Terminfo is a data base describing terminals, used by
- screen-oriented programs such as nvi(1), rogue(1) and
+ screen-oriented programs such as nvi(1), rogue(1) and
libraries such as curses(3x). Terminfo describes termi-
nals by giving a set of capabilities which they have, by
specifying how to perform screen operations, and by speci-
fying padding requirements and initialization sequences.
- This describes ncurses version 5.7 (patch 20110122).
+ This describes ncurses version 6.0 (patch 20160326).
Entries in terminfo consist of a sequence of `,' separated
fields (embedded commas may be escaped with a backslash or
@@ -106,7 +103,7 @@
Terminal names (except for the last, verbose entry) should
be chosen using the following conventions. The particular
piece of hardware making up the terminal should have a
- root name, thus ``hp2621''. This name should not contain
+ root name, thus "hp2621". This name should not contain
hyphens. Modes that the hardware can be in, or user pref-
erences, should be indicated by appending a hyphen and a
mode suffix. Thus, a vt100 in 132 column mode would be
@@ -132,7 +129,8 @@
For more on terminal naming conventions, see the term(7)
manual page.
- Capabilities
+
+
The following is a complete table of the capabilities
included in a terminfo description block and available to
terminfo-using code. In each line of the table,
@@ -256,7 +254,7 @@
status_line_esc_ok eslok es escape can be used
on the status line
tilde_glitch hz hz cannot print ~'s
- (hazeltine)
+ (Hazeltine)
transparent_underline ul ul underline character
@@ -292,7 +290,7 @@
color-pairs on the
screen
maximum_windows wnum MW maximum number of
- defineable windows
+ definable windows
no_color_video ncv NC video attributes
that cannot be used
with colors
@@ -928,9 +926,8 @@
multiple codesets
color_names colornm Yw Give name for
color #1
- define_bit_image_region defbi Yx Define rectan-
- gualar bit image
- region
+ define_bit_image_region defbi Yx Define rectangular
+ bit image region
device_type devt dv Indicate lan-
guage/codeset sup-
port
@@ -985,17 +982,19 @@
set_page_length slines YZ Set page length to
#1 lines
+
set_tb_margin smgtb MT Sets both top and
bottom margins to
#1, #2
- The XSI Curses standard added these. They are some
- post-4.1 versions of System V curses, e.g., Solaris 2.5
- and IRIX 6.x. The ncurses termcap names for them are
- invented; according to the XSI Curses standard, they have
- no termcap names. If your compiled terminfo entries use
- these, they may not be binary-compatible with System V
- terminfo entries after SVr4.1; beware!
+ The XSI Curses standard added these hardcopy capabili-
+ ties. They were used in some post-4.1 versions of System
+ V curses, e.g., Solaris 2.5 and IRIX 6.x. Except for YI,
+ the ncurses termcap names for them are invented. Accord-
+ ing to the XSI Curses standard, they have no termcap
+ names. If your compiled terminfo entries use these, they
+ may not be binary-compatible with System V terminfo
+ entries after SVr4.1; beware!
VariableCap-TCapDescription
@@ -1015,519 +1014,622 @@
set_a_attributes sgr1 sA Define second set of
video attributes
#1-#6
- set_pglen_inch slengthsL YI Set page length
- to #1 hundredth of
- an inch
-
- ASampleEntry
+ set_pglen_inch slengthYI Set page length to
+ #1 hundredth of an
+ inch (some implemen-
+ tations use sL for
+ termcap).
+
+
+
+ The preceding section listed the predefined capabilities.
+ They deal with some special features for terminals no
+ longer (or possibly never) produced. Occasionally there
+ are special features of newer terminals which are awkward
+ or impossible to represent by reusing the predefined capa-
+ bilities.
+
+ ncurses addresses this limitation by allowing user-defined
+ capabilities. The tic and infocmp programs provide the -x
+ option for this purpose. When -x is set, tic treats
+ unknown capabilities as user-defined. That is, if tic
+ encounters a capability name which it does not recognize,
+ it infers its type (boolean, number or string) from the
+ syntax and makes an extended table entry for that capabil-
+ ity. The use_extended_names function makes this informa-
+ tion conditionally available to applications. The ncurses
+ library provides the data leaving most of the behavior to
+ applications:
+
+ o User-defined capability strings whose name begins with
+ "k" are treated as function keys.
+
+ o The types (boolean, number, string) determined by tic
+ can be inferred by successful calls on tigetflag, etc.
+
+ o If the capability name happens to be two characters,
+ the capability is also available through the termcap
+ interface.
+
+ While termcap is said to be extensible because it does not
+ use a predefined set of capabilities, in practice it has
+ been limited to the capabilities defined by terminfo
+ implementations. As a rule, user-defined capabilities
+ intended for use by termcap applications should be limited
+ to booleans and numbers to avoid running past the 1023
+ byte limit assumed by termcap implementations and their
+ applications. In particular, providing extended sets of
+ function keys (past the 60 numbered keys and the handful
+ of special named keys) is best done using the longer names
+ available using terminfo.
+
+
+
The following entry, describing an ANSI-standard terminal,
- is representative of what a terminfo entry for a modern
+ is representative of what a terminfo entry for a modern
terminal typically looks like.
- ansi|ansi/pc-term compatible with color,
- mc5i,
- colors#8, ncv#3, pairs#64,
- cub=\E[%p1%dD, cud=\E[%p1%dB, cuf=\E[%p1%dC,
- cuu=\E[%p1%dA, dch=\E[%p1%dP, dl=\E[%p1%dM,
- ech=\E[%p1%dX, el1=\E[1K, hpa=\E[%p1%dG, ht=\E[I,
- ich=\E[%p1%d@, il=\E[%p1%dL, indn=\E[%p1%dS, .indn=\E[%p1%dT,
- kbs=^H, kcbt=\E[Z, kcub1=\E[D, kcud1=\E[B,
- kcuf1=\E[C, kcuu1=\E[A, kf1=\E[M, kf10=\E[V,
- kf11=\E[W, kf12=\E[X, kf2=\E[N, kf3=\E[O, kf4=\E[P,
- kf5=\E[Q, kf6=\E[R, kf7=\E[S, kf8=\E[T, kf9=\E[U,
- kich1=\E[L, mc4=\E[4i, mc5=\E[5i, nel=\r\E[S,
- op=\E[37;40m, rep=%p1%c\E[%p2%{1}%-%db,
- rin=\E[%p1%dT, s0ds=\E(B, s1ds=\E)B, s2ds=\E*B,
- s3ds=\E+B, setab=\E[4%p1%dm, setaf=\E[3%p1%dm,
- setb=\E[4%?%p1%{1}%=%t4%e%p1%{3}%=%t6%e%p1%{4}%=%t1%e%p1%{6}%=%t3%e%p1%d%;m,
- setf=\E[3%?%p1%{1}%=%t4%e%p1%{3}%=%t6%e%p1%{4}%=%t1%e%p1%{6}%=%t3%e%p1%d%;m,
- sgr=\E[0;10%?%p1%t;7%;%?%p2%t;4%;%?%p3%t;7%;%?%p4%t;5%;%?%p6%t;1%;%?%p7%t;8%;%?%p8%t;11%;%?%p9%t;12%;m,
- sgr0=\E[0;10m, tbc=\E[2g, u6=\E[%d;%dR, u7=\E[6n,
- u8=\E[?%[;0123456789]c, u9=\E[c, vpa=\E[%p1%dd,
-
- Entries may continue onto multiple lines by placing white
- space at the beginning of each line except the first.
- Comments may be included on lines beginning with ``#''.
- Capabilities in terminfo are of three types: Boolean capa-
- bilities which indicate that the terminal has some partic-
- ular feature, numeric capabilities giving the size of the
- terminal or the size of particular delays, and string
- capabilities, which give a sequence which can be used to
- perform particular terminal operations.
