* sale, use or other dealings in this Software without prior written *
* authorization. *
****************************************************************************
- * @Id: ncurses.3x,v 1.207 2024/04/14 00:34:00 tom Exp @
+ * @Id: ncurses.3x,v 1.214 2024/04/27 17:55:43 tom Exp @
-->
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+<TITLE>ncurses 3x 2024-04-27 ncurses 6.5 Library calls</TITLE>
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-<H1 class="no-header">ncurses 3x 2024-04-13 ncurses 6.4 Library calls</H1>
+<H1 class="no-header">ncurses 3x 2024-04-27 ncurses 6.5 Library calls</H1>
<PRE>
<STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG> Library calls <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG>
terminals with output optimized to minimize screen updates. <EM>ncurses</EM>
replaces the <EM>curses</EM> libraries from System V Release 4 Unix ("SVr4") and
4.4BSD Unix, the development of which ceased in the 1990s. This
- describes <EM>ncurses</EM> version 6.4 (patch 20240413).
+ document describes <EM>ncurses</EM> version 6.5 (patch 20240427).
<EM>ncurses</EM> permits control of the terminal screen's contents; abstraction
and subdivision thereof with <EM>windows</EM> and <EM>pads</EM>; the reading of terminal
parameters.
<EM>bf</EM> <EM>bool</EM> (<STRONG>TRUE</STRONG> or <STRONG>FALSE</STRONG>)
+ <EM>c</EM> a <EM>char</EM> or <EM>int</EM>
+ <EM>ch</EM> a <EM>chtype</EM>
+ <EM>wc</EM> a <EM>wchar</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>t</EM> or <EM>wint</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>t</EM>
+ <EM>wch</EM> a <EM>cchar</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>t</EM>
<EM>win</EM> pointer to a <EM>WINDOW</EM>
<EM>pad</EM> pointer to a <EM>WINDOW</EM> that is a pad
doupdate <STRONG><A HREF="curs_refresh.3x.html">curs_refresh(3x)</A></STRONG>
dupwin <STRONG><A HREF="curs_window.3x.html">curs_window(3x)</A></STRONG>
echo <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
echo_wchar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_add_wch.3x.html">curs_add_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>
echochar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addch.3x.html">curs_addch(3x)</A></STRONG>
endwin <STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">curs_initscr(3x)</A></STRONG>
erase <STRONG><A HREF="curs_clear.3x.html">curs_clear(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
erasechar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termattrs.3x.html">curs_termattrs(3x)</A></STRONG>
erasewchar <STRONG><A HREF="curs_termattrs.3x.html">curs_termattrs(3x)</A></STRONG>
exit_curses <STRONG><A HREF="curs_memleaks.3x.html">curs_memleaks(3x)</A></STRONG>*
init_pair <STRONG><A HREF="curs_color.3x.html">curs_color(3x)</A></STRONG>
initscr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">curs_initscr(3x)</A></STRONG>
innstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_instr.3x.html">curs_instr(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
innwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inwstr.3x.html">curs_inwstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
ins_nwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_ins_wstr.3x.html">curs_ins_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
ins_wch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_ins_wch.3x.html">curs_ins_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>
ins_wstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_ins_wstr.3x.html">curs_ins_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
insch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_insch.3x.html">curs_insch(3x)</A></STRONG>
insdelln <STRONG><A HREF="curs_deleteln.3x.html">curs_deleteln(3x)</A></STRONG>
insertln <STRONG><A HREF="curs_deleteln.3x.html">curs_deleteln(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvget_wch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_get_wch.3x.html">curs_get_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvget_wstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_get_wstr.3x.html">curs_get_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvgetch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getch.3x.html">curs_getch(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
mvgetn_wstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_get_wstr.3x.html">curs_get_wstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvgetnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getstr.3x.html">curs_getstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvgetstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_getstr.3x.html">curs_getstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvhline <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
mvhline_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border_set.3x.html">curs_border_set(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvin_wch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_in_wch.3x.html">curs_in_wch(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvin_wchnstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_in_wchstr.3x.html">curs_in_wchstr(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwprintw <STRONG><A HREF="curs_printw.3x.html">curs_printw(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwscanw <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scanw.3x.html">curs_scanw(3x)</A></STRONG>
mvwvline <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border.3x.html">curs_border(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
