X-Git-Url: https://ncurses.scripts.mit.edu/?p=ncurses.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=doc%2Fhtml%2Fman%2Fterminfo.5.html;h=d0d65def47a67371598f3a4409c4ccd91fb7e7c5;hp=0a503be34a520e9c91b6b525f299328ec7aa7ea9;hb=55ccd2b959766810cf7db8d1c4462f338ce0afc8;hpb=a8987e73ec254703634802b4f7ee30d3a485524d
diff --git a/doc/html/man/terminfo.5.html b/doc/html/man/terminfo.5.html
index 0a503be3..d0d65def 100644
--- a/doc/html/man/terminfo.5.html
+++ b/doc/html/man/terminfo.5.html
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
* Note: this must be run through tbl before nroff.
* The magic cookie on the first line triggers this under some man programs.
****************************************************************************
- * Copyright (c) 1998-2000,2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc. *
+ * Copyright (c) 1998-2002,2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc. *
* *
* Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a *
* copy of this software and associated documentation files (the *
@@ -32,10 +32,15 @@
* sale, use or other dealings in this Software without prior written *
* authorization. *
****************************************************************************
- * @Id: terminfo.head,v 1.10 2002/08/17 23:37:10 tom Exp @
+ * @Id: terminfo.head,v 1.12 2004/09/25 19:07:11 tom Exp @
* Head of terminfo man page ends here
- * @Id: terminfo.tail,v 1.38 2003/01/05 22:47:05 tom Exp @
+ * @Id: terminfo.tail,v 1.42 2005/06/25 22:46:03 tom Exp @
* Beginning of terminfo.tail file
+ * See "terminfo.head" for copyright.
+ *.in -2
+ *.in +2
+ *.in -2
+ *.in +2
*.TH
-->
@@ -49,7 +54,7 @@
-TERMINFO(5) File Formats TERMINFO(5)
+TERMINFO(5) File Formats TERMINFO(5)
@@ -86,6 +91,16 @@
no blanks; the last name may well contain upper case and
blanks for readability.
+ Lines beginning with a `#' in the first column are treated
+ as comments. While comment lines are legal at any point,
+ the output of captoinfo and infotocap (aliases for tic)
+ will move comments so they occur only between entries.
+
+ Newlines and leading tabs may be used for formatting
+ entries for readability. These are removed from parsed
+ entries. The infocmp -f option relies on this to format
+ if-then-else expressions: the result can be read by tic.
+
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
@@ -96,6 +111,7 @@
vt100-w. The following suffixes should be used where pos-
sible:
+
Suffix Meaning Example
-nn Number of lines on the screen aaa-60
-np Number of pages of memory c100-4p
@@ -109,6 +125,7 @@
-rv Reverse video c100-rv
-s Enable status line vt100-s
-vb Use visible bell instead of beep wy370-vb
+
-w Wide mode (> 80 columns, usually 132) vt100-w
For more on terminal naming conventions, see the term(7)
@@ -156,6 +173,7 @@
These are the boolean capabilities:
+
Variable Cap- TCap Description
Booleans name Code
auto_left_margin bw bw cub1 wraps from col-
@@ -171,6 +189,9 @@
by overwriting (hp)
col_addr_glitch xhpa YA only positive motion
for hpa/mhpa caps
+
+
+
cpi_changes_res cpix YF changing character
pitch changes reso-
lution
@@ -186,7 +207,6 @@
strikes with a blank
generic_type gn gn generic line type
hard_copy hc hc hardcopy terminal
-
hard_cursor chts HC cursor is hard to
see
has_meta_key km km Has a meta key
@@ -236,6 +256,8 @@
on the status line
tilde_glitch hz hz cannot print ~'s
(hazeltine)
+
+
transparent_underline ul ul underline character
overstrikes
xon_xoff xon xo terminal uses
@@ -243,6 +265,7 @@
These are the numeric capabilities:
+
Variable Cap- TCap Description
Numeric name Code
columns cols co number of columns in
@@ -252,7 +275,6 @@
label_height lh lh rows in each label
label_width lw lw columns in each
label
-
lines lines li number of lines on
screen or page
lines_of_memory lm lm lines of memory if >
@@ -286,6 +308,7 @@
SVr4.0 term structure, but are not yet documented in the
man page. They came in with SVr4's printer support.