-
- TypesofCapabilities
- All capabilities have names. For instance, the fact that
- ANSI-standard terminals have automaticmargins (i.e., an
- automatic return and line-feed when the end of a line is
- reached) is indicated by the capability am. Hence the
+ ansi|ansi/pc-term compatible with color,
+ am, mc5i, mir, msgr,
+ colors#8, cols#80, it#8, lines#24, ncv#3, pairs#64,
+ acsc=+\020\,\021-\030.^Y0\333`\004a\261f\370g\361h\260
+ j\331k\277l\332m\300n\305o~p\304q\304r\304s_t\303
+ u\264v\301w\302x\263y\363z\362{\343|\330}\234~\376,
+ bel=^G, blink=\E[5m, bold=\E[1m, cbt=\E[Z, clear=\E[H\E[J,
+ cr=^M, cub=\E[%p1%dD, cub1=\E[D, cud=\E[%p1%dB, cud1=\E[B,
+ cuf=\E[%p1%dC, cuf1=\E[C, cup=\E[%i%p1%d;%p2%dH,
+ cuu=\E[%p1%dA, cuu1=\E[A, dch=\E[%p1%dP, dch1=\E[P,
+ dl=\E[%p1%dM, dl1=\E[M, ech=\E[%p1%dX, ed=\E[J, el=\E[K,
+ el1=\E[1K, home=\E[H, hpa=\E[%i%p1%dG, ht=\E[I, hts=\EH,
+ ich=\E[%p1%d@, il=\E[%p1%dL, il1=\E[L, ind=^J,
+ indn=\E[%p1%dS, invis=\E[8m, kbs=^H, kcbt=\E[Z, kcub1=\E[D,
+ kcud1=\E[B, kcuf1=\E[C, kcuu1=\E[A, khome=\E[H, kich1=\E[L,
+ mc4=\E[4i, mc5=\E[5i, nel=\r\E[S, op=\E[39;49m,
+ rep=%p1%c\E[%p2%{1}%-%db, rev=\E[7m, rin=\E[%p1%dT,
+ rmacs=\E[10m, rmpch=\E[10m, rmso=\E[m, rmul=\E[m,
+ s0ds=\E(B, s1ds=\E)B, s2ds=\E*B, s3ds=\E+B,
+ setab=\E[4%p1%dm, setaf=\E[3%p1%dm,
+ sgr=\E[0;10%?%p1%t;7%;
+ %?%p2%t;4%;
+ %?%p3%t;7%;
+ %?%p4%t;5%;
+ %?%p6%t;1%;
+ %?%p7%t;8%;
+ %?%p9%t;11%;m,
+ sgr0=\E[0;10m, smacs=\E[11m, smpch=\E[11m, smso=\E[7m,
+ smul=\E[4m, tbc=\E[3g, u6=\E[%i%d;%dR, u7=\E[6n,
+ u8=\E[?%[;0123456789]c, u9=\E[c, vpa=\E[%i%p1%dd,
+
+ Entries may continue onto multiple lines by placing white
+ space at the beginning of each line except the first.
+ Comments may be included on lines beginning with "#".
+ Capabilities in terminfo are of three types:
+
+ o Boolean capabilities which indicate that the terminal
+ has some particular feature,
+
+ o numeric capabilities giving the size of the terminal
+ or the size of particular delays, and
+
+ o string capabilities, which give a sequence which can
+ be used to perform particular terminal operations.
+
+
+
+ All capabilities have names. For instance, the fact that
+ ANSI-standard terminals have automaticmargins (i.e., an
+ automatic return and line-feed when the end of a line is
+ reached) is indicated by the capability am. Hence the
description of ansi includes am. Numeric capabilities are
- followed by the character `#' and then a positive value.
- Thus cols, which indicates the number of columns the ter-
- minal has, gives the value `80' for ansi. Values for
+ followed by the character "#" and then a positive value.
+ Thus cols, which indicates the number of columns the ter-
+ minal has, gives the value "80" for ansi. Values for
numeric capabilities may be specified in decimal, octal or
- hexadecimal, using the C programming language conventions
+ hexadecimal, using the C programming language conventions
(e.g., 255, 0377 and 0xff or 0xFF).
- Finally, string valued capabilities, such as el (clear to
+ Finally, string valued capabilities, such as el (clear to
end of line sequence) are given by the two-character code,
- an `=', and then a string ending at the next following
- `,'.
+ an "=", and then a string ending at the next following
+ ",".
- A number of escape sequences are provided in the string
+ A number of escape sequences are provided in the string
valued capabilities for easy encoding of characters there.
- Both \E and \e map to an ESCAPE character, ^x maps to a
- control-x for any appropriate x, and the sequences \n\l
- \r\t\b\f\s give a newline, line-feed, return, tab,
- backspace, form-feed, and space. Other escapes include \^
- for ^, \\ for \, \, for comma, \: for :, and \0 for null.
- (\0 will produce \200, which does not terminate a string
- but behaves as a null character on most terminals, provid-
- ing CS7 is specified. See stty(1).) Finally, characters
- may be given as three octal digits after a \.
-
- A delay in milliseconds may appear anywhere in a string
- capability, enclosed in $<..> brackets, as in el=\EK$<5>,
- and padding characters are supplied by tputs to provide
- this delay. The delay must be a number with at most one
+ Both \E and \e map to an ESCAPE character, ^x maps to a
+ control-x for any appropriate x, and the sequences \n\l
+ \r\t\b\f\s give a newline, line-feed, return, tab,
+ backspace, form-feed, and space. Other escapes include
+
+ o\^ for ^,
+
+ o\\ for \,
+
+ o\, for comma,
+
+ o\: for :,
+
+ o and \0 for null.
+
+ \0 will produce \200, which does not terminate a
+ string but behaves as a null character on most termi-
+ nals, providing CS7 is specified. See stty(1).
+
+ The reason for this quirk is to maintain binary com-
+ patibility of the compiled terminfo files with other
+ implementations, e.g., the SVr4 systems, which docu-
+ ment this. Compiled terminfo files use null-termi-
+ nated strings, with no lengths. Modifying this would
+ require a new binary format, which would not work with
+ other implementations.
+
+ Finally, characters may be given as three octal digits
+ after a \.
+
+ A delay in milliseconds may appear anywhere in a string
+ capability, enclosed in $<..> brackets, as in el=\EK$<5>,
+ and padding characters are supplied by tputs to provide
+ this delay. The delay must be a number with at most one
decimal place of precision; it may be followed by suffixes
- `*' or '/' or both. A `*' indicates that the padding
- required is proportional to the number of lines affected
- by the operation, and the amount given is the per-
- affected-unit padding required. (In the case of insert
+ "*" or "/" or both. A "*" indicates that the padding
+ required is proportional to the number of lines affected
+ by the operation, and the amount given is the per-
+ affected-unit padding required. (In the case of insert
character, the factor is still the number of lines
- affected.) Normally, padding is advisory if the device
- has the xon capability; it is used for cost computation
- but does not trigger delays. A `/' suffix indicates that
- the padding is mandatory and forces a delay of the given
- number of milliseconds even on devices for which xon is
+ affected.) Normally, padding is advisory if the device
+ has the xon capability; it is used for cost computation
+ but does not trigger delays. A "/" suffix indicates that
+ the padding is mandatory and forces a delay of the given
+ number of milliseconds even on devices for which xon is
present to indicate flow control.
- Sometimes individual capabilities must be commented out.
- To do this, put a period before the capability name. For
+ Sometimes individual capabilities must be commented out.
+ To do this, put a period before the capability name. For
example, see the second ind in the example above.
- FetchingCompiledDescriptions
- If the environment variable TERMINFO is set, it is inter-
- preted as the pathname of a directory containing the com-
- piled description you are working on. Only that directory
- is searched.
-
- If TERMINFO is not set, the ncurses version of the ter-
- minfo reader code will instead look in the directory
- $HOME/.terminfo for a compiled description. If it fails
- to find one there, and the environment variable TER-
- MINFO_DIRS is set, it will interpret the contents of that
- variable as a list of colon- separated directories to be
- searched (an empty entry is interpreted as a command to
- search /usr/share/terminfo). If no description is found
- in any of the TERMINFO_DIRS directories, the fetch fails.
-
- If neither TERMINFO nor TERMINFO_DIRS is set, the last
- place tried will be the system terminfo directory,
- /usr/share/terminfo.
-
- (Neither the $HOME/.terminfo lookups nor TERMINFO_DIRS
- extensions are supported under stock System V ter-
- minfo/curses.)
-
- PreparingDescriptions
- We now outline how to prepare descriptions of terminals.
- The most effective way to prepare a terminal description
- is by imitating the description of a similar terminal in
- terminfo and to build up a description gradually, using
+
+
+ The ncurses library searches for terminal descriptions in
+ several places. It uses only the first description found.
+ The library has a compiled-in list of places to search
+ which can be overridden by environment variables. Before
+ starting to search, ncurses eliminates duplicates in its
+ search list.
+
+ o If the environment variable TERMINFO is set, it is
+ interpreted as the pathname of a directory containing
+ the compiled description you are working on. Only
+ that directory is searched.
+
+ o If TERMINFO is not set, ncurses will instead look in
+ the directory $HOME/.terminfo for a compiled descrip-
+ tion.
+
+ o Next, if the environment variable TERMINFO_DIRS is
+ set, ncurses will interpret the contents of that vari-
+ able as a list of colon-separated directories (or
+ database files) to be searched.
