</PRE><H3><a name="h3-STORAGE-LOCATION">STORAGE LOCATION</a></H3><PRE>
Compiled terminfo descriptions are placed under the directory
- <STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo</STRONG>. Two configurations are supported (when building
- the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> libraries):
+ <STRONG>/usr/local/ncurses/lib/terminfo</STRONG>. Two configurations are supported
+ (when building the <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> libraries):
<STRONG>directory</STRONG> <STRONG>tree</STRONG>
A two-level scheme is used to avoid a linear search of a huge UNIX
- system directory: <STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo/c/name</STRONG> where <EM>name</EM> is the
- name of the terminal, and <EM>c</EM> is the first character of <EM>name</EM>. Thus,
- <EM>act4</EM> can be found in the file <STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo/a/act4</STRONG>. Syn-
- onyms for the same terminal are implemented by multiple links to
- the same compiled file.
+ system directory: <STRONG>/usr/local/ncurses/lib/terminfo/c/name</STRONG> where
+ <EM>name</EM> is the name of the terminal, and <EM>c</EM> is the first character of
+ <EM>name</EM>. Thus, <EM>act4</EM> can be found in the file
+ <STRONG>/usr/local/ncurses/lib/terminfo/a/act4</STRONG>. Synonyms for the same
+ terminal are implemented by multiple links to the same compiled
+ file.
<STRONG>hashed</STRONG> <STRONG>database</STRONG>
Using Berkeley database, two types of records are stored: the ter-
- minfo data in the same format as stored in a directory tree with
- the terminfo's primary name as a key, and records containing only
+ minfo data in the same format as stored in a directory tree with
+ the terminfo's primary name as a key, and records containing only
aliases pointing to the primary name.
- If built to write hashed databases, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> can still read ter-
- minfo databases organized as a directory tree, but cannot write
- entries into the directory tree. It can write (or rewrite)
+ If built to write hashed databases, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> can still read ter-
+ minfo databases organized as a directory tree, but cannot write
+ entries into the directory tree. It can write (or rewrite)
entries in the hashed database.
- <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> distinguishes the two cases in the TERMINFO and TER-
- MINFO_DIRS environment variable by assuming a directory tree for
+ <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> distinguishes the two cases in the TERMINFO and TER-
+ MINFO_DIRS environment variable by assuming a directory tree for
entries that correspond to an existing directory, and hashed data-
base otherwise.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-LEGACY-STORAGE-FORMAT">LEGACY STORAGE FORMAT</a></H3><PRE>
The format has been chosen so that it will be the same on all hardware.
- An 8 or more bit byte is assumed, but no assumptions about byte order-
+ An 8 or more bit byte is assumed, but no assumptions about byte order-
ing or sign extension are made.
The compiled file is created with the <STRONG>tic</STRONG> program, and read by the rou-
f) <EM>string</EM> <EM>table</EM>.
- The <EM>header</EM> section begins the file. This section contains six short
+ The <EM>header</EM> section begins the file. This section contains six short
integers in the format described below. These integers are
(1) the <EM>magic</EM> <EM>number</EM> (octal 0432);
(6) the size, in bytes, of the <EM>string</EM> <EM>table</EM>.
- The capabilities in the <EM>boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM>, <EM>numbers</EM>, and <EM>strings</EM> sections
+ The capabilities in the <EM>boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM>, <EM>numbers</EM>, and <EM>strings</EM> sections
are in the same order as the file <term.h>.
- Short integers are signed, in the range -32768 to 32767. They are
- stored as two 8-bit bytes. The first byte contains the least signifi-
+ Short integers are signed, in the range -32768 to 32767. They are
+ stored as two 8-bit bytes. The first byte contains the least signifi-
cant 8 bits of the value, and the second byte contains the most signif-
icant 8 bits. (Thus, the value represented is 256*second+first.) This
format corresponds to the hardware of the VAX and PDP-11 (that is, lit-
- tle-endian machines). Machines where this does not correspond to the
- hardware must read the integers as two bytes and compute the little-
+ tle-endian machines). Machines where this does not correspond to the
+ hardware must read the integers as two bytes and compute the little-
endian value.
