'\" t
.\"***************************************************************************
-.\" Copyright (c) 1998-2014,2015 Free Software Foundation, Inc. *
+.\" Copyright (c) 1998-2018,2019 Free Software Foundation, Inc. *
.\" *
.\" Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a *
.\" copy of this software and associated documentation files (the *
.\" authorization. *
.\"***************************************************************************
.\"
-.\" $Id: ncurses.3x,v 1.121 2015/07/21 23:49:19 tom Exp $
+.\" $Id: ncurses.3x,v 1.141 2019/02/16 15:07:20 tom Exp $
.hy 0
.TH ncurses 3X ""
.ie \n(.g .ds `` \(lq
.ie \n(.g .ds '' \(rq
.el .ds '' ''
.de bP
-.IP \(bu 4
+.ie n .IP \(bu 4
+.el .IP \(bu 2
+..
+.de NS
+.ie n .sp
+.el .sp .5
+.ie n .in +4
+.el .in +2
+.nf
+.ft C \" Courier
+..
+.de NE
+.fi
+.ft R
+.ie n .in -4
+.el .in -2
..
.ds n 5
.ds d @TERMINFO@
.PP
The library uses the locale which the calling program has initialized.
That is normally done with \fBsetlocale\fP:
-.sp
- \fBsetlocale(LC_ALL, "");\fP
-.sp
+.NS
+\fBsetlocale(LC_ALL, "");\fP
+.NE
+.PP
If the locale is not initialized,
the library assumes that characters are printable as in ISO\-8859\-1,
to work with certain legacy programs.
must be called to initialize the library
before any of the other routines that deal with windows
and screens are used.
-The routine \fBendwin\fR must be called before exiting.
+The routine \fBendwin\fR(3X) must be called before exiting.
.PP
To get character-at-a-time input without echoing (most
interactive, screen oriented programs want this), the following
sequence should be used:
-.sp
- \fBinitscr(); cbreak(); noecho();\fR
-.sp
+.NS
+\fBinitscr(); cbreak(); noecho();\fR
+.NE
+.PP
Most programs would additionally use the sequence:
-.sp
- \fBnonl();\fR
- \fBintrflush(stdscr, FALSE);\fR
- \fBkeypad(stdscr, TRUE);\fR
-.sp
+.NS
+\fBnonl();\fR
+\fBintrflush(stdscr, FALSE);\fR
+\fBkeypad(stdscr, TRUE);\fR
+.NE
+.PP
Before a \fBcurses\fR 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 the \fB@TPUT@ init\fR command
The routines not beginning
with \fBw\fR affect \fBstdscr\fR.
.PP
-After using routines to manipulate a window, \fBrefresh\fR is called,
+After using routines to manipulate a window, \fBrefresh\fR(3X) is called,
telling \fBcurses\fR to make the user's CRT screen look like
\fBstdscr\fR.
The characters in a window are actually of type
standard place.
For example, if \fBTERM\fR is set to \fBatt4424\fR, then the
compiled terminal definition is found in
-.sp
- \fB\*d/a/att4424\fR.
-.sp
+.NS
+\fB\*d/a/att4424\fR.
+.NE
+.PP
(The \fBa\fR is copied from the first letter of \fBatt4424\fR to avoid
creation of huge directories.) However, if \fBTERMINFO\fR is set to
\fB$HOME/myterms\fR, \fBcurses\fR first checks
-.sp
- \fB$HOME/myterms/a/att4424\fR,
-.sp
+.NS
+\fB$HOME/myterms/a/att4424\fR,
+.NE
+.PP
and if that fails, it then checks
-.sp
- \fB\*d/a/att4424\fR.
-.sp
+.NS
+\fB\*d/a/att4424\fR.
+.NE
+.PP
This is useful for developing experimental definitions or when write
permission in \fB\*d\fR is not available.
.PP
.SS Routine Name Index
The following table lists each \fBcurses\fR routine and the name of
the manual page on which it is described.
-Routines flagged with `*'
+Routines flagged with \*(``*\*(''
are ncurses-specific, not described by XPG4 or present in SVr4.
