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+<!--
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* Copyright 2018-2019,2020 Thomas E. Dickey *
* Copyright 1998-2016,2017 Free Software Foundation, Inc. *
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<H1 class="no-header">term 5</H1>
<PRE>
-<STRONG><A HREF="term.5.html">term(5)</A></STRONG> File Formats Manual <STRONG><A HREF="term.5.html">term(5)</A></STRONG>
+<B><A HREF="term.5.html">term(5)</A></B> File Formats Manual <B><A HREF="term.5.html">term(5)</A></B>
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-SYNOPSIS">SYNOPSIS</a></H2><PRE>
- <STRONG>term</STRONG>
+ <B>term</B>
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-DESCRIPTION">DESCRIPTION</a></H2><PRE>
</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):
+ <B>/usr/share/terminfo</B>. Two configurations are supported (when building
+ the <B>ncurses</B> libraries):
- <STRONG>directory</STRONG> <STRONG>tree</STRONG>
+ <B>directory</B> <B>tree</B>
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.
-
- <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
- 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
+ system directory: <B>/usr/share/terminfo/c/name</B> where <I>name</I> is the
+ name of the terminal, and <I>c</I> is the first character of <I>name</I>. Thus,
+ <I>act4</I> can be found in the file <B>/usr/share/terminfo/a/act4</B>.
+ Synonyms for the same terminal are implemented by multiple links
+ to the same compiled file.
+
+ <B>hashed</B> <B>database</B>
+ Using Berkeley database, two types of records are stored: the
+ terminfo 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, <B>ncurses</B> can still read
+ terminfo 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
- entries that correspond to an existing directory, and hashed data-
- base otherwise.
+ <B>ncurses</B> distinguishes the two cases in the TERMINFO and
+ TERMINFO_DIRS environment variable by assuming a directory tree
+ for entries that correspond to an existing directory, and hashed
+ database 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-
- ing or sign extension are made.
+ An 8 or more bit byte is assumed, but no assumptions about byte
+ ordering or sign extension are made.
- The compiled file is created with the <STRONG>tic</STRONG> program, and read by the rou-
- tine <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">setupterm(3x)</A></STRONG>. The file is divided into six parts:
+ The compiled file is created with the <B>tic</B> program, and read by the
+ routine <B><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3X.html">setupterm(3X)</A></B>. The file is divided into six parts:
- a) <EM>header</EM>,
+ a) <I>header</I>,
- b) <EM>terminal</EM> <EM>names</EM>,
+ b) <I>terminal</I> <I>names</I>,
- c) <EM>boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM>,
+ c) <I>boolean</I> <I>flags</I>,
- d) <EM>numbers</EM>,
+ d) <I>numbers</I>,
- e) <EM>strings</EM>, and
+ e) <I>strings</I>, and
- f) <EM>string</EM> <EM>table</EM>.
+ f) <I>string</I> <I>table</I>.
- The <EM>header</EM> section begins the file. This section contains six short
+ The <I>header</I> 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);
+ (1) the <I>magic</I> <I>number</I> (octal 0432);
- (2) the size, in bytes, of the <EM>terminal</EM> <EM>names</EM> section;
+ (2) the size, in bytes, of the <I>terminal</I> <I>names</I> section;
- (3) the number of bytes in the <EM>boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM> section;
+ (3) the number of bytes in the <I>boolean</I> <I>flags</I> section;
- (4) the number of short integers in the <EM>numbers</EM> section;
+ (4) the number of short integers in the <I>numbers</I> section;
- (5) the number of offsets (short integers) in the <EM>strings</EM> section;
+ (5) the number of offsets (short integers) in the <I>strings</I> section;
- (6) the size, in bytes, of the <EM>string</EM> <EM>table</EM>.
+ (6) the size, in bytes, of the <I>string</I> <I>table</I>.
- The capabilities in the <EM>boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM>, <EM>numbers</EM>, and <EM>strings</EM> sections
+ The capabilities in the <I>boolean</I> <I>flags</I>, <I>numbers</I>, and <I>strings</I> 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-
- 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-
- 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
+ stored as two 8-bit bytes. The first byte contains the least
+ significant 8 bits of the value, and the second byte contains the most
+ significant 8 bits. (Thus, the value represented is 256*second+first.)
+ This format corresponds to the hardware of the VAX and PDP-11 (that is,
+ little-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
+ <I>numbers</I> or <I>strings</I> 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
+ <B>o</B> 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
+ <B>o</B> 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.
The boolean value -2 is represented by the byte 0376.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> Other negative values are illegal.
+ <B>o</B> Other negative values are illegal.
- The <EM>terminal</EM> <EM>names</EM> section comes after the <EM>header</EM>. It contains the
+ The <I>terminal</I> <I>names</I> section comes after the <I>header</I>. 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 terminal, separated by the "|" character. The <I>terminal</I> <I>names</I>
+ section 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.
