X-Git-Url: https://ncurses.scripts.mit.edu/?p=ncurses.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=announce.html.in;h=84d5bbe127c71d06ad79302568a646c2659f9800;hp=b797f0d03c36d00f7d7451a83f7c697083300dea;hb=3853a8e97d7efa8cb6a3c93c696d2c52895d6a70;hpb=0eb88fc5281804773e2a0c7a488a4452463535ce;ds=inline
diff --git a/announce.html.in b/announce.html.in
index b797f0d0..84d5bbe1 100644
--- a/announce.html.in
+++ b/announce.html.in
@@ -1,11 +1,39 @@
Announcing ncurses @VERSION@
+
@@ -18,12 +46,15 @@ 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. It should port easily to
-any ANSI/POSIX-conforming UNIX. It has even been ported to OS/2 Warp!
+The ncurses code was developed under GNU/Linux.
+It has been in use for some time with OpenBSD as the system curses library,
+and on FreeBSD and NetBSD as an external package.
+It should port easily to any ANSI/POSIX-conforming UNIX.
+It has even been ported to OS/2 Warp!
The distribution includes the library and support utilities, including a
terminfo compiler tic(1), a decompiler infocmp(1), clear(1), tput(1), tset(1),
@@ -32,154 +63,305 @@ the library and tools.
-We decided to release ncurses as a new whole number release (5.0) because it
-incorporates several interface changes, including some that would invalidate
-existing shared libraries. These are the highlights from the change-log
-since ncurses 4.2 release.
+This release is designed to be upward compatible from ncurses 5.0 through 5.5;
+very few applications will require recompilation, depending on the platform.
+These are the highlights from the change-log since ncurses 5.5 release.
Interface changes:
-
The principal source of changes to the interface comes from the
- release of X/Open Curses in 1997. Earlier versions of ncurses (4.0
- and before) were based on a draft version of the specification. The
- release version adds parameters to some functions to support the
- evolving internationalization of curses. These summarize the impact:
+
generate linkable stubs for some macros:
+
+ getbegx, getbegy, getcurx, getcury, getmaxx, getmaxy, getparx,
+ getpary, getpary,
+
+ and (for libncursesw)
+
+ wgetbkgrnd
+
+
+New features and improvements:
+
+
library
+
+
support hashed databases for the terminal descriptions.
+ This uses the Berkeley database, has been tested for
+ several versions on different platforms.
+
+
add use_legacy_coding() function to support
+ lynx's font-switching feature.
+
+
add extension nofilter(), to cancel a prior
+ filter() call.
+
+
add/install a package config script, e.g.,
+ ncurses5-config or
+ ncursesw5-config, according to
+ configuration options.
+
+
provide ifdef for NCURSES_NOMACROS which
+ suppresses most macro definitions from curses.h, i.e.,
+ where a macro is defined to override a function to improve
+ performance.
+
+
make ifdef's consistent in curses.h for the
+ extended colors so the header file can be used for the
+ normal curses library. The header file installed for
+ extended colors is a variation of the wide-character
+ configuration.
+
+
improve tgetstr() by making the return value
+ point into the user's buffer, if provided.
+
+
add ifdef's allowing ncurses to be built with
+ tparm() using either varargs (the existing
+ status), or using a fixed-parameter list (to match X/Open).
+
+
widen the test for xterm kmous a little to
+ allow for other
+ strings than "\E[M", e.g., for xterm-sco
+ functionality in xterm.
+
+
modify wgetnstr() to return
+ KEY_RESIZE if a sigwinch occurs.
+
+
move prototypes for wide-character trace functions from
+ curses.tail to curses.wide to avoid accidental reference to
+ those if _XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED is defined
+ without ensuring that <wchar.h> is included.
+
+
change the way shared libraries (other than libtool) are
+ installed. Rather than copying the build-tree's libraries,
+ link the shared objects into the install directory. This
+ makes the --with-rpath option work except with
+ $(DESTDIR).
+
+
several improvements for rendering in hpterm. These are
+ only available if the library is configured using
+ --enable-xmc-glitch.
