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- * @Id: ncurses.3x,v 1.63 2002/08/10 21:56:07 tom Exp @
+ * @Id: ncurses.3x,v 1.70 2004/01/11 01:45:54 tom Exp @
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<PRE>
<!-- Manpage converted by man2html 3.0.1 -->
+<STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
+
+
</PRE>
<H2>NAME</H2><PRE>
</PRE>
<H2>DESCRIPTION</H2><PRE>
The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library routines give the user a terminal-
- independent method of updating character screens with
- reasonable optimization. This implementation is ``new
+ independent method of updating character screens with rea-
+ sonable optimization. This implementation is ``new
curses'' (ncurses) and is the approved replacement for
4.4BSD classic curses, which has been discontinued.
The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> routines emulate the <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG> library of
System V Release 4 UNIX, and the XPG4 curses standard (XSI
curses) but the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library is freely redistributable
- in source form. Differences from the SVr4 curses are
- summarized under the EXTENSIONS and BUGS sections below
- and described in detail in the EXTENSIONS and BUGS
- sections of individual man pages.
+ in source form. Differences from the SVr4 curses are sum-
+ marized under the EXTENSIONS and BUGS sections below and
+ described in detail in the EXTENSIONS and BUGS sections of
+ individual man pages.
A program using these routines must be linked with the
<STRONG>-lncurses</STRONG> option, or (if it has been generated) with the
debugging library <STRONG>-lncurses_g</STRONG>. (Your system integrator
may also have installed these libraries under the names
<STRONG>-lcurses</STRONG> and <STRONG>-lcurses_g</STRONG>.) The ncurses_g library generates
- trace logs (in a file called 'trace' in the current
- directory) that describe curses actions.
+ trace logs (in a file called 'trace' in the current direc-
+ tory) that describe curses actions.
The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> package supports: overall screen, window and
- pad manipulation; output to windows and pads; reading
- terminal input; control over terminal and <STRONG>curses</STRONG> input and
- output options; environment query routines; color
- manipulation; use of soft label keys; terminfo
- capabilities; and access to low-level terminal-
- manipulation routines.
+ pad manipulation; output to windows and pads; reading ter-
+ minal input; control over terminal and <STRONG>curses</STRONG> input and
+ output options; environment query routines; color manipu-
+ lation; use of soft label keys; terminfo capabilities; and
+ access to low-level terminal-manipulation routines.
To initialize the routines, the routine <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> or <STRONG>newterm</STRONG>
- must be called before any of the other routines that deal
- with windows and screens are used. The routine <STRONG>endwin</STRONG>
+ must be called before any of the other routines that deal
+ with windows and screens are used. The routine <STRONG>endwin</STRONG>
must be called before exiting. To get character-at-a-time
- input without echoing (most interactive, screen oriented
- programs want this), the following sequence should be
+ input without echoing (most interactive, screen oriented
+ programs want this), the following sequence should be
used:
<STRONG>initscr();</STRONG> <STRONG>cbreak();</STRONG> <STRONG>noecho();</STRONG>
<STRONG>intrflush(stdscr,</STRONG> <STRONG>FALSE);</STRONG>
<STRONG>keypad(stdscr,</STRONG> <STRONG>TRUE);</STRONG>
- Before a <STRONG>curses</STRONG> program is run, the tab stops of the
- terminal should be set and its initialization strings, if
- defined, must be output. This can be done by executing
+ Before a <STRONG>curses</STRONG> program is run, the tab stops of the ter-
+ minal should be set and its initialization strings, if
+ defined, must be output. This can be done by executing
the <STRONG>tput</STRONG> <STRONG>init</STRONG> command after the shell environment variable
- <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> has been exported. <STRONG>tset(1)</STRONG> is usually responsible
+ <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> has been exported. <STRONG>tset(1)</STRONG> is usually responsible
for doing this. [See <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG> for further details.]
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library permits manipulation of data
- structures, called <EM>windows</EM>, which can be thought of as
- two-dimensional arrays of characters representing all or
- part of a CRT screen. A default window called <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>,
- which is the size of the terminal screen, is supplied.
- Others may be created with <STRONG>newwin</STRONG>.
