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- * @Id: curs_terminfo.3x,v 1.134 2024/03/23 20:41:15 tom Exp @
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-<H1 class="no-header">curs_terminfo 3x 2024-03-23 ncurses 6.4 Library calls</H1>
+<H1 class="no-header">curs_terminfo 3x 2024-04-13 ncurses 6.4 Library calls</H1>
<PRE>
<STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG> Library calls <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
first standardized in the late 1980s.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses uses <EM>const</EM> less effectively than a later design
- might, in some cases applying it needlessly to values are already
- constant, and in most cases overlooking parameters which normally
- would use <EM>const</EM>. Using constant parameters for functions which do
- not use <EM>const</EM> may prevent the program from compiling. On the other
- hand, "writable strings" are an obsolescent feature.
-
- As an extension, this implementation can be configured to change
- the function prototypes to use the <EM>const</EM> keyword. The <EM>ncurses</EM> ABI
+ might, sometimes applying it needlessly to values that are already
+ constant, and in most cases overlooking parameters that normally
+ would use <EM>const</EM>. Passing <EM>const</EM>-qualified parameters to functions
+ that do not declare them <EM>const</EM> may prevent the program from
+ compiling. On the other hand, "writable strings" are an
+ obsolescent feature.
+
+ As an extension, this implementation can be configured to change
+ the function prototypes to use the <EM>const</EM> keyword. The <EM>ncurses</EM> ABI
6 enables this feature by default.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses prototypes <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> with a fixed number of parameters,
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses prototypes <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> with a fixed number of parameters,
rather than a variable argument list.
- This implementation uses a variable argument list, but can be
- configured to use the fixed-parameter list. Portable applications
- should provide nine parameters after the format; zeroes are fine
+ This implementation uses a variable argument list, but can be
+ configured to use the fixed-parameter list. Portable applications
+ should provide nine parameters after the format; zeroes are fine
for this purpose.
- In response to review comments by Thomas E. Dickey, X/Open Curses
+ In response to review comments by Thomas E. Dickey, X/Open Curses
Issue 7 proposed the <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG> function in mid-2009.
- While <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG> is always provided in <EM>ncurses</EM>, the older form is only
- available as a build-time configuration option. If not specially
+ While <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG> is always provided in <EM>ncurses</EM>, the older form is only
+ available as a build-time configuration option. If not specially
configured, <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> is the same as <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG>.
Both forms of <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> have drawbacks:
<STRONG>o</STRONG> Most of the calls to <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> use only one or two parameters. Passing
nine on each call is awkward.
- Using <EM>long</EM> for the numeric parameter type is a workaround to make
- the parameter use the same amount of stack as a pointer. That
- approach dates back to the mid-1980s, before C was standardized.
- Since then, there is a standard (and pointers are not required to
+ Using <EM>long</EM> for the numeric parameter type is a workaround to make
+ the parameter use the same amount of stack as a pointer. That
+ approach dates back to the mid-1980s, before C was standardized.
+ Since then, there is a standard (and pointers are not required to
fit in a <EM>long</EM>).
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Providing the right number of parameters for a variadic function
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Providing the right number of parameters for a variadic function
such as <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG> can be a problem, in particular for string
- parameters. However, only a few <EM>terminfo</EM> capabilities use string
- parameters (for instance, the ones used for programmable function
+ parameters. However, only a few <EM>terminfo</EM> capabilities use string
+ parameters (for instance, the ones used for programmable function
keys).
The <EM>ncurses</EM> library checks usage of these capabilities, and returns
- an error if the capability mishandles string parameters. But it
- cannot check if a calling program provides strings in the right
+ an error if the capability mishandles string parameters. But it
+ cannot check if a calling program provides strings in the right
places for the <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> calls.
- The <STRONG><A HREF="tput.1.html">tput(1)</A></STRONG> program checks its use of these capabilities with a
+ The <STRONG><A HREF="tput.1.html">tput(1)</A></STRONG> program checks its use of these capabilities with a
table, so that it calls <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> correctly.
