The ncurses (new curses) library is a free software emulation of
curses in System V Release 4.0, and more. It uses terminfo format,
@@ -18,8 +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.
@@ -35,172 +63,304 @@ the library and tools.
-This release is designed to be upward compatible from ncurses 5.0 and 5.2;
+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 5.2 release.
+These are the highlights from the change-log since ncurses 5.5 release.
Interface changes:
-
change type for bool used in headers to NCURSES_BOOL,
- which usually is the same as the compiler's definition for
- bool.
-
-
add all but two functions for X/Open curses wide-character support.
- These are only available if the library is configured using the
- --enable-widec option. Missing functions are
-
-
pecho_wchar()
-
slk_wset()
-
-
-
add environment variable $NCURSES_ASSUMED_COLORS to
- modify the assume_default_colors() extension.
+
generate linkable stubs for some macros:
+
+ getbegx, getbegy, getcurx, getcury, getmaxx, getmaxy, getparx,
+ getpary, getpary,
+
+ and (for libncursesw)
+
+ wgetbkgrnd
New features and improvements:
-
Improved support for termcap applications:
+
library
-
add logic to dump_entry.c to remove function-key definitions that do
- not fit into the 1023-byte limit for generated termcaps. This makes
- hds200 fit.
+
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.
+
-
modify tgetent() to check if exit_attribute_mode resets the alternate
- character set, and if so, attempt to adjust the copy of the termcap
- "me" string which it will return to eliminate that part. In
- particular, 'screen' would lose track of line-drawing characters.
+
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).
-
add check/fix to comp_parse.c to suppress warning about missing acsc
- string. This happens in configurations where raw termcap information
- is processed; tic already does this and other checks.
+
modify tack to test extended capability function-key
+ strings.
-
add tic -A option to suppress capabilities which are commented out
- when translating to termcap.
+
modify toe to access termcap data, e.g., via cgetent()
+ functions, or as a text file if those are not available.
-
modify logic in lib_baudrate.c for ospeed, for FreeBSD to make it
- work properly for termcap applications (patch by Andrey A Chernov).
+
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.
-
add a call to _nc_keypad() in keypad() to accommodate applications
- such as nvi, which use curses for output but not for input (fixes
- Debian #131263, cf: 20011215).
+
modify MKfallback.sh to use
+ tic -x when constructing fallback tables to
+ allow extended capabilities to be retrieved from a fallback entry.
+
-
correct logic for COLORFGBG environment variable: if rxvt is compiled
- with xpm support, the variable has three fields, making it slightly
- incompatible with itself. In either case, the background color is
- the last field.
+
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:
-
rewrote limit-checks in wscrl() and associated _nc_scroll_window(),
- to ensure that if the parameter of wscrl() is larger than the size of
- the scrolling region, then the scrolling region will be cleared.
+
correct a typo in configure --with-bool option for the
+ case where --without-cxx is used.
+
+
move assignment from environment variable ESCDELAY
+ from initscr() down to newterm() so the
+ environment variable affects timeouts for terminals opened with
+ newterm() as well.
-
modify tset to restore original I/O modes if an error is encountered.
- Also modify to use buffered stderr consistently rather than mixing
- with write().
+
modify werase to clear multicolumn characters that
+ extend into a derived window.
-
move calls to def_shell_mode() and def_prog_mode() before loop with
- callbacks in lib_set_term.c, since the c++ demo otherwise initialized
- the tty modes before saving them.
+
modify wchgat() to mark updated cells as changed so a
+ refresh will repaint those cells.
-
modified wresize() to ensure that a failed realloc will not corrupt
- the window structure, and to make subwindows fit within the resized
- window.
+
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()
-
altered resizeterm() to avoid having it fail when a child window
- cannot be resized because it would be larger than its parent.
+
fix redrawing of windows other than stdscr using
+ wredrawln() by touching the corresponding rows in
+ curscr.
-
correct/improve logic to produce an exit status for errors in tput,
- which did not exit with an error when told to put a string not in the
- current terminfo entry.
+
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.
-
modify behavior of can_clear_with() so that if an application is
- running in a non-bce terminals with default colors enabled, it
- returns true, allowing the user to select/paste text without picking
- up extraneous trailing blanks.
