- Routines that return an integer return ERR upon failure
- and an integer value other than ERR upon successful
+ Routines that return an integer return ERR upon failure
+ and an integer value other than ERR upon successful
completion, unless otherwise noted in the routine
descriptions.
- All macros return the value of the w version, except
- setscrreg, wsetscrreg, getyx, getbegyx, getmaxyx. The
- return values of setscrreg, wsetscrreg, getyx, getbegyx,
- and getmaxyx are undefined (i.e., these should not be used
+ All macros return the value of the w version, except
+ setscrreg, wsetscrreg, getyx, getbegyx, getmaxyx. The
+ return values of setscrreg, wsetscrreg, getyx, getbegyx,
+ and getmaxyx are undefined (i.e., these should not be used
as the right-hand side of assignment statements).
- Routines that return pointers return NULL on error.
+ Routines that return pointers return NULL on error.
ENVIRONMENT
The following environment symbols are useful for
- customizing the runtime behavior of the ncurses library.
+ customizing the runtime behavior of the ncurses library.
The most important ones have been already discussed in
detail.
@@ -540,12 +674,12 @@
The debugging library checks this environment symbol
when the application has redirected output to a file.
The symbol's numeric value is used for the baudrate.
- If no value is found ncurses uses 9600. This allows
+ If no value is found ncurses uses 9600. This allows
testers to construct repeatable test-cases that take
into account costs that depend on baudrate.
CC When set, change occurrences of the command_character
- (i.e., the cmdch capability) of the loaded terminfo
+ (i.e., the cmdch capability) of the loaded terminfo
entries to the value of this symbol. Very few
terminfo entries provide this feature.
@@ -555,8 +689,8 @@
usually are able to obtain the width of the window in
which they are executing. If neither the $COLUMNS
value nor the terminal's screen size is available,
- ncurses uses the size which may be specified in the
- terminfo database (i.e., the cols capability).
+ ncurses uses the size which may be specified in the
+ terminfo database (i.e., the cols capability).
It is important that your application use a correct
size for the screen. However, this is not always
@@ -569,11 +703,11 @@
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, lines and cols should not be specified
+ best results, lines and cols should not be specified
in a terminal description for terminals which are run
as emulations.
- Use the use_env function to disable this feature.
+ Use the use_env function to disable this feature.
ESCDELAY
Specifies the total time, in milliseconds, for which
@@ -596,7 +730,7 @@
timeout applies to the composed multi-click event as
well as the individual clicks.
- HOME Tells ncurses where your home directory is. That is
+ HOME Tells ncurses where your home directory is. That is
where it may read and write auxiliary terminal
descriptions:
@@ -618,80 +752,92 @@
This symbol lets you customize the mouse. The symbol
must be three numeric digits 1-3 in any order, e.g.,
- 123 or 321. If it is not specified, ncurses uses
+ 123 or 321. If it is not specified, ncurses uses
132.
+ NCURSES_ASSUMED_COLORS
+ Override the compiled-in assumption that the
+ terminal's default colors are white-on-black (see
+ assume_default_colors(3x)). You may set the
+ foreground and background color values with this
+ environment variable by proving a 2-element list:
+ foreground,background. For example, to tell ncurses
+ to not assume anything 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
+ max_colors value is allowed.
+
NCURSES_NO_PADDING
- Most of the terminal descriptions in the terminfo
- database are written for real "hardware" terminals.
- Many people use terminal emulators which run in a
- windowing environment and use curses-based
- applications. Terminal emulators can duplicate all
- of the important aspects of a hardware terminal, but
- they do not have the same limitations. The chief
+ Most of the terminal descriptions in the terminfo
+ database are written for real "hardware" terminals.