+
+ An empty directory name (i.e., if the variable begins
+ or ends with a colon, or contains adjacent colons) is
+ interpreted as the system location /usr/share/ter-
+ minfo.
+
+ o Finally, ncurses searches these compiled-in locations:
+
+ o a list of directories
+ (/usr/local/ncurses/share/terminfo:/usr/share/ter-
+ minfo), and
+
+ o the system terminfo directory, /usr/share/terminfo
+ (the compiled-in default).
+
+
+
+ We now outline how to prepare descriptions of terminals.
+ The most effective way to prepare a terminal description
+ is by imitating the description of a similar terminal in
+ terminfo and to build up a description gradually, using
partial descriptions with vi or some other screen-oriented
- program to check that they are correct. Be aware that a
+ program to check that they are correct. Be aware that a
very unusual terminal may expose deficiencies in the abil-
- ity of the terminfo file to describe it or bugs in the
+ ity of the terminfo file to describe it or bugs in the
screen-handling code of the test program.
- To get the padding for insert line right (if the terminal
+ To get the padding for insert line right (if the terminal
manufacturer did not document it) a severe test is to edit
- a large file at 9600 baud, delete 16 or so lines from the
- middle of the screen, then hit the `u' key several times
- quickly. If the terminal messes up, more padding is usu-
- ally needed. A similar test can be used for insert char-
+ a large file at 9600 baud, delete 16 or so lines from the
+ middle of the screen, then hit the "u" key several times
+ quickly. If the terminal messes up, more padding is usu-
+ ally needed. A similar test can be used for insert char-
acter.
- BasicCapabilities
- The number of columns on each line for the terminal is
- given by the cols numeric capability. If the terminal is
- a CRT, then the number of lines on the screen is given by
+
+
+ The number of columns on each line for the terminal is
+ given by the cols numeric capability. If the terminal is
+ a CRT, then the number of lines on the screen is given by
the lines capability. If the terminal wraps around to the
- beginning of the next line when it reaches the right mar-
+ beginning of the next line when it reaches the right mar-
gin, then it should have the am capability. If the termi-
- nal can clear its screen, leaving the cursor in the home
- position, then this is given by the clear string capabil-
- ity. If the terminal overstrikes (rather than clearing a
- position when a character is struck over) then it should
- have the os capability. If the terminal is a printing
- terminal, with no soft copy unit, give it both hc and os.
- (os applies to storage scope terminals, such as TEKTRONIX
- 4010 series, as well as hard copy and APL terminals.) If
+ nal can clear its screen, leaving the cursor in the home
+ position, then this is given by the clear string capabil-
+ ity. If the terminal overstrikes (rather than clearing a
+ position when a character is struck over) then it should
+ have the os capability. If the terminal is a printing
+ terminal, with no soft copy unit, give it both hc and os.
+ (os applies to storage scope terminals, such as TEKTRONIX
+ 4010 series, as well as hard copy and APL terminals.) If
there is a code to move the cursor to the left edge of the
current row, give this as cr. (Normally this will be car-
- riage return, control M.) If there is a code to produce
+ riage return, control M.) If there is a code to produce
an audible signal (bell, beep, etc) give this as bel.
- If there is a code to move the cursor one position to the
- left (such as backspace) that capability should be given
- as cub1. Similarly, codes to move to the right, up, and
+ If there is a code to move the cursor one position to the
+ left (such as backspace) that capability should be given
+ as cub1. Similarly, codes to move to the right, up, and
down should be given as cuf1, cuu1, and cud1. These local
- cursor motions should not alter the text they pass over,
- for example, you would not normally use `cuf1= ' because
+ cursor motions should not alter the text they pass over,
+ for example, you would not normally use "cuf1= " because
the space would erase the character moved over.
- A very important point here is that the local cursor
- motions encoded in terminfo are undefined at the left and
- top edges of a CRT terminal. Programs should never
- attempt to backspace around the left edge, unless bw is
+ A very important point here is that the local cursor
+ motions encoded in terminfo are undefined at the left and
+ top edges of a CRT terminal. Programs should never
+ attempt to backspace around the left edge, unless bw is
given, and never attempt to go up locally off the top. In
- order to scroll text up, a program will go to the bottom
+ order to scroll text up, a program will go to the bottom
left corner of the screen and send the ind (index) string.
To scroll text down, a program goes to the top left corner
- of the screen and sends the ri (reverse index) string.
- The strings ind and ri are undefined when not on their
+ of the screen and sends the ri (reverse index) string.
+ The strings ind and ri are undefined when not on their
respective corners of the screen.
Parameterized versions of the scrolling sequences are indn
and rin which have the same semantics as ind and ri except
- that they take one parameter, and scroll that many lines.
- They are also undefined except at the appropriate edge of
+ that they take one parameter, and scroll that many lines.
+ They are also undefined except at the appropriate edge of
the screen.
- The am capability tells whether the cursor sticks at the
- right edge of the screen when text is output, but this
+ The am capability tells whether the cursor sticks at the
+ right edge of the screen when text is output, but this
does not necessarily apply to a cuf1 from the last column.
- The only local motion which is defined from the left edge
- is if bw is given, then a cub1 from the left edge will
- move to the right edge of the previous row. If bw is not
- given, the effect is undefined. This is useful for draw-
- ing a box around the edge of the screen, for example. If
- the terminal has switch selectable automatic margins, the
- terminfo file usually assumes that this is on; i.e., am.
- If the terminal has a command which moves to the first
- column of the next line, that command can be given as nel
- (newline). It does not matter if the command clears the
- remainder of the current line, so if the terminal has no
- cr and lf it may still be possible to craft a working nel
+ The only local motion which is defined from the left edge
+ is if bw is given, then a cub1 from the left edge will
+ move to the right edge of the previous row. If bw is not
+ given, the effect is undefined. This is useful for draw-
+ ing a box around the edge of the screen, for example. If
+ the terminal has switch selectable automatic margins, the
+ terminfo file usually assumes that this is on; i.e., am.
+ If the terminal has a command which moves to the first
+ column of the next line, that command can be given as nel
+ (newline). It does not matter if the command clears the
+ remainder of the current line, so if the terminal has no
+ cr and lf it may still be possible to craft a working nel
out of one or both of them.
These capabilities suffice to describe hard-copy and
- "glass-tty" terminals. Thus the model 33 teletype is
+ "glass-tty" terminals. Thus the model 33 teletype is
described as
33|tty33|tty|model 33 teletype,
- bel=^G, cols#72, cr=^M, cud1=^J, hc, ind=^J, os,
+ bel=^G, cols#72, cr=^M, cud1=^J, hc, ind=^J, os,
while the Lear Siegler ADM-3 is described as
adm3|3|lsi adm3,
- am, bel=^G, clear=^Z, cols#80, cr=^M, cub1=^H, cud1=^J,
- ind=^J, lines#24,
-
- ParameterizedStrings
- Cursor addressing and other strings requiring parameters
- in the terminal are described by a parameterized string
- capability, with printf(3) like escapes %x in it. For
- example, to address the cursor, the cup capability is
+ am, bel=^G, clear=^Z, cols#80, cr=^M, cub1=^H, cud1=^J,
+ ind=^J, lines#24,
+
+
+
+ Cursor addressing and other strings requiring parameters
+ in the terminal are described by a parameterized string
+ capability, with printf-like escapes such as %x in it.
+ For example, to address the cursor, the cup capability is
given, using two parameters: the row and column to address
to. (Rows and columns are numbered from zero and refer to
the physical screen visible to the user, not to any unseen
- memory.) If the terminal has memory relative cursor
+ memory.) If the terminal has memory relative cursor
addressing, that can be indicated by mrcup.
- The parameter mechanism uses a stack and special % codes
- to manipulate it. Typically a sequence will push one of
- the parameters onto the stack and then print it in some
- format. Print (e.g., "%d") is a special case. Other
- operations, including "%t" pop their operand from the
+ The parameter mechanism uses a stack and special % codes
+ to manipulate it. Typically a sequence will push one of
+ the parameters onto the stack and then print it in some
+ format. Print (e.g., "%d") is a special case. Other
+ operations, including "%t" pop their operand from the
stack. It is noted that more complex operations are often
necessary, e.g., in the sgr string.
The % encodings have the following meanings:
- %% outputs `%'
+ %% outputs "%"
- %[[:]flags][width[.precision]][doxXs]
- as in printf, flags are [-+#] and space. Use a `:'
- to allow the next character to be a `-' flag, avoid-
+ %[[:]flags][width[.precision]][doxXs]
+ as in printf, flags are [-+#] and space. Use a ":"
+ to allow the next character to be a "-" flag, avoid-
ing interpreting "%-" as an operator.