mvwvline_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_border_set.3x.html">curs_border_set(3x)</A></STRONG>
napms <STRONG><A HREF="curs_kernel.3x.html">curs_kernel(3x)</A></STRONG>
newpad <STRONG><A HREF="curs_pad.3x.html">curs_pad(3x)</A></STRONG>
newterm <STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">curs_initscr(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
newwin <STRONG><A HREF="curs_window.3x.html">curs_window(3x)</A></STRONG>
nl <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
nocbreak <STRONG><A HREF="curs_inopts.3x.html">curs_inopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_init <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_label <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_noutrefresh <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
slk_refresh <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_restore <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_set <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
slk_touch <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
-
slk_wset <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">curs_slk(3x)</A></STRONG>
standend <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
standout <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
waddnwstr <STRONG><A HREF="curs_addwstr.3x.html">curs_addwstr(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>
-
wattroff <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
wattron <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
wattrset <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(3x)</A></STRONG>
wscanw <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scanw.3x.html">curs_scanw(3x)</A></STRONG>
wscrl <STRONG><A HREF="curs_scroll.3x.html">curs_scroll(3x)</A></STRONG>
wsetscrreg <STRONG><A HREF="curs_outopts.3x.html">curs_outopts(3x)</A></STRONG>
+
wstandend <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">curs_attr(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>
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>
Unless otherwise noted, functions that return an integer return <STRONG>OK</STRONG> on
success and <STRONG>ERR</STRONG> on failure. Functions that return pointers return <STRONG>NULL</STRONG>
on failure. Typically, <EM>ncurses</EM> treats a null pointer passed as a
- function parameter as a failure. Functions with a "mv" prefix first
- perform cursor movement using <STRONG><A HREF="curs_move.3x.html">wmove(3x)</A></STRONG> and fail if the position is
- outside the window.
+ function parameter as a failure. Functions prefixed with "mv" first
+ perform cursor movement and fail if the position (<EM>y</EM>, <EM>x</EM>) is outside the
+ window boundaries.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-ENVIRONMENT">ENVIRONMENT</a></H2><PRE>
pause after directing a terminal to execute an operation that it
performs slowly, such as clearing the display. Many terminal type
descriptions, including that for the VT100, embed delay specifications
- in capabilities. You may wish to use these temrinal descriptions
+ in capabilities. You may wish to use these terminal descriptions
without paying the performance penalty. Set <EM>NCURSES</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>NO</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>PADDING</EM> to any
value to disable all but mandatory padding. Mandatory padding is used
by such terminal capabilities as <STRONG>flash_screen</STRONG> (<STRONG>flash</STRONG>).
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERM"><EM>TERM</EM></a></H3><PRE>
- Denotes your terminal type. Each terminal type is distinct, though
- many are similar.
-
- <EM>TERM</EM> is commonly set by terminal emulators to help applications find a
- workable terminal description. Some of those choose a popular
- approximation, e.g., "ansi", "vt100", "xterm" rather than an exact fit.
- Not infrequently, your application will have problems with that
- approach, e.g., incorrect function-key definitions.
-
- If you set <EM>TERM</EM> in your environment, it has no effect on the operation
- of the terminal emulator. It only affects the way applications work
- within the terminal. Likewise, as a general rule (<STRONG>xterm(1)</STRONG> being a
- rare exception), terminal emulators which allow you to specify <EM>TERM</EM> as
- a parameter or configuration value do not change their behavior to
- match that setting.
+ The <EM>TERM</EM> variable denotes the terminal type. Each is distinct, though
+ many are similar. It is commonly set by terminal emulators to help
+ applications find a workable terminal description. Some choose a
+ popular approximation such as "ansi", "vt100", or "xterm" rather than
+ an exact fit to their capabilities. Not infrequently, an application
+ will have problems with that approach; for example, a key stroke may
+ not operate correctly, or produce no effect but seeming garbage
+ characters on the screen.
+
+ Setting <EM>TERM</EM> has no effect on hardware operation; it affects the way
+ applications communicate with the terminal. Likewise, as a general
+ rule (<STRONG>xterm(1)</STRONG> being a rare exception), terminal emulators that allow
+ you to specify <EM>TERM</EM> as a parameter or configuration value do not change
+ their behavior to match that setting.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMCAP"><EM>TERMCAP</EM></a></H3><PRE>
- If the <EM>ncurses</EM> library has been configured with <EM>termcap</EM> support,
- <EM>ncurses</EM> will check for a terminal's description in termcap form if it
- is not available in the terminfo database.
