X-Git-Url: https://ncurses.scripts.mit.edu/?p=ncurses.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=announce.html.in;h=1d4121ee4ff1739361add67ed5c8dec8127663db;hp=11fb87c354712aa346270e7d53c0573d5bd9c7da;hb=0ac2306dd3aaab1338d8b1458c15a7e476cfc3ff;hpb=a8987e73ec254703634802b4f7ee30d3a485524d
diff --git a/announce.html.in b/announce.html.in
index 11fb87c3..1d4121ee 100644
--- a/announce.html.in
+++ b/announce.html.in
@@ -1,6 +1,33 @@
@@ -19,8 +46,8 @@ and multiple highlights and forms characters and function-key mapping,
and has all the other SYSV-curses enhancements over BSD curses.
In mid-June 1995, the maintainer of 4.4BSD curses declared that he
-considered 4.4BSD curses obsolete, and is encouraging the keepers of
-Unix releases such as BSD/OS, freeBSD and netBSD to switch over to
+considered 4.4BSD curses obsolete, and encouraged the keepers of
+Unix releases such as BSD/OS, FreeBSD and NetBSD to switch over to
ncurses.
The ncurses code was developed under GNU/Linux.
@@ -42,198 +69,170 @@ the GNU distribution site
Release Notes
-This release is designed to be upward compatible from ncurses 5.0 and 5.3;
+This release is designed to be upward compatible from ncurses 5.0 through 5.6;
very few applications will require recompilation, depending on the platform.
-These are the highlights from the change-log since ncurses 5.3 release.
+These are the highlights from the change-log since ncurses 5.6 release.
Interface changes:
- - add the remaining functions for X/Open curses wide-character
- support.
-
- - pecho_wchar()
-
- slk_wset()
-
- These are only available if the library is configured using the
- --enable-widec option.
-
- - write
getyx() and related 2-return macros in terms of
- getcury(),
- getcurx(), etc.
-
- - simplify ifdef for
bool declaration in curses.h
-
- - modify ifdef's in curses.h that disabled use of
-
__attribute__() for g++, since recent versions
- implement the cases which ncurses uses.
-
- - add
key_defined() function, to tell which keycode a
- string is bound to.
+ - generate linkable stubs for some macros:
+
+ getattrs
+
New features and improvements:
- library
-
- - implement logic in lib_mouse.c to handle position reports which
- are generated when XFree86 xterm is initialized with private
- modes 1002 or 1003. These are returned to the application as the
- REPORT_MOUSE_POSITION mask, which was not implemented.
-
- modify soft-key initialization to use A_REVERSE if A_STANDOUT
- would not be shown when colors are used, i.e., if ncv#1 is set in
- the terminfo as is done in "screen".
-
- add configure option for FreeBSD sysmouse, --with-sysmouse, and
- implement library support for that.
-
+
+ - new flavor of the ncurses library provides rudimentary
+ support for POSIX threads. Several functions are
+ reentrant, but most require either a window-level or
+ screen-level mutex.
+ (This is API-compatible,
+ but not ABI-compatible with the normal library).
- - programs:
+
- add
NCURSES_OPAQUE symbol to curses.h, will
+ use to make structs opaque in selected configurations.
-
- - tack:
-
-
- - allow it to run from fallback terminfo data.
-
- reset colors after each color test, correct a place
- where
exit_standout_mode was used instead of
- exit_attribute_mode.
- - improve
bce test by making it set colors other
- than black on white.
-
-
- - tic:
-
-
- - handle a case where an entry has no
- description, and capabilities begin on the same line as the entry
- name.
-
- allow a terminfo entry with a leading 2-character name.
-
- improved warnings when suppressing items to fit in termcap's
- 1023-byte limit.
-
- add check for multiple "tc=" clauses in a termcap.
-
- correct logic for resolving "use=" clauses
- allow infocmp and tic to show cancelled capabilities.
-
- check for incomplete line-drawing character mapping.
-
- check for missing/empty/illegal terminfo name.
-
-
- - tput:
-
- - modify tput to use the same parameter analysis as tparm() does,
- to provide for user-defined strings, e.g., for xterm title, a
- corresponding capability might be
- title=\E]2;%p1%s^G,
-
-
- - tset:
-
-
- - use the system's default values for CKILL and other default
- control characters.
-
- correct interchanged defaults for kill and interrupt
- characters, which caused it to report unnecessarily.
-
-
-
+ - add
NCURSES_EXT_FUNCS and
+ NCURSES_EXT_COLORS symbols to curses.h to make
+ it simpler to tell if the extended functions and/or colors
+ are declared.