Numbers in a terminal description, whether they are entries in the <EM>num-</EM>
- <EM>bers</EM> or <EM>strings</EM> table, are positive integers. Boolean flags are
- treated as positive one-byte integers. In each case, those positive
- integers represent a terminal capability. The terminal compiler tic
- uses negative integers to handle the cases where a capability is not
+ <EM>bers</EM> or <EM>strings</EM> table, are positive integers. Boolean flags are
+ treated as positive one-byte integers. In each case, those positive
+ integers represent a terminal capability. The terminal compiler tic
+ uses negative integers to handle the cases where a capability is not
available:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> If a capability is absent from this terminal, tic stores a -1 in
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If a capability is absent from this terminal, tic stores a -1 in
the corresponding table.
The integer value -1 is represented by two bytes 0377, 0377.
Absent boolean values are represented by the byte 0 (false).
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> If a capability has been canceled from this terminal, tic stores a
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> If a capability has been canceled from this terminal, tic stores a
-2 in the corresponding table.
The integer value -2 is represented by two bytes 0377, 0376.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> Other negative values are illegal.
- The <EM>terminal</EM> <EM>names</EM> section comes after the <EM>header</EM>. It contains the
- first line of the terminfo description, listing the various names for
- the terminal, separated by the "|" character. The <EM>terminal</EM> <EM>names</EM> sec-
+ The <EM>terminal</EM> <EM>names</EM> section comes after the <EM>header</EM>. It contains the
+ first line of the terminfo description, listing the various names for
+ the terminal, separated by the "|" character. The <EM>terminal</EM> <EM>names</EM> sec-
tion is terminated with an ASCII NUL character.
The <EM>boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM> section has one byte for each flag. Boolean capabil-
ities are either 1 or 0 (true or false) according to whether the termi-
nal supports the given capability or not.
- Between the <EM>boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM> section and the <EM>number</EM> section, a null byte
- will be inserted, if necessary, to ensure that the <EM>number</EM> section
- begins on an even byte This is a relic of the PDP-11's word-addressed
- architecture, originally designed to avoid traps induced by addressing
- a word on an odd byte boundary. All short integers are aligned on a
+ Between the <EM>boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM> section and the <EM>number</EM> section, a null byte
+ will be inserted, if necessary, to ensure that the <EM>number</EM> section
+ begins on an even byte This is a relic of the PDP-11's word-addressed
+ architecture, originally designed to avoid traps induced by addressing
+ a word on an odd byte boundary. All short integers are aligned on a
short word boundary.
- The <EM>numbers</EM> section is similar to the <EM>boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM> section. Each
- capability takes up two bytes, and is stored as a little-endian short
+ The <EM>numbers</EM> section is similar to the <EM>boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM> section. Each
+ capability takes up two bytes, and is stored as a little-endian short
integer.
- The <EM>strings</EM> section is also similar. Each capability is stored as a
+ The <EM>strings</EM> section is also similar. Each capability is stored as a
short integer. The capability value is an index into the <EM>string</EM> <EM>table</EM>.
The <EM>string</EM> <EM>table</EM> is the last section. It contains all of the values of
- string capabilities referenced in the <EM>strings</EM> section. Each string is
+ string capabilities referenced in the <EM>strings</EM> section. Each string is
null-terminated. Special characters in ^X or \c notation are stored in
- their interpreted form, not the printing representation. Padding
- information $<nn> and parameter information %x are stored intact in
+ their interpreted form, not the printing representation. Padding
+ information $<nn> and parameter information %x are stored intact in
uninterpreted form.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-EXTENDED-STORAGE-FORMAT">EXTENDED STORAGE FORMAT</a></H3><PRE>
The previous section describes the conventional terminfo binary format.
- With some minor variations of the offsets (see PORTABILITY), the same
- binary format is used in all modern UNIX systems. Each system uses a
+ With some minor variations of the offsets (see PORTABILITY), the same
+ binary format is used in all modern UNIX systems. Each system uses a
predefined set of boolean, number or string capabilities.