-
- The <EM>TERMCAP</EM> environment variable contains either a terminal description
- (with newlines stripped out), or a file name telling where the
- information denoted by the <EM>TERM</EM> environment variable exists. In either
- case, setting it directs <EM>ncurses</EM> to ignore the usual place for this
- information, e.g., /etc/termcap.
+ If <EM>ncurses</EM> is configured with <EM>termcap</EM> support, it checks for a terminal
+ type description in <EM>termcap</EM> format if one in <EM>terminfo</EM> format is not
+ available. Setting this variable directs <EM>ncurses</EM> to ignore the usual
+ <EM>termcap</EM> database location, <EM>/etc/termcap</EM>; see <EM>TERMPATH</EM> below. <EM>TERMCAP</EM>
+ should contain either a terminal description (with newlines stripped
+ out), or a file name indicating where the information required by the
+ <EM>TERM</EM> environment variable is stored.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMINFO"><EM>TERMINFO</EM></a></H3><PRE>
- <EM>ncurses</EM> can be configured to read from multiple terminal databases.
- The <EM>TERMINFO</EM> variable overrides the location for the default terminal
- database. Terminal descriptions (in terminal format) are stored in
- terminal databases:
-
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Normally these are stored in a directory tree, using subdirectories
- named by the first letter of the terminal names therein.
-
- This is the scheme used in System V, which legacy Unix systems use,
- and the <EM>TERMINFO</EM> variable is used by <EM>curses</EM> applications on those
- systems to override the default location of the terminal database.
-
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> If <EM>ncurses</EM> is built to use hashed databases, then each entry in
- this list may be the path of a hashed database file, e.g.,
-
- /usr/share/terminfo.db
+ <EM>ncurses</EM> can be configured to read terminal type description databases
+ in various locations using different formats. This variable overrides
+ the default location.
- rather than
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Descriptions in <EM>terminfo</EM> format are normally stored in a directory
+ tree using subdirectories named by the common first letters of the
+ terminal types named therein. This is the scheme used in System V.
- /usr/share/terminfo/
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If <EM>ncurses</EM> is configured to use hashed databases, then <EM>TERMINFO</EM> may
+ name its location, such as <EM>/usr/share/terminfo.db</EM>, rather than
+ <EM>/usr/share/terminfo/</EM>.
- The hashed database uses less disk-space and is a little faster
- than the directory tree. However, some applications assume the
- existence of the directory tree, reading it directly rather than
- using the terminfo library calls.
+ The hashed database uses less disk space and is a little faster than
+ the directory tree. However, some applications assume the existence of
+ the directory tree, and read it directly rather than using the <EM>terminfo</EM>
+ API.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> If <EM>ncurses</EM> is built with a support for reading termcap files
- directly, then an entry in this list may be the path of a termcap
- file.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If <EM>ncurses</EM> is configured with <EM>termcap</EM> support, this variable may
+ contain the location of a <EM>termcap</EM> file.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> If the <EM>TERMINFO</EM> variable begins with "hex:" or "b64:", <EM>ncurses</EM> uses
- the remainder of that variable as a compiled terminal description.
- You might produce the base64 format using <STRONG><A HREF="infocmp.1m.html">infocmp(1m)</A></STRONG>:
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If the value of <EM>TERMINFO</EM> begins with "hex:" or "b64:", <EM>ncurses</EM> uses
+ the remainder of the value as a compiled <EM>terminfo</EM> description. You
+ might produce the base64 format using <STRONG><A HREF="infocmp.1m.html">infocmp(1m)</A></STRONG>.
- TERMINFO="$(infocmp -0 -Q2 -q)"
- export TERMINFO
+ TERMINFO=$(infocmp -0 -Q2 -q)
+ export TERMINFO
- The compiled description is used if it corresponds to the terminal
- identified by the <EM>TERM</EM> variable.
+ The compiled description is used only if it corresponds to the
+ terminal type identified by <EM>TERM</EM>.