-
- Note that <STRONG>curses</STRONG> does not handle overlapping windows,
- that's done by the <STRONG><A HREF="panel.3x.html">panel(3x)</A></STRONG> library. This means that you
- can either use <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG> or divide the screen into tiled
- windows and not using <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG> at all. Mixing the two will
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library permits manipulation of data struc-
+ tures, called <EM>windows</EM>, which can be thought of as two-
+ dimensional arrays of characters representing all or part
+ of a CRT screen. A default window called <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>, which is
+ the size of the terminal screen, is supplied. Others may
+ be created with <STRONG>newwin</STRONG>.
+
+ Note that <STRONG>curses</STRONG> does not handle overlapping windows,
+ that's done by the <STRONG><A HREF="panel.3x.html">panel(3x)</A></STRONG> library. This means that you
+ can either use <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG> or divide the screen into tiled win-
+ dows and not using <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG> at all. Mixing the two will
result in unpredictable, and undesired, effects.
Windows are referred to by variables declared as <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG>.
- These data structures are manipulated with routines
- described here and elsewhere in the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> manual pages.
- Among which the most basic routines are <STRONG>move</STRONG> and <STRONG>addch</STRONG>.
- More general versions of these routines are included with
- names beginning with <STRONG>w</STRONG>, allowing the user to specify a
+ These data structures are manipulated with routines
+ described here and elsewhere in the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> manual pages.
+ Among which the most basic routines are <STRONG>move</STRONG> and <STRONG>addch</STRONG>.
+ More general versions of these routines are included with
+ names beginning with <STRONG>w</STRONG>, allowing the user to specify a
window. The routines not beginning with <STRONG>w</STRONG> affect <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>.)
- After using routines to manipulate a window, <STRONG>refresh</STRONG> is
- called, telling <STRONG>curses</STRONG> to make the user's CRT screen look
- like <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>. The characters in a window are actually of
- type <STRONG>chtype</STRONG>, (character and attribute data) so that other
- information about the character may also be stored with
+ After using routines to manipulate a window, <STRONG>refresh</STRONG> is
+ called, telling <STRONG>curses</STRONG> to make the user's CRT screen look
+ like <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>. The characters in a window are actually of
+ type <STRONG>chtype</STRONG>, (character and attribute data) so that other
+ information about the character may also be stored with
each character.
- Special windows called <EM>pads</EM> may also be manipulated.
+ Special windows called <EM>pads</EM> may also be manipulated.
These are windows which are not constrained to the size of
- the screen and whose contents need not be completely
-
displayed. See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_pad.3x.html">curs_pad(3x)</A></STRONG> for more information.
-
- In addition to drawing characters on the screen, video
- attributes and colors may be supported, causing the
- characters to show up in such modes as underlined, in
- reverse video, or in color on terminals that support such
- display enhancements. Line drawing characters may be
- specified to be output. On input, <STRONG>curses</STRONG> is also able to
- translate arrow and function keys that transmit escape
- sequences into single values. The video attributes, line
- drawing characters, and input values use names, defined in
+ the screen and whose contents need not be completely dis-
+ played. See <STRONG><A HREF="curs_pad.3x.html">curs_pad(3x)</A></STRONG> for more information.
+
+ In addition to drawing characters on the screen, video
+ attributes and colors may be supported, causing the char-
+ acters to show up in such modes as underlined, in reverse
+ video, or in color on terminals that support such display
+ enhancements. Line drawing characters may be specified to
+ be output. On input, <STRONG>curses</STRONG> is also able to translate
+ arrow and function keys that transmit escape sequences
+ into single values. The video attributes, line drawing
+ characters, and input values use names, defined in
<STRONG><curses.h></STRONG>, such as <STRONG>A_REVERSE</STRONG>, <STRONG>ACS_HLINE</STRONG>, and <STRONG>KEY_LEFT</STRONG>.
If the environment variables <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> and <STRONG>COLUMNS</STRONG> are set, or
- if the program is executing in a window environment, line
- and column information in the environment will override
+ if the program is executing in a window environment, line
+ and column information in the environment will override
information read by <EM>terminfo</EM>. This would effect a program
- running in an AT&T 630 layer, for example, where the size
+ running in an AT&T 630 layer, for example, where the size
of a screen is changeable (see <STRONG>ENVIRONMENT</STRONG>).