+
+ - add wresize() to C++ binding
+
+
- eliminate fixed-buffer vsprintf() calls in C++ binding.
+
+
- add several functions to C++ binding which wrap C functions
+ that pass a WINDOW* parameter.
+
+
- adapt mouse-handling code from menu library in form-library
+
+
- improve tracing for form library, showing created forms,
+ fields, etc.
+
+
- make $NCURSES_NO_PADDING feature work for termcap interface .
+
+
- add check to trace-file open, if the given name is a
+ directory, add ".log" to the name and try again.
+
+
- several new manpages: curs_legacy.3x, curs_memleaks.3x,
+ curs_opaque.3x and curs_threads.3x
+
+
+ - programs:
+
+ - modified three test-programs to demonstrate the threading
+ support in this version: ditto, rain, worm.
+
+
- several new test-programs: demo_panels, dots_mvcur,
+ inch_wide, inchs, key_name, key_names, savescreen,
+ savescreen.sh test_arrays, test_get_wstr, test_getstr,
+ test_instr, test_inwstr and test_opaque.
+
+
- add
adacurses-config to the Ada95 install.
+
+ - modify tic
-f option to format spaces as
+ \s to prevent them from being lost when that
+ is read back in unformatted strings.
+
+ - The
tack program is now distributed separately
+ from ncurses.
+
+
+ - terminal database
+
+ - added entries:
+
+ Eterm-256color,
+ Eterm-88color and
+ rxvt-88color
+ aterm
+ konsole-256color
+ mrxvt
+ screen.mlterm
+ screen.rxvt
+ teraterm4.59 is now the primary primary
+ teraterm entry, renamed original to
+ teraterm2.3
+ 9term terminal
+ - Newbury Data entries
+
+ - updated/improved entries:
+
+ gnome to version 2.22.3
+ h19, z100
+ konsole to version 1.6.6
+ mlterm, mlterm+pcfkeys
+ xterm, and building-blocks for function-keys
+ to xterm patch #230.
+
+
Major bug fixes:
- - prevent recursion in wgetch() via wgetnstr() if the connection
- cannot be switched between cooked/raw modes because it is not a TTY.
+
- add logic to tic for cancelling strings in user-defined
+ capabilities
+ (this is needed for
+ current
konsole terminfo entry).
- - correct a case in _nc_remove_string(), used by
-
define_key(), to avoid infinite loop if the given string
- happens to be a substring of other strings which are assigned to keys.
+ - modify
mk-1st.awk so the generated makefile rules for
+ linking or installing shared libraries do not first remove the
+ library, in case it is in use, e.g., libncurses.so by
+ /bin/sh.
- - modify logic of acsc to use the original character if no mapping is
- defined, rather than a null.
+
- correct check for notimeout() in wgetch().
-
- several improvements for handling multi-cell display of wide
- characters.
-
- - modify setcchar() to allow converting control characters to complex
- characters.
-
- correct handling of multibyte characters in waddch_literal() which
- force wrapping because they are started too late on the line.
-
- modify setcchar() to allow for wchar_t input strings that have
- more than one spacing character.
-
-
- - other fixes for wide-character support:
-
- - rewrote lib_acs.c to allow PutAttrChar() to decide how to render
- alternate-characters, i.e., to work with Linux console and UTF-8
- locale.
-
- implement a workaround so that line-drawing works with screen's
- crippled UTF-8 support (tested with 3.9.13). This only works with
- the wide-character support (--enable-widec); the normal library
- will simply suppress line-drawing when running in a UTF-8 locale in
- screen.
-
- corrections to lib_get_wstr.c:
-
- - null-terminate buffer passed to setcchar(), which occasionally
- failed.
-
- map special characters such as erase- and kill-characters into
- key-codes so those will work as expected even if they are not
- mentioned in the terminfo.
-
-
-
- - modify
setupterm() to check if the terminfo and
- terminal-modes have already been read. This ensures that it does not
- reinvoke def_prog_mode() when an application calls more
- than one function, such as tgetent() and
- initscr().
-
- - fix form_driver() cases for REQ_CLR_EOF, REQ_CLR_EOL, REQ_DEL_CHAR,
- REQ_DEL_PREV and REQ_NEW_LINE, which did not ensure the cursor was at
- the editing position before making modifications.
-
-
- correct
keybound(), which reported definitions in the
- wrong table, i.e., the list of definitions which are disabled by
- keyok().
-
- - fixes related to safe_sprintf.c:
-
- - correct an allocation size in safe_sprintf.c for the "*" format
- code.
