* sale, use or other dealings in this Software without prior written *
* authorization. *
****************************************************************************
- * @Id: curs_terminfo.3x,v 1.124 2023/12/23 17:34:39 tom Exp @
+ * @Id: curs_terminfo.3x,v 1.125 2023/12/30 23:46:56 tom Exp @
* ***************************************************************************
* ***************************************************************************
* ***************************************************************************
* ***************************************************************************
* ***************************************************************************
* ***************************************************************************
- * See X/Open Curses Issue 4, Version 2, pp. 227-234.
- * See X/Open Curses Issue 7, pp. 311-318.
* ***************************************************************************
* ***************************************************************************
+ * X/Open Curses Issue 7, p. 161
* ***************************************************************************
-->
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-<H1 class="no-header">curs_terminfo 3x 2023-12-23 ncurses 6.4 Library calls</H1>
+<H1 class="no-header">curs_terminfo 3x 2023-12-30 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>
recommended.
None of these functions use (or are aware of) multibyte character
- strings such as UTF-8:
+ strings such as UTF-8.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> capability names use the POSIX portable character set
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Capability names and codes use the POSIX portable character set.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> capability string values have no associated encoding; they are
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Capability string values have no associated encoding; they are
strings of 8-bit characters.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Initialization">Initialization</a></H3><PRE>
- Initially, <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> should be called. The high-level curses functions
+ Initially, <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> should be called. The high-level <EM>curses</EM> functions
<STRONG>initscr</STRONG> and <STRONG>newterm</STRONG> call <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> to initialize the low-level set of
- terminal-dependent variables [listed in <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>].
+ terminal-dependent variables listed in <STRONG><A HREF="term_variables.3x.html">term_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>.
Applications can use the terminal capabilities either directly (via
header definitions), or by special functions. The header files
- <STRONG>curses.h</STRONG> and <STRONG>term.h</STRONG> should be included (in this order) to get the
+ <EM>curses.h</EM> and <EM>term.h</EM> should be included (in that order) to get the
definitions for these strings, numbers, and flags.
- The <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> variables <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and <STRONG>columns</STRONG> are initialized by <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>
+ The <EM>terminfo</EM> variables <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and <STRONG>columns</STRONG> are initialized by <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>
as follows:
<STRONG>o</STRONG> If <STRONG>use_env(FALSE)</STRONG> has been called, values for <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and <STRONG>columns</STRONG>
- specified in <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> are used.
+ specified in <EM>terminfo</EM> are used.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> Otherwise, if the environment variables <EM>LINES</EM> and <EM>COLUMNS</EM> exist,
their values are used. If these environment variables do not exist
and the program is running in a window, the current window size is
used. Otherwise, if the environment variables do not exist, the
- values for <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and <STRONG>columns</STRONG> specified in the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> database are
+ values for <STRONG>lines</STRONG> and <STRONG>columns</STRONG> specified in the <EM>terminfo</EM> database are
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 <EM>terminfo</EM> 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>].
<STRONG>o</STRONG> output <STRONG>enter_ca_mode</STRONG> and call <STRONG>reset_prog_mode</STRONG> after returning from
the shell.
- The <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> routine reads in the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> database, initializing the
- <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> structures, but does not set up the output virtualization
- structures used by <STRONG>curses</STRONG>. These are its parameters:
+ The <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> routine reads in the <EM>terminfo</EM> database, initializing the
+ <EM>terminfo</EM> structures, but does not set up the output virtualization
+ structures used by <EM>curses.</EM> These are its parameters:
<EM>term</EM> is the terminal type, a character string. If <EM>term</EM> is null, the
environment variable <EM>TERM</EM> is used.
If <EM>errret</EM> is null, <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> prints an error message upon
finding an error and exits. Thus, the simplest call is:
- <STRONG>setupterm((char</STRONG> <STRONG>*)0,</STRONG> <STRONG>1,</STRONG> <STRONG>(int</STRONG> <STRONG>*)0);</STRONG>,
+ <STRONG>setupterm((char</STRONG> <STRONG>*)0,</STRONG> <STRONG>1,</STRONG> <STRONG>(int</STRONG> <STRONG>*)0);</STRONG>
- which uses all the defaults and sends the output to <STRONG>stdout</STRONG>.