+
+
Add NCURSES_NO_HARD_TABS and
+ NCURSES_NO_MAGIC_COOKIE environment variables
+ to allow runtime suppression of the related hard-tabs and
+ xmc-glitch features.
+
+
+
programs:
+
+
add new test programs: chgat.c, demo_altkeys.c,
+ echochar.c, foldkeys.c, movewindow.c, redraw.c, (noting
+ that existing test programs also were modified to test
+ additional features).
+
+
modify tack to test extended capability function-key
+ strings.
+
+
modify toe to access termcap data, e.g., via cgetent()
+ functions, or as a text file if those are not available.
+
+
improve infocmp/tic -f option formatting.
+
+
add toe -a option, to show all databases.
+ This uses new private interfaces in the ncurses library for
+ iterating through the list of databases.
+
+
modify MKfallback.sh to use
+ tic -x when constructing fallback tables to
+ allow extended capabilities to be retrieved from a fallback entry.
+
+
+
terminal database
+
+
add terminfo entries for xfce terminal (xfce) and multi gnome terminal (mgt)
+
add nsterm-16color entry
+
updated mlterm terminfo entry
+
add kon, kon2 and jfbterm terminfo entry
+
remove invis capability from klone+sgr, mainly used by linux entry, since it does not really do this
+
add ka2, kb1, kb3, kc2 to vt220-keypad as an extension
+
add shifted up/down arrow codes to xterm-new as kind/kri strings
+
add hpterm-color terminfo entry
+
add 256color variants of terminfo entries for programs which are reported to implement this feature
+
correct order of use-clauses in rxvt-basic entry which made codes for f1-f4 vt100-style rather than vt220-style.
+
+
+Major bug fixes:
-
modified several prototypes to correspond with 1997 version of
- X/Open Curses (affects ABI since developers have used attr_get).
+
correct a typo in configure --with-bool option for the
+ case where --without-cxx is used.
-
corrected prototypes for slk_* functions, using chtype rather than
- attr_t.
+
move assignment from environment variable ESCDELAY
+ from initscr() down to newterm() so the
+ environment variable affects timeouts for terminals opened with
+ newterm() as well.
-
the slk_attr_{set,off,on} functions need an additional void*
- parameter according to XSI.
+
modify werase to clear multicolumn characters that
+ extend into a derived window.
-
correct macros for wattr_set, wattr_get, separate wattrset macro from
- these to preserve behavior that allows attributes to be combined with
- color pair numbers.
+
modify wchgat() to mark updated cells as changed so a
+ refresh will repaint those cells.
-
reviewed/updated curses.h, term.h against X/Open Curses Issue 4
- Version 2. This includes making some parameters NCURSES_CONST
- rather than const, e.g., in termcap.h.
+
correct logic in wadd_wch() and
+ wecho_wch(), which did not guard against passing the
+ multi-column attribute into a call on waddch(), e.g.,
+ using data returned by win_wch()
-
reviewed/corrected macros in curses.h as per XSI document.
+
fix redrawing of windows other than stdscr using
+ wredrawln() by touching the corresponding rows in
+ curscr.
-
add set_a_attributes and set_pglen_inch to terminfo structure, as per
- XSI and Solaris 2.5.
-
-
The newest version of the X/Open Curses is implemented on Solaris
- and other vendor's systems. It adds new features to the terminfo
- descriptions:
-
-
implement tparm %l format.
+
reduce memory leaks in repeated calls to tgetent() by
+ remembering the last TERMINAL* value allocated to hold
+ the corresponding data and freeing that if the
+ tgetent() result buffer is the same as the previous
+ call.
-
implement tparm printf-style width and precision for %s, %d, %x, %o
- as per XSI.
-
-
We made additional changes to reduce impact by future interface
- changes:
-
-
rename key_names[] array to _nc_key_names since it is not part of
- the curses interface.
+
modify read_termtype() so the term_names
+ data is always allocated as part of the str_table, a
+ better fix for a memory leak.
-
move macro winch to a function, to hide details of struct ldat
-
-
modify configure script to embed ABI in shared libraries for HP-UX
- 10.x (detailed request by Tim Mooney).
+
fix wins_nwstr(), which did not handle single-column
+ non-8bit codes.