.PP
.TS
addnwstr/\fBcurs_addwstr\fR(3X)
addstr/\fBcurs_addstr\fR(3X)
addwstr/\fBcurs_addwstr\fR(3X)
+alloc_pair/\fBnew_pair\fR(3X)*
assume_default_colors/\fBdefault_colors\fR(3X)*
attr_get/\fBcurs_attr\fR(3X)
attr_off/\fBcurs_attr\fR(3X)
erase/\fBcurs_clear\fR(3X)
erasechar/\fBcurs_termattrs\fR(3X)
erasewchar/\fBcurs_termattrs\fR(3X)
+extended_color_content/\fBcurs_color\fR(3X)*
+extended_pair_content/\fBcurs_color\fR(3X)*
+extended_slk_color/\fBcurs_slk\fR(3X)*
filter/\fBcurs_util\fR(3X)
+find_pair/\fBnew_pair\fR(3X)*
flash/\fBcurs_beep\fR(3X)
flushinp/\fBcurs_util\fR(3X)
+free_pair/\fBnew_pair\fR(3X)*
get_wch/\fBcurs_get_wch\fR(3X)
get_wstr/\fBcurs_get_wstr\fR(3X)
getattrs/\fBcurs_attr\fR(3X)
inchnstr/\fBcurs_inchstr\fR(3X)
inchstr/\fBcurs_inchstr\fR(3X)
init_color/\fBcurs_color\fR(3X)
+init_extended_color/\fBcurs_color\fR(3X)*
+init_extended_pair/\fBcurs_color\fR(3X)*
init_pair/\fBcurs_color\fR(3X)
initscr/\fBcurs_initscr\fR(3X)
innstr/\fBcurs_instr\fR(3X)
is_linetouched/\fBcurs_touch\fR(3X)
is_nodelay/\fBcurs_opaque\fR(3X)*
is_notimeout/\fBcurs_opaque\fR(3X)*
+is_pad/\fBcurs_opaque\fR(3X)*
is_scrollok/\fBcurs_opaque\fR(3X)*
+is_subwin/\fBcurs_opaque\fR(3X)*
is_syncok/\fBcurs_opaque\fR(3X)*
is_term_resized/\fBresizeterm\fR(3X)*
is_wintouched/\fBcurs_touch\fR(3X)
reset_prog_mode/\fBcurs_kernel\fR(3X)
reset_shell_mode/\fBcurs_kernel\fR(3X)
resetty/\fBcurs_kernel\fR(3X)
+resize_term/\fBresizeterm\fR(3X)*
resizeterm/\fBresizeterm\fR(3X)*
restartterm/\fBcurs_terminfo\fR(3X)
ripoffline/\fBcurs_kernel\fR(3X)
tigetnum/\fBcurs_terminfo\fR(3X)
tigetstr/\fBcurs_terminfo\fR(3X)
timeout/\fBcurs_inopts\fR(3X)
+tiparm/\fBcurs_terminfo\fR(3X)*
touchline/\fBcurs_touch\fR(3X)
touchwin/\fBcurs_touch\fR(3X)
tparm/\fBcurs_terminfo\fR(3X)
use_env/\fBcurs_util\fR(3X)
use_extended_names/\fBcurs_extend\fR(3X)*
use_legacy_coding/\fBlegacy_coding\fR(3X)*
-use_tioctl/\fBcurs_util\fR(3X)
+use_tioctl/\fBcurs_util\fR(3X)*
vid_attr/\fBcurs_terminfo\fR(3X)
vid_puts/\fBcurs_terminfo\fR(3X)
vidattr/\fBcurs_terminfo\fR(3X)
wget_wstr/\fBcurs_get_wstr\fR(3X)
wgetbkgrnd/\fBcurs_bkgrnd\fR(3X)
wgetch/\fBcurs_getch\fR(3X)
+wgetdelay/\fBcurs_opaque\fR(3X)*
wgetn_wstr/\fBcurs_get_wstr\fR(3X)
wgetnstr/\fBcurs_getstr\fR(3X)
+wgetparent/\fBcurs_opaque\fR(3X)*
+wgetscrreg/\fBcurs_opaque\fR(3X)*
wgetstr/\fBcurs_getstr\fR(3X)
whline/\fBcurs_border\fR(3X)
whline_set/\fBcurs_border_set\fR(3X)
.PP
Routines that return pointers return \fBNULL\fR on error.