+ Many people use terminal emulators which run in a
+ windowing environment and use curses-based
+ applications. Terminal emulators can duplicate all
+ of the important aspects of a hardware terminal, but
+ they do not have the same limitations. The chief
limitation of a hardware terminal from the standpoint
- of your application is the management of dataflow,
- i.e., timing. Unless a hardware terminal is
- interfaced into a terminal concentrator (which does
- flow control), it (or your application) must manage
+ of your application is the management of dataflow,
+ i.e., timing. Unless a hardware terminal is
+ interfaced into a terminal concentrator (which does
+ flow control), it (or your application) must manage
dataflow, preventing overruns. The cheapest solution
- (no hardware cost) is for your program to do this by
+ (no hardware cost) is for your program to do this by
pausing after operations that the terminal does
slowly, such as clearing the display.
- 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
+ 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.
- Set the NCURSES_NO_PADDING symbol to disable all but
- mandatory padding. Mandatory padding is used as a
- part of special control sequences such as flash.
+ Set the NCURSES_NO_PADDING symbol to disable all but
+ mandatory padding. Mandatory padding is used as a
+ part of special control sequences such as flash.
NCURSES_NO_SETBUF
- Normally ncurses enables buffered output during
- terminal initialization. This is done (as in SVr4
- curses) for performance reasons. For testing
- purposes, both of ncurses and certain applications,
- this feature is made optional. Setting the
+ Normally ncurses enables buffered output during
+ terminal initialization. This is done (as in SVr4
+ curses) for performance reasons. For testing
+ purposes, both of ncurses and certain applications,
+ this feature is made optional. Setting the
NCURSES_NO_SETBUF variable disables output buffering,
- leaving the output in the original (usually line
+ leaving the output in the original (usually line
buffered) mode.
NCURSES_TRACE
- During initialization, the ncurses debugging library
- checks the NCURSES_TRACE symbol. If it is defined,
- to a numeric value, ncurses calls the trace function,
+ During initialization, the ncurses debugging library
+ checks the NCURSES_TRACE symbol. If it is defined,
+ to a numeric value, ncurses calls the trace function,
using that value as the argument.
- The argument values, which are defined in curses.h,
- provide several types of information. When running
- with traces enabled, your application will write the
- file trace to the current directory.
+ The argument values, which are defined in curses.h,
+ provide several types of information. When running
+ with traces enabled, your application will write the
+ file trace to the current directory.
- TERM Denotes your terminal type. Each terminal type is
+ TERM Denotes your terminal type. Each terminal type is
distinct, though many are similar.
TERMCAP
- If the ncurses library has been configured with
- termcap support, ncurses will check for a terminal's
+ If the ncurses library has been configured with
+ termcap support, ncurses will check for a terminal's
description in termcap form if it is not available in
the terminfo database.
- The TERMCAP symbol contains either a terminal
- description (with newlines stripped out), or a file
- name telling where the information denoted by the
- TERM symbol exists. In either case, setting it
- directs ncurses to ignore the usual place for this
+ The TERMCAP symbol contains either a terminal
+ description (with newlines stripped out), or a file
+ name telling where the information denoted by the
+ TERM symbol exists. In either case, setting it
+ directs ncurses to ignore the usual place for this
information, e.g., /etc/termcap.
TERMINFO
- Overrides the directory in which ncurses searches for
+ Overrides the directory in which ncurses searches for
your terminal description. This is the simplest, but
- not the only way to change the list of directories.
+ not the only way to change the list of directories.
The complete list of directories in order follows:
- - the last directory to which ncurses wrote, if any,
+ - the last directory to which ncurses wrote, if any,
is searched first.
- the directory specified by the TERMINFO symbol
@@ -705,19 +851,20 @@
/usr/share/terminfo
TERMINFO_DIRS
- Specifies a list of directories to search for
- terminal descriptions. The list is separated by
- colons (i.e., ":"). All of the terminal descriptions
- are in terminfo form, which makes a subdirectory
- named for the first letter of the terminal names
- therein.
+ 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.
+ All of the terminal descriptions are in terminfo
+ form, which makes a subdirectory named for the first
+ letter of the terminal names therein.