The <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> libraries and applications support extended terminfo binary
- format, allowing users to define capabilities which are loaded at run-
+ format, allowing users to define capabilities which are loaded at run-
time. This extension is made possible by using the fact that the other
- implementations stop reading the terminfo data when they have reached
- the end of the size given in the header. <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> checks the size, and
- if it exceeds that due to the predefined data, continues to parse
+ implementations stop reading the terminfo data when they have reached
+ the end of the size given in the header. <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> checks the size, and
+ if it exceeds that due to the predefined data, continues to parse
according to its own scheme.
First, it reads the extended header (5 short integers):
(5) size of the extended string table in bytes
- The count- and size-values for the extended string table include the
+ The count- and size-values for the extended string table include the
extended capability <EM>names</EM> as well as extended capability <EM>values</EM>.
Using the counts and sizes, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> allocates arrays and reads data for
the extended capabilities in the same order as the header information.
- The extended string table contains values for string capabilities.
- After the end of these values, it contains the names for each of the
- extended capabilities in order, e.g., booleans, then numbers and
+ The extended string table contains values for string capabilities.
+ After the end of these values, it contains the names for each of the
+ extended capabilities in order, e.g., booleans, then numbers and
finally strings.
- Applications which manipulate terminal data can use the definitions
- described in <STRONG><A HREF="term_variables.3x.html">term_variables(3x)</A></STRONG> which associate the long capability
+ Applications which manipulate terminal data can use the definitions
+ described in <STRONG><A HREF="term_variables.3x.html">term_variables(3x)</A></STRONG> which associate the long capability
names with members of a <STRONG>TERMTYPE</STRONG> structure.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-EXTENDED-NUMBER-FORMAT">EXTENDED NUMBER FORMAT</a></H3><PRE>
On occasion, 16-bit signed integers are not large enough. With <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG>
- 6.1, a new format was introduced by making a few changes to the legacy
+ 6.1, a new format was introduced by making a few changes to the legacy
format:
<STRONG>o</STRONG> a different magic number (octal 01036)
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> changing the type for the <EM>number</EM> array from signed 16-bit integers
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> changing the type for the <EM>number</EM> array from signed 16-bit integers
to signed 32-bit integers.
- To maintain compatibility, the library presents the same data struc-
+ To maintain compatibility, the library presents the same data struc-
tures to direct users of the <STRONG>TERMTYPE</STRONG> structure as in previous formats.
- However, that cannot provide callers with the extended numbers. The
- library uses a similar but hidden data structure <STRONG>TERMTYPE2</STRONG> to provide
+ However, that cannot provide callers with the extended numbers. The
+ library uses a similar but hidden data structure <STRONG>TERMTYPE2</STRONG> to provide
data for the terminfo functions.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-PORTABILITY">PORTABILITY</a></H2><PRE>
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-setupterm">setupterm</a></H3><PRE>
- Note that it is possible for <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> to expect a different set of
- capabilities than are actually present in the file. Either the data-
+ Note that it is possible for <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> to expect a different set of
+ capabilities than are actually present in the file. Either the data-
base may have been updated since <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> has been recompiled (result-
- ing in extra unrecognized entries in the file) or the program may have
- been recompiled more recently than the database was updated (resulting
- in missing entries). The routine <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> must be prepared for both
- possibilities - this is why the numbers and sizes are included. Also,
- new capabilities must always be added at the end of the lists of bool-
+ ing in extra unrecognized entries in the file) or the program may have
+ been recompiled more recently than the database was updated (resulting
+ in missing entries). The routine <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> must be prepared for both
+ possibilities - this is why the numbers and sizes are included. Also,
+ new capabilities must always be added at the end of the lists of bool-
ean, number, and string capabilities.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Binary-format">Binary format</a></H3><PRE>
- X/Open Curses does not specify a format for the terminfo database.
- UNIX System V curses used a directory-tree of binary files, one per
+ X/Open Curses does not specify a format for the terminfo database.
+ UNIX System V curses used a directory-tree of binary files, one per
terminal description.