.SH ENVIRONMENT
+.PP
The following environment symbols are useful for customizing the
runtime behavior of the \fBncurses\fR library.
The most important ones have been already discussed in detail.
-.SS CC
+.SS CC command-character
+.PP
When set, change occurrences of the command_character
(i.e., the \fBcmdch\fP capability)
of the loaded terminfo entries to the value of this variable.
the C compiler's name, \fBncurses\fR ignores it if it does not happen to
be a single character.
.SS BAUDRATE
+.PP
The debugging library checks this environment variable when the application
has redirected output to a file.
The variable's numeric value is used for the baudrate.
This allows testers to construct repeatable test-cases
that take into account costs that depend on baudrate.
.SS COLUMNS
+.PP
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 which they are executing.
Use the \fBuse_tioctl\fR function to update \fBCOLUMNS\fP or \fBLINES\fP
to match the screen size obtained from system calls or the terminal database.
.SS ESCDELAY
+.PP
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.
.SS HOME
Tells \fBncurses\fR where your home directory is.
That is where it may read and write auxiliary terminal descriptions:
-.PP
+.NS
$HOME/.termcap
-.br
$HOME/.terminfo
+.NE
.SS LINES
+.PP
Like COLUMNS, specify the height of the screen in characters.
See COLUMNS for a detailed description.
.SS MOUSE_BUTTONS_123
+.PP
This applies only to the OS/2 EMX port.
It specifies the order of buttons on the mouse.
OS/2 numbers a 3-button mouse inconsistently from other
platforms:
-.sp
+.NS
1 = left
.br
2 = right
.br
3 = middle.
-.sp
+.NE
+.PP
This variable lets you customize the mouse.
The variable must be three numeric digits 1\-3 in any order, e.g., 123 or 321.
If it is not specified, \fBncurses\fR uses 132.
.SS NCURSES_ASSUMED_COLORS
+.PP
Override the compiled-in assumption that the
terminal's default colors are white-on-black
(see \fBdefault_colors\fR(3X)).
explicitly saving and restoring the original screen contents.
Setting the environment variable \fBNCGDB\fP has the same effect.
.SS NCURSES_GPM_TERMS
+.PP
This applies only to ncurses configured to use the GPM interface.
.PP
If present,
the environment variable is a list of one or more terminal names
-against which the TERM environment variable is matched.
+against which the \fBTERM\fP environment variable is matched.
Setting it to an empty value disables the GPM interface;
using the built-in support for xterm, etc.
.PP
If the environment variable is absent,
-ncurses will attempt to open GPM if TERM contains "linux".
+ncurses will attempt to open GPM if \fBTERM\fP contains "linux".
.SS NCURSES_NO_HARD_TABS
+.PP
\fBNcurses\fP may use tabs as part of the cursor movement optimization.
In some cases,
your terminal driver may not handle these properly.
Set this environment variable to disable the feature.
You can also adjust your \fBstty\fP settings to avoid the problem.
-NCURSES_NO_MAGIC_COOKIE
+.SS NCURSES_NO_MAGIC_COOKIE
+.PP
Some terminals use a magic-cookie feature which requires special handling
to make highlighting and other video attributes display properly.
You can suppress the highlighting entirely for these terminals by
setting this environment variable.
.SS NCURSES_NO_PADDING
+.PP
Most of the terminal descriptions in the terminfo database are written
for real "hardware" terminals.
Many people use terminal emulators
standard output.
But high-level curses calls do not.
.SS NCURSES_NO_UTF8_ACS
+.PP
During initialization, the \fBncurses\fR library
checks for special cases where VT100 line-drawing (and the corresponding
alternate character set capabilities) described in the terminfo are known
to be missing.
Specifically, when running in a UTF\-8 locale,
the Linux console emulator and the GNU screen program ignore these.
-Ncurses checks the TERM environment variable for these.
+Ncurses checks the \fBTERM\fP environment variable for these.
For other special cases, you should set this environment variable.
Doing this tells ncurses to use Unicode values which correspond to
the VT100 line-drawing glyphs.
to permit it to be used by applications that use ncurses'
termcap interface.
