'\" t
.\"***************************************************************************
-.\" Copyright (c) 1998-2012,2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc. *
+.\" Copyright (c) 1998-2014,2015 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 1.112 2013/07/20 19:29:59 tom Exp $
+.\" $Id: ncurses.3x,v 1.124 2015/08/08 14:57:51 tom Exp $
.hy 0
.TH ncurses 3X ""
.ie \n(.g .ds `` \(lq
terminal and \fBcurses\fR input and output options; environment query
routines; color manipulation; use of soft label keys; terminfo capabilities;
and access to low-level terminal-manipulation routines.
+.SS Initialization
.PP
The library uses the locale which the calling program has initialized.
That is normally done with \fBsetlocale\fP:
after the shell environment variable \fBTERM\fR has been exported.
\fB@TSET@(1)\fR is usually responsible for doing this.
[See \fBterminfo\fR(\*n) for further details.]
+.SS Datatypes
.PP
The \fBncurses\fR library permits manipulation of data structures,
called \fIwindows\fR, which can be thought of as two-dimensional
The video attributes, line
drawing characters, and input values use names, defined in \fB<curses.h>\fR,
such as \fBA_REVERSE\fR, \fBACS_HLINE\fR, and \fBKEY_LEFT\fR.
+.SS Environment variables
.PP
If the environment variables \fBLINES\fR and \fBCOLUMNS\fR are set, or if the
program is executing in a window environment, line and column information in
This manual page describes functions which may appear in any configuration
of the library.
There are two common configurations of the library:
-.RS
+.RS 3
.TP 5
-ncurses
+.I ncurses
the "normal" library, which handles 8-bit characters.
The normal (8-bit) library stores characters combined with attributes
in \fBchtype\fP data.
.IP
Each cell (row and column) in a \fBWINDOW\fP is stored as a \fBchtype\fP.
.TP 5
-ncursesw
+.I ncursesw
the so-called "wide" library, which handles multibyte characters
(see the section on \fBALTERNATE CONFIGURATIONS\fP).
The "wide" library includes all of the calls from the "normal" library.
It adds about one third more calls using data types which store
multibyte characters:
-.RS
+.RS 5
.TP 5
.B cchar_t
corresponds to \fBchtype\fP.
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)
tigetflag/\fBcurs_terminfo\fR(3X)
tigetnum/\fBcurs_terminfo\fR(3X)
tigetstr/\fBcurs_terminfo\fR(3X)
+tiparm/\fBcurs_terminfo\fR(3X)*
timeout/\fBcurs_inopts\fR(3X)
touchline/\fBcurs_touch\fR(3X)
touchwin/\fBcurs_touch\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)
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.
-.TP 5
-BAUDRATE
-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.
-If no value is found, \fBncurses\fR uses 9600.
-This allows testers to construct repeatable test-cases
-that take into account costs that depend on baudrate.
-.TP 5
-CC
+.SS CC
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.
Very few terminfo entries provide this feature.
-.IP
+.PP
Because this name is also used in development environments to represent
the C compiler's name, \fBncurses\fR ignores it if it does not happen to
be a single character.
-.TP 5
-COLUMNS
+.SS BAUDRATE
+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.
+If no value is found, \fBncurses\fR uses 9600.
+This allows testers to construct repeatable test-cases
+that take into account costs that depend on baudrate.
+.SS COLUMNS
Specify the width of the screen in characters.
Applications running in a windowing environment usually are able to
obtain the width of the window in which they are executing.
If neither the \fBCOLUMNS\fP value nor the terminal's screen size is available,
\fBncurses\fR uses the size which may be specified in the terminfo database
(i.e., the \fBcols\fR capability).
-.IP
+.PP
It is important that your application use a correct size for the screen.
This is not always possible because your application may be
running on a host which does not honor NAWS (Negotiations About Window
Size), or because you are temporarily running as another user.
However, setting \fBCOLUMNS\fP and/or \fBLINES\fP overrides the library's
use of the screen size obtained from the operating system.
-.IP
+.PP
Either \fBCOLUMNS\fP or \fBLINES\fP symbols may be specified independently.
This is mainly useful to circumvent legacy misfeatures of terminal descriptions,
e.g., xterm which commonly specifies a 65 line screen.
For best results, \fBlines\fR and \fBcols\fR should not be specified in
a terminal description for terminals which are run as emulations.
-.IP
+.PP
Use the \fBuse_env\fR function to disable all use of external environment
(but not including system calls) to determine the screen size.
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.
-.TP 5
-ESCDELAY
+.SS ESCDELAY
Specifies the total time, in milliseconds, for which ncurses will
await a character sequence, e.g., a function key.
The default value, 1000 milliseconds, is enough for most uses.