- If the environment variable <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> is defined, any
- program using <STRONG>curses</STRONG> checks for a local terminal
- definition before checking in the standard place. For
- example, if <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> is set to <STRONG>att4424</STRONG>, then the compiled
- terminal definition is found in
+ If the environment variable <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> is defined, any pro-
+ gram using <STRONG>curses</STRONG> checks for a local terminal definition
+ before checking in the standard place. For example, if
+ <STRONG>TERM</STRONG> is set to <STRONG>att4424</STRONG>, then the compiled terminal defini-
+ tion is found in
<STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo/a/att4424</STRONG>.
(The <STRONG>a</STRONG> is copied from the first letter of <STRONG>att4424</STRONG> to avoid
- creation of huge directories.) However, if <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> is
+ creation of huge directories.) However, if <STRONG>TERMINFO</STRONG> is
set to <STRONG>$HOME/myterms</STRONG>, <STRONG>curses</STRONG> first checks
<STRONG>$HOME/myterms/a/att4424</STRONG>,
<STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo/a/att4424</STRONG>.
- This is useful for developing experimental definitions or
- when write permission in <STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo</STRONG> is not
- available.
+ This is useful for developing experimental definitions or
+ when write permission in <STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo</STRONG> is not avail-
+ able.
- The integer variables <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> and <STRONG>COLS</STRONG> are defined in
- <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG> and will be filled in by <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> with the size
- of the screen. The constants <STRONG>TRUE</STRONG> and <STRONG>FALSE</STRONG> have the
- values <STRONG>1</STRONG> and <STRONG>0</STRONG>, respectively.
+ The integer variables <STRONG>LINES</STRONG> and <STRONG>COLS</STRONG> are defined in
+ <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG> and will be filled in by <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> with the size
+ of the screen. The constants <STRONG>TRUE</STRONG> and <STRONG>FALSE</STRONG> have the val-
+ ues <STRONG>1</STRONG> and <STRONG>0</STRONG>, respectively.
- The <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routines also define the <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG> variable
+ The <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routines also define the <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG> <STRONG>*</STRONG> variable
<STRONG>curscr</STRONG> which is used for certain low-level operations like
- clearing and redrawing a screen containing garbage. The
+ clearing and redrawing a screen containing garbage. The
<STRONG>curscr</STRONG> can be used in only a few routines.
-
<STRONG>Routine</STRONG> <STRONG>and</STRONG> <STRONG>Argument</STRONG> <STRONG>Names</STRONG>
- Many <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routines have two or more versions. The
- routines prefixed with <STRONG>w</STRONG> require a window argument. The
- routines prefixed with <STRONG>p</STRONG> require a pad argument. Those
- without a prefix generally use <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>.
+ Many <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routines have two or more versions. The rou-
+ tines prefixed with <STRONG>w</STRONG> require a window argument. The rou-
+ tines prefixed with <STRONG>p</STRONG> require a pad argument. Those with-
+ out a prefix generally use <STRONG>stdscr</STRONG>.
The routines prefixed with <STRONG>mv</STRONG> require a <EM>y</EM> and <EM>x</EM> coordinate
- to move to before performing the appropriate action. The
- <STRONG>mv</STRONG> routines imply a call to <STRONG>move</STRONG> before the call to the
- other routine. The coordinate <EM>y</EM> always refers to the row
- (of the window), and <EM>x</EM> always refers to the column. The
+ to move to before performing the appropriate action. The
+ <STRONG>mv</STRONG> routines imply a call to <STRONG>move</STRONG> before the call to the
+ other routine. The coordinate <EM>y</EM> always refers to the row
+ (of the window), and <EM>x</EM> always refers to the column. The
upper left-hand corner is always (0,0), not (1,1).
The routines prefixed with <STRONG>mvw</STRONG> take both a window argument
- and <EM>x</EM> and <EM>y</EM> coordinates. The window argument is always
+ and <EM>x</EM> and <EM>y</EM> coordinates. The window argument is always
specified before the coordinates.
- In each case, <EM>win</EM> is the window affected, and <EM>pad</EM> is the
- pad affected; <EM>win</EM> and <EM>pad</EM> are always pointers to type
- <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG>.
+ In each case, <EM>win</EM> is the window affected, and <EM>pad</EM> is the
+ pad affected; <EM>win</EM> and <EM>pad</EM> are always pointers to type <STRONG>WIN-</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>DOW</STRONG>.
Option setting routines require a Boolean flag <EM>bf</EM> with the
- value <STRONG>TRUE</STRONG> or <STRONG>FALSE</STRONG>; <EM>bf</EM> is always of type <STRONG>bool</STRONG>. The
- variables <EM>ch</EM> and <EM>attrs</EM> below are always of type <STRONG>chtype</STRONG>.