<STRONG>Special</STRONG> <EM>TERM</EM> <STRONG>treatment</STRONG>
If configured to use the terminal driver, as with the MinGW port,
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> interprets a missing/empty <EM>TERM</EM> variable as the special
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> interprets a missing/empty <EM>TERM</EM> variable as the special
value "unknown".
SVr4 <EM>curses</EM> uses the special value "dumb".
- The difference between the two is that the former uses the
- <STRONG>generic_type</STRONG> (<STRONG>gn</STRONG>) <EM>terminfo</EM> capability, while the latter does not.
+ The difference between the two is that the former uses the
+ <STRONG>generic_type</STRONG> (<STRONG>gn</STRONG>) <EM>terminfo</EM> capability, while the latter does not.
A generic terminal is unsuitable for full-screen applications.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> allows explicit use of the the windows console driver by
- checking if <STRONG>$TERM</STRONG> is set to "#win32con" or an abbreviation of that
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> allows explicit use of the the windows console driver by
+ checking if <STRONG>$TERM</STRONG> is set to "#win32con" or an abbreviation of that
string.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Other-Portability-Issues">Other Portability Issues</a></H3><PRE>
- In SVr4, <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG> returns an <EM>int</EM>, <STRONG>OK</STRONG> or <STRONG>ERR</STRONG>. We have chosen to
+ In SVr4, <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG> returns an <EM>int</EM>, <STRONG>OK</STRONG> or <STRONG>ERR</STRONG>. We have chosen to
implement the X/Open Curses semantics.
In SVr4, the third argument of <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> has the type "<STRONG>int</STRONG> <STRONG>(*putc)(char)</STRONG>".
- At least one implementation of X/Open Curses (Solaris) returns a value
- other than <STRONG>OK</STRONG> or <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> from <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>. It instead returns the length of the
+ At least one implementation of X/Open Curses (Solaris) returns a value
+ other than <STRONG>OK</STRONG> or <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> from <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>. It instead returns the length of the
string, and does no error checking.
- X/Open Curses notes that after calling <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG>, the <EM>curses</EM> state may not
- match the actual terminal state, and that an application should touch
- and refresh the window before resuming normal <EM>curses</EM> calls. Both
+ X/Open Curses notes that after calling <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG>, the <EM>curses</EM> state may not
+ match the actual terminal state, and that an application should touch
+ and refresh the window before resuming normal <EM>curses</EM> calls. Both
<EM>ncurses</EM> and SVr4 <EM>curses</EM> implement <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> using the <EM>SCREEN</EM> data allocated
in either <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> or <STRONG>newterm</STRONG>. So though it is documented as a <EM>terminfo</EM>
function, <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> is really a <EM>curses</EM> function that is not well specified.
- X/Open notes that after calling <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG>, the <EM>curses</EM> state may not match
- the actual terminal state, and that an application should touch and
- refresh the window before resuming normal <EM>curses</EM> calls. Both <EM>ncurses</EM>
- and SVr4 <EM>curses</EM> implement <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> using the <EM>SCREEN</EM> data allocated in
- either <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> or <STRONG>newterm</STRONG>. So though it is documented as a <EM>terminfo</EM>
- function, <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> is really a <EM>curses</EM> function that is not well specified.
-
X/Open Curses states that the old location must be given for <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> to
accommodate terminals that lack absolute cursor positioning. <EM>ncurses</EM>
allows the caller to use -1 for either or both old coordinates. The -1
<STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> low level cursor motion
<STRONG>putp</STRONG> use <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> to send characters via <EM>putchar</EM>
<STRONG>resetterm</STRONG> set terminal modes to "out of <EM>curses</EM>" state
+
<STRONG>resetty</STRONG> reset terminal flags to stored value
<STRONG>saveterm</STRONG> save current modes as "in <EM>curses</EM>" state
<STRONG>savetty</STRONG> store current terminal flags
-ncurses 6.4 2024-0
3-23 <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ncurses 6.4 2024-0
4-13 <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
</PRE>
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