- Setting <EM>TERMINFO</EM> is the simplest, but not the only way to set location
- of the default terminal database. The complete list of database
- locations in order follows:
+ Setting <EM>TERMINFO</EM> is the simplest, but not the only, way to direct
+ <EM>ncurses</EM> to a terminal database. The search path is as follows.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> the last terminal database to which <EM>ncurses</EM> wrote, if any, is
- searched first
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> the last terminal database to which the running <EM>ncurses</EM> application
+ wrote, if any
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> the location specified by the <EM>TERMINFO</EM> environment variable
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> the location specified by the <EM>TERMINFO</EM> environment variable
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> $HOME/.terminfo
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>$HOME/.terminfo</EM>
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> locations listed in the <EM>TERMINFO</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>DIRS</EM> environment variable
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> locations listed in the <EM>TERMINFO</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>DIRS</EM> environment variable
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> one or more locations whose names are configured and compiled
- into the <EM>ncurses</EM> library, i.e.,
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> location(s) configured and compiled into <EM>ncurses</EM>
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> /usr/share/terminfo (corresponding to the <EM>TERMINFO</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>DIRS</EM>
- variable)
-
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> /usr/share/terminfo (corresponding to the <EM>TERMINFO</EM> variable)
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> <EM>/usr/share/terminfo</EM>
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMINFO_DIRS"><EM>TERMINFO_DIRS</EM></a></H3><PRE>
- Specifies a list of locations to search for terminal descriptions.
- Each location in the list is a terminal database as described in the
- section on the <EM>TERMINFO</EM> variable. The list is separated by colons
- (i.e., ":") on Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX.
-
- There is no corresponding feature in System V terminfo; it is an
- extension developed for <EM>ncurses</EM>.
+ This variable specifies a list of locations, akin to <EM>PATH</EM>, in which
+ <EM>ncurses</EM> searches for the terminal type descriptions described by
+ <EM>TERMINFO</EM> above. The list items are separated by colons on Unix and
+ semicolons on OS/2 EMX. System V <EM>terminfo</EM> lacks a corresponding
+ feature; <EM>TERMINFO</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>DIRS</EM> is an <EM>ncurses</EM> extension.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-TERMPATH"><EM>TERMPATH</EM></a></H3><PRE>
- If <EM>TERMCAP</EM> does not hold a file name then <EM>ncurses</EM> checks the <EM>TERMPATH</EM>
- environment variable. This is a list of filenames separated by spaces
- or colons (i.e., ":") on Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX.
-
- If the <EM>TERMPATH</EM> environment variable is not set, <EM>ncurses</EM> looks in the
- files
-
- /etc/termcap, /usr/share/misc/termcap and $HOME/.termcap,
+ If <EM>TERMCAP</EM> does not hold a terminal type description or file name, then
+ <EM>ncurses</EM> checks the contents of <EM>TERMPATH</EM>, a list of locations, akin to
+ <EM>PATH</EM>, in which it searches for <EM>termcap</EM> terminal type descriptions. The
+ list items are separated by colons on Unix and semicolons on OS/2 EMX.
- in that order.
+ If both <EM>TERMCAP</EM> and <EM>TERMPATH</EM> are unset or invalid, <EM>ncurses</EM> searches for
+ the files <EM>/etc/termcap</EM>, <EM>/usr/share/misc/termcap</EM>, and <EM>$HOME/.termcap</EM>, in
+ that order.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-ALTERNATE-CONFIGURATIONS">ALTERNATE CONFIGURATIONS</a></H2><PRE>
the script with the <STRONG>--help</STRONG> option to peruse them all. A few are of
particular significance to the application developer employing <EM>ncurses</EM>.
- --disable-overwrite
+ <STRONG>--disable-overwrite</STRONG>
The standard include for <EM>ncurses</EM> is as noted in <STRONG>SYNOPSIS</STRONG>:
<STRONG>#include</STRONG> <STRONG><curses.h></STRONG>
It also omits a symbolic link which would allow you to use
<STRONG>-lcurses</STRONG> to build executables.
- --enable-widec
+ <STRONG>--enable-widec</STRONG>
The configure script renames the library and (if the
<STRONG>--disable-overwrite</STRONG> option is used) puts the header files in a
different subdirectory. All of the library names have a "w"
You must also enable the wide-character features in the header
file when compiling for the wide-character library to use the
extended (wide-character) functions. The symbol which enables
- these features has changed since XSI Curses, Issue 4:
+ these features has changed since X/Open Curses, Issue 4:
<STRONG>o</STRONG> Originally, the wide-character feature required the symbol
<STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED</STRONG> but that was only valid for XPG4
applications to be built using either library from the same set of
headers.