+ which uses all the defaults and sends the output to <STRONG>stdout</STRONG>.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-The-Terminal-State">The Terminal State</a></H3><PRE>
terminal types, <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> allocates new storage for each set of
terminal capabilities.
- The <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG> routine sets <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG> to <EM>nterm</EM>, and makes all of the
- <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> boolean, numeric, and string variables use the values from
- <EM>nterm</EM>. It returns the old value of <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG>.
+ <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG> sets <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG> to <EM>nterm,</EM> and makes all of the <EM>terminfo</EM>
+ Boolean, numeric, and string variables use the values from <EM>nterm.</EM> It
+ returns the old value of <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG>.
- The <STRONG>del_curterm</STRONG> routine frees the space pointed to by <EM>oterm</EM> and makes
- it available for further use. If <EM>oterm</EM> is the same as <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG>,
- references to any of the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> boolean, numeric, and string
+ <STRONG>del_curterm</STRONG> routine frees the space pointed to by <EM>oterm</EM> and makes it
+ available for further use. If <EM>oterm</EM> is the same as <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG>,
+ references to any of the <EM>terminfo</EM> Boolean, numeric, and string
variables thereafter may refer to invalid memory locations until
another <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> has been called.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> The capability string is null-terminated. Use "\200" where an
ASCII NUL is needed in the output.
- <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG> is a newer form of <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> which uses <EM><stdarg.h></EM> rather than a
- fixed-parameter list. Its numeric parameters are integers (int) rather
- than longs.
+ <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG> is a newer form of <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> which uses <EM>stdarg.h</EM> rather than a
+ fixed-parameter list. Its numeric parameters are <EM>int</EM>s rather than
+ <EM>long</EM>s.
Both <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> and <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG> assume that the application passes parameters
consistent with the terminal description. Two extensions are provided
The <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> routine is like the <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> routine, except that it outputs
through <EM>putchar</EM>.
- The <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG> routines correspond to vidattr and vidputs,
- respectively. They use a set of arguments for representing the video
- attributes plus color, i.e.,
+ <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG> correspond to <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG>, respectively.
+ They use multiple parameters to represent the character attributes and
+ color; namely,
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>attrs</EM> of type <STRONG>attr_t</STRONG> for the attributes and
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>attrs,</EM> of type <EM>attr</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>t,</EM> for the attributes and
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>pair</EM> of type <STRONG>short</STRONG> for the color pair number.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>pair,</EM> of type <EM>short,</EM> for the color pair number.
- The <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG> routines are designed to use the attribute
- constants with the <STRONG>WA_</STRONG> prefix.
+ Use the attribute constants prefixed with "<STRONG>WA_</STRONG>" with <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and
+ <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG>.
X/Open Curses reserves the <EM>opts</EM> argument for future use, saying that
- applications must provide a null pointer for that argument. As an
- extension, this implementation allows <EM>opts</EM> to be used as a pointer to
- <STRONG>int</STRONG>, which overrides the <EM>pair</EM> (<STRONG>short</STRONG>) argument.
+ applications must provide a null pointer for that argument; but see
+ section "EXTENSIONS" below.
- The <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> routine provides low-level cursor motion. It takes effect
- immediately (rather than at the next refresh). Unlike the other low-
- level output functions, which either write to the standard output or
+ The <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> routine provides low-level cursor motion. It takes effect
+ immediately (rather than at the next refresh). Unlike the other low-
+ level output functions, which either write to the standard output or
pass an output function parameter, <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> uses an output file descriptor
derived from the output stream parameter of <STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">newterm(3x)</A></STRONG>.
While <STRONG>putp</STRONG> and <STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> are low-level functions which do not use the high-
- level curses state, they are declared in <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG> because System V
- did this (see <EM>HISTORY</EM>).