- The types <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG>, <STRONG>SCREEN</STRONG>, <STRONG>bool</STRONG>, and <STRONG>chtype</STRONG> are defined in
- <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG>. The type <STRONG>TERMINAL</STRONG> is defined in <STRONG><term.h></STRONG>.
+ value <STRONG>TRUE</STRONG> or <STRONG>FALSE</STRONG>; <EM>bf</EM> is always of type <STRONG>bool</STRONG>. The vari-
+ ables <EM>ch</EM> and <EM>attrs</EM> below are always of type <STRONG>chtype</STRONG>. The
+ types <STRONG>WINDOW</STRONG>, <STRONG>SCREEN</STRONG>, <STRONG>bool</STRONG>, and <STRONG>chtype</STRONG> are defined in
+ <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG>. The type <STRONG>TERMINAL</STRONG> is defined in <STRONG><term.h></STRONG>.
All other arguments are integers.
-
<STRONG>Routine</STRONG> <STRONG>Name</STRONG> <STRONG>Index</STRONG>
The following table lists each <STRONG>curses</STRONG> routine and the name
- of the manual page on which it is described. Routines
- flagged with `*' are ncurses-specific, not described by
+ of the manual page on which it is described. Routines
+ flagged with `*' are ncurses-specific, not described by
XPG4 or present in SVr4.
<STRONG>curses</STRONG> Routine Name Manual Page Name
add_wchnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_add_wchstr.3x.html">curs_add_wchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
add_wchstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_add_wchstr.3x.html">curs_add_wchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
addch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addch.3x.html">curs_addch(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
addchnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addchstr.3x.html">curs_addchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
addchstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addchstr.3x.html">curs_addchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
addnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addstr.3x.html">curs_addstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
bkgd <STRONG><A HREF="curs_bkgd.3x.html">curs_bkgd(3x)</A></STRONG>
bkgdset <STRONG><A HREF="curs_bkgd.3x.html">curs_bkgd(3x)</A></STRONG>
bkgrnd <STRONG><A HREF="curs_bkgrnd.3x.html">curs_bkgrnd(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
bkgrndset <STRONG><A HREF="curs_bkgrnd.3x.html">curs_bkgrnd(3x)</A></STRONG>
border <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
border_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border_set.3x.html">curs_border_set(3x)</A></STRONG>
getbkgrnd <STRONG><A HREF="curs_bkgrnd.3x.html">curs_bkgrnd(3x)</A></STRONG>
getcchar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getcchar.3x.html">curs_getcchar(3x)</A></STRONG>
getch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getch.3x.html">curs_getch(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
getmaxyx <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getyx.3x.html">curs_getyx(3x)</A></STRONG>
getmouse <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG>*
getn_wstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_get_wstr.3x.html">curs_get_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
getparyx <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getyx.3x.html">curs_getyx(3x)</A></STRONG>
getstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getstr.3x.html">curs_getstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
getsyx <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
getwin <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>
getyx <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getyx.3x.html">curs_getyx(3x)</A></STRONG>
halfdelay <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
is_linetouched <STRONG><A HREF="curs_touch.3x.html">curs_touch(3x)</A></STRONG>
is_wintouched <STRONG><A HREF="curs_touch.3x.html">curs_touch(3x)</A></STRONG>
isendwin <STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">curs_initscr(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ key_defined <STRONG><A HREF="key_defined.3x.html">key_defined(3x)</A></STRONG>*
key_name <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>
keybound <STRONG><A HREF="keybound.3x.html">keybound(3x)</A></STRONG>*
keyname <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>
mousemask <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG>*
move <STRONG><A HREF="curs_move.3x.html">curs_move(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvadd_wch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_add_wch.3x.html">curs_add_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
mvadd_wchnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_add_wchstr.3x.html">curs_add_wchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvadd_wchstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_add_wchstr.3x.html">curs_add_wchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvaddch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addch.3x.html">curs_addch(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvaddchnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addchstr.3x.html">curs_addchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
mvaddchstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addchstr.3x.html">curs_addchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvaddnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addstr.3x.html">curs_addstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvaddnwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addwstr.3x.html">curs_addwstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwaddwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addwstr.3x.html">curs_addwstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwchgat <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwdelch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_delch.3x.html">curs_delch(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
mvwget_wch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_get_wch.3x.html">curs_get_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwget_wstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_get_wstr.3x.html">curs_get_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwgetch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getch.3x.html">curs_getch(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwinchnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inchstr.3x.html">curs_inchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwinchstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inchstr.3x.html">curs_inchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwinnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_instr.3x.html">curs_instr(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
mvwinnwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inwstr.3x.html">curs_inwstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwins_nwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_ins_wstr.3x.html">curs_ins_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwins_wch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_ins_wch.3x.html">curs_ins_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>
qiflush <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
raw <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
redrawwin <STRONG><A HREF="curs_refresh.3x.html">curs_refresh(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
refresh <STRONG><A HREF="curs_refresh.3x.html">curs_refresh(3x)</A></STRONG>
reset_prog_mode <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>
reset_shell_mode <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_attr_on <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_attr_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_attroff <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
slk_attron <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_attrset <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_clear <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
tgetnum <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termcap.3x.html">curs_termcap(3x)</A></STRONG>
tgetstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termcap.3x.html">curs_termcap(3x)</A></STRONG>
tgoto <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termcap.3x.html">curs_termcap(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
tigetflag <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
tigetnum <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
tigetstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG>
waddstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addstr.3x.html">curs_addstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
waddwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addwstr.3x.html">curs_addwstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
wattr_get <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
wattr_off <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
wattr_on <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
wattr_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
wborder <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
wborder_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border_set.3x.html">curs_border_set(3x)</A></STRONG>
wchgat <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
wclear <STRONG><A HREF="curs_clear.3x.html">curs_clear(3x)</A></STRONG>
wclrtobot <STRONG><A HREF="curs_clear.3x.html">curs_clear(3x)</A></STRONG>
wclrtoeol <STRONG><A HREF="curs_clear.3x.html">curs_clear(3x)</A></STRONG>
wstandout <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
wsyncdown <STRONG><A HREF="curs_window.3x.html">curs_window(3x)</A></STRONG>
wsyncup <STRONG><A HREF="curs_window.3x.html">curs_window(3x)</A></STRONG>
- wtimeout <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ wtimeout <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
wtouchln <STRONG><A HREF="curs_touch.3x.html">curs_touch(3x)</A></STRONG>
wunctrl <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>
wvline <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
</PRE>
<H2>RETURN VALUE</H2><PRE>
- Routines that return an integer return <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> upon failure
- and an integer value other than <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> upon successful
- completion, unless otherwise noted in the routine
- descriptions.
-
- All macros return the value of the <STRONG>w</STRONG> version, except
- <STRONG>setscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>wsetscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>getyx</STRONG>, <STRONG>getbegyx</STRONG>, <STRONG>getmaxyx</STRONG>. The
- return values of <STRONG>setscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>wsetscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>getyx</STRONG>, <STRONG>getbegyx</STRONG>,
- and <STRONG>getmaxyx</STRONG> are undefined (<EM>i</EM>.<EM>e</EM>., these should not be used
+ Routines that return an integer return <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> upon failure
+ and an integer value other than <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> upon successful com-
+ pletion, unless otherwise noted in the routine descrip-
+ tions.
+
+ All macros return the value of the <STRONG>w</STRONG> version, except
+ <STRONG>setscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>wsetscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>getyx</STRONG>, <STRONG>getbegyx</STRONG>, and <STRONG>getmaxyx</STRONG>. The
+ return values of <STRONG>setscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>wsetscrreg</STRONG>, <STRONG>getyx</STRONG>, <STRONG>getbegyx</STRONG>,
+ and <STRONG>getmaxyx</STRONG> are undefined (i.e., these should not be used
as the right-hand side of assignment statements).
Routines that return pointers return <STRONG>NULL</STRONG> on error.
</PRE>
<H2>ENVIRONMENT</H2><PRE>
- The following environment symbols are useful for
- customizing the runtime behavior of the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library.
- The most important ones have been already discussed in
- detail.
+ The following environment symbols are useful for customiz-
+ ing the runtime behavior of the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library. The most
+ important ones have been already discussed in detail.
BAUDRATE
The debugging library checks this environment symbol
when the application has redirected output to a file.
The symbol's numeric value is used for the baudrate.
- If no value is found <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses 9600. This allows
+ If no value is found, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses 9600. This allows
testers to construct repeatable test-cases that take
into account costs that depend on baudrate.