-
modify configuration of shared libraries on Digital Unix so that
- versioning is embedded in the library, rather than implied by
- links (patch by Tim Mooney).
+
modify wbkgrnd() to avoid clearing the
+ A_CHARTEXT attribute bits since those record the state
+ of multicolumn characters.
+
+
improve SIGWINCH handling by postponing its effect
+ during newterm(), etc., when allocating screens.
+
+
remove 970913 feature for copying subwindows as they are moved in
+ mvwin().
+
+
add checks in waddchnstr() and
+ wadd_wchnstr() to stop copying when a null character
+ is found.
+
+
add some checks to ensure current position is within scrolling
+ region before scrolling on a new line.
+
+
add a workaround to ACS mapping to allow applications such as
+ test/blue.c to use the "PC ROM" characters by masking them with
+ A_ALTCHARSET. This worked up til 5.5, but was lost in the revision
+ of legacy coding.
-New features:
+
+Portability:
-
enable sigwinch handler by default.
+
configure script:
+
+
new options:
+
-
turn on hashmap scrolling code by default
+
--with-hashed-db
+
Use Berkeley hashed database for storing terminfo data rather than storing
+ each compiled entry in a separate binary file within a directory
+ tree.
-
improved support for termcap applications
-
-
modify tput to accept termcap names as an alternative to terminfo
- names.
+
--without-dlsym
+
Do not use dlsym() to load GPM dynamically.
-
provide support for termcap PC variable by copying it from terminfo
- data and using it as the padding character in tputs.
+
--with-valgrind
+
Simplify building for testing with valgrind.
-
provide support for termcap ospeed variable by copying it from the
- internal cur_term member, and using ospeed as the baudrate
- reference for the delay_output and tputs functions.
+
--enable-wgetch-events
+
Compile with experimental wgetch-events code.
-
change name-comparisons in lib_termcap to compare no more than 2
- characters.
+
--enable-signed-char
+
Store booleans in "signed char" rather than "char".
-
add configure option --enable-tcap-names, which essentially
- allows users to define new capabilities as in termcap.
-
-
add mouse support to ncurses menus.
+
-
add mouse and dll support for OS/2 EMX
+
improved options:
+
-
modify terminfo parsing to accept octal and hexadecimal constants
+
--disable-largefile
+
make the option work both ways.
-
add configure option --enable-no-padding, to allow environment
- variable $NCURSES_NO_PADDING to eliminate non-mandatory padding,
- thereby making terminal emulators (e.g., for vt100) a little more
- efficient.
+
--with-gpm
+
The option now accepts a parameter,
+ i.e., the name of the dynamic GPM library to load via
+ dlopen()
-
modify lib_color.c to eliminate dependency on orig_colors and
- orig_pair, since SVr4 curses does not require these either, but
- uses them when they are available.
+
--disable-symlinks
+
The option now allows one to
+ disable symlink() in tic even when
+ link() does not work.
-
add -f option to infocmp and tic, which formats the terminfo
- if/then/else/endif so that they are readable (with newlines and
- tabs).
+
-
modify tic to compile into %'char' form in preference to %{number},
- since that is a little more efficient.
-
-Major bug fixes:
-
-
modify lib_tstp.c to block SIGTTOU when handling SIGTSTP, fixes a
- problem where ncurses applications which were run via a shell script
- would hang when given a ^Z. Also, check if the terminal's process
- group is consistent, i.e., a shell has not taken ownership of it,
- before deciding to save the current terminal settings in the SIGTSTP
- handler.
-
-
suppress sc/rc capabilities from terminal description if they appear
- in smcup/rmcup. This affects only scrolling optimization, to fix a
- problem reported by several people with xterm's alternate screen,
- though the problem is more general.
-
-
modify relative_move and tputs to avoid an interaction with the
- BSD-style padding. The relative_move function could produce a string
- to replace on the screen which began with a numeric character, which
- was then interpreted by tputs as padding.
-
-
modify setupterm so that cancelled strings are treated the same as
- absent strings, cancelled and absent booleans false (does not affect
- tic, infocmp).
-
-
modify lib_vidattr.c to allow for terminal types (e.g., xterm-color)
- which may reset all attributes in the 'op' capability, so that colors
- are set before turning on bold and other attributes, but still after
- turning attributes off.