%c print pop() like %c in printf
- %s print pop() like %s in printf
+ %s print pop() like %s in printf
- %p[1-9]
+ %p[1-9]
push i'th parameter
- %P[a-z]
- set dynamic variable [a-z] to pop()
+ %P[a-z]
+ set dynamic variable [a-z] to pop()
- %g[a-z]
- get dynamic variable [a-z] and push it
+ %g[a-z]/
+ get dynamic variable [a-z] and push it
- %P[A-Z]
- set static variable [a-z] to pop()
+ %P[A-Z]
+ set static variable [a-z] to pop()
- %g[A-Z]
- get static variable [a-z] and push it
+ %g[A-Z]
+ get static variable [a-z] and push it
- The terms "static" and "dynamic" are misleading.
- Historically, these are simply two different sets of
- variables, whose values are not reset between calls
- to tparm. However, that fact is not documented in
- other implementations. Relying on it will adversely
+ The terms "static" and "dynamic" are misleading.
+ Historically, these are simply two different sets of
+ variables, whose values are not reset between calls
+ to tparm. However, that fact is not documented in
+ other implementations. Relying on it will adversely
impact portability to other implementations.
- %'c' char constant c
+ %'c' char constant c
- %{nn}
+ %{nn}
integer constant nn
- %l push strlen(pop)
+ %l push strlen(pop)
- %+ %- %* %/ %m
- arithmetic (%m is mod): push(pop() op pop())
+ %+, %-, %*, %/, %m
+ arithmetic (%m is mod): push(pop()oppop())
- %& %| %^
- bit operations (AND, OR and exclusive-OR): push(pop()
- op pop())
+ %&, %|, %^
+ bit operations (AND, OR and exclusive-OR): push(pop()
+ oppop())
- %= %> %<
- logical operations: push(pop() op pop())
+ %=, %>, %<
+ logical operations: push(pop()oppop())
- %A, %O
+ %A, %O
logical AND and OR operations (for conditionals)
- %! %~
- unary operations (logical and bit complement):
+ %!, %~
+ unary operations (logical and bit complement):
push(op pop())
- %i add 1 to first two parameters (for ANSI terminals)
+ %i add 1 to first two parameters (for ANSI terminals)
- %? expr %t thenpart %e elsepart %;
- This forms an if-then-else. The %e elsepart is
- optional. Usually the %? expr part pushes a value
- onto the stack, and %t pops it from the stack, test-
- ing if it is nonzero (true). If it is zero (false),
- control passes to the %e (else) part.
+ %?expr%tthenpart%eelsepart%;
+ This forms an if-then-else. The %eelsepart is
+ optional. Usually the %?expr part pushes a value
+ onto the stack, and %t pops it from the stack, test-
+ ing if it is nonzero (true). If it is zero (false),
+ control passes to the %e (else) part.
It is possible to form else-if's a la Algol 68:
- %? c1 %t b1 %e c2 %t b2 %e c3 %t b3 %e c4 %t b4 %e %;
+ %? c1 %t b1 %e c2 %t b2 %e c3 %t b3 %e c4 %t b4 %e%;
where ci are conditions, bi are bodies.
Use the -f option of tic or infocmp to see the struc-
- ture of if-then-else's. Some strings, e.g., sgr can
+ ture of if-then-else's. Some strings, e.g., sgr can
be very complicated when written on one line. The -f
- option splits the string into lines with the parts
+ option splits the string into lines with the parts
indented.
Binary operations are in postfix form with the operands in
- the usual order. That is, to get x-5 one would use
- "%gx%{5}%-". %P and %g variables are persistent across
+ the usual order. That is, to get x-5 one would use
+ "%gx%{5}%-". %P and %g variables are persistent across
escape-string evaluations.
Consider the HP2645, which, to get to row 3 and column 12,
- needs to be sent \E&a12c03Y padded for 6 milliseconds.
- Note that the order of the rows and columns is inverted
- here, and that the row and column are printed as two dig-
+ needs to be sent \E&a12c03Y padded for 6 milliseconds.
+ Note that the order of the rows and columns is inverted
+ here, and that the row and column are printed as two dig-
its. Thus its cup capability is "cup=6\E&%p2%2dc%p1%2dY".
The Microterm ACT-IV needs the current row and column sent
- preceded by a ^T, with the row and column simply encoded
- in binary, "cup=^T%p1%c%p2%c". Terminals which use "%c"
- need to be able to backspace the cursor (cub1), and to
+ preceded by a ^T, with the row and column simply encoded
+ in binary, "cup=^T%p1%c%p2%c". Terminals which use "%c"
+ need to be able to backspace the cursor (cub1), and to
move the cursor up one line on the screen (cuu1). This is
- necessary because it is not always safe to transmit \n^D
- and \r, as the system may change or discard them. (The
- library routines dealing with terminfo set tty modes so
+ necessary because it is not always safe to transmit \n^D
+ and \r, as the system may change or discard them. (The
+ library routines dealing with terminfo set tty modes so
that tabs are never expanded, so \t is safe to send. This
turns out to be essential for the Ann Arbor 4080.)
A final example is the LSI ADM-3a, which uses row and col-
umn offset by a blank character, thus "cup=\E=%p1%'
- '%+%c%p2%' '%+%c". After sending `\E=', this pushes the
- first parameter, pushes the ASCII value for a space (32),
- adds them (pushing the sum on the stack in place of the
- two previous values) and outputs that value as a charac-
- ter. Then the same is done for the second parameter.
+ '%+%c%p2%' '%+%c". After sending "\E=", this pushes the
+ first parameter, pushes the ASCII value for a space (32),
+ adds them (pushing the sum on the stack in place of the
+ two previous values) and outputs that value as a charac-
+ ter. Then the same is done for the second parameter.
More complex arithmetic is possible using the stack.
- CursorMotions
+
+
If the terminal has a fast way to home the cursor (to very
- upper left corner of screen) then this can be given as
- home; similarly a fast way of getting to the lower left-
- hand corner can be given as ll; this may involve going up
- with cuu1 from the home position, but a program should
- never do this itself (unless ll does) because it can make
- no assumption about the effect of moving up from the home
- position. Note that the home position is the same as
+ upper left corner of screen) then this can be given as
+ home; similarly a fast way of getting to the lower left-
+ hand corner can be given as ll; this may involve going up
+ with cuu1 from the home position, but a program should
+ never do this itself (unless ll does) because it can make
+ no assumption about the effect of moving up from the home
+ position. Note that the home position is the same as
addressing to (0,0): to the top left corner of the screen,
- not of memory. (Thus, the \EH sequence on HP terminals
+ not of memory. (Thus, the \EH sequence on HP terminals
cannot be used for home.)
If the terminal has row or column absolute cursor address-
- ing, these can be given as single parameter capabilities
+ ing, these can be given as single parameter capabilities
hpa (horizontal position absolute) and vpa (vertical posi-
tion absolute). Sometimes these are shorter than the more
- general two parameter sequence (as with the hp2645) and
+ general two parameter sequence (as with the hp2645) and
can be used in preference to cup. If there are parameter-
- ized local motions (e.g., move n spaces to the right)
+ ized local motions (e.g., move n spaces to the right)
these can be given as cud, cub, cuf, and cuu with a single
- parameter indicating how many spaces to move. These are
- primarily useful if the terminal does not have cup, such
+ parameter indicating how many spaces to move. These are
+ primarily useful if the terminal does not have cup, such
as the TEKTRONIX 4025.
If the terminal needs to be in a special mode when running
a program that uses these capabilities, the codes to enter
- and exit this mode can be given as smcup and rmcup. This
- arises, for example, from terminals like the Concept with
- more than one page of memory. If the terminal has only
- memory relative cursor addressing and not screen relative
+ and exit this mode can be given as smcup and rmcup. This
+ arises, for example, from terminals like the Concept with
+ more than one page of memory. If the terminal has only
+ memory relative cursor addressing and not screen relative
cursor addressing, a one screen-sized window must be fixed
- into the terminal for cursor addressing to work properly.
+ into the terminal for cursor addressing to work properly.
This is also used for the TEKTRONIX 4025, where smcup sets
- the command character to be the one used by terminfo. If
- the smcup sequence will not restore the screen after an
+ the command character to be the one used by terminfo. If
+ the smcup sequence will not restore the screen after an
rmcup sequence is output (to the state prior to outputting
rmcup), specify nrrmc.