.SS NCURSES_TRACE
+.PP
During initialization, the \fBncurses\fR debugging library
checks the NCURSES_TRACE environment variable.
If it is defined, to a numeric value, \fBncurses\fR calls the \fBtrace\fR
.PP
See \fBcurs_trace\fP(3X) for more information.
.SS TERM
+.PP
Denotes your terminal type.
Each terminal type is distinct, though many are similar.
.PP
support, \fBncurses\fR will check for a terminal's description in
termcap form if it is not available in the terminfo database.
.PP
-The TERMCAP environment variable contains either a terminal description (with
-newlines stripped out),
+The \fBTERMCAP\fP environment variable contains
+either a terminal description (with newlines stripped out),
or a file name telling where the information denoted by
-the TERM environment variable exists.
+the \fBTERM\fP environment variable exists.
In either case, setting it directs \fBncurses\fR to ignore
the usual place for this information, e.g., /etc/termcap.
.SS TERMINFO
-Overrides the directory in which \fBncurses\fR searches for your terminal
+.PP
+\fBncurses\fP can be configured to read from multiple terminal databases.
+The \fBTERMINFO\fP variable overrides the location for
+the default terminal database.
+Terminal descriptions (in terminal format) are stored in terminal databases:
+.bP
+Normally these are stored in a directory tree,
+using subdirectories named by the first letter of the terminal names therein.
+.IP
+This is the scheme used in System V, which legacy Unix systems use,
+and the \fBTERMINFO\fP variable is used by \fIcurses\fP applications on those
+systems to override the default location of the terminal database.
+.bP
+If \fBncurses\fP is built to use hashed databases,
+then each entry in this list may be the path of a hashed database file, e.g.,
+.NS
+/usr/share/terminfo.db
+.NE
+.IP
+rather than
+.NS
+/usr/share/terminfo/
+.NE
+.IP
+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.
+.bP
+If \fBncurses\fP is built with a support for reading termcap files
+directly, then an entry in this list may be the path of a termcap file.
+.bP
+If the \fBTERMINFO\fP variable begins with
+\*(``hex:\*('' or \*(``b64:\*('',
+\fBncurses\fP uses the remainder of that variable as a compiled terminal
description.
-This is the simplest, but not the only way to change the list of directories.
-The complete list of directories in order follows:
+You might produce the base64 format using \fBinfocmp\fP(1M):
+.NS
+TERMINFO="$(infocmp -0 -Q2 -q)"
+export TERMINFO
+.NE
+.IP
+The compiled description is used if it corresponds to the terminal identified
+by the \fBTERM\fP variable.
+.PP
+Setting \fBTERMINFO\fP 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:
.RS 3
.bP
-the last directory to which \fBncurses\fR wrote, if any, is searched first
+the last terminal database to which \fBncurses\fR wrote,
+if any, is searched first
.bP
-the directory specified by the TERMINFO environment variable
+the location specified by the TERMINFO environment variable
.bP
$HOME/.terminfo
.bP
-directories listed in the TERMINFO_DIRS environment variable
+locations listed in the TERMINFO_DIRS environment variable
.bP
-one or more directories whose names are configured and compiled into the
+one or more locations whose names are configured and compiled into the
ncurses library, i.e.,
.RS 3
.bP
@TERMINFO@ (corresponding to the TERMINFO variable)
.RE
.RE
-.SS 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.
.PP
-All of the terminal descriptions are in terminfo form.
-Normally these are stored in a directory tree,
-using subdirectories named by the first letter of the terminal names therein.
+.SS TERMINFO_DIRS
.PP
-If \fBncurses\fP is built with a hashed database,
-then each entry in this list can also be the path of the corresponding
-database file.
+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 \fBTERMINFO\fP variable.
+The list is separated by colons (i.e., ":") on Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX.
.PP
-If \fBncurses\fP is built with a support for reading termcap files
-directly, then an entry in this list may be the path of a termcap file.
+There is no corresponding feature in System V terminfo;
+it is an extension developed for \fBncurses\fP.
.SS TERMPATH
-If TERMCAP does not hold a file name then \fBncurses\fR checks
-the TERMPATH environment variable.