+
Variable Cap- TCap Description
Numeric name Code
bit_image_entwining bitwin Yo number of passes for
@@ -300,6 +323,7 @@
dot_horz_spacing spinh Yc spacing of dots hor-
izontally in dots
per inch
+
dot_vert_spacing spinv Yb spacing of pins ver-
tically in pins per
inch
@@ -316,9 +340,6 @@
output_res_char orc Yi horizontal resolu-
tion in units per
line
-
-
-
output_res_horz_inch orhi Yk horizontal resolu-
tion in units per
inch
@@ -334,6 +355,7 @@
These are the string capabilities:
+
Variable Cap- TCap Description
String name Code
acs_chars acsc ac graphics charset
@@ -366,6 +388,8 @@
home cursor (P*)
clr_bol el1 cb Clear to beginning
of line
+
+
clr_eol el ce clear to end of line
(P)
clr_eos ed cd clear to end of
@@ -384,7 +408,6 @@
cup)
cursor_invisible civis vi make cursor invisi-
ble
-
cursor_left cub1 le move left one space
cursor_mem_address mrcup CM memory relative cur-
sor addressing, move
@@ -432,6 +455,7 @@
enter_italics_mode sitm ZH Enter italic mode
enter_leftward_mode slm ZI Start leftward car-
riage motion
+
enter_micro_mode smicm ZJ Start micro-motion
mode
enter_near_letter_quality snlq ZK Enter NLQ mode
@@ -450,7 +474,6 @@
enter_subscript_mode ssubm ZN Enter subscript mode
enter_superscript_mode ssupm ZO Enter superscript
mode
-
enter_underline_mode smul us begin underline mode
enter_upward_mode sum ZP Start upward car-
riage motion
@@ -498,6 +521,7 @@
string
init_2string is2 is initialization
string
+
init_3string is3 i3 initialization
string
init_file if if name of initializa-
@@ -515,8 +539,6 @@
insert_padding ip ip insert padding after
inserted character
key_a1 ka1 K1 upper left of keypad
-
-
key_a3 ka3 K3 upper right of key-
pad
key_b2 kb2 K2 center of keypad
@@ -565,6 +587,7 @@
key_f22 kf22 FC F22 function key
key_f23 kf23 FD F23 function key
key_f24 kf24 FE F24 function key
+
key_f25 kf25 FF F25 function key
key_f26 kf26 FG F26 function key
key_f27 kf27 FH F27 function key
@@ -582,7 +605,6 @@
key_f38 kf38 FS F38 function key
key_f39 kf39 FT F39 function key
key_f4 kf4 k4 F4 function key
-
key_f40 kf40 FU F40 function key
key_f41 kf41 FV F41 function key
key_f42 kf42 FW F42 function key
@@ -631,6 +653,7 @@
key_previous kprv %8 previous key
key_print kprt %9 print key
key_redo krdo %0 redo key
+
key_reference kref &1 reference key
key_refresh krfr &2 refresh key
key_replace krpl &3 replace key
@@ -648,7 +671,6 @@
key_sdl kDL *5 shifted delete-line
key
key_select kslt *6 select key
-
key_send kEND *7 shifted end key
key_seol kEOL *8 shifted clear-to-
end-of-line key
@@ -696,6 +718,8 @@
key f3 if not f3
lab_f4 lf4 l4 label on function
key f4 if not f4
+
+
lab_f5 lf5 l5 label on function
key f5 if not f5
lab_f6 lf6 l6 label on function
@@ -714,7 +738,6 @@
(8th-bit on)
micro_column_address mhpa ZY Like column_address
in micro mode
-
micro_down mcud1 ZZ Like cursor_down in
micro mode
micro_left mcub1 Za Like cursor_left in
@@ -761,6 +784,8 @@
in micro mode
pkey_key pfkey pk program function key
#1 to type string #2
+
+
pkey_local pfloc pl program function key
#1 to execute string
#2
@@ -779,8 +804,6 @@
quick_dial qdial QD dial number #1 with-
out checking
remove_clock rmclk RC remove clock
-
-
repeat_char rep rp repeat char #1 #2
times (P*)
req_for_input rfi RF send next input char
@@ -828,6 +851,7 @@
umn
set_right_margin_parm smgrp Zn Set right margin at
column #1
+
set_tab hts st set a tab in every
row, current columns
set_top_margin smgt Zo Set top margin at
@@ -845,8 +869,6 @@
set
stop_bit_image rbim Zs Stop printing bit
image graphics
-
-
stop_char_set_def rcsd Zt End definition of
character set #1
subscript_characters subcs Zu List of subscript-
@@ -885,6 +907,7 @@
SVr4.0 term structure, but were originally not documented
in the man page.
+
Variable Cap- TCap Description
String name Code
alt_scancode_esc scesa S8 Alternate escape
@@ -894,6 +917,7 @@
of same row
bit_image_newline binel Zz Move to next row
of the bit image
+
bit_image_repeat birep Xy Repeat bit image
cell #1 #2 times
char_set_names csnm Zy Produce #1'th item
@@ -911,8 +935,6 @@
port
display_pc_char dispc S1 Display PC charac-
ter #1
-
-
end_bit_image_region endbi Yy End a bit-image
region
enter_pc_charset_mode smpch S2 Enter PC character
@@ -961,6 +983,7 @@
cap).