- --with-pthread
+ <STRONG>--with-pthread</STRONG>
The configure script renames the library. All of the library
names have a "t" appended to them (before any "w" added by
<STRONG>--enable-widec</STRONG>).
to set these values. Some applications (very few) may require
changes to work with this convention.
- --with-shared
-
- --with-normal
-
- --with-debug
-
- --with-profile
+ <STRONG>--with-shared</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>--with-normal</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>--with-debug</STRONG>
+ <STRONG>--with-profile</STRONG>
The shared and normal (static) library names differ by their
suffixes, e.g., <STRONG>libncurses.so</STRONG> and <STRONG>libncurses.a</STRONG>. The debug and
profiling libraries add a "_g" and a "_p" to the root names
respectively, e.g., <STRONG>libncurses_g.a</STRONG> and <STRONG>libncurses_p.a</STRONG>.
- --with-termlib
+ <STRONG>--with-termlib</STRONG>
Low-level functions which do not depend upon whether the library
supports wide-characters, are provided in the tinfo library.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG> - miscellaneous <EM>curses</EM> utility routines
- --with-trace
+ <STRONG>--with-trace</STRONG>
The <STRONG>trace</STRONG> function normally resides in the debug library, but it
is sometimes useful to configure this in the shared library.
Configure scripts should check for the function's existence rather
If the standard output file descriptor of an <EM>ncurses</EM> program is
redirected to something that is not a terminal device, the library
writes screen updates to the standard error file descriptor. This was
- an undocumented feature of SVr3.
+ an undocumented feature of SVr3 <EM>curses</EM>.
- See subsection "Header files" below regarding symbols exposed by
+ See subsection "Header Files" below regarding symbols exposed by
inclusion of <EM>curses.h</EM>.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-EXTENSIONS">EXTENSIONS</a></H2><PRE>
<EM>ncurses</EM> enables an application to capture mouse events on certain
- terminals, including <
EM>xterm</EM>; see <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG>.
+ terminals, including <
STRONG>xterm(1)</STRONG>; see <STRONG><A HREF="curs_mouse.3x.html">curs_mouse(3x)</A></STRONG>.
<EM>ncurses</EM> provides a means of responding to window resizing events, as
when running in a GUI terminal emulator application such as <EM>xterm</EM>; see
<EM>ncurses</EM> extends the fixed set of function key capabilities specified by
X/Open Curses by allowing the application programmer to define
- additional key sequences at runtime; see <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>.
+ additional key events at runtime; see <STRONG><A HREF="define_key.3x.html">define_key(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="key_defined.3x.html">key_defined(3x)</A></STRONG>,
+ <STRONG><A HREF="key
bound.3x.html">keybound(3x)</A></STRONG>, and <STRONG><A HREF="keyok.3x.html">keyok(3x)</A></STRONG>.
<EM>ncurses</EM> can exploit the capabilities of terminals implementing
ISO 6429/ECMA-48 SGR 39 and SGR 49 sequences, which allow an
to draw colored text on a background whose color is set independently,
providing better control over color contrasts. See <STRONG><A HREF="default_colors.3x.html">default_colors(3x)</A></STRONG>.
- An <EM>ncurses</EM> application can choose to hide the internal details of
- <EM>WINDOW</EM> structures, instead using accessor functions such as
- <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">is_scrollok(3x)</A></STRONG>.
+ An <EM>ncurses</EM> application can eschew knowledge of <EM>WINDOW</EM> structure
+ internals, instead using accessor functions such as <STRONG><A HREF="curs_opaque.3x.html">is_scrollok(3x)</A></STRONG>.
- <EM>ncurses</EM> enables an application to direct application output to a
+ <EM>ncurses</EM> enables an application to direct application output to a
printer attached to the terminal device; see <STRONG><A HREF="curs_print.3x.html">curs_print(3x)</A></STRONG>.
- <EM>ncurses</EM> offers <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">slk_attr(3x)</A></STRONG> as a counterpart of <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">attr_get(3x)</A></STRONG> for soft-
- label
key lines, and <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">extended_slk_color(3x)</A></STRONG> as a form of <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">slk_color(3x)</A></STRONG>
- that can gather color information from them when many colors are
+ <EM>ncurses</EM> offers <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">slk_attr(3x)</A></STRONG> as a counterpart of <STRONG><A HREF="curs_attr.3x.html">attr_get(3x)</A></STRONG> for soft-
+ label
key lines, and <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">extended_slk_color(3x)</A></STRONG> as a form of <STRONG><A HREF="curs_slk.3x.html">slk_color(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ that can gather color information from them when many colors are
supported.