- AreaClears
+
+
If the terminal can clear from the current position to the
- end of the line, leaving the cursor where it is, this
+ end of the line, leaving the cursor where it is, this
should be given as el. If the terminal can clear from the
- beginning of the line to the current position inclusive,
- leaving the cursor where it is, this should be given as
- el1. If the terminal can clear from the current position
- to the end of the display, then this should be given as
- ed. Ed is only defined from the first column of a line.
- (Thus, it can be simulated by a request to delete a large
+ beginning of the line to the current position inclusive,
+ leaving the cursor where it is, this should be given as
+ el1. If the terminal can clear from the current position
+ to the end of the display, then this should be given as
+ ed. Ed is only defined from the first column of a line.
+ (Thus, it can be simulated by a request to delete a large
number of lines, if a true ed is not available.)
- Insert/deletelineandverticalmotions
- If the terminal can open a new blank line before the line
- where the cursor is, this should be given as il1; this is
- done only from the first position of a line. The cursor
+
+
+ If the terminal can open a new blank line before the line
+ where the cursor is, this should be given as il1; this is
+ done only from the first position of a line. The cursor
must then appear on the newly blank line. If the terminal
- can delete the line which the cursor is on, then this
- should be given as dl1; this is done only from the first
- position on the line to be deleted. Versions of il1 and
- dl1 which take a single parameter and insert or delete
+ can delete the line which the cursor is on, then this
+ should be given as dl1; this is done only from the first
+ position on the line to be deleted. Versions of il1 and
+ dl1 which take a single parameter and insert or delete
that many lines can be given as il and dl.
- If the terminal has a settable scrolling region (like the
- vt100) the command to set this can be described with the
- csr capability, which takes two parameters: the top and
+ If the terminal has a settable scrolling region (like the
+ vt100) the command to set this can be described with the
+ csr capability, which takes two parameters: the top and
bottom lines of the scrolling region. The cursor position
is, alas, undefined after using this command.
- It is possible to get the effect of insert or delete line
+ It is possible to get the effect of insert or delete line
using csr on a properly chosen region; the sc and rc (save
- and restore cursor) commands may be useful for ensuring
- that your synthesized insert/delete string does not move
- the cursor. (Note that the ncurses(3x) library does this
- synthesis automatically, so you need not compose
+ and restore cursor) commands may be useful for ensuring
+ that your synthesized insert/delete string does not move
+ the cursor. (Note that the ncurses(3x) library does this
+ synthesis automatically, so you need not compose
insert/delete strings for an entry with csr).
Yet another way to construct insert and delete might be to
- use a combination of index with the memory-lock feature
- found on some terminals (like the HP-700/90 series, which
+ use a combination of index with the memory-lock feature
+ found on some terminals (like the HP-700/90 series, which
however also has insert/delete).
- Inserting lines at the top or bottom of the screen can
- also be done using ri or ind on many terminals without a
- true insert/delete line, and is often faster even on ter-
+ Inserting lines at the top or bottom of the screen can
+ also be done using ri or ind on many terminals without a
+ true insert/delete line, and is often faster even on ter-
minals with those features.
- The boolean non_dest_scroll_region should be set if each
- scrolling window is effectively a view port on a screen-
- sized canvas. To test for this capability, create a
- scrolling region in the middle of the screen, write some-
- thing to the bottom line, move the cursor to the top of
+ The boolean non_dest_scroll_region should be set if each
+ scrolling window is effectively a view port on a screen-
+ sized canvas. To test for this capability, create a
+ scrolling region in the middle of the screen, write some-
+ thing to the bottom line, move the cursor to the top of
the region, and do ri followed by dl1 or ind. If the data
- scrolled off the bottom of the region by the ri re-
- appears, then scrolling is non-destructive. System V and
- XSI Curses expect that ind, ri, indn, and rin will simu-
- late destructive scrolling; their documentation cautions
- you not to define csr unless this is true. This curses
+ scrolled off the bottom of the region by the ri re-
+ appears, then scrolling is non-destructive. System V and
+ XSI Curses expect that ind, ri, indn, and rin will simu-
+ late destructive scrolling; their documentation cautions
+ you not to define csr unless this is true. This curses
implementation is more liberal and will do explicit erases
after scrolling if ndstr is defined.
If the terminal has the ability to define a window as part
- of memory, which all commands affect, it should be given
+ of memory, which all commands affect, it should be given
as the parameterized string wind. The four parameters are
- the starting and ending lines in memory and the starting
+ the starting and ending lines in memory and the starting
and ending columns in memory, in that order.
- If the terminal can retain display memory above, then the
- da capability should be given; if display memory can be
- retained below, then db should be given. These indicate
- that deleting a line or scrolling may bring non-blank
- lines up from below or that scrolling back with ri may
+ If the terminal can retain display memory above, then the
+ da capability should be given; if display memory can be
+ retained below, then db should be given. These indicate
+ that deleting a line or scrolling may bring non-blank
+ lines up from below or that scrolling back with ri may
bring down non-blank lines.
- Insert/DeleteCharacter
- There are two basic kinds of intelligent terminals with
- respect to insert/delete character which can be described
- using terminfo. The most common insert/delete character
- operations affect only the characters on the current line
- and shift characters off the end of the line rigidly.
- Other terminals, such as the Concept 100 and the Perkin
- Elmer Owl, make a distinction between typed and untyped
- blanks on the screen, shifting upon an insert or delete
- only to an untyped blank on the screen which is either
- eliminated, or expanded to two untyped blanks. You can
- determine the kind of terminal you have by clearing the
- screen and then typing text separated by cursor motions.
- Type "abc def" using local cursor motions (not spaces)
- between the "abc" and the "def". Then position the cursor
- before the "abc" and put the terminal in insert mode. If
- typing characters causes the rest of the line to shift
- rigidly and characters to fall off the end, then your ter-
- minal does not distinguish between blanks and untyped
- positions. If the "abc" shifts over to the "def" which
- then move together around the end of the current line and
- onto the next as you insert, you have the second type of
- terminal, and should give the capability in, which stands
- for "insert null". While these are two logically separate
- attributes (one line versus multi-line insert mode, and
- special treatment of untyped spaces) we have seen no ter-
- minals whose insert mode cannot be described with the sin-
- gle attribute.
-
- Terminfo can describe both terminals which have an insert
+
+
+ There are two basic kinds of intelligent terminals with
+ respect to insert/delete character which can be described
+ using terminfo. The most common insert/delete character
+ operations affect only the characters on the current line
+ and shift characters off the end of the line rigidly.
+ Other terminals, such as the Concept 100 and the Perkin
+ Elmer Owl, make a distinction between typed and untyped
+ blanks on the screen, shifting upon an insert or delete
+ only to an untyped blank on the screen which is either
+ eliminated, or expanded to two untyped blanks.
+
+ You can determine the kind of terminal you have by clear-
+ ing the screen and then typing text separated by cursor
+ motions. Type "abc def" using local cursor motions
+ (not spaces) between the "abc" and the "def". Then posi-
+ tion the cursor before the "abc" and put the terminal in
+ insert mode. If typing characters causes the rest of the
+ line to shift rigidly and characters to fall off the end,
+ then your terminal does not distinguish between blanks and
+ untyped positions. If the "abc" shifts over to the "def"
+ which then move together around the end of the current
+ line and onto the next as you insert, you have the second
+ type of terminal, and should give the capability in, which
+ stands for "insert null".
+
+ While these are two logically separate attributes (one
+ line versus multi-line insert mode, and special treatment
+ of untyped spaces) we have seen no terminals whose insert
+ mode cannot be described with the single attribute.
+
+ Terminfo can describe both terminals which have an insert
mode, and terminals which send a simple sequence to open a
- blank position on the current line. Give as smir the
- sequence to get into insert mode. Give as rmir the
- sequence to leave insert mode. Now give as ich1 any
+ blank position on the current line. Give as smir the
+ sequence to get into insert mode. Give as rmir the
+ sequence to leave insert mode. Now give as ich1 any
sequence needed to be sent just before sending the charac-
- ter to be inserted. Most terminals with a true insert
- mode will not give ich1; terminals which send a sequence
+ ter to be inserted. Most terminals with a true insert
+ mode will not give ich1; terminals which send a sequence
to open a screen position should give it here.
- If your terminal has both, insert mode is usually prefer-
- able to ich1. Technically, you should not give both
- unless the terminal actually requires both to be used in
- combination. Accordingly, some non-curses applications
- get confused if both are present; the symptom is doubled
+ If your terminal has both, insert mode is usually prefer-
+ able to ich1. Technically, you should not give both
+ unless the terminal actually requires both to be used in
+ combination. Accordingly, some non-curses applications
+ get confused if both are present; the symptom is doubled
characters in an update using insert. This requirement is
now rare; most ich sequences do not require previous smir,
and most smir insert modes do not require ich1 before each
- character. Therefore, the new curses actually assumes
- this is the case and uses either rmir/smir or ich/ich1 as
+ character. Therefore, the new curses actually assumes
+ this is the case and uses either rmir/smir or ich/ich1 as
appropriate (but not both). If you have to write an entry
- to be used under new curses for a terminal old enough to
+ to be used under new curses for a terminal old enough to
need both, include the rmir/smir sequences in ich1.