TERMPATH
- If TERMCAP does not hold a file name then ncurses
- checks the TERMPATH symbol. This is a list of
- filenames separated by colons (i.e., ":"). If the
- TERMPATH symbol is not set, ncurses looks in the
- files /etc/termcap, /usr/share/misc/termcap and
+ If TERMCAP does not hold a file name then ncurses
+ checks the TERMPATH symbol. This is a list of
+ filenames separated by spaces or colons (i.e., ":")
+ on Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX. If the TERMPATH
+ symbol is not set, ncurses 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
@@ -736,133 +883,99 @@
SEE ALSO
- terminfo(5) and 3x pages whose names begin "curs_" for
- detailed routine descriptions.
+ terminfo(5) and related pages whose names begin "curs_"
+ for detailed routine descriptions.
EXTENSIONS
- The ncurses library can be compiled with an option
- (-DUSE_GETCAP) that falls back to the old-style
+ The ncurses library can be compiled with an option
+ (-DUSE_GETCAP) that falls back to the old-style
/etc/termcap file if the terminal setup code cannot find a
- terminfo entry corresponding to TERM. Use of this feature
+ terminfo entry corresponding to TERM. Use of this feature
is not recommended, as it essentially includes an entire
- termcap compiler in the ncurses startup code, at
+ termcap compiler in the ncurses startup code, at
significant cost in core and startup cycles.
- The ncurses library includes facilities for capturing
+ The ncurses library includes facilities for capturing
mouse events on certain terminals (including xterm). See
- the curs_mouse(3x) manual page for details.
+ the curs_mouse(3x) manual page for details.
- The ncurses library includes facilities for responding to
+ The ncurses library includes facilities for responding to
window resizing events, e.g., when running in an xterm.
- See the resizeterm(3x) and wresize(3x) manual pages for
+ See the resizeterm(3x) and wresize(3x) manual pages for
details. In addition, the library may be configured with
a SIGWINCH handler.
- The ncurses library extends the fixed set of function key
+ The ncurses library extends the fixed set of function key
capabilities of terminals by allowing the application
designer to define additional key sequences at runtime.
- See the define_key(3x) and keyok(3x) manual pages for
+ See the define_key(3x) and keyok(3x) manual pages for
details.
- The ncurses library can exploit the capabilities of
+ The ncurses library can exploit the capabilities of
terminals which implement the ISO-6429 SGR 39 and SGR 49
controls, which allow an application to reset the terminal
to its original foreground and background colors. From
the users' perspective, the application is able to draw
colored text on a background whose color is set
independently, providing better control over color
- contrasts. See the use_default_colors(3x) manual page for
+ contrasts. See the default_colors(3x) manual page for
details.
- The ncurses library includes a function for directing
+
+ The ncurses library includes a function for directing
application output to a printer attached to the terminal
- device. See the curs_print(3x) manual page for details.
+ device. See the curs_print(3x) manual page for details.
PORTABILITY
- The ncurses library is intended to be BASE-level
+ The ncurses library is intended to be BASE-level
conformant with the XSI Curses standard. Certain portions
of the EXTENDED XSI Curses functionality (including color
support) are supported. The following EXTENDED XSI Curses
calls in support of wide (multibyte) characters are not
- yet implemented: add_wch, add_wchnstr, add_wchstr,
- addnwstr, addwstr, bkgrnd, bkgrndset, border_set, box_set,
- echo_wchar, erasewchar, get_wch, get_wstr, getbkgrnd,
- getcchar, getn_wstr, getwchtype, hline_set, in_wch,
- in_wchnstr, in_wchstr, innwstr, ins_nwstr, ins_wch,
- ins_wstr, inwchnstr, inwchstr, inwstr, key_name,
- killwchar, mvadd_wch, mvadd_wchnstr, mvadd_wchstr,
- mvaddnwstr, mvaddwstr, mvget_wch, mvget_wstr, mvgetn_wstr,
- mvhline_set, mvin_wch, mvinnwstr, mvins_nwstr, mvins_wch,
- mvins_wstr, mvinwchnstr, mvinwchstr, mvinwchstr, mvinwstr,
- mvvline_set, mvwadd_wch, mvwadd_wchnstr, mvwadd_wchstr,
- mvwaddnwstr, mvwaddwstr, mvwget_ch, mvwget_wch,
- mvwget_wstr, mvwgetn_wstr, mvwhline_set, mvwin_wch,
- mvwin_wchnstr, mvwin_wchstr, mvwinnwstr, mvwins_nwstr,
- mvwins_wch, mvwins_wstr, mvwinwchnstr. mvwinwstr,
- mvwvline_set, pecho_wchar, setcchar, slk_wset, term_attrs,
- unget_wch, vhline_set, vid_attr, vid_puts, vline_set,
- wadd_wch, wadd_wchnstr, wadd_wchstr, waddnwstr, waddwstr,
- waddwstr, wbkgrnd, wbkgrndset, wbkgrndset, wborder_set,
- wecho_wchar, wecho_wchar, wget_wch, wget_wstr, wgetbkgrnd,
- wgetn_wstr, whline_set, win_wch, win_wchnstr, win_wchstr,
- winnwstr, wins_nwstr, wins_wch, wins_wstr, winwchnstr,
- winwchstr, winwstr, wunctrl, wvline_set,
+ yet implemented: pecho_wchar, slk_wset.