- Some extensions are only available if <EM>ncurses</EM> is compiled to support
- them; section "ALTERNATE CONFIGURATIONS" describes how.
+ Some extensions are available only if <EM>ncurses</EM> permits modification of
+ <STRONG><A HREF="unctrl.3x.html">unctrl(3x)</A></STRONG>'s behavior; see <STRONG><A HREF="legacy_coding.3x.html">use_legacy_coding(3x)</A></STRONG>. <EM>ncurses</EM> is compiled
+ to support them; section "ALTERNATE CONFIGURATIONS" describes how.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> Rudimentary support for multi-threaded applications may be
available; see <STRONG><A HREF="curs_threads.3x.html">curs_threads(3x)</A></STRONG>.
X/Open Curses defines two levels of conformance, "base" and "enhanced".
The latter includes several additional features, such as wide-character
and color support. <EM>ncurses</EM> intends base-level conformance with X/Open
- Curses, and supports nearly all its enhanced features.
+ Curses, and supports all features of its enhanced level except the
+ <STRONG>untic</STRONG> utility.
- Differences between X/Open Curses and <EM>ncurses</EM> are documented in the
+ Differences between X/Open Curses and <EM>ncurses</EM> are documented in the
"PORTABILITY" sections of applicable man pages.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Error-Checking">Error Checking</a></H3><PRE>
- In many cases, X/Open Curses is vague about error conditions, omitting
+ In many cases, X/Open Curses is vague about error conditions, omitting
some of the SVr4 documentation.
- Unlike other implementations, this one checks parameters such as
- pointers to <EM>WINDOW</EM> structures to ensure they are not null. The main
- reason for providing this behavior is to guard against programmer
- error. The standard interface does not provide a way for the library
- to tell an application which of several possible errors were detected.
- Relying on this (or some other) extension will adversely affect the
- portability of curses applications.
+ Unlike other implementations, <EM>ncurses</EM> checks pointer parameters, such
+ as those to <EM>WINDOW</EM> structures, to ensure that they are not null. This
+ is done primarily to guard against programmer error. The standard
+ interface does not provide a way for the library to tell an application
+ which of several possible errors occurred. Relying on this (or some
+ other) extension adversely affects the portability of <EM>curses</EM>
+ applications.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Padding-Differences">Padding Differences</a></H3><PRE>
- 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 sending NUL
- bytes. This method is slightly more expensive, but narrows the
- interface to the Unix kernel significantly and increases the package's
- portability correspondingly.
+ In historical <EM>curses</EM> implementations, delays embedded in the <EM>terminfo</EM>
+ capabilities <STRONG>carriage_return</STRONG> (<STRONG>cr</STRONG>), <STRONG>scroll_forward</STRONG> (<STRONG>ind</STRONG>), <STRONG>cursor_left</STRONG>
+ (<STRONG>cub1</STRONG>), <STRONG>form_feed</STRONG> (<STRONG>ff</STRONG>), and <STRONG>tab</STRONG> (<STRONG>ht</STRONG>) activated corresponding delay bits
+ in the Unix terminal driver. <EM>ncurses</EM> performs all padding by sending
+ NUL bytes to the device. This method is slightly more expensive, but
+ narrows the interface to the Unix kernel significantly and
+ correspondingly increases the package's portability.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Header-Files">Header Files</a></H3><PRE>
The header file <EM>curses.h</EM> itself includes the header files <EM>stdio.h</EM> and
<EM>unctrl.h</EM>.
- X/Open Curses has more to say, but does not finish the story:
+ X/Open Curses has more to say,
- The inclusion of <curses.h> may make visible all symbols from the
- headers <stdio.h>, <term.h>, <termios.h>, and <wchar.h>.
+ The inclusion of <EM>curses.h</EM> may make visible all symbols from the
+ headers <EM>stdio.h</EM>, <EM>term.h</EM>, <EM>termios.h</EM>, and <EM>wchar.h</EM>.
- Here is a more complete story:
+ but does not finish the story. A more complete account follows.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Starting with BSD curses, all implementations have included
- <stdio.h>.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> Starting with 4BSD <EM>curses</EM> (1980) all implementations have provided
+ a <EM>curses.h</EM> file.
- BSD curses included <curses.h> and <unctrl.h> from an internal
- header file <EM>curses.ext</EM> ("ext" abbreviated "externs").