However, it is made a variable to accommodate unusual applications.
-.IP
+.PP
The most common instance where you may wish to change this value
is to work with slow hosts, e.g., running on a network.
If the host cannot read characters rapidly enough, it will have the same
effect as if the terminal did not send characters rapidly enough.
The library will still see a timeout.
-.IP
+.PP
Note that xterm mouse events are built up from character sequences
received from the xterm.
If your application makes heavy use of multiple-clicking, you may
wish to lengthen this default value because the timeout applies
to the composed multi-click event as well as the individual clicks.
-.IP
+.PP
In addition to the environment variable,
this implementation provides a global variable with the same name.
Portable applications should not rely upon the presence of ESCDELAY
in either form,
but setting the environment variable rather than the global variable
does not create problems when compiling an application.
-.TP 5
-HOME
+.SS HOME
Tells \fBncurses\fR where your home directory is.
That is where it may read and write auxiliary terminal descriptions:
-.IP
+.PP
$HOME/.termcap
.br
$HOME/.terminfo
-.TP 5
-LINES
+.SS LINES
Like COLUMNS, specify the height of the screen in characters.
See COLUMNS for a detailed description.
-.TP 5
-MOUSE_BUTTONS_123
+.SS MOUSE_BUTTONS_123
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
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.
-.TP 5
-NCURSES_ASSUMED_COLORS
+.SS NCURSES_ASSUMED_COLORS
Override the compiled-in assumption that the
terminal's default colors are white-on-black
(see \fBdefault_colors\fR(3X)).
about the colors, set this to "\-1,\-1".
To make it green-on-black, set it to "2,0".
Any positive value from zero to the terminfo \fBmax_colors\fR value is allowed.
-.TP 5
-NCURSES_GPM_TERMS
+.SS NCURSES_CONSOLE2
+This applies only to the MinGW port of ncurses.
+.PP
+The \fBConsole2\fP program's handling of the Microsoft Console API call
+\fBCreateConsoleScreenBuffer\fP is defective.
+Applications which use this will hang.
+However, it is possible to simulate the action of this call by
+mapping coordinates,
+explicitly saving and restoring the original screen contents.
+Setting the environment variable \fBNCGDB\fP has the same effect.
+.SS NCURSES_GPM_TERMS
This applies only to ncurses configured to use the GPM interface.
-.IP
+.PP
If present,
the environment variable is a list of one or more terminal names
against which the TERM environment variable is matched.
Setting it to an empty value disables the GPM interface;
using the built-in support for xterm, etc.
-.IP
+.PP
If the environment variable is absent,
ncurses will attempt to open GPM if TERM contains "linux".
-.TP 5
-NCURSES_NO_HARD_TABS
+.SS NCURSES_NO_HARD_TABS
\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.
-.TP 5
-NCURSES_NO_MAGIC_COOKIES
+NCURSES_NO_MAGIC_COOKIE
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.
-.TP 5
-NCURSES_NO_PADDING
+.SS NCURSES_NO_PADDING
Most of the terminal descriptions in the terminfo database are written
for real "hardware" terminals.
Many people use terminal emulators
The cheapest solution (no hardware cost)
is for your program to do this by pausing after
operations that the terminal does slowly, such as clearing the display.
-.IP
+.PP
As a result, many terminal descriptions (including the vt100)
have delay times embedded.
You may wish to use these descriptions,
but not want to pay the performance penalty.
-.IP
+.PP
Set the NCURSES_NO_PADDING environment variable to disable all but mandatory
padding.
Mandatory padding is used as a part of special control
sequences such as \fIflash\fR.
-.TP 5
-NCURSES_NO_SETBUF
+.SS NCURSES_NO_SETBUF
This setting is obsolete.
Before changes
-.RS
+.RS 3
.bP
-started with 5.9 patch 20120825
+started with 5.9 patch 20120825
and
.bP
continued
though 5.9 patch 20130126
.RE
-.IP
+.PP
\fBncurses\fR enabled buffered output during terminal initialization.
This was done (as in SVr4 curses) for performance reasons.
For testing purposes, both of \fBncurses\fR and certain applications,
Setting the NCURSES_NO_SETBUF variable
disabled output buffering, leaving the output in the original (usually
line buffered) mode.
-.IP
+.PP
In the current implementation,
ncurses performs its own buffering and does not require this workaround.
It does not modify the buffering of the standard output.
-.IP
+.PP
The reason for the change was to make the behavior for interrupts and
other signals more robust.
One drawback is that certain nonconventional programs would mix
As a special case, the low-level calls such as \fBputp\fP still use the
standard output.
But high-level curses calls do not.
-.TP 5
-NCURSES_NO_UTF8_ACS
+.SS NCURSES_NO_UTF8_ACS
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
the VT100 line-drawing glyphs.