+.PP
+If \fBTERMCAP\fP does not hold a file name then \fBncurses\fR checks
+the \fBTERMPATH\fP environment variable.
This is a list of filenames separated by spaces or colons (i.e., ":") on Unix,
semicolons on OS/2 EMX.
.PP
-If the TERMPATH environment variable is not set,
+If the \fBTERMPATH\fP environment variable is not set,
\fBncurses\fR looks in the files
-/etc/termcap, /usr/share/misc/termcap and $HOME/.termcap, in that order.
+.NS
+/etc/termcap, /usr/share/misc/termcap and $HOME/.termcap,
+.NE
+.PP
+in that order.
.PP
The library may be configured to disregard the following variables when the
current user is the superuser (root), or if the application uses setuid or
setgid permissions:
-.PP
+.NS
$TERMINFO, $TERMINFO_DIRS, $TERMPATH, as well as $HOME.
+.NE
.SH ALTERNATE CONFIGURATIONS
+.PP
Several different configurations are possible,
depending on the configure script options used when building \fBncurses\fP.
There are a few main options whose effects are visible to the applications
.TP 5
\-\-disable\-overwrite
The standard include for \fBncurses\fP is as noted in \fBSYNOPSIS\fP:
-.RS 3
-.sp
+.NS
\fB#include <curses.h>\fR
-.RE
+.NE
.IP
This option is used to avoid filename conflicts when \fBncurses\fP
is not the main implementation of curses of the computer.
If \fBncurses\fP is installed disabling overwrite, it puts its headers in
a subdirectory, e.g.,
-.RS 3
-.sp
+.NS
\fB#include <ncurses/curses.h>\fR
-.RE
+.NE
.IP
It also omits a symbolic link which would allow you to use \fB\-lcurses\fP
to build executables.
puts the header files in a different subdirectory.
All of the library names have a "w" appended to them,
i.e., instead of
-.RS 3
-.sp
+.NS
\fB\-lncurses\fR
-.RE
+.NE
.IP
you link with
-.RS 3
-.sp
+.NS
\fB\-lncursesw\fR
+.NE
+.IP
+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:
+.RS
+.bP
+Originally, the wide-character feature required the symbol
+\fB_XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED\fP
+but that was only valid for XPG4 (1996).
+.bP
+Later, that was deemed conflicting with \fB_XOPEN_SOURCE\fP defined to 500.
+.bP
+As of mid-2018,
+none of the features in this implementation require a \fB_XOPEN_SOURCE\fP
+feature greater than 600.
+However, X/Open Curses, Issue 7 (2009) recommends defining it to 700.
+.bP
+Alternatively, you can enable the feature by defining \fBNCURSES_WIDECHAR\fP
+with the caveat that some other header file than \fBcurses.h\fP
+may require a specific value for \fB_XOPEN_SOURCE\fP
+(or a system-specific symbol).
.RE
.IP
-You must also define \fB_XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED\fP when compiling for the
-wide-character library to use the extended (wide-character) functions.
The \fBcurses.h\fP file which is installed for the wide-character
library is designed to be compatible with the normal library's header.
Only the size of the \fBWINDOW\fP structure differs, and very few
applications require more than a pointer to \fBWINDOW\fPs.
+.IP
If the headers are installed allowing overwrite,
the wide-character library's headers should be installed last,
to allow applications to be built using either library
"curs_" for detailed routine descriptions.
.br
\fBcurs_variables\fR(3X)
+.br
+\fBuser_caps\fP(5) for user-defined capabilities
.SH EXTENSIONS
The \fBncurses\fR library can be compiled with an option (\fB\-DUSE_GETCAP\fR)
that falls back to the old-style /etc/termcap file if the terminal setup code
resizing events, e.g., when running in an xterm.
See the \fBresizeterm\fR(3X)
and \fBwresize\fR(3X) manual pages for details.
-In addition, the library may be configured with a SIGWINCH handler.
+In addition, the library may be configured with a \fBSIGWINCH\fP handler.
.PP
The \fBncurses\fR library extends the fixed set of function key capabilities
of terminals by allowing the application designer to define additional
projects / ncurses.git / blobdiff