A small number of local differences (that is, individual
- differences between the XSI Curses and ncurses calls) are
- described in PORTABILITY sections of the library man
+ differences between the XSI Curses and ncurses calls) are
+ described in PORTABILITY sections of the library man
pages.
- The routine has_key is not part of XPG4, nor is it present
- in SVr4. See the curs_getch(3x) manual page for details.
+ The routine has_key is not part of XPG4, nor is it present
+ in SVr4. See the curs_getch(3x) manual page for details.
- The routine slk_attr is not part of XPG4, nor is it
- present in SVr4. See the curs_slk(3x) manual page for
+ The routine slk_attr is not part of XPG4, nor is it
+ present in SVr4. See the curs_slk(3x) manual page for
details.
- The routines getmouse, mousemask, ungetmouse,
- mouseinterval, and wenclose relating to mouse interfacing
+ The routines getmouse, mousemask, ungetmouse,
+ mouseinterval, and wenclose relating to mouse interfacing
are not part of XPG4, nor are they present in SVr4. See
- the curs_mouse(3x) manual page for details.
+ the curs_mouse(3x) manual page for details.
- The routine mcprint was not present in any previous curses
- implementation. See the curs_print(3x) manual page for
+ The routine mcprint was not present in any previous curses
+ implementation. See the curs_print(3x) manual page for
details.
- The routine wresize is not part of XPG4, nor is it present
- in SVr4. See the wresize(3x) manual page for details.
+
+ The routine wresize is not part of XPG4, nor is it present
+ in SVr4. See the wresize(3x) manual page for details.
In historic curses versions, delays embedded in the
- capabilities cr, ind, cub1, ff and tab activated
+ capabilities cr, ind, cub1, ff and tab activated
corresponding delay bits in the UNIX tty driver. In this
implementation, all padding is done by NUL sends. This
method is slightly more expensive, but narrows the
interface to the UNIX kernel significantly and increases
the package's portability correspondingly.
- In the XSI standard and SVr4 manual pages, many entry
- points have prototype arguments of the for char*const (or
- cchar_t*const, or wchar_t*const, or void*const).
- Depending on one's interpretation of the ANSI C standard
- (see section 3.5.4.1), these declarations are either (a)
- meaningless, or (b) meaningless and illegal. The
- declaration constchar*x is a modifiable pointer to
- unmodifiable data, but char*constx' is an unmodifiable
- pointer to modifiable data. Given that C passes arguments
- by value, <type>*const as a formal type is at best
- dubious. Some compilers choke on the prototypes.
- Therefore, in this implementation, they have been changed
- to const<type>* globally.
-
NOTES
- The header file <curses.h> automatically includes the
- header files <stdio.h> and <unctrl.h>.
+ The header file <curses.h> automatically includes the
+ header files <stdio.h> and <unctrl.h>.
- If standard output from a ncurses program is re-directed
+ If standard output from a ncurses program is re-directed
to something which is not a tty, screen updates will be
directed to standard error. This was an undocumented
feature of AT&T System V Release 3 curses.
@@ -889,6 +1002,40 @@
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