That works for the special cases cited,
and is likely to work for terminal emulators.
-.IP
+.PP
When setting this variable, you should set it to a nonzero value.
Setting it to zero (or to a nonnumber)
disables the special check for "linux" and "screen".
-.IP
+.PP
As an alternative to the environment variable,
ncurses checks for an extended terminfo capability \fBU8\fP.
This is a numeric capability which can be compiled using \fB@TIC@\ \-x\fP.
For example
-.RS 5
+.RS 3
.ft CW
.sp
.nf
.fi
.ft
.RE
-.IP
+.PP
The name "U8" is chosen to be two characters,
to permit it to be used by applications that use ncurses'
termcap interface.
-.TP 5
-NCURSES_TRACE
+.SS NCURSES_TRACE
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
function, using that value as the argument.
-.IP
+.PP
The argument values, which are defined in \fBcurses.h\fR, provide several
types of information.
When running with traces enabled, your application will write the
file \fBtrace\fR to the current directory.
-.TP 5
-TERM
+.PP
+See \fBcurs_trace\fP(3X) for more information.
+.SS TERM
Denotes your terminal type.
Each terminal type is distinct, though many are similar.
-.TP 5
-TERMCAP
+.PP
+\fBTERM\fP 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.
+.PP
+If you set \fBTERM\fP 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 (\fBxterm\fP being a rare exception),
+terminal emulators which allow you to
+specify \fBTERM\fP as a parameter or configuration value do
+not change their behavior to match that setting.
+.SS TERMCAP
If the \fBncurses\fR library has been configured with \fItermcap\fR
support, \fBncurses\fR will check for a terminal's description in
termcap form if it is not available in the terminfo database.
-.IP
+.PP
The TERMCAP 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.
In either case, setting it directs \fBncurses\fR to ignore
the usual place for this information, e.g., /etc/termcap.
-.TP 5
-TERMINFO
+.SS TERMINFO
Overrides the directory in which \fBncurses\fR searches for your 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:
-.RS
+.RS 3
.bP
the last directory to which \fBncurses\fR wrote, if any, is searched first
.bP
.bP
one or more directories whose names are configured and compiled into the
ncurses library, i.e.,
-.RS
+.RS 3
.bP
@TERMINFO_DIRS@ (corresponding to the TERMINFO_DIRS variable)
.bP
@TERMINFO@ (corresponding to the TERMINFO variable)
.RE
.RE
-.TP 5
-TERMINFO_DIRS
+.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.
-.IP
+.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.
-.IP
+.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.
-.IP
+.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.
-.TP 5
-TERMPATH
+.SS TERMPATH
If TERMCAP does not hold a file name then \fBncurses\fR checks
the TERMPATH environment variable.
This is a list of filenames separated by spaces or colons (i.e., ":") on Unix,
semicolons on OS/2 EMX.
-.IP
+.PP
If the TERMPATH environment variable is not set,
\fBncurses\fR looks in the files
/etc/termcap, /usr/share/misc/termcap and $HOME/.termcap, in that order.
The library may be configured to disregard the following variables when the
current user is the superuser (root), or if the application uses setuid or
setgid permissions:
-.IP
+.PP
$TERMINFO, $TERMINFO_DIRS, $TERMPATH, as well as $HOME.
.SH ALTERNATE CONFIGURATIONS
Several different configurations are possible,
.TP 5
\-\-disable\-overwrite
The standard include for \fBncurses\fP is as noted in \fBSYNOPSIS\fP:
-.RS
+.RS 3
.sp
\fB#include <curses.h>\fR
.RE
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
+.RS 3
.sp
\fB#include <ncurses/curses.h>\fR
.RE
puts the header files in a different subdirectory.
All of the library names have a "w" appended to them,
i.e., instead of
-.RS
+.RS 3
.sp
\fB\-lncurses\fR
.RE
.IP
you link with
-.RS
+.RS 3
.sp
\fB\-lncursesw\fR
.RE
to allow applications to be built using either library
from the same set of headers.
.TP 5
+\-\-with\-pthread
+The configure script renames the library.
+All of the library names have a "t" appended to them
+(before any "w" added by \fB\-\-enable\-widec\fP).
+.IP
+The global variables such as \fBLINES\fP are replaced by macros to
+allow read-only access.
+At the same time, setter-functions are provided to set these values.
+Some applications (very few) may require changes to work with this convention.
+.TP 5
\-\-with\-shared
.TP
\-\-with\-normal
\fBterminfo\fR(\*n) and related pages whose names begin
"curs_" for detailed routine descriptions.
.br
-\fBcurs_variables\fR(3X)
+\fBcurs_variables\fR(3X)
.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
projects / ncurses.git / blobdiff