-
- correct safe_sprintf.c to not return a null pointer if the format
- happens to be an empty string.
-
- make return value from _nc_printf_string() consistent. Before,
- depending on whether --enable-safe-sprintf was used, it might not
- be cached for reallocating.
-
-
- - other low-level improvements to the optimization code include:
-
- - if the output is a socket or other non-tty device, use 1
- millisecond
- for the cost in mvcur; previously it was 9 milliseconds because the
- baudrate was not known.
-
- modify lib_getch.c to avoid recursion via wgetnstr() when the
- input
- is not a tty and consequently mode-changes do not work.
-
- fix several places in tack/pad.c which tested and used the
- parameter- and parameterless strings inconsistently.
-
- change several tputs() calls in scrolling code to use putp(), to
- enable padding which may be needed for some terminals.
-
- improve mvcur() by checking if it is safe to move when video
- attributes are set (msgr), and if not, reset/restore attributes
- within that function rather than doing it separately in the GoTo()
- function in tty_update.c.
-
- use tputs() rather than putp() in a few cases in tty_update.c
- since the corresponding delays are proportional to the number of
- lines affected: repeat_char, clr_eos, change_scroll_region.
-
-
- - correct line/column reference in adjust_window(), needed to make
- special windows such as curscr track properly when resizing.
-
-
- fix a potential recursion between napms() and _nc_timed_wait()
-
-
- rewrote lib_insch.c, combining it with lib_insstr.c so both handle
- tab and other control characters consistently.
-
-
- do not try to open gpm mouse driver if standard output is not a
- tty; the gpm library does not make this check.
+
- fix a sign-extension bug in infocmp's repair_acsc() function.
+
+
- change winnstr() to stop at the end of the line.
+
+
- make Ada95 demo_panels() example work.
+
+
- fix for adding a non-spacing character at the beginning of a line.
+
+
- fill in extended-color pair to make colors work
+ for wide-characters using extended-colors.
+
+
- improve refresh of window on top of multi-column characters,
+ taking into account split characters on left/right window
+ boundaries.
+
+
- modify
win_wchnstr() to ensure that only a base cell
+ is returned for each multi-column character.
+
+ - improve
waddch() and winsch() handling of
+ EILSEQ from mbrtowc() by using unctrl()
+ to display illegal bytes rather than trying to append further bytes
+ to make up a valid sequence.
+
+ - restore
curs_set() state after
+ endwin()/refresh()
+
+ - modify
keyname() to use "^X" form only if
+ meta() has been called, or if keyname()
+ is called without initializing curses, e.g., via
+ initscr() or newterm().
+
+ - modify
unctrl() to check codes in 128-255 range versus
+ isprint().
+ If they are not printable, and locale was set, use a "M-" or "~"
+ sequence.
+
+ - improve
resizeterm() by moving ripped-off lines, and
+ repainting the soft-keys.
+
+ - modify form library to accept control characters such as newline
+ in set_field_buffer(), which is compatible with Solaris.
+
+
- use
NCURSES_MOUSE_MASK() in definition of
+ BUTTON_RELEASE(), etc., to make those work properly
+ with the --enable-ext-mouse configuration
+
+ - correct some functions in Ada95 binding which were using return
+ value from C where none was returned.
+
+
- reviewed/fixed issues reported by Coverity and Klocwork tools.
Portability:
@@ -242,98 +241,117 @@ Portability:
- new options:
- - --with-abi-version option.
-
- addresses platforms where packagers have diverged from
- ncurses ABI numbering.
-
- --with-manpage-format=catonly
-
- addresses
- behavior of BSDI, allow install of man+cat files on NetBSD,
- whose behavior has diverged by requiring both to be present.
-
- --with-manpage-aliases
-
- extends
- "--with-manpage-aliases" to provide the option of generating
- ".so" files rather than symbolic links for manpage aliases.
-
- --with-rel-version
-
- workaround to force
- libtool on Darwin generate the "same" library names as with
- the "--with-shared" option. The Darwin ld program does not
- work well with a zero as the minor-version value.
-
- --with-trace
-
- simplifies defining TRACE to incorporate trace() in libraries.
+
+
- --disable-big-strings
+
- control whether static string tables are generated as single
+ large strings (to improve startup performance), or as array
+ of individual strings.
+
+
- --disable-relink
+
- control whether shared libraries are relinked (during install)
+ when rpath is enabled.
+
+
- --disable-tic-depends
+
- make explicit whether tic library depends on ncurses/ncursesw
+ library.