+ level curses state, they are declared in <EM>curses.h</EM> because System V did
+ this (see <EM>HISTORY</EM>).
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Terminal-Capability-Functions">Terminal Capability Functions</a></H3><PRE>
- The <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG>, <STRONG>tigetnum</STRONG> and <STRONG>tigetstr</STRONG> routines return the value of the
- capability corresponding to the <STRONG>terminfo</STRONG> <EM>capname</EM> passed to them, such
- as <STRONG>xenl</STRONG>. The <EM>capname</EM> for each capability is given in the table column
+ The <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG>, <STRONG>tigetnum</STRONG> and <STRONG>tigetstr</STRONG> routines return the value of the
+ capability corresponding to the <EM>terminfo</EM> <EM>capname</EM> passed to them, such
+ as <STRONG>xenl</STRONG>. The <EM>capname</EM> for each capability is given in the table column
entitled <EM>capname</EM> code in the capabilities section of <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>.
These routines return special values to denote errors.
The <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG> routine returns
- <STRONG>-1</STRONG> if <EM>capname</EM> is not a boolean capability, or
+ <STRONG>-1</STRONG> if <EM>capname</EM> is not a Boolean capability, or
<STRONG>0</STRONG> if it is canceled or absent from the terminal description.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Releasing-Memory">Releasing Memory</a></H3><PRE>
Each successful call to <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> allocates memory to hold the terminal
- description. As a side-effect, it sets <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG> to point to this
+ description. As a side-effect, it sets <STRONG>cur_term</STRONG> to point to this
memory. If an application calls
<STRONG>del_curterm(cur_term);</STRONG>
the memory will be freed.
- The formatting functions <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> and <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG> extend the storage allocated
+ The formatting functions <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> and <STRONG>tiparm</STRONG> extend the storage allocated
by <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> the "static" terminfo variables [a-z]. Before <EM>ncurses</EM> 6.3, those
- were shared by all screens. With <EM>ncurses</EM> 6.3, those are allocated
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> the "static" terminfo variables [a-z]. Before <EM>ncurses</EM> 6.3, those
+ were shared by all screens. With <EM>ncurses</EM> 6.3, those are allocated
per screen. See <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG> for details.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> to improve performance, <EM>ncurses</EM> 6.3 caches the result of analyzing
- terminfo strings for their parameter types. That is stored as a
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> to improve performance, <EM>ncurses</EM> 6.3 caches the result of analyzing
+ terminfo strings for their parameter types. That is stored as a
binary tree referenced from the <EM>TERMINAL</EM> structure.
The higher-level <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> and <STRONG>newterm</STRONG> functions use <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>. Normally
- they do not free this memory, but it is possible to do that using the
+ they do not free this memory, but it is possible to do that using the
<STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">delscreen(3x)</A></STRONG> function.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-RETURN-VALUE">RETURN VALUE</a></H2><PRE>
- Routines that return an integer return <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> upon failure and <STRONG>OK</STRONG> (SVr4
- only specifies "an integer value other than <STRONG>ERR</STRONG>") upon successful
- completion, unless otherwise noted in the preceding routine
- descriptions.
+ X/Open defines no failure conditions. In <EM>ncurses,</EM>
- Routines that return pointers always return <STRONG>NULL</STRONG> on error.
+ <STRONG>del_curterm</STRONG>
+ returns an error if its terminal parameter is null.
- X/Open defines no error conditions. In this implementation
+ <STRONG>putp</STRONG> calls <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>, returning the same error-codes.
- <STRONG>del_curterm</STRONG>
- returns an error if its terminal parameter is null.
+ <STRONG>restartterm</STRONG>
+ returns an error if the associated call to <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> returns an
+ error.
- <STRONG>putp</STRONG> calls <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>, returning the same error-codes.
+ <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>
+ returns an error if it cannot allocate enough memory, or create
+ the initial windows (<STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>, <STRONG>curscr</STRONG>, and <STRONG>newscr</STRONG>) Other error
+ conditions are documented above.