If post insert padding is needed, give this as a number of
- milliseconds in ip (a string option). Any other sequence
- which may need to be sent after an insert of a single
+ milliseconds in ip (a string option). Any other sequence
+ which may need to be sent after an insert of a single
character may also be given in ip. If your terminal needs
- both to be placed into an `insert mode' and a special code
- to precede each inserted character, then both smir/rmir
- and ich1 can be given, and both will be used. The ich
+ both to be placed into an "insert mode" and a special code
+ to precede each inserted character, then both smir/rmir
+ and ich1 can be given, and both will be used. The ich
capability, with one parameter, n, will repeat the effects
of ich1n times.
@@ -1535,61 +1637,62 @@
in insert mode, give this as a number of milliseconds pad-
ding in rmp.
- It is occasionally necessary to move around while in
- insert mode to delete characters on the same line (e.g.,
- if there is a tab after the insertion position). If your
- terminal allows motion while in insert mode you can give
- the capability mir to speed up inserting in this case.
- Omitting mir will affect only speed. Some terminals
+ It is occasionally necessary to move around while in
+ insert mode to delete characters on the same line (e.g.,
+ if there is a tab after the insertion position). If your
+ terminal allows motion while in insert mode you can give
+ the capability mir to speed up inserting in this case.
+ Omitting mir will affect only speed. Some terminals
(notably Datamedia's) must not have mir because of the way
their insert mode works.
- Finally, you can specify dch1 to delete a single charac-
- ter, dch with one parameter, n, to delete ncharacters,
- and delete mode by giving smdc and rmdc to enter and exit
- delete mode (any mode the terminal needs to be placed in
+ Finally, you can specify dch1 to delete a single charac-
+ ter, dch with one parameter, n, to delete ncharacters,
+ and delete mode by giving smdc and rmdc to enter and exit
+ delete mode (any mode the terminal needs to be placed in
for dch1 to work).
- A command to erase n characters (equivalent to outputting
- n blanks without moving the cursor) can be given as ech
+ A command to erase n characters (equivalent to outputting
+ n blanks without moving the cursor) can be given as ech
with one parameter.
- Highlighting,Underlining,andVisibleBells
+
+
If your terminal has one or more kinds of display
- attributes, these can be represented in a number of dif-
+ attributes, these can be represented in a number of dif-
ferent ways. You should choose one display form as stand-outmode, representing a good, high contrast, easy-on-the-
- eyes, format for highlighting error messages and other
- attention getters. (If you have a choice, reverse video
- plus half-bright is good, or reverse video alone.) The
- sequences to enter and exit standout mode are given as
- smso and rmso, respectively. If the code to change into
- or out of standout mode leaves one or even two blank spa-
- ces on the screen, as the TVI 912 and Teleray 1061 do,
+ eyes, format for highlighting error messages and other
+ attention getters. (If you have a choice, reverse video
+ plus half-bright is good, or reverse video alone.) The
+ sequences to enter and exit standout mode are given as
+ smso and rmso, respectively. If the code to change into
+ or out of standout mode leaves one or even two blank spa-
+ ces on the screen, as the TVI 912 and Teleray 1061 do,
then xmc should be given to tell how many spaces are left.
- Codes to begin underlining and end underlining can be
- given as smul and rmul respectively. If the terminal has
- a code to underline the current character and move the
+ Codes to begin underlining and end underlining can be
+ given as smul and rmul respectively. If the terminal has
+ a code to underline the current character and move the
cursor one space to the right, such as the Microterm Mime,
this can be given as uc.
- Other capabilities to enter various highlighting modes
- include blink (blinking) bold (bold or extra bright) dim
- (dim or half-bright) invis (blanking or invisible text)
- prot (protected) rev (reverse video) sgr0 (turn off all
- attribute modes) smacs (enter alternate character set
- mode) and rmacs (exit alternate character set mode).
- Turning on any of these modes singly may or may not turn
+ Other capabilities to enter various highlighting modes
+ include blink (blinking) bold (bold or extra bright) dim
+ (dim or half-bright) invis (blanking or invisible text)
+ prot (protected) rev (reverse video) sgr0 (turn off all
+ attribute modes) smacs (enter alternate character set
+ mode) and rmacs (exit alternate character set mode).
+ Turning on any of these modes singly may or may not turn
off other modes.
- If there is a sequence to set arbitrary combinations of
- modes, this should be given as sgr (set attributes), tak-
- ing 9 parameters. Each parameter is either 0 or nonzero,
+ If there is a sequence to set arbitrary combinations of
+ modes, this should be given as sgr (set attributes), tak-
+ ing 9 parameters. Each parameter is either 0 or nonzero,
as the corresponding attribute is on or off. The 9 param-
- eters are, in order: standout, underline, reverse, blink,
- dim, bold, blank, protect, alternate character set. Not
- all modes need be supported by sgr, only those for which
+ eters are, in order: standout, underline, reverse, blink,
+ dim, bold, blank, protect, alternate character set. Not
+ all modes need be supported by sgr, only those for which
corresponding separate attribute commands exist.
For example, the DEC vt220 supports most of the modes:
@@ -1607,22 +1710,22 @@
p8 protect not used
p9 altcharset ^O (off) ^N (on)
- We begin each escape sequence by turning off any existing
- modes, since there is no quick way to determine whether
+ We begin each escape sequence by turning off any existing
+ modes, since there is no quick way to determine whether
they are active. Standout is set up to be the combination
- of reverse and bold. The vt220 terminal has a protect
- mode, though it is not commonly used in sgr because it
- protects characters on the screen from the host's era-
- sures. The altcharset mode also is different in that it
- is either ^O or ^N, depending on whether it is off or on.
- If all modes are turned on, the resulting sequence is
+ of reverse and bold. The vt220 terminal has a protect
+ mode, though it is not commonly used in sgr because it
+ protects characters on the screen from the host's era-
+ sures. The altcharset mode also is different in that it
+ is either ^O or ^N, depending on whether it is off or on.
+ If all modes are turned on, the resulting sequence is
\E[0;1;4;5;7;8m^N.
- Some sequences are common to different modes. For exam-
- ple, ;7 is output when either p1 or p3 is true, that is,
+ Some sequences are common to different modes. For exam-
+ ple, ;7 is output when either p1 or p3 is true, that is,
if either standout or reverse modes are turned on.
- Writing out the above sequences, along with their depen-
+ Writing out the above sequences, along with their depen-
dencies yields
sequencewhentooutputterminfotranslation
@@ -1638,77 +1741,109 @@
Putting this all together into the sgr sequence gives:
- sgr=\E[0%?%p1%p6%|%t;1%;%?%p2%t;4%;%?%p1%p3%|%t;7%;
- %?%p4%t;5%;%?%p7%t;8%;m%?%p9%t\016%e\017%;,
+ sgr=\E[0%?%p1%p6%|%t;1%;%?%p2%t;4%;%?%p4%t;5%;
+ %?%p1%p3%|%t;7%;%?%p7%t;8%;m%?%p9%t\016%e\017%;,
- Remember that if you specify sgr, you must also specify
- sgr0. Also, some implementations rely on sgr being given
- if sgr0 is, Not all terminfo entries necessarily have an
- sgr string, however. Many terminfo entries are derived
- from termcap entries which have no sgr string. The only
- drawback to adding an sgr string is that termcap also
- assumes that sgr0 does not exit alternate character set
+ Remember that if you specify sgr, you must also specify
+ sgr0. Also, some implementations rely on sgr being given
+ if sgr0 is, Not all terminfo entries necessarily have an
+ sgr string, however. Many terminfo entries are derived
+ from termcap entries which have no sgr string. The only
+ drawback to adding an sgr string is that termcap also
+ assumes that sgr0 does not exit alternate character set
mode.
- Terminals with the ``magic cookie'' glitch (xmc) deposit
- special ``cookies'' when they receive mode-setting
- sequences, which affect the display algorithm rather than
- having extra bits for each character. Some terminals,
- such as the HP 2621, automatically leave standout mode
- when they move to a new line or the cursor is addressed.