+
+
- --enable-mixed-case
+
- override the configure script's check if the filesystem
+ supports mixed-case filenames.
+ This allows one to control how the terminal database
+ maps to the filesystem.
+ For filesystems that do not support mixed-case, the library
+ uses generate 2-character (hexadecimal) codes for the
+ lower-level of the filesystem terminfo database
+
+
- --enable-reentrant
+
- builds a different flavor of the ncurses library (ncursest)
+ which improves reentrant use of the
+ library by reducing global and static variables
+ (see the "--with-pthread" option for the threaded support).
+
+
- --enable-weak-symbols
+
- use weak-symbols for linking to the POSIX thread library,
+ and use the same soname for the ncurses shared library
+ as the normal library (caveat: the ABI is for the threaded
+ library, which makes global data accessed via functions).
+
+
- --with-pthread
+
- build with the POSIX thread library (tested with AIX,
+ Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, HPUX, IRIX64, Solaris, Tru64).
+
+
- --with-ticlib
+
- build/install the tic-support functions in a separate library
+
-
- - fixes/improvements for cross-compiling:
-
-
- - allow BUILD_CC and related configure script variables to be
- overridden from the environment.
-
- use AC_CHECK_TOOL to get proper values for AR and LD for cross
- compiling.
-
- use
$cross_compiling variable in configure script
- rather than comparing $host_alias and
- $target alias, since "host" is traditionally misused
- in autoconf to refer to the target platform.
- - modify run_tic.in to avoid using wrong shared libraries when
- cross-compiling.
-
-
- - fixes for Mac OS X:
-
- - fix a redefinition of
$RANLIB in the configure
- script when libtool is used.
- - modify MKlib_gen.sh to avoid passing "#" tokens through the C
- preprocessor. This works around Mac OS X's preprocessor, which
- insists on adding a blank on each side of the token.
-
-
- - workarounds for broken tools:
-
- - add configure check for wchar_t and wint_t types, rather than
- rely on preprocessor definitions. Also work around for gcc
-
fixinclude bug which creates a shadow copy of
- curses.h if it sees these symbols apparently typedef'd.
- - modify configure script to omit -Winline for gcc 3.3, since
- that feature is broken.
-
- several script fixes to work around the ironically named
- POSIXLY_CORRECT feature of GNU sed 4.0.
-
- modify configure script to avoid using "head -1", which does
- not work if POSIXLY_CORRECT (sic) is set.
-
- update configure script to reflect fix for
- AC_PROG_GCC_TRADITIONAL, which is broken in autoconf 2.5x for Mac
- OS X 10.2.3.
-
- repair check for missing C++ compiler, which is broken in
- autoconf 2.5x by hardcoding it to g++.
-
-
- - corrected ifdef's relating to configure check for wchar_t, etc.
-
- remove configure script check to allow -Wconversion for older
- versions of gcc
-
- modify configure script to accommodate libtool 1.5, as well as
- add an parameter to the "--with-libtool" option which can specify
- the pathname of libtool.
-
- change several sed scripts to avoid using "\+" since it is not a
- BRE (basic regular expression). One instance caused terminfo.5 to
- be misformatted on FreeBSD.
-
- use '%' as sed substitute delimiter in run_tic script to avoid
- problems with pathname delimiters such as ':' and '@'.
-
- add -D_XOPEN_SOURCE=500 if needed when configuring with
- "--enable-widec", to get
mbstate_t declaration on HPUX
- 11.11.
-
-
- library:
-
- - adjust include-options in CF_ETIP_DEFINES to avoid missing
- ncurses_dll.h, fixing special definitions that may be needed for
- etip.h.
-
- modify CF_LIB_SUFFIX for Itanium releases of HP-UX, which use a
- ".so" suffix.
-
- improve ifdef's to guard against redefinition of wchar_t and wint_t
- in curses.h.
-
- remove an #undef for KEY_EVENT from curses.tail used in the
- experimental NCURSES_WGETCH_EVENTS feature. The #undef confuses
- Debian
dpkg's build script.
-
+
+ improved options:
+
+
+ - --enable-ext-colors
+
- requires the wide-character configuration.
+
+
- --with-chtype
+
- ignore option value "unsigned" is always added to
+ the type in curses.h; do the same for --with-mmask-t.
+
+
- --with-dmalloc
+
- build-fix for redefinition of
strndup.
+
+ - --with-hashed-db
+
- accepts a parameter which is the install-prefix of a given
+ Berkeley Database.
+
+
- --with-hashed-db
+
- the $LIBS environment variable overrides the search for the db
+ library.