- <STRONG>restartterm</STRONG>
- returns an error if the associated call to <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> returns an
- error.
+ <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>
+ returns a null if the capability would require unexpected
+ parameters, e.g., too many, too few, or incorrect types (strings
+ where integers are expected, or vice versa).
- <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>
- returns an error if it cannot allocate enough memory, or create
- the initial windows (stdscr, curscr, newscr). Other error
- conditions are documented above.
-
- <STRONG>tparm</STRONG>
- returns a null if the capability would require unexpected
- parameters, e.g., too many, too few, or incorrect types
- (strings where integers are expected, or vice versa).
-
- <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>
- returns an error if the string parameter is null. It does not
- detect I/O errors: X/Open states that <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> ignores the return
- value of the output function <EM>putc</EM>.
+ <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>
+ returns an error if the string parameter is null. It does not
+ detect I/O errors: X/Open Curses states that <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> ignores the
+ return value of the output function <EM>putc</EM>.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-NOTES">NOTES</a></H2><PRE>
- According to X/Open Curses, any of the <EM>enhanced</EM> <EM>curses</EM> functions may be
- implemented as macros. The term "enhanced" refers to features not
- found in SVr4 curses.
-
- <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses macros
-
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> for functions which return values via their parameters,
-
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> to support obsolete features,
-
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> to reuse functions, e.g., those that move the cursor before another
- operation, and
-
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> a few special cases.
-
- The <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG> function in <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> is a special case. It was originally
+ The <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> function in <EM>ncurses</EM> is a special case. It was originally
implemented based on a draft of X/Open Curses, as a macro, before other
- parts of the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> wide-character API were developed.
+ parts of the <EM>ncurses</EM> wide-character API were developed, and unlike the
+ other wide-character functions, is also provided in the non-wide-
+ character configuration.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-EXTENSIONS">EXTENSIONS</a></H2><PRE>
- The functions marked as extensions were designed for <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG>, and
- are not found in SVr4 <EM>curses</EM>, 4.4BSD <EM>curses</EM>, or any other previous
- curses implementation.
+ The functions marked as extensions were designed for <EM>ncurses,</EM> and are
+ not found in SVr4 <EM>curses</EM>, 4.4BSD <EM>curses</EM>, or any other previous curses
+ implementation.
+
+ <EM>ncurses</EM> allows <EM>opts</EM> to be a pointer to <EM>int,</EM> which overrides the <EM>pair</EM>
+ (<EM>short</EM>) argument.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-PORTABILITY">PORTABILITY</a></H2><PRE>
likewise macros. The one function, <STRONG>setterm</STRONG>, is mentioned in the manual
page. It further notes that <STRONG>setterm</STRONG> was replaced by <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>, stating
that the call
- setupterm(<EM>term</EM><STRONG>,</STRONG> <STRONG>1,</STRONG> <STRONG>(int</STRONG> <STRONG>*)0)</STRONG>
+ setupterm(<EM>term</EM>, 1, (int *)0)
provides the same functionality as <STRONG>setterm(</STRONG><EM>term</EM><STRONG>)</STRONG>, discouraging the
latter for new programs. <EM>ncurses</EM> implements each of these symbols as
macros for BSD <EM>curses</EM> compatibility.
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
+ Extended terminal capability names, as defined by "<STRONG>tic</STRONG> <STRONG>-x</STRONG>", are not
stored in the arrays described here.
Older versions of <EM>ncurses</EM> 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
- terminal was left in block-buffered mode on exit (like System V
- curses), it was problematic because <EM>ncurses</EM> did not allow a reliable
- way to cleanup on receiving SIGTSTP.
+ terminal was left in block-buffered mode on exit (like System V
+ <EM>curses</EM>), it was problematic because <EM>ncurses</EM> did not allow a reliable
+ way to cleanup on receiving <STRONG>SIGTSTP</STRONG>.