- Despite the consistent use of little-endian for numbers and the other-
- wise self-describing format, it is not wise to count on portability of
- binary terminfo entries between commercial UNIX versions. The problem
- is that there are at least three versions of terminfo (under HP-UX,
- AIX, and OSF/1) which diverged from System V terminfo after SVr1, and
- have added extension capabilities to the string table that (in the
- binary format) collide with System V and XSI Curses extensions. See
- <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG> for detailed discussion of terminfo source compatibility
+ Despite the consistent use of little-endian for numbers and the other-
+ wise self-describing format, it is not wise to count on portability of
+ binary terminfo entries between commercial UNIX versions. The problem
+ is that there are at least three versions of terminfo (under HP-UX,
+ AIX, and OSF/1) which diverged from System V terminfo after SVr1, and
+ have added extension capabilities to the string table that (in the
+ binary format) collide with System V and XSI Curses extensions. See
+ <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG> for detailed discussion of terminfo source compatibility
issues.
- This implementation is by default compatible with the binary terminfo
- format used by Solaris curses, except in a few less-used details where
- it was found that the latter did not match X/Open Curses. The format
+ This implementation is by default compatible with the binary terminfo
+ format used by Solaris curses, except in a few less-used details where
+ it was found that the latter did not match X/Open Curses. The format
used by the other Unix versions can be matched by building ncurses with
different configuration options.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Magic-codes">Magic codes</a></H3><PRE>
- The magic number in a binary terminfo file is the first 16-bits (two
- bytes). Besides making it more reliable for the library to check that
- a file is terminfo, utilities such as <STRONG>file</STRONG> also use that to tell what
- the file-format is. System V defined more than one magic number, with
+ The magic number in a binary terminfo file is the first 16-bits (two
+ bytes). Besides making it more reliable for the library to check that
+ a file is terminfo, utilities such as <STRONG>file</STRONG> also use that to tell what
+ the file-format is. System V defined more than one magic number, with
0433, 0435 as screen-dumps (see <STRONG><A HREF="scr_dump.5.html">scr_dump(5)</A></STRONG>). This implementation uses
- 01036 as a continuation of that sequence, but with a different high-
+ 01036 as a continuation of that sequence, but with a different high-
order byte to avoid confusion.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-The-TERMTYPE-structure">The TERMTYPE structure</a></H3><PRE>
Direct access to the <STRONG>TERMTYPE</STRONG> structure is provided for legacy applica-
- tions. Portable applications should use the <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG> and related
+ tions. Portable applications should use the <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG> and related
functions described in <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG> for reading terminal capabili-
ties.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Mixed-case-terminal-names">Mixed-case terminal names</a></H3><PRE>
- A small number of terminal descriptions use uppercase characters in
- their names. If the underlying filesystem ignores the difference
- between uppercase and lowercase, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> represents the "first charac-
+ A small number of terminal descriptions use uppercase characters in
+ their names. If the underlying filesystem ignores the difference
+ between uppercase and lowercase, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> represents the "first charac-
ter" of the terminal name used as the intermediate level of a directory
tree in (two-character) hexadecimal form.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-LIMITS">LIMITS</a></H2><PRE>
Some limitations:
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> total compiled entries cannot exceed 4096 bytes in the legacy for-
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> total compiled entries cannot exceed 4096 bytes in the legacy for-
mat.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> total compiled entries cannot exceed 32768 bytes in the extended
+ <STRONG>o</STRONG> total compiled entries cannot exceed 32768 bytes in the extended
format.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> the name field cannot exceed 128 bytes.
- Compiled entries are limited to 32768 bytes because offsets into the
+ Compiled entries are limited to 32768 bytes because offsets into the
<EM>strings</EM> <EM>table</EM> use two-byte integers. The legacy format could have sup-
ported 32768-byte entries, but was limited a virtual memory page's 4096
bytes.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-FILES">FILES</a></H2><PRE>
- /usr/share/terminfo/*/* compiled terminal capability data base
+ /usr/local/ncurses/lib/terminfo/*/* compiled terminal capability
+ data base
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></H2><PRE>
projects / ncurses.git / blobdiff