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
@@ -973,12 +996,11 @@
these, they may not be binary-compatible with System V
terminfo entries after SVr4.1; beware!
+
Variable Cap- TCap Description
String name Code
enter_horizontal_hl_mode ehhlm Xh Enter horizontal
highlight mode
-
-
enter_left_hl_mode elhlm Xl Enter left highlight
mode
enter_low_hl_mode elohlm Xo Enter low highlight
@@ -1027,11 +1049,11 @@
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.
+ bilities which indicate that the terminal has some
+ particular 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.
Types of Capabilities
@@ -1199,14 +1221,14 @@
"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,
+ 33|tty33|tty|model 33 teletype,
+ 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,
+ adm3|3|lsi adm3,
+ am, bel=^G, clear=^Z, cols#80, cr=^M, cub1=^H, cud1=^J,
+ ind=^J, lines#24,
Parameterized Strings
@@ -1273,306 +1295,320 @@
arithmetic (%m is mod): push(pop() op pop())
%& %| %^
- bit operations: push(pop() op pop())
+ bit operations (AND, OR and exclusive-OR): push(pop()
+ op pop())
%= %> %<
logical operations: push(pop() op pop())
%A, %O
- logical and & or operations (for conditionals)
+ logical AND and OR operations (for conditionals)
%! %~
- unary operations push(op pop())
+ unary operations (logical and bit complement):
+ push(op pop())
%i add 1 to first two parameters (for ANSI terminals)
%? expr %t thenpart %e elsepart %;
- if-then-else, %e elsepart is optional. else-if's are
- possible a la Algol 68:
+ 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,
+ testing 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 %;
- ci are conditions, bi are bodies.
+
+ where ci are conditions, bi are bodies.
+
+ Use the -f option of tic or infocmp to see the struc-
+ ture of if-the-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
+ 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.
Cursor Motions
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.
Area Clears
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/delete line and vertical motions
- 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-
- minals with those features.
+ 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
+ terminals 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/Delete Character
- 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)
+ 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
+ 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
+ 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-
+ 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
+ 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
+ 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 ich1 n times.
If padding is necessary between characters typed while not
- in insert mode, give this as a number of milliseconds
+ in insert mode, give this as a number of milliseconds
padding 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 n characters,
- 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 n characters,
+ 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, and Visible Bells
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-
out mode, 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
- spaces 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
+ spaces 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:
+
tparm parameter attribute escape sequence
none none \E[0m
p1 standout \E[0;1;7m
p2 underline \E[0;4m
-
p3 reverse \E[0;7m
p4 blink \E[0;5m
p5 dim not available
@@ -1581,24 +1617,25 @@
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
+
sequence when to output terminfo translation
\E[0 always \E[0
@@ -1606,6 +1643,7 @@
;4 if p2 %?%p2%|%t;4%;
;5 if p4 %?%p4%|%t;5%;
;7 if p1 or p3 %?%p1%p3%|%t;7%;
+
;8 if p7 %?%p7%|%t;8%;
m always m
^N or ^O if p9 ^N, else ^O %?%p9%t^N%e^O%;
@@ -1615,216 +1653,223 @@
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%;,
- Remember that if you specify sgr, you must also specify
- sgr0.
-
- 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
+ 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
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.
Keypad and Function Keys
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
+ 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
+ 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
+ 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
+ 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.
- Strings to program function keys can be given as pfkey,
- pfloc, and pfx. A string to program screen labels should
- be specified as pln. Each of these strings takes two
- parameters: the function key number to program (from 0 to
- 10) and the string to program it with. Function key num-
- bers out of this range may program undefined keys in a
- terminal dependent manner. The difference between the
- capabilities is that pfkey causes pressing the given key
- to be the same as the user typing the given string; pfloc
+ Strings to program function keys can be given as pfkey,
+ pfloc, and pfx. A string to program screen labels should
+ be specified as pln. Each of these strings takes two
+ parameters: the function key number to program (from 0 to
+ 10) and the string to program it with. Function key num-
+ bers out of this range may program undefined keys in a
+ terminal dependent manner. The difference between the
+ capabilities is that pfkey causes pressing the given key
+ to be the same as the user typing the given string; pfloc
causes the string to be executed by the terminal in local;
- and pfx causes the string to be transmitted to the com-
+ and pfx causes the string to be transmitted to the com-
puter.
The capabilities nlab, lw and lh define the number of pro-
- grammable screen labels and their width and height. If
- there are commands to turn the labels on and off, give
- them in smln and rmln. smln is normally output after one
+ grammable screen labels and their width and height. If
+ there are commands to turn the labels on and off, give
+ them in smln and rmln. smln is normally output after one
or more pln sequences to make sure that the change becomes
visible.