The current version (ncurses6) uses output buffers managed directly by
- <EM>ncurses</EM>. Some of the low-level functions described in this manual page
+ <EM>ncurses.</EM> Some of the low-level functions described in this manual page
write to the standard output. They are not signal-safe. The high-
- level functions in <EM>ncurses</EM> use alternate versions of these functions
+ level functions in <EM>ncurses</EM> employ alternate versions of these functions
using the more reliable buffering scheme.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Function-Prototypes">Function Prototypes</a></H3><PRE>
- The X/Open Curses prototypes are based on the SVr4 curses header
+ The X/Open Curses prototypes are based on the SVr4 <EM>curses</EM> header
declarations, 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
+ <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 <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.
+ 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 <STRONG>const</STRONG> keyword. The <EM>ncurses</EM> ABI
+ 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> Most of the calls to <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> use only one or two parameters. Passing
nine on each call is awkward.
- Using <STRONG>long</STRONG> for the numeric parameter type is a workaround to make
+ 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
SVr4 curses uses the special value "dumb".
- The difference between the two is that the former uses the <STRONG>gn</STRONG>
- (<STRONG>generic_type</STRONG>) terminfo capability, while the latter does not. A
+ The difference between the two is that the former uses the <STRONG>gn</STRONG> (-
+ <STRONG>generic_type</STRONG>) terminfo 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
</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
- <STRONG>OK</STRONG> or <STRONG>ERR</STRONG>. We have chosen to implement the X/Open Curses semantics.
+ 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 System V Release 4, the third argument of <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> has the type <STRONG>int</STRONG>
- <STRONG>(*putc)(char)</STRONG>.
+ 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>/<STRONG>ERR</STRONG> from <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>. That returns the length of the string,
- and does no error-checking.
+ 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
+ <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 curses state may not match
the actual terminal state, and that an application should touch and
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
- implementation allows the caller to use -1's for the old ordinates. In
- that case, the old location is unknown.
+ 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
+ tells <EM>ncurses</EM> that the old location is unknown, and that it must use
+ only absolute motion (such as <EM>cursor</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>address</EM>) rather than the least
+ costly combination of absolute and relative motion.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-HISTORY">HISTORY</a></H2><PRE>
- SVr2 introduced the terminfo feature. Its programming manual mentioned
- the following low-level functions.
+ SVr2 (1984) introduced the <EM>terminfo</EM> feature. Its programming manual
+ mentioned the following low-level functions.
<STRONG>Function</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
<STRONG>fixterm</STRONG> restore tty to "in curses" state
<STRONG>gettmode</STRONG> establish current tty modes
<STRONG>mvcur</STRONG> low level cursor motion
- <STRONG>putp</STRONG> utility function that uses <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> to send characters via
- <EM>putchar</EM>.
+ <STRONG>putp</STRONG> use <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> to send characters via <EM>putchar</EM>
<STRONG>resetterm</STRONG> set tty modes to "out of curses" state
<STRONG>resetty</STRONG> reset tty flags to stored value
<STRONG>saveterm</STRONG> save current modes as "in curses" state
<STRONG>savetty</STRONG> store current tty flags
<STRONG>setterm</STRONG> establish terminal with given type
<STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> establish terminal with given type
- <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> instantiate a string expression with parameters
+ <STRONG>tparm</STRONG> interpolate parameters into string capability
<STRONG>tputs</STRONG> apply padding information to a string
- <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> like <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG>, but outputs through <EM>putchar</EM>
- <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> output a string to put terminal in a specified video
- attribute mode
+ <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> like <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG>, but output through <EM>putchar</EM>
+ <STRONG>vidputs</STRONG> write string to terminal, applying specified attributes
- The programming manual also mentioned functions provided for <EM>termcap</EM>
+ The programming manual also mentioned functions provided for <EM>termcap</EM>
compatibility (commenting that they "may go away at a later date").