+ BSD <EM>curses</EM> code included <EM>curses.h</EM> and <EM>unctrl.h</EM> from an internal
+ header file <EM>curses.ext</EM>, where "ext" abbreviated "externs".
- BSD curses used <stdio.h> internally (for <STRONG>printw</STRONG> and <STRONG>scanw</STRONG>), but
- nothing in <curses.h> itself relied upon <stdio.h>.
+ The implementations of <EM>printw</EM> and <EM>scanw</EM> used undocumented internal
+ functions of the standard I/O library (<STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>doprnt</EM> and <STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>doscan</EM>), but
+ nothing in <EM>curses.h</EM> itself relied upon <EM>stdio.h</EM>.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> SVr2 curses added <STRONG><A HREF="curs_initscr.3x.html">newterm(3x)</A></STRONG>, which relies upon <stdio.h>. That
- is, the function prototype uses <STRONG>FILE</STRONG>.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> SVr2 <EM>curses</EM> added <EM>newterm</EM>, which relies upon <EM>stdio.h</EM> because its
+ function prototype employs the <EM>FILE</EM> type.
- SVr4 curses added <STRONG>putwin</STRONG> and <STRONG>getwin</STRONG>, which also use <stdio.h>.
+ SVr4 <EM>curses</EM> added <EM>putwin</EM> and <EM>getwin</EM>, which also use <EM>stdio.h</EM>.
- X/Open Curses documents all three of these functions.
+ X/Open Curses specifies all three of these functions.
- SVr4 curses and X/Open Curses do not require the developer to
- include <stdio.h> before including <curses.h>. Both document
- curses showing <curses.h> as the only required header.
+ SVr4 <EM>curses</EM> and X/Open Curses do not require the developer to
+ include <EM>stdio.h</EM> before <EM>curses.h</EM>. Both document use of <EM>curses</EM> as
+ requiring only <EM>curses.h</EM>.
- As a result, standard <curses.h> will always include <stdio.h>.
+ As a result, standard <EM>curses.h</EM> always includes <EM>stdio.h</EM>.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses is inconsistent with respect to SVr4 regarding
- <unctrl.h>.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses and SVr4 <EM>curses</EM> are inconsistent with respect to
+ <EM>unctrl.h</EM>.
- As noted in <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>, <EM>ncurses</EM> includes <unctrl.h> from
- <curses.h> (like SVr4).
+ As noted in <STRONG><A HREF="curs_util.3x.html">curs_util(3x)</A></STRONG>, <EM>ncurses</EM> includes <EM>unctrl.h</EM> from <EM>curses.h</EM>
+ (as SVr4 does).
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open's comments about <term.h> and <termios.h> may refer to HP-UX
- and AIX:
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses's comments about <EM>term.h</EM> and <EM>termios.h</EM> may refer to
+ HP-UX and AIX.
- HP-UX curses includes <term.h> from <curses.h> to declare <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG>
- in curses.h, but <EM>ncurses</EM> (and Solaris curses) do not.
+ HP-UX <EM>curses</EM> includes <EM>term.h</EM> from <EM>curses.h</EM> to declare <EM>setupterm</EM> in
+ <EM>curses.h</EM>, but <EM>ncurses</EM> and Solaris <EM>curses</EM> do not.
- AIX curses includes <term.h> and <termios.h>. Again, <EM>ncurses</EM> (and
- Solaris curses) do not.
+ AIX <EM>curses</EM> includes <EM>term.h</EM> and termios.h<EM>.</EM> Again, <EM>ncurses</EM> and
+ Solaris <EM>curses</EM> do not.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open says that <curses.h> <EM>may</EM> include <term.h>, but there is no
- requirement that it do that.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses says that <EM>curses.h</EM> <STRONG>may</STRONG> include <EM>term.h</EM>, but does not
+ require it to do so.
- Some programs use functions declared in both <curses.h> and
- <term.h>, and must include both headers in the same module. Very
- old versions of AIX curses required including <curses.h> before
- including <term.h>.
+ Some programs use functions declared in both <EM>curses.h</EM> and <EM>term.h</EM>,
+ and must include both header files in the same module. Very old
+ versions of AIX <EM>curses</EM> required inclusion of <EM>curses.h</EM> before
+ <EM>term.h</EM>.