CC When set, change occurrences of the command_character
(i.e., the <STRONG>cmdch</STRONG> capability) of the loaded terminfo
- entries to the value of this symbol. Very few
- terminfo entries provide this feature.
+ entries to the value of this symbol. Very few ter-
+ minfo entries provide this feature.
COLUMNS
Specify the width of the screen in characters.
- Applications running in a windowing environment
- usually are able to obtain the width of the window in
+ Applications running in a windowing environment usu-
+ ally are able to obtain the width of the window in
which they are executing. If neither the $COLUMNS
value nor the terminal's screen size is available,
<STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> uses the size which may be specified in the
Specifies the total time, in milliseconds, for which
ncurses will await a character sequence, e.g., a
function key. The default value, 1000 milliseconds,
- is enough for most uses. However, it is made a
- variable to accommodate unusual applications.
+ is enough for most uses. However, it is made a vari-
+ able to accommodate unusual applications.
The most common instance where you may wish to change
this value is to work with slow hosts, e.g., running
the terminal did not send characters rapidly enough.
The library will still see a timeout.
- Note that xterm mouse events are built up from
- character sequences received from the xterm. If your
+ Note that xterm mouse events are built up from char-
+ acter sequences received from the xterm. If your
application makes heavy use of multiple-clicking, you
may wish to lengthen this default value because the
timeout applies to the composed multi-click event as
132.
NCURSES_ASSUMED_COLORS
- Override the compiled-in assumption that the
- terminal's default colors are white-on-black (see
- <STRONG><A HREF="assume_default_colors.3x.html">assume_default_colors(3x)</A></STRONG>). You may set the
- foreground and background color values with this
- environment variable by proving a 2-element list:
- foreground,background. For example, to tell ncurses
- to not assume anything about the colors, set this to
+ Override the compiled-in assumption that the termi-
+ nal's default colors are white-on-black (see
+ <STRONG><A HREF="assume_default_colors.3x.html">assume_default_colors(3x)</A></STRONG>). You may set the fore-
+ ground and background color values with this environ-
+ ment variable by proving a 2-element list: fore-
+ ground,background. For example, to tell ncurses to
+ not assume anything about the colors, set this to
"-1,-1". To make it green-on-black, set it to "2,0".
- Any positive value from zero to the terminfo
- <STRONG>max_colors</STRONG> value is allowed.
+ Any positive value from zero to the terminfo <STRONG>max_col-</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>ors</STRONG> value is allowed.
NCURSES_NO_PADDING
Most of the terminal descriptions in the terminfo
database are written for real "hardware" terminals.
Many people use terminal emulators which run in a
- windowing environment and use curses-based
- applications. Terminal emulators can duplicate all
- of the important aspects of a hardware terminal, but
- they do not have the same limitations. The chief
- limitation of a hardware terminal from the standpoint
- of your application is the management of dataflow,
- i.e., timing. Unless a hardware terminal is
- interfaced into a terminal concentrator (which does
- flow control), it (or your application) must manage
- dataflow, preventing overruns. The cheapest solution
- (no hardware cost) is for your program to do this by
- pausing after operations that the terminal does
- slowly, such as clearing the display.
+ windowing environment and use curses-based applica-
+ tions. Terminal emulators can duplicate all of the
+ important aspects of a hardware terminal, but they do
+ not have the same limitations. The chief limitation
+ of a hardware terminal from the standpoint of your
+ application is the management of dataflow, i.e.,
+ timing. Unless a hardware terminal is interfaced
+ into a terminal concentrator (which does flow con-
+ trol), it (or your application) must manage dataflow,
+ preventing overruns. The cheapest solution (no hard-
+ ware cost) is for your program to do this by pausing
+ after operations that the terminal does slowly, such
+ as clearing the display.
As a result, many terminal descriptions (including
the vt100) have delay times embedded. You may wish
part of special control sequences such as <EM>flash</EM>.
NCURSES_NO_SETBUF
- Normally <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> enables buffered output during
- terminal initialization. This is done (as in SVr4
- curses) for performance reasons. For testing
- purposes, both of <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> and certain applications,
- this feature is made optional. Setting the
+ Normally <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> enables buffered output during ter-
+ minal initialization. This is done (as in SVr4
+ curses) for performance reasons. For testing pur-
+ poses, both of <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> and certain applications, this
+ feature is made optional. Setting the
NCURSES_NO_SETBUF variable disables output buffering,
leaving the output in the original (usually line
buffered) mode.
distinct, though many are similar.