+ The <I>boolean</I> <I>flags</I> section has one byte for each flag. Boolean
+ capabilities are either 1 or 0 (true or false) according to whether the
+ terminal 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
+ Between the <I>boolean</I> <I>flags</I> section and the <I>number</I> section, a null byte
+ will be inserted, if necessary, to ensure that the <I>number</I> 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
+ The <I>numbers</I> section is similar to the <I>boolean</I> <I>flags</I> 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
- short integer. The capability value is an index into the <EM>string</EM> <EM>table</EM>.
+ The <I>strings</I> section is also similar. Each capability is stored as a
+ short integer. The capability value is an index into the <I>string</I> <I>table</I>.
- 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
+ The <I>string</I> <I>table</I> is the last section. It contains all of the values of
+ string capabilities referenced in the <I>strings</I> 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
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-
- 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
- according to its own scheme.
+ The <B>ncurses</B> libraries and applications support extended terminfo binary
+ format, allowing users to define capabilities which are loaded at
+ runtime. 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. <B>ncurses</B> 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
- extended capability <EM>names</EM> as well as extended capability <EM>values</EM>.
+ extended capability <I>names</I> as well as extended capability <I>values</I>.
- Using the counts and sizes, <STRONG>ncurses</STRONG> allocates arrays and reads data for
+ Using the counts and sizes, <B>ncurses</B> 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.
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
- names with members of a <STRONG>TERMTYPE</STRONG> structure.
+ described in <B><A HREF="term_variables.3X.html">term_variables(3X)</A></B> which associate the long capability
+ names with members of a <B>TERMTYPE</B> 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>
+ On occasion, 16-bit signed integers are not large enough. With <B>ncurses</B>
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)
+ <B>o</B> a different magic number (octal 01036)
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> changing the type for the <EM>number</EM> array from signed 16-bit integers
+ <B>o</B> changing the type for the <I>number</I> array from signed 16-bit integers
to signed 32-bit integers.
- 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
- data for the terminfo functions.
+ To maintain compatibility, the library presents the same data
+ structures to direct users of the <B>TERMTYPE</B> structure as in previous
+ formats. However, that cannot provide callers with the extended
+ numbers. The library uses a similar but hidden data structure
+ <B>TERMTYPE2</B> 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-
- 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-
- ean, number, and string capabilities.
+ Note that it is possible for <B>setupterm</B> to expect a different set of
+ capabilities than are actually present in the file. Either the
+ database may have been updated since <B>setupterm</B> has been recompiled
+ (resulting 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 <B>setupterm</B> 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 boolean, number, and string capabilities.
</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Binary-format">Binary format</a></H3><PRE>
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
- issues.
+ Despite the consistent use of little-endian for numbers and the
+ otherwise 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 <B><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></B> 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
</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
+ a file is terminfo, utilities such as <B>file</B> 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
+ 0433, 0435 as screen-dumps (see <B><A HREF="scr_dump.5.html">scr_dump(5)</A></B>). This implementation uses
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
- functions described in <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG> for reading terminal capabili-
- ties.
+ Direct access to the <B>TERMTYPE</B> structure is provided for legacy
+ applications. Portable applications should use the <B>tigetflag</B> and
+ related functions described in <B><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3X.html">curs_terminfo(3X)</A></B> for reading terminal
+ capabilities.
</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-
- ter" of the terminal name used as the intermediate level of a directory
- tree in (two-character) hexadecimal form.
+ between uppercase and lowercase, <B>ncurses</B> represents the "first
+ character" of the terminal name used as the intermediate level of a
+ directory tree in (two-character) hexadecimal form.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-EXAMPLE">EXAMPLE</a></H2><PRE>
- As an example, here is a description for the Lear-Siegler ADM-3, a pop-
- ular though rather stupid early terminal:
+ As an example, here is a description for the Lear-Siegler ADM-3, a
+ popular though rather stupid early terminal:
adm3a|lsi adm3a,
am,
</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-
- mat.
+ <B>o</B> total compiled entries cannot exceed 4096 bytes in the legacy
+ format.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> total compiled entries cannot exceed 32768 bytes in the extended
+ <B>o</B> total compiled entries cannot exceed 32768 bytes in the extended
format.
- <STRONG>o</STRONG> the name field cannot exceed 128 bytes.
+ <B>o</B> the name field cannot exceed 128 bytes.
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.
+ <I>strings</I> <I>table</I> use two-byte integers. The legacy format could have
+ supported 32768-byte entries, but was limited a virtual memory page's
+ 4096 bytes.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-FILES">FILES</a></H2><PRE>
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></H2><PRE>
- <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG>, <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG>.
+ <B><A HREF="curses.3X.html">curses(3X)</A></B>, <B><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></B>.
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-AUTHORS">AUTHORS</a></H2><PRE>
- <STRONG><A HREF="term.5.html">term(5)</A></STRONG>
+ <B><A HREF="term.5.html">term(5)</A></B>
</PRE>
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