <B>getnstr</B> is equivalent to a series of calls to <B>getch</B>, it also
+ makes changes to the curses modes to allow simple editing of the input
+ buffer:
+
+ <B>o</B> <B>getnstr</B> saves the current value of the <B>nl</B>, <B>echo</B>, <B>raw</B> and <B>cbreak</B>
+ modes, and sets <B>nl</B>, <B>noecho</B>, <B>noraw</B>, and <B>cbreak</B>.
+
+ <B>getnstr</B> handles the echoing of characters, rather than relying on
+ the caller to set an appropriate mode.
+
+ <B>o</B> It also obtains the <I>erase</I> and <I>kill</I> characters from <B>erasechar</B> and
+ <B>killchar</B>, respectively.
+
+ <B>o</B> On return, <B>getnstr</B> restores the modes to their previous values.
+
+ Other implementations differ in their treatment of special characters:
+
+ <B>o</B> While they may set the <I>echo</I> mode, other implementations do not mod-
+ ify the <I>raw</I> mode, They may take the <I>cbreak</I> mode set by the caller
+ into account when deciding whether to handle echoing within <B>getnstr</B>
+ or as a side-effect of the <B>getch</B> calls.
+
+ <B>o</B> The original ncurses (as pcurses in 1986) set <B>noraw</B> and <B>cbreak</B> when
+ accepting input for <B>getnstr</B>. That may have been done to make func-
+ tion- and cursor-keys work; it is not necessary with ncurses.
+
+ Since 1995, ncurses has provided signal handlers for INTR and QUIT
+ (e.g., <B>^C</B> or <B>^\</B>). With the <B>noraw</B> and <B>cbreak</B> settings, those may
+ catch a signal and stop the program, where other implementations
+ allow one to enter those characters in the buffer.
+
+ <B>o</B> Starting in 2021 (ncurses 6.3), <B>getnstr</B> sets <B>raw</B>, rather than <B>noraw</B>
+ and <B>cbreak</B> for better compatibility with SVr4-curses, e.g., allow-
+ ing one to enter a <B>^C</B> into the buffer.
+
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></H2><PRE>
- <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getch.3x.html">curs_getch(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="curs_variables.3x.html">curs_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>.
+ <B><A HREF="curses.3X.html">curses(3X)</A></B>, <B><A HREF="curs_getch.3X.html">curs_getch(3X)</A></B>, <B><A HREF="curs_termattrs.3X.html">curs_termattrs(3X)</A></B>, <B><A HREF="curs_variables.3X.html">curs_variables(3X)</A></B>.
- <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getstr.3x.html">curs_getstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ <B><A HREF="curs_getstr.3X.html">curs_getstr(3X)</A></B>
</PRE>
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