<STRONG>Function</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
<STRONG>tgetent</STRONG> look up <EM>termcap</EM> entry for given <EM>name</EM>
- <STRONG>tgetflag</STRONG> get boolean entry for given <EM>id</EM>
+ <STRONG>tgetflag</STRONG> get Boolean entry for given <EM>id</EM>
<STRONG>tgetnum</STRONG> get numeric entry for given <EM>id</EM>
<STRONG>tgetstr</STRONG> get string entry for given <EM>id</EM>
<STRONG>tgoto</STRONG> apply parameters to given capability
- <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> apply padding to capability, calling a function to put
- characters
+ <STRONG>tputs</STRONG> write characters via a function parameter, applying padding
- Early terminfo programs obtained capability values from the <EM>TERMINAL</EM>
+ Early <EM>terminfo</EM> programs obtained capability values from the <EM>TERMINAL</EM>
structure initialized by <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>.
- SVr3 extended terminfo by adding functions to retrieve capability
- values (like the termcap interface), and reusing <STRONG>tgoto</STRONG> and <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>:
+ SVr3 (1987) extended <EM>terminfo</EM> by adding functions to retrieve
+ capability values (like the <EM>termcap</EM> interface), and reusing <STRONG>tgoto</STRONG> and
+ <STRONG>tputs</STRONG>.
<STRONG>Function</STRONG> <STRONG>Description</STRONG>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG> get boolean entry for given <EM>id</EM>
+ <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG> get Boolean entry for given <EM>id</EM>
<STRONG>tigetnum</STRONG> get numeric entry for given <EM>id</EM>
<STRONG>tigetstr</STRONG> get string entry for given <EM>id</EM>
- SVr3 also replaced several of the SVr2 <EM>terminfo</EM> functions which had no
+ SVr3 also replaced several of the SVr2 <EM>terminfo</EM> functions that had no
counterpart in the <EM>termcap</EM> interface, documenting them as obsolete.
<STRONG>Function</STRONG> <STRONG>Replaced</STRONG> <STRONG>by</STRONG>
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
- handling functions such as <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> (which used more than the two
- parameters supported by <STRONG>tgoto</STRONG>).
+ 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 to
+ handle capabilities accessed by functions such as <STRONG>vidattr</STRONG> (which used
+ more than the two parameters supported by <STRONG>tgoto</STRONG>).
- SVr3 introduced the functions for switching between terminal
- descriptions, e.g., <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG>. Some of that was incremental
- improvements to the SVr2 library:
+ SVr3 introduced the functions for switching between terminal
+ descriptions; for example, <STRONG>set_curterm</STRONG>. Some changes reflected
+ incremental improvements to the SVr2 library.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> The <EM>TERMINAL</EM> type definition was introduced in SVr3.01, for the
- <STRONG>term</STRONG> structure provided in SVr2.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> The <EM>TERMINAL</EM> type definition was introduced in SVr3.01, for the
+ <EM>term</EM> structure provided in SVr2.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> The various global variables such as <STRONG>boolnames</STRONG> were mentioned in
- the programming manual at this point, though the variables were
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Various global variables such as <STRONG>boolnames</STRONG> were mentioned in the
+ programming manual at this point, though the variables had been
provided in SVr2.
- SVr4 added the <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG> functions.
+ SVr4 (1989) added the <STRONG>vid_attr</STRONG> and <STRONG>vid_puts</STRONG> functions.
- There are other low-level functions declared in the <EM>curses</EM> header files
- on Unix systems, but none were documented. The functions marked
- "obsolete" remained in use by the Unix <STRONG>vi(1)</STRONG> editor.
+ Other low-level functions are declared in the <EM>curses</EM> header files of
+ Unix systems, but none are documented. Those noted as "obsolete" by
+ SVr3 remained in use by System V's <STRONG>vi(1)</STRONG> editor.
</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_memleaks.3x.html">curs_memleaks(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>putc(3)</STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="term_variables.3x.html">term_variables(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>putc(3)</STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="term_variables.3x.html">term_variables(3x)</A></STRONG>,
<STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>
-ncurses 6.4 2023-12-
23 <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ncurses 6.4 2023-12-
30 <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
</PRE>
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