- Programs using standout mode should exit standout mode
- before moving the cursor or sending a newline, unless the
- msgr capability, asserting that it is safe to move in
+ Terminals with the "magic cookie" glitch (xmc) deposit
+ special "cookies" when they receive mode-setting
+ sequences, which affect the display algorithm rather than
+ having extra bits for each character. Some terminals,
+ such as the HP 2621, automatically leave standout mode
+ when they move to a new line or the cursor is addressed.
+ Programs using standout mode should exit standout mode
+ before moving the cursor or sending a newline, unless the
+ msgr capability, asserting that it is safe to move in
standout mode, is present.
- If the terminal has a way of flashing the screen to indi-
- cate an error quietly (a bell replacement) then this can
+ If the terminal has a way of flashing the screen to indi-
+ cate an error quietly (a bell replacement) then this can
be given as flash; it must not move the cursor.
- If the cursor needs to be made more visible than normal
+ If the cursor needs to be made more visible than normal
when it is not on the bottom line (to make, for example, a
- non-blinking underline into an easier to find block or
+ non-blinking underline into an easier to find block or
blinking underline) give this sequence as cvvis. If there
- is a way to make the cursor completely invisible, give
+ is a way to make the cursor completely invisible, give
that as civis. The capability cnorm should be given which
undoes the effects of both of these modes.
If your terminal correctly generates underlined characters
- (with no special codes needed) even though it does not
- overstrike, then you should give the capability ul. If a
- character overstriking another leaves both characters on
+ (with no special codes needed) even though it does not
+ overstrike, then you should give the capability ul. If a
+ character overstriking another leaves both characters on
the screen, specify the capability os. If overstrikes are
- erasable with a blank, then this should be indicated by
+ erasable with a blank, then this should be indicated by
giving eo.
- KeypadandFunctionKeys
+
+
If the terminal has a keypad that transmits codes when the
- keys are pressed, this information can be given. Note
+ keys are pressed, this information can be given. Note
that it is not possible to handle terminals where the key-
pad only works in local (this applies, for example, to the
- unshifted HP 2621 keys). If the keypad can be set to
- transmit or not transmit, give these codes as smkx and
+ unshifted HP 2621 keys). If the keypad can be set to
+ transmit or not transmit, give these codes as smkx and
rmkx. Otherwise the keypad is assumed to always transmit.
+
The codes sent by the left arrow, right arrow, up arrow,
down arrow, and home keys can be given as kcub1,kcuf1,kcuu1,kcud1, and khome respectively. If there are func-
tion keys such as f0, f1, ..., f10, the codes they send
can be given as kf0,kf1,...,kf10. If these keys have
labels other than the default f0 through f10, the labels
- can be given as lf0,lf1,...,lf10. The codes transmit-
- ted by certain other special keys can be given: kll (home
- down), kbs (backspace), ktbc (clear all tabs), kctab
- (clear the tab stop in this column), kclr (clear screen or
- erase key), kdch1 (delete character), kdl1 (delete line),
- krmir (exit insert mode), kel (clear to end of line), ked
- (clear to end of screen), kich1 (insert character or enter
- insert mode), kil1 (insert line), knp (next page), kpp
- (previous page), kind (scroll forward/down), kri (scroll
- backward/up), khts (set a tab stop in this column). In
- addition, if the keypad has a 3 by 3 array of keys includ-
- ing the four arrow keys, the other five keys can be given
- as ka1, ka3, kb2, kc1, and kc3. These keys are useful
- when the effects of a 3 by 3 directional pad are needed.
+ can be given as lf0,lf1,...,lf10.
+
+ The codes transmitted by certain other special keys can be
+ given:
+
+ okll (home down),
+
+ okbs (backspace),
+
+ oktbc (clear all tabs),
+
+ okctab (clear the tab stop in this column),
+
+ okclr (clear screen or erase key),
+
+ okdch1 (delete character),
+
+ okdl1 (delete line),
+
+ okrmir (exit insert mode),
+
+ okel (clear to end of line),
+
+ oked (clear to end of screen),
+
+ okich1 (insert character or enter insert mode),
+
+ okil1 (insert line),
+
+ oknp (next page),
+
+ okpp (previous page),
+
+ okind (scroll forward/down),
+
+ okri (scroll backward/up),
+
+ okhts (set a tab stop in this column).
+
+ In addition, if the keypad has a 3 by 3 array of keys
+ including the four arrow keys, the other five keys can be
+ given as ka1, ka3, kb2, kc1, and kc3. These keys are use-
+ ful when the effects of a 3 by 3 directional pad are
+ needed.
Strings to program function keys can be given as pfkey,
pfloc, and pfx. A string to program screen labels should
@@ -1730,11 +1865,12 @@
or more pln sequences to make sure that the change becomes
visible.
- TabsandInitialization
+
+
If the terminal has hardware tabs, the command to advance
to the next tab stop can be given as ht (usually control
- I). A ``back-tab'' command which moves leftward to the
- preceding tab stop can be given as cbt. By convention, if
+ I). A "back-tab" command which moves leftward to the pre-
+ ceding tab stop can be given as cbt. By convention, if
the teletype modes indicate that tabs are being expanded
by the computer rather than being sent to the terminal,
programs should not use ht or cbt even if they are
@@ -1808,7 +1944,8 @@
described by this, the sequence can be placed in is2 or
if.
- DelaysandPadding
+
+
Many older and slower terminals do not support either
XON/XOFF or DTR handshaking, including hard copy terminals
and some very archaic CRTs (including, for example, DEC
@@ -1834,8 +1971,9 @@
ter as a pad, then this can be given as pad. Only the
first character of the pad string is used.
- StatusLines
- Some terminals have an extra `status line' which is not
+
+
+ Some terminals have an extra "status line" which is not
normally used by software (and thus not counted in the
terminal's lines capability).
@@ -1869,7 +2007,8 @@
capabilities. They are documented here in case they ever
become important.
- LineGraphics
+
+
Many terminals have alternate character sets useful for
forms-drawing. Terminfo and curses build in support for
the drawing characters supported by the VT100, with some
@@ -1908,7 +2047,6 @@
tee pointing right ACS_LTEE + t
tee pointing up ACS_BTEE + v
upper left corner ACS_ULCORNER + l
-
upper right corner ACS_URCORNER + k
vertical line ACS_VLINE | x
@@ -1920,9 +2058,10 @@
acter pairs right to left in sequence; these become the
ACSC string.
- ColorHandling
- Most color terminals are either `Tektronix-like' or `HP-
- like'. Tektronix-like terminals have a predefined set of
+
+
+ Most color terminals are either "Tektronix-like" or "HP-
+ like". Tektronix-like terminals have a predefined set of
N colors (where N usually 8), and can set character-cell
foreground and background characters independently, mixing
them into N * N color-pairs. On HP-like terminals, the
@@ -1987,6 +2126,7 @@
magenta COLOR_MAGENTA 5 max,0,max
yellow COLOR_YELLOW 6 max,max,0
white COLOR_WHITE 7 max,max,max
+
It is important to not confuse the two sets of color capa-
bilities; otherwise red/blue will be interchanged on the
display.
@@ -2016,16 +2156,23 @@
ors are enabled. The correspondence with the attributes
understood by curses is as follows:
- AttributeBitDecimal
- A_STANDOUT 0 1
- A_UNDERLINE 1 2
- A_REVERSE 2 4
- A_BLINK 3 8
- A_DIM 4 16
- A_BOLD 5 32
- A_INVIS 6 64
- A_PROTECT 7 128
- A_ALTCHARSET 8 256
+ AttributeBitDecimalSetby
+ A_STANDOUT 0 1 sgr
+ A_UNDERLINE 1 2 sgr
+ A_REVERSE 2 4 sgr
+ A_BLINK 3 8 sgr
+ A_DIM 4 16 sgr
+ A_BOLD 5 32 sgr
+ A_INVIS 6 64 sgr
+ A_PROTECT 7 128 sgr
+ A_ALTCHARSET 8 256 sgr
+ A_HORIZONTAL 9 512 sgr1
+ A_LEFT 10 1024 sgr1
+ A_LOW 11 2048 sgr1
+ A_RIGHT 12 4096 sgr1
+ A_TOP 13 8192 sgr1
+ A_VERTICAL 14 16384 sgr1
+ A_ITALIC 15 32768 sitm
For example, on many IBM PC consoles, the underline
attribute collides with the foreground color blue and is
@@ -2035,7 +2182,8 @@
SVr4 curses does nothing with ncv, ncurses recognizes it
and optimizes the output in favor of colors.
- Miscellaneous
+
+
If the terminal requires other than a null (zero) charac-
ter as a pad, then this can be given as pad. Only the
first character of the pad string is used. If the termi-
@@ -2058,7 +2206,7 @@
parameterized string rep. The first parameter is the
character to be repeated and the second is the number of
times to repeat it. Thus, tparm(repeat_char, 'x', 10) is
- the same as `xxxxxxxxxx'.
