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- * Copyright (c) 1999-2016,2017 Free Software Foundation, Inc. *
+ * Copyright 2018,2020 Thomas E. Dickey *
+ * Copyright 1998-2016,2017 Free Software Foundation, Inc. *
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- * @Id: curs_terminfo.3x,v 1.57 2017/11/21 00:46:31 tom Exp @
+ * @Id: curs_terminfo.3x,v 1.64 2020/02/02 23:34:34 tom Exp @
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used.
Parameterized strings should be passed through <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> to instantiate
- them. All <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> strings [including the output of <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>] should be
+ them. All <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> strings (including the output of <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>) should be
printed with <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> or <STRONG>putp</STRONG>. Call <STRONG>reset_shell_mode</STRONG> to restore the tty
modes before exiting [see <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>].
The <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> routine applies padding information to the string <EM>str</EM> and
outputs it:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> The <EM>str</EM> must be a terminfo string variable or the return value from
- <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>, <STRONG>tgetstr</STRONG>, or <STRONG>tgoto</STRONG>.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The <EM>str</EM> parameter must be a terminfo string variable or the return
+ value from <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>, <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG>, <STRONG>tgetstr</STRONG>, or <STRONG>tgoto</STRONG>.
+
+ The <STRONG>tgetstr</STRONG> and <STRONG>tgoto</STRONG> functions are part of the <EM>termcap</EM> interface,
+ which happens to share this function name with the <EM>terminfo</EM> inter-
+ face.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>affcnt</EM> is the number of lines affected, or 1 if not applicable.
value of the output function <EM>putc</EM>.
+</PRE><H2><a name="h2-HISTORY">HISTORY</a></H2><PRE>
+ SVr2 introduced the terminfo feature. Its programming manual mentioned
+ these low-level functions:
+
+ <STRONG>Function</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
+ ------------------------------------------------------------
+ fixterm restore tty to "in curses" state
+ gettmode establish current tty modes
+ mvcur low level cursor motion
+ putp utility function that uses <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> to send char-
+ acters via <STRONG>putchar</STRONG>.
+ resetterm set tty modes to "out of curses" state
+ resetty reset tty flags to stored value
+ saveterm save current modes as "in curses" state
+ savetty store current tty flags
+ setterm establish terminal with given type
+ setupterm establish terminal with given type
+ tparm instantiate a string expression with parameters
+ tputs apply padding information to a string
+ vidattr like <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG>, but outputs through <STRONG>putchar</STRONG>
+ vidputs output a string to put terminal in a specified
+ video attribute mode
+
+ The programming manual also mentioned functions provided for termcap
+ compatibility (commenting that they "may go away at a later date"):
+
+ <STRONG>Function</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
+ ------------------------------------------------
+ tgetent look up termcap entry for given <EM>name</EM>
+ tgetflag get boolean entry for given <EM>id</EM>
+ tgetnum get numeric entry for given <EM>id</EM>
+ tgetstr get string entry for given <EM>id</EM>
+ tgoto apply parameters to given capability
+ tputs apply padding to capability, calling
+ a function to put characters
+
+ Early terminfo programs obtained capability values from the <STRONG>TERMINAL</STRONG>
+ structure initialized by <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>.
+
+ SVr3 extended terminfo by adding functions to retrieve capability val-
+ ues (like the termcap interface), and reusing tgoto and tputs:
+
+ <STRONG>Function</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
+ -------------------------------------------
+ tigetflag get boolean entry for given <EM>id</EM>
+ tigetnum get numeric entry for given <EM>id</EM>
+ tigetstr get string entry for given <EM>id</EM>
+
+ SVr3 also replaced several of the SVr2 terminfo functions which had no
+ counterpart in the termcap interface, documenting them as obsolete:
+
+ <STRONG>Function</STRONG> <STRONG>Replaced</STRONG> <STRONG>by</STRONG>
+ -----------------------------
+ crmode cbreak
+ fixterm reset_prog_mode
+ gettmode N/A
+ nocrmode nocbreak
+ resetterm reset_shell_mode
+ saveterm def_prog_mode
+ setterm setupterm
+
+ SVr3 kept the <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG>, <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> functions, along with <STRONG>putp</STRONG>,
+ <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> and <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>. The latter were needed to support padding, and han-
+ dling functions such as <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> (which used more than the two parame-
+ ters supported by <STRONG>tgoto</STRONG>).
+
+ SVr3 introduced the functions for switching between terminal descrip-
+ tions, e.g., <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG>. The various global variables such as <STRONG>bool-</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>names</STRONG> were mentioned in the programming manual at this point.
+
+ SVr4 added the <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG> functions.
+
+ There are other low-level functions declared in the curses header files
+ on Unix systems, but none were documented. The functions marked "obso-
+ lete" remained in use by the Unix <STRONG>vi</STRONG> editor.
+
+
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-PORTABILITY">PORTABILITY</a></H2><PRE>
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Legacy-functions">Legacy functions</a></H3><PRE>
X/Open notes that <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> may be macros.