- Because <EM>ncurses</EM> header files include the headers needed to define
- datatypes used in the headers, <EM>ncurses</EM> header files can be included
- in any order. But for portability, you should include <curses.h>
- before <term.h>.
+ The header files supplied by <EM>ncurses</EM> include the standard library
+ headers required for its declarations, so <EM>ncurses</EM>'s own header
+ files can be included in any order. But for portability, you
+ should include <EM>curses.h</EM> before <EM>term.h</EM>.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses says <EM>"may</EM> <EM>make</EM> <EM>visible"</EM> because including a header
- file does not necessarily make all symbols in it visible (there are
- ifdef's to consider).
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses says "may make visible" because including a header
+ file does not necessarily make visible all of the symbols in it
+ (consider <STRONG>#ifdef</STRONG> and similar).
- For instance, in <EM>ncurses</EM> <wchar.h> <EM>may</EM> be included if the proper
- symbol is defined, and if <EM>ncurses</EM> is configured for wide-character
- support. If the header is included, its symbols may be made
- visible. That depends on the value used for <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE</STRONG> feature
- test macro.
+ For instance, <EM>ncurses</EM>'s <EM>curses.h</EM> <STRONG>may</STRONG> include <EM>wchar.h</EM> if the proper
+ symbol is defined, and if <EM>ncurses</EM> is configured for wide-character
+ support. If <EM>wchar.h</EM> is included, its symbols <STRONG>may</STRONG> be made visible
+ depending on the value of the <STRONG>_XOPEN_SOURCE</STRONG> feature test macro.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses documents one required header, in a special case:
- <stdarg.h> before <curses.h> to prototype the <STRONG>vw_printw</STRONG> and
- <STRONG>vw_scanw</STRONG> functions (as well as the obsolete the <STRONG>vwprintw</STRONG> and
- <STRONG>vwscanw</STRONG> functions). Each of those uses a <STRONG>va_list</STRONG> parameter.
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> X/Open Curses mandates an application's inclusion of one standard C
+ library header in a special case: <EM>stdarg.h</EM> before <EM>curses.h</EM> to
+ prototype the functions <EM>vw</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>printw</EM> and <EM>vw</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>scanw</EM> (as well as the
+ obsolete <EM>vwprintw</EM> and <EM>vwscanw</EM>). Each of these takes a variadic
+ argument list, a <EM>va</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>list</EM> parameter, like that of <STRONG>printf(3)</STRONG>.
- The two obsolete functions were introduced in SVr3. The other
- functions were introduced in X/Open Curses. In between, SVr4
- curses provided for the possibility that an application might
- include either <varargs.h> or <stdarg.h>. Initially, that was done
- by using <STRONG>void*</STRONG> for the <STRONG>va_list</STRONG> parameter. Later, a special type
- (defined in <stdio.h>) was introduced, to allow for compiler type-
- checking. That special type is always available, because <stdio.h>
- is always included by <curses.h>.
+ SVr3 <EM>curses</EM> introduced the two obsolete functions, and X/Open
+ Curses the others. In between, SVr4 <EM>curses</EM> provided for the
+ possibility that an application might include either <EM>varargs.h</EM> or
+ <EM>stdarg.h</EM>. These represented contrasting approaches to handling
+ variadic argument lists. The older interface, <EM>varargs.h</EM>, used a
+ pointer to <EM>char</EM> for variadic functions' <EM>va</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>list</EM> parameter. Later,
+ the list acquired its own standard data type, <EM>va</EM><STRONG>_</STRONG><EM>list</EM>, defined in
+ <EM>stdarg.h</EM>, empowering the compiler to check the types of a function
+ call's actual parameters against the formal ones declared in its
+ prototype.
- None of the X/Open Curses implementations require an application to
- include <stdarg.h> before <curses.h> because they either have
- allowed for a special type, or (like <EM>ncurses</EM>) include <stdarg.h>
- directly to provide a portable interface.
+ No conforming implementations of X/Open Curses require an
+ application to include <EM>stdarg.h</EM> before <EM>curses.h</EM> because they either
+ have allowed for a special type, or, like <EM>ncurses</EM>, they include
+ <EM>stdarg.h</EM> themselves to provide a portable interface.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-AUTHORS">AUTHORS</a></H2><PRE>
-ncurses 6.
4 2024-04-13 <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG>
+ncurses 6.
5 2024-04-27 <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">ncurses(3x)</A></STRONG>
</PRE>
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