+
modify read_termtype() so the term_names
+ data is always allocated as part of the str_table, a
+ better fix for a memory leak.
-
add a check in relative_move() to guard against buffer overflow in
- the overwrite logic.
+
fix wins_nwstr(), which did not handle single-column
+ non-8bit codes.
-
add some limit/pointer checks to -S option of tputs.
+
modify wbkgrnd() to avoid clearing the
+ A_CHARTEXT attribute bits since those record the state
+ of multicolumn characters.
-
modify mvcur() to avoid emitting newline characters when nonl() mode
- is set. Normally this is not a problem since the actual terminal
- mode is set to suppress nl/crlf translations, however it is useful to
- allow the caller to manipulate the terminal mode to avoid staircasing
- effects after spawning a process which writes messages (for lynx
- 2.8.4).
+
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.
Portability:
-
configure script:
-
-
modify check in --disable-overwrite option so that it is used by
- default unless the --prefix/$prefix value is not /usr, in attempt to
- work around packagers who do not read the INSTALL notes.
+
configure script:
+
+
new options:
+
-
correct a typo in configure --enable-colorfgbg option, and move it
- to the experimental section (cf: 20011208).
+
--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.
-
modify configure script to allow building with termcap only, or with
- fallbacks only. In this case, we do not build tic and toe.
+
--without-dlsym
+
Do not use dlsym() to load GPM dynamically.
-
modify run_tic.sh to check if the build is a cross-compile. In that
- case, do not use the build's tic to install the terminfo database.
+
--with-valgrind
+
Simplify building for testing with valgrind.
-
modify c++/Makefile.in to accommodate archive programs that are
- different for C++ than for C, and add cases for vendor's C++
- compilers on Solaris and IRIX.
+
--enable-wgetch-events
+
Compile with experimental wgetch-events code.
-
add several configure script options to aid with cross-compiling:
- --with-build-cc, --with-build-cflags, --with-build-ldflags, and
- --with-build-libs.
+
--enable-signed-char
+
Store booleans in "signed char" rather than "char".
-
add experimental --with-caps=XXX option to customize to similar
- terminfo database formats such as AIX 4.x
+
-
add configure option --with-ospeed to assist packagers in transition
- to 5.3 change to ospeed type.
-
+
improved options:
+
-
library:
-
-
implement a simple vsscanf() fallback function which uses the %n
- conversion to help parse the input data.
+
--disable-largefile
+
make the option work both ways.
+
+
--with-gpm
+
The option now accepts a parameter,
+ i.e., the name of the dynamic GPM library to load via
+ dlopen()
+
+
--disable-symlinks
+
The option now allows one to
+ disable symlink() in tic even when
+ link() does not work.
-
various fixes to build/work with different implementations of
- vsscanf().
+
-
add/use macro to suppress sign-extension of char type on
- platforms where this is a problem in ctype macros, e.g., Solaris.
+
+
+
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.
-
finish changes needed to build dll's on cygwin.
+
modify MKlib_gen.sh to change
+ preprocessor-expanded _Bool back to bool.
-
add #undef's before possible redefinition of ERR and OK in curses.h
+
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.
-
programs:
+
library:
-
modify ifdef's in write_entry.c to allow use of symbolic links on
- platforms with no hard links, e.g., BeOS.
+
ignore wide-acs line-drawing characters that
+ wcwidth() claims are not one-column. This is
+ a workaround for Solaris' broken locale support.
-
modify _nc_write_entry() to allow for the possibility that linking
- aliases on a filesystem that ignores case would not succeed because
- the source and destination differ only by case, e.g., NCR260VT300WPP0
- on cygwin.
+
reduce name-pollution in term.h by removing
+ #define's for HAVE_xxx symbols.
-
modify logic in tic, toe, tput and tset which checks for basename of
- argv[0] to work properly on systems such as OS/2 which have
- case-independent filenames and/or program suffixes, e.g., ".ext".
+
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.
@@ -230,14 +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.
@@ -249,7 +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.
@@ -317,61 +478,61 @@ 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.
@@ -404,7 +565,7 @@ This list is open to anyone interested in helping with the development and
testing of this package.
@@ -416,14 +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 .