- The function <STRONG>setterm</STRONG> is not described by X/Open and must be considered
+ The function <STRONG>setterm</STRONG> is not described by X/Open and must be considered
non-portable. All other functions are as described by X/Open.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Legacy-data">Legacy data</a></H3><PRE>
- <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> copies the terminal name to the array <STRONG>ttytype</STRONG>. This is not
+ <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> copies the terminal name to the array <STRONG>ttytype</STRONG>. This is not
part of X/Open Curses, but is assumed by some applications.
- Other implementions may not declare the capability name arrays. Some
+ Other implementions may not declare the capability name arrays. Some
provide them without declaring them. X/Open does not specify them.
Extended terminal capability names, e.g., as defined by <STRONG>tic</STRONG> <STRONG>-x</STRONG>, are not
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Output-buffering">Output buffering</a></H3><PRE>
- Older versions of <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> assumed that the file descriptor passed to
+ Older versions of <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> assumed that the file descriptor passed to
<STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> from <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> or <STRONG>newterm</STRONG> uses buffered I/O, and would write to
- the corresponding stream. In addition to the limitation that the ter-
- minal was left in block-buffered mode on exit (like System V curses),
- it was problematic because <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> did not allow a reliable way to
+ the corresponding stream. In addition to the limitation that the ter-
+ minal was left in block-buffered mode on exit (like System V curses),
+ it was problematic because <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> did not allow a reliable way to
cleanup on receiving SIGTSTP.
- The current version (ncurses6) uses output buffers managed directly by
+ The current version (ncurses6) uses output buffers managed directly by
<STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>. Some of the low-level functions described in this manual page
write to the standard output. They are not signal-safe. The high-lev-
el functions in <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> use alternate versions of these functions using
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Function-prototypes">Function prototypes</a></H3><PRE>
The X/Open Curses prototypes are based on the SVr4 curses header decla-
- rations, which were defined at the same time the C language was first
+ rations, which were defined at the same time the C language was first
standardized in the late 1980s.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses uses <STRONG>const</STRONG> 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 <STRONG>const</STRONG>. Using constant parameters for functions which do
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses uses <STRONG>const</STRONG> 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 <STRONG>const</STRONG>. Using constant parameters for functions which do
not use <STRONG>const</STRONG> may prevent the program from compiling. On the other
hand, <EM>writable</EM> <EM>strings</EM> are an obsolescent feature.
- As an extension, this implementation can be configured to change
- the function prototypes to use the <STRONG>const</STRONG> keyword. The ncurses ABI
+ As an extension, this implementation can be configured to change
+ the function prototypes to use the <STRONG>const</STRONG> keyword. The ncurses 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 con-
- figured to use the fixed-parameter list. Portable applications
- should provide 9 parameters after the format; zeroes are fine for
+ This implementation uses a variable argument list, but can be con-
+ figured to use the fixed-parameter list. Portable applications
+ should provide 9 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.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Special-TERM-treatment">Special TERM treatment</a></H3><PRE>
If configured to use the terminal-driver, e.g., for the MinGW port,
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> interprets a missing/empty TERM variable as the special
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> interprets a missing/empty TERM variable as the special
value "unknown".
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> allows explicit use of the the windows console driver by
- checking if $TERM 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 $TERM 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 System V Release 4, <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG> has an <STRONG>int</STRONG> return type and returns
+ In System V Release 4, <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG> has an <STRONG>int</STRONG> return type and returns
<STRONG>OK</STRONG> or <STRONG>ERR</STRONG>. We have chosen to implement the X/Open Curses semantics.
- In System V Release 4, the third argument of <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> has the type <STRONG>int</STRONG>
+ In System V Release 4, 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>/<STRONG>ERR</STRONG> from <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>. That returns the length of the string,
+ At least one implementation of X/Open Curses (Solaris) returns a value
+ other than <STRONG>OK</STRONG>/<STRONG>ERR</STRONG> from <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>. That returns the length of the string,
and does no error-checking.
- X/Open notes that after calling <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG>, the curses state may not match
+ X/Open notes that after calling <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG>, the curses state may not match
the actual terminal state, and that an application should touch and re-
fresh the window before resuming normal curses calls. Both <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> and
- System V Release 4 curses implement <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> using the SCREEN data allo-
- cated in either <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> or <STRONG>newterm</STRONG>. So though it is documented as a
- terminfo function, <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> is really a curses function which is not well
+ System V Release 4 curses implement <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> using the SCREEN data allo-
+ cated in either <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> or <STRONG>newterm</STRONG>. So though it is documented as a
+ terminfo function, <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> is really a curses function which is not well
specified.
- X/Open states that the old location must be given for <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG>. This im-
- plementation allows the caller to use -1's for the old ordinates. In
+ X/Open states that the old location must be given for <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG>. This im-
+ plementation allows the caller to use -1's for the old ordinates. In
that case, the old location is unknown.
</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_initscr.3x.html">curs_initscr(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termcap.3x.html">curs_termcap(3x)</A></STRONG>,
+ <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">curs_initscr(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termcap.3x.html">curs_termcap(3x)</A></STRONG>,
<STRONG><A HREF="curs_variables.3x.html">curs_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="term_variables.3x.html">term_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG>putc(3)</STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#h2-RETURN-VALUE">RETURN VALUE</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h2-HISTORY">HISTORY</a></li>
<li><a href="#h2-PORTABILITY">PORTABILITY</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#h3-Legacy-functions">Legacy functions</a></li>