+
+
- --without-hashed-db
+
- assumed when "--disable-database" is used.
+
+
+
+
+
+ other configure/build issues:
+
+ - build-fixes for LynxOS
+
- modify shared-library rules to allow FreeBSD 3.x to use rpath.
+
- build-fix for FreeBSD "contemporary" TTY interface.
+
- build-fixes for AIX with libtool.
+
- build-fixes for Darwin and libtool.
+
- modify BeOS-specific ifdef's to build on Haiku.
+
- corrected gcc options for building shared libraries on Solaris
+ and IRIX64.
+
- change shared-library configuration for OpenBSD, make rpath work.
+
- build-fixes for using libutf8, e.g., on OpenBSD 3.7
+
- add "-e" option in ncurses/Makefile.in when generating source-files
+ to force earlier exit if the build environment fails unexpectedly.
+
- add support for shared libraries for QNX.
+
- change delimiter in
MKlib_gen.sh from '%' to '@', to
+ avoid substitution by IBM xlc to '#' as part of its extensions to
+ digraphs.
+
+
+ library:
+
+ - rewrite wrapper for
wcrtomb(), making it work on
+ Solaris. This is used in the form library to determine the length
+ of the buffer needed by field_buffer.
+ - add/use configure script macro CF_SIG_ATOMIC_T, use the corresponding
+ type for data manipulated by signal handlers.
+
- set locale in misc/ncurses-config.in since it uses a range
+
- disable GPM mouse support when $TERM does not happen to contain
+ "linux", since Gpm_Open() no longer limits its assertion to terminals
+ that it might handle, e.g., within "screen" in xterm.
+
- reset mouse file-descriptor when unloading GPM library.
+
+
+ test programs:
+
+ - update test programs to build/work with various UNIX curses for
+ comparisons.
+
Features of Ncurses
@@ -362,14 +380,15 @@ The ncurses package also has many useful extensions over SVr4:
- The API is 8-bit clean and base-level conformant with the X/OPEN curses
specification, XSI curses (that is, it implements all BASE level features,
-but not all EXTENDED features). Most EXTENDED-level features not directly
-concerned with wide-character support are implemented, including many
-function calls not supported under SVr4 curses (but portability of all
+and most EXTENDED features).
+It includes many function calls not supported under SVr4 curses
+(but portability of all
calls is documented so you can use the SVr4 subset only).
- Unlike SVr3 curses, ncurses can write to the rightmost-bottommost corner
of the screen if your terminal has an insert-character capability.
- Ada95 and C++ bindings.
-
- Support for mouse event reporting with X Window xterm and OS/2 console windows.
+
- Support for mouse event reporting with X Window xterm
+and FreeBSD and OS/2 console windows.
- Extended mouse support via Alessandro Rubini's gpm package.
- The function
wresize() allows you to resize windows, preserving
their data.
@@ -381,7 +400,9 @@ and define_key() allow
you to better control the use of function keys,
e.g., disabling the ncurses KEY_MOUSE,
or by defining more than one control sequence to map to a given key code.
- - Support for 16-color terminals, such as aixterm and XFree86 xterm.
+
- Support for 256-color terminals, such as modern xterm, when configured
+using the
--enable-ext-colors option.
+ - Support for 16-color terminals, such as aixterm and modern xterm.
- Better cursor-movement optimization. The package now features a
cursor-local-movement computation more efficient than either BSD's
or System V's.
@@ -484,21 +505,18 @@ for similar applications on GNU/Linux.
- pinfo
- Lynx-like info browser.
-http://dione.ids.pl/~pborys/software/pinfo/
+https://alioth.debian.org/projects/pinfo/
- tin
- newsreader, supporting color, MIME
http://www.tin.org/
-
- vh-1.6
-
- Volks-Hypertext browser for the Jargon File
-
-http://www.debian.org/Packages/unstable/text/vh.html
as well as some that use ncurses for the terminfo support alone:
- minicom
- terminal emulator
-http://www.netsonic.fi/~walker/minicom.html
+
+http://alioth.debian.org/projects/minicom/
- vile
- vi-like-emacs
@@ -548,10 +566,11 @@ on them, please join the ncurses list.
Other Related Resources
The distribution provides a newer version of the terminfo-format
-terminal description file maintained by
+terminal description file once maintained by
Eric Raymond .
Unlike the older version, the termcap and terminfo data are provided
-in the same file.
+in the same file, and provides several user-definable extensions
+beyond the X/Open specification.
You can find lots of information on terminal-related topics
not covered in the terminfo file at