+ the same as "xxxxxxxxxx".
If the terminal has a settable command character, such as
the TEKTRONIX 4025, this can be indicated with cmdch. A
@@ -2078,12 +2226,12 @@
virtual terminal descriptions for which the escape
sequences are known.)
- If the terminal has a ``meta key'' which acts as a shift
+ If the terminal has a "meta key" which acts as a shift
key, setting the 8th bit of any character transmitted,
this fact can be indicated with km. Otherwise, software
will assume that the 8th bit is parity and it will usually
- be cleared. If strings exist to turn this ``meta mode''
- on and off, they can be given as smm and rmm.
+ be cleared. If strings exist to turn this "meta mode" on
+ and off, they can be given as smm and rmm.
If the terminal has more lines of memory than will fit on
the screen at once, the number of lines of memory can be
@@ -2108,8 +2256,9 @@
text, including mc4, is transparently passed to the
printer while an mc5p is in effect.
- GlitchesandBraindamage
- Hazeltine terminals, which do not allow `~' characters to
+
+
+ Hazeltine terminals, which do not allow "~" characters to
be displayed should indicate hz.
Terminals which ignore a line-feed immediately after an am
@@ -2122,10 +2271,10 @@
Teleray terminals, where tabs turn all characters moved
over to blanks, should indicate xt (destructive tabs).
Note: the variable indicating this is now
- `dest_tabs_magic_smso'; in older versions, it was tel-
+ "dest_tabs_magic_smso"; in older versions, it was tel-
eray_glitch. This glitch is also taken to mean that it is
- not possible to position the cursor on top of a ``magic
- cookie'', that to erase standout mode it is instead neces-
+ not possible to position the cursor on top of a "magic
+ cookie", that to erase standout mode it is instead neces-
sary to use delete and insert line. The ncurses implemen-
tation ignores this glitch.
@@ -2134,13 +2283,14 @@
ing that the f1 key is used for escape and f2 for control
C. (Only certain Superbees have this problem, depending
on the ROM.) Note that in older terminfo versions, this
- capability was called `beehive_glitch'; it is now
- `no_esc_ctl_c'.
+ capability was called "beehive_glitch"; it is now
+ "no_esc_ctl_c".
Other specific terminal problems may be corrected by
adding more capabilities of the form xx.
- SimilarTerminals
+
+
If there are two very similar terminals, one (the variant)
can be defined as being just like the other (the base)
with certain exceptions. In the definition of the vari-
@@ -2157,14 +2307,15 @@
the use reference that imports it, where xx is the capa-
bility. For example, the entry
- 2621-nl, smkx@, rmkx@, use=2621,
+ 2621-nl, smkx@, rmkx@, use=2621,
defines a 2621-nl that does not have the smkx or rmkx
capabilities, and hence does not turn on the function key
labels when in visual mode. This is useful for different
modes for a terminal, or for different user preferences.
- PitfallsofLongEntries
+
+
Long terminfo entries are unlikely to be a problem; to
date, no entry has even approached terminfo's 4096-byte
string-table maximum. Unfortunately, the termcap transla-
@@ -2202,21 +2353,21 @@
libraries strip off the final newline, too (GNU termcap
does not). Now suppose:
- * a termcap entry before expansion is more than 1023
- bytes long,
+ o a termcap entry before expansion is more than 1023
+ bytes long,
- * and the application has only allocated a 1k buffer,
+ o and the application has only allocated a 1k buffer,
- * and the termcap library (like the one in BSD/OS 1.1
- and GNU) reads the whole entry into the buffer, no
- matter what its length, to see if it is the entry it
- wants,
+ o and the termcap library (like the one in BSD/OS 1.1
+ and GNU) reads the whole entry into the buffer, no
+ matter what its length, to see if it is the entry it
+ wants,
- * and tgetent() is searching for a terminal type that
- either is the long entry, appears in the termcap file
- after the long entry, or does not appear in the file
- at all (so that tgetent() has to search the whole
- termcap file).
+ o and tgetent() is searching for a terminal type that
+ either is the long entry, appears in the termcap file
+ after the long entry, or does not appear in the file
+ at all (so that tgetent() has to search the whole
+ termcap file).
Then tgetent() will overwrite memory, perhaps its stack,
and probably core dump the program. Programs like telnet
@@ -2249,7 +2400,8 @@
(check) option also checks resolved (after tc expansion)
lengths.
- BinaryCompatibility
+
+
It is not wise to count on portability of binary terminfo
entries between commercial UNIX versions. The problem is
that there are at least two versions of terminfo (under
@@ -2259,90 +2411,130 @@
and XSI Curses extensions.
-
-
EXTENSIONS
- Some SVr4 curses implementations, and all previous to
- SVr4, do not interpret the %A and %O operators in parame-
+
+ Searching for terminal descriptions in $HOME/.terminfo and
+ TERMINFO_DIRS is not supported by older implementations.
+
+ Some SVr4 curses implementations, and all previous to
+ SVr4, do not interpret the %A and %O operators in parame-
ter strings.
- SVr4/XPG4 do not specify whether msgr licenses movement
- while in an alternate-character-set mode (such modes may,
- among other things, map CR and NL to characters that do
- not trigger local motions). The ncurses implementation
- ignores msgr in ALTCHARSET mode. This raises the possi-
- bility that an XPG4 implementation making the opposite
- interpretation may need terminfo entries made for ncurses
+ SVr4/XPG4 do not specify whether msgr licenses movement
+ while in an alternate-character-set mode (such modes may,
+ among other things, map CR and NL to characters that do
+ not trigger local motions). The ncurses implementation
+ ignores msgr in ALTCHARSET mode. This raises the possi-
+ bility that an XPG4 implementation making the opposite
+ interpretation may need terminfo entries made for ncurses
to have msgr turned off.
- The ncurses library handles insert-character and insert-
+ The ncurses library handles insert-character and insert-
character modes in a slightly non-standard way to get bet-
- ter update efficiency. See the Insert/DeleteCharacter
+ ter update efficiency. See the Insert/DeleteCharacter
subsection above.
- The parameter substitutions for set_clock and dis-
- play_clock are not documented in SVr4 or the XSI Curses
+ The parameter substitutions for set_clock and dis-
+ play_clock are not documented in SVr4 or the XSI Curses
standard. They are deduced from the documentation for the
AT&T 505 terminal.
- Be careful assigning the kmous capability. The ncurses
- wants to interpret it as KEY_MOUSE, for use by terminals
- and emulators like xterm that can return mouse-tracking
+ Be careful assigning the kmous capability. The ncurses
+ wants to interpret it as KEY_MOUSE, for use by terminals
+ and emulators like xterm that can return mouse-tracking
information in the keyboard-input stream.
- Different commercial ports of terminfo and curses support
- different subsets of the XSI Curses standard and (in some
+ X/Open Curses does not mention italics. Portable applica-
+ tions must assume that numeric capabilities are signed
+ 16-bit values. This includes the no_color_video (ncv)
+ capability. The 32768 mask value used for italics with
+ ncv can be confused with an absent or cancelled ncv. If
+ italics should work with colors, then the ncv value must
+ be specified, even if it is zero.
+
+ Different commercial ports of terminfo and curses support
+ different subsets of the XSI Curses standard and (in some
cases) different extension sets. Here is a summary, accu-
rate as of October 1995:
SVR4,Solaris,ncurses -- These support all SVr4 capabili-
ties.
- SGI -- Supports the SVr4 set, adds one undocumented
+ SGI -- Supports the SVr4 set, adds one undocumented
extended string capability (set_pglen).
- SVr1,Ultrix -- These support a restricted subset of ter-
- minfo capabilities. The booleans end with xon_xoff; the
- numerics with width_status_line; and the strings with
+ SVr1,Ultrix -- These support a restricted subset of ter-
+ minfo capabilities. The booleans end with xon_xoff; the
+ numerics with width_status_line; and the strings with
prtr_non.
- HP/UX -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus the SVr[234]
+ HP/UX -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus the SVr[234]
numerics num_labels, label_height, label_width, plus func-
- tion keys 11 through 63, plus plab_norm, label_on, and
+ tion keys 11 through 63, plus plab_norm, label_on, and
label_off, plus some incompatible extensions in the string
table.
- AIX -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus function keys 11
- through 63, plus a number of incompatible string table
+ AIX -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus function keys 11
+ through 63, plus a number of incompatible string table
extensions.
OSF -- Supports both the SVr4 set and the AIX extensions.
-