-
-
use 'access()' to check if ncurses library should be permitted to
- open or modify files with fopen/open/link/unlink/remove calls, in
- case the calling application is running in setuid mode.
-
-
correction to doupdate, for case where terminal does not support
- insert/delete character. The logic did not check that there was a
- difference in alignment of changes to old/new screens before
- repainting the whole non-blank portion of the line. Modified to fall
- through into logic that reduces by the portion which does not differ.
+
+
+
other configure/build issues:
remove special case for
+ Darwin in CF_XOPEN_SOURCE configure macro.
+
+
add configure check to ensure that SIGWINCH is
+ defined on platforms such as OS X which exclude that when
+ _XOPEN_SOURCE, etc., are defined
+
+
use ld's -search_paths_first option on Darwin
+ to work around odd search rules on that platform.
+
+
improve ifdef's for _POSIX_VDISABLE in tset to
+ work with Mac OS X.
+
+
modify configure script to ensure that if the C compiler is
+ used rather than the loader in making shared libraries, the
+ $(CFLAGS) variable is also used.
+
+
use ${CC} rather than ${LD} in
+ shared library rules for IRIX64, Solaris to help ensure
+ that initialization sections are provided for extra linkage
+ requirements, e.g., of C++ applications.
+
+
improve some shared-library configure scripting for Linux,
+ FreeBSD and NetBSD to make
+ --with-shlib-version work.
+
+
split up dependency of names.c and
+ codes.c in ncurses/Makefile to
+ work with parallel make.
+
+
modify MKlib_gen.sh to change
+ preprocessor-expanded _Bool back to bool.
+
+
modify progs/Makefile.in to make
+ tput init work properly with cygwin,
+ i.e., do not pass a .exe in the reference
+ string used in check_aliases.
+
+
+
library:
+
+
ignore wide-acs line-drawing characters that
+ wcwidth() claims are not one-column. This is
+ a workaround for Solaris' broken locale support.
+
+
reduce name-pollution in term.h by removing
+ #define's for HAVE_xxx symbols.
+
+
fix #ifdef in c++/internal.h for
+ QNX 6.1
+
+
+
test programs:
modify test/configure script
+ to allow building test programs with PDCurses/X11.
+
+
modified test programs to allow some to work with NetBSD
+ curses. Several do not because NetBSD curses implements a
+ subset of X/Open curses, and also lacks much of SVr4
+ additions. But it is enough for comparison.
+
+
improved test/configure to build test/ncurses
+ on HPUX 11 using the vendor curses.
+
+
change configure script to produce
+ test/Makefile from data file.
+
Features of Ncurses
@@ -208,14 +390,15 @@ 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.
@@ -227,7 +410,7 @@ 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 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.
@@ -294,39 +477,62 @@ including (versions starting with those noted):
-The original developers of ncurses are Zeyd Ben-Halim and
-Eric S. Raymond.
+Zeyd Ben-Halim
+started it from a previous package pcurses, written by Pavel Curtis.
+Eric S. Raymond
+continued development.
+Jürgen Pfeifer wrote most of the form and menu libraries.
Ongoing work is being done by
-Thomas Dickey
-and
-Jürgen Pfeifer.
-Thomas Dickey
-acts as the maintainer for the Free Software Foundation, which holds the
-copyright on ncurses.
+Thomas Dickey.
+Thomas Dickey
+acts as the maintainer for the Free Software Foundation,
+which holds the copyright on ncurses.
Contact the current maintainers at
bug-ncurses@gnu.org.
@@ -359,7 +565,7 @@ This list is open to anyone interested in helping with the development and
testing of this package.
@@ -371,14 +577,17 @@ on them, please join the ncurses list.
Other Related Resources
-The distribution includes and uses a version of the terminfo-format
-terminal description file maintained by Eric Raymond.
-http://earthspace.net/~esr/terminfo.
+The distribution provides a newer version of the terminfo-format
+terminal description file once maintained by
+Eric Raymond .
+Unlike the older version, the termcap and terminfo data are provided
+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
Richard Shuford's
-archive.
+archive .