TERMCAP
- If the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library has been configured with
- <EM>termcap</EM> support, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> will check for a terminal's
+ If the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library has been configured with <EM>term-</EM>
+ <EM>cap</EM> support, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> will check for a terminal's
description in termcap form if it is not available in
the terminfo database.
The complete list of directories in order follows:
- the last directory to which <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> wrote, if any,
- is searched first.
+ is searched first
- the directory specified by the TERMINFO symbol
/usr/share/terminfo
TERMINFO_DIRS
- Specifies a list of directories to search for
- terminal descriptions. The list is separated by
- colons (i.e., ":") on Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX.
- All of the terminal descriptions are in terminfo
- form, which makes a subdirectory named for the first
- letter of the terminal names therein.
+ Specifies a list of directories to search for termi-
+ nal descriptions. The list is separated by colons
+ (i.e., ":") on Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX. All of
+ the terminal descriptions are in terminfo form, which
+ makes a subdirectory named for the first letter of
+ the terminal names therein.
TERMPATH
If TERMCAP does not hold a file name then <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>
- checks the TERMPATH symbol. This is a list of
- filenames separated by spaces or colons (i.e., ":")
- on Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX. If the TERMPATH
- symbol is not set, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> looks in the files
- /etc/termcap, /usr/share/misc/termcap and
- $HOME/.termcap, in that order.
+ checks the TERMPATH symbol. This is a list of file-
+ names separated by spaces or colons (i.e., ":") on
+ Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX. If the TERMPATH symbol
+ is not set, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> looks in the files /etc/termcap,
+ /usr/share/misc/termcap and $HOME/.termcap, in that
+ order.
The library may be configured to disregard the following
variables when the current user is the superuser (root),
<H2>FILES</H2><PRE>
/usr/share/tabset
directory containing initialization files for the
- terminal capability database /usr/share/terminfo
- terminal capability database
+ terminal capability database /usr/share/terminfo ter-
+ minal capability database
</PRE>
</PRE>
<H2>EXTENSIONS</H2><PRE>
The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library can be compiled with an option
- (<STRONG>-DUSE_GETCAP</STRONG>) that falls back to the old-style
- /etc/termcap file if the terminal setup code cannot find a
- terminfo entry corresponding to <STRONG>TERM</STRONG>. Use of this feature
- is not recommended, as it essentially includes an entire
- termcap compiler in the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> startup code, at
- significant cost in core and startup cycles.
+ (<STRONG>-DUSE_GETCAP</STRONG>) that falls back to the old-style /etc/term-
+ cap file if the terminal setup code cannot find a terminfo
+ entry corresponding to <STRONG>TERM</STRONG>. Use of this feature is not
+ recommended, as it essentially includes an entire termcap
+ compiler in the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> startup code, at significant cost
+ in core and startup cycles.
The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library includes facilities for capturing
mouse events on certain terminals (including xterm). See
The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library extends the fixed set of function key
capabilities of terminals by allowing the application
designer to define additional key sequences at runtime.
- See the <STRONG><A HREF="define_key.3x.html">define_key(3x)</A></STRONG> and <STRONG><A HREF="keyok.3x.html">keyok(3x)</A></STRONG> manual pages for
- details.
+ See the <STRONG><A HREF="define_key.3x.html">define_key(3x)</A></STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="key_defined.3x.html">key_defined(3x)</A></STRONG>, and <STRONG><A HREF="keyok.3x.html">keyok(3x)</A></STRONG> man-
+ ual pages for details.
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library can exploit the capabilities of
- terminals which implement the ISO-6429 SGR 39 and SGR 49
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library can exploit the capabilities of termi-
+ nals which implement the ISO-6429 SGR 39 and SGR 49
controls, which allow an application to reset the terminal
to its original foreground and background colors. From
the users' perspective, the application is able to draw
- colored text on a background whose color is set
- independently, providing better control over color
- contrasts. See the <STRONG><A HREF="default_colors.3x.html">default_colors(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for
- details.
+ colored text on a background whose color is set indepen-
+ dently, providing better control over color contrasts.
+ See the <STRONG><A HREF="default_colors.3x.html">default_colors(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library includes a function for directing
- application output to a printer attached to the terminal
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library includes a function for directing
+ application output to a printer attached to the terminal
device. See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_print.3x.html">curs_print(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
</PRE>
<H2>PORTABILITY</H2><PRE>
- The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library is intended to be BASE-level
- conformant with the XSI Curses standard. Certain portions
- of the EXTENDED XSI Curses functionality (including color
- support) are supported. The following EXTENDED XSI Curses
- calls in support of wide (multibyte) characters are not
- yet implemented: <STRONG>pecho_wchar</STRONG>, <STRONG>slk_wset</STRONG>.
-
- A small number of local differences (that is, individual
- differences between the XSI Curses and <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> calls) are
- described in <STRONG>PORTABILITY</STRONG> sections of the library man
+ The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> library is intended to be BASE-level confor-
+ mant with the XSI Curses standard. The EXTENDED XSI
+ Curses functionality (including color support) is sup-
+ ported.
+
+ A small number of local differences (that is, individual
+ differences between the XSI Curses and <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> calls) are
+ described in <STRONG>PORTABILITY</STRONG> sections of the library man
pages.
The routine <STRONG>has_key</STRONG> is not part of XPG4, nor is it present
- in SVr4. See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getch.3x.html">curs_getch(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
+ in SVr4. See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getch.3x.html">curs_getch(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
- The routine <STRONG>slk_attr</STRONG> is not part of XPG4, nor is it
- present in SVr4. See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for
+ The routine <STRONG>slk_attr</STRONG> is not part of XPG4, nor is it pre-
+ sent in SVr4. See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for
details.
- The routines <STRONG>getmouse</STRONG>, <STRONG>mousemask</STRONG>, <STRONG>ungetmouse</STRONG>,
- <STRONG>mouseinterval</STRONG>, and <STRONG>wenclose</STRONG> relating to mouse interfacing
- are not part of XPG4, nor are they present in SVr4. See
-
the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
+ The routines <STRONG>getmouse</STRONG>, <STRONG>mousemask</STRONG>, <STRONG>ungetmouse</STRONG>, <STRONG>mouseinter-</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>val</STRONG>, and <STRONG>wenclose</STRONG> relating to mouse interfacing are not
+ part of XPG4, nor are they present in SVr4. See the
+ <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
The routine <STRONG>mcprint</STRONG> was not present in any previous curses
- implementation. See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_print.3x.html">curs_print(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for
+ implementation. See the <STRONG><A HREF="curs_print.3x.html">curs_print(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for
details.
The routine <STRONG>wresize</STRONG> is not part of XPG4, nor is it present
in SVr4. See the <STRONG><A HREF="wresize.3x.html">wresize(3x)</A></STRONG> manual page for details.
- In historic curses versions, delays embedded in the
- capabilities <STRONG>cr</STRONG>, <STRONG>ind</STRONG>, <STRONG>cub1</STRONG>, <STRONG>ff</STRONG> and <STRONG>tab</STRONG> activated
- corresponding delay bits in the UNIX tty driver. In this
- implementation, all padding is done by NUL sends. This
- method is slightly more expensive, but narrows the
- interface to the UNIX kernel significantly and increases
- the package's portability correspondingly.
+ In historic curses versions, delays embedded in the capa-
+ bilities <STRONG>cr</STRONG>, <STRONG>ind</STRONG>, <STRONG>cub1</STRONG>, <STRONG>ff</STRONG> and <STRONG>tab</STRONG> activated corresponding
+ delay bits in the UNIX tty driver. In this implementa-
+ tion, all padding is done by NUL sends. This method is
+ slightly more expensive, but narrows the interface to the
+ UNIX kernel significantly and increases the package's
+ portability correspondingly.
</PRE>
<H2>NOTES</H2><PRE>
- The header file <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG> automatically includes the
+ The header file <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG> automatically includes the
header files <STRONG><stdio.h></STRONG> and <STRONG><unctrl.h></STRONG>.
- If standard output from a <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> program is re-directed
- to something which is not a tty, screen updates will be
- directed to standard error. This was an undocumented
- feature of AT&T System V Release 3 curses.
+ If standard output from a <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> program is re-directed
+ to something which is not a tty, screen updates will be
+ directed to standard error. This was an undocumented fea-
+ ture of AT&T System V Release 3 curses.
</PRE>
<H2>AUTHORS</H2><PRE>
- Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey.
+ Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey.
Based on pcurses by Pavel Curtis.
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+ <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG>
</PRE>
<HR>
<ADDRESS>
projects / ncurses.git / blobdiff