Tabs and Initialization
- 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
+ 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
- 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 pre-
- sent, since the user may not have the tab stops properly
- set. If the terminal has hardware tabs which are ini-
- tially set every n spaces when the terminal is powered up,
- the numeric parameter it is given, showing the number of
- spaces the tabs are set to. This is normally used by the
- tset command to determine whether to set the mode for
- hardware tab expansion, and whether to set the tab stops.
- If the terminal has tab stops that can be saved in non-
- volatile memory, the terminfo description can assume that
+ 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
+ present, since the user may not have the tab stops prop-
+ erly set. If the terminal has hardware tabs which are
+ initially set every n spaces when the terminal is powered
+ up, the numeric parameter it is given, showing the number
+ of spaces the tabs are set to. This is normally used by
+ the tset command to determine whether to set the mode for
+ hardware tab expansion, and whether to set the tab stops.
+ If the terminal has tab stops that can be saved in non-
+ volatile memory, the terminfo description can assume that
they are properly set.
- Other capabilities include is1, is2, and is3, initializa-
- tion strings for the terminal, iprog, the path name of a
- program to be run to initialize the terminal, and if, the
- name of a file containing long initialization strings.
- These strings are expected to set the terminal into modes
- consistent with the rest of the terminfo description.
+ Other capabilities include is1, is2, and is3, initializa-
+ tion strings for the terminal, iprog, the path name of a
+ program to be run to initialize the terminal, and if, the
+ name of a file containing long initialization strings.
+ These strings are expected to set the terminal into modes
+ consistent with the rest of the terminfo description.
They are normally sent to the terminal, by the init option
- of the tput program, each time the user logs in. They
- will be printed in the following order: run the program
- iprog; output is1; is2; set the margins using mgc, smgl
- and smgr; set tabs using tbc and hts; print the file if;
+ of the tput program, each time the user logs in. They
+ will be printed in the following order: run the program
+ iprog; output is1; is2; set the margins using mgc, smgl
+ and smgr; set tabs using tbc and hts; print the file if;
and finally output is3.
- Most initialization is done with is2. Special terminal
+ Most initialization is done with is2. Special terminal
modes can be set up without duplicating strings by putting
- the common sequences in is2 and special cases in is1 and
- is3. A pair of sequences that does a harder reset from a
- totally unknown state can be analogously given as rs1,
- rs2, rf, and rs3, analogous to is2 and if. These strings
- are output by the reset program, which is used when the
- terminal gets into a wedged state. Commands are normally
- placed in rs1, rs2 rs3 and rf only if they produce annoy-
- ing effects on the screen and are not necessary when log-
- ging in. For example, the command to set the vt100 into
- 80-column mode would normally be part of is2, but it
- causes an annoying glitch of the screen and is not nor-
- mally needed since the terminal is usually already in 80
+ the common sequences in is2 and special cases in is1 and
+ is3. A pair of sequences that does a harder reset from a
+ totally unknown state can be analogously given as rs1,
+ rs2, rf, and rs3, analogous to is2 and if. These strings
+ are output by the reset program, which is used when the
+ terminal gets into a wedged state. Commands are normally
+ placed in rs1, rs2 rs3 and rf only if they produce annoy-
+ ing effects on the screen and are not necessary when log-
+ ging in. For example, the command to set the vt100 into
+ 80-column mode would normally be part of is2, but it
+ causes an annoying glitch of the screen and is not nor-
+ mally needed since the terminal is usually already in 80
column mode.
If there are commands to set and clear tab stops, they can
- be given as tbc (clear all tab stops) and hts (set a tab
- stop in the current column of every row). If a more com-
- plex sequence is needed to set the tabs than can be
- described by this, the sequence can be placed in is2 or
+ be given as tbc (clear all tab stops) and hts (set a tab
+ stop in the current column of every row). If a more com-
+ plex sequence is needed to set the tabs than can be
+ described by this, the sequence can be placed in is2 or
if.
Delays and Padding
- Many older and slower terminals don't support either
+ 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
- VT100s). These may require padding characters after cer-
+ and some very archaic CRTs (including, for example, DEC
+ VT100s). These may require padding characters after cer-
tain cursor motions and screen changes.
If the terminal uses xon/xoff handshaking for flow control
- (that is, it automatically emits ^S back to the host when
+ (that is, it automatically emits ^S back to the host when
its input buffers are close to full), set xon. This capa-
- bility suppresses the emission of padding. You can also
- set it for memory-mapped console devices effectively that
- don't have a speed limit. Padding information should
- still be included so that routines can make better deci-
+ bility suppresses the emission of padding. You can also
+ set it for memory-mapped console devices effectively that
+ do not have a speed limit. Padding information should
+ still be included so that routines can make better deci-
sions about relative costs, but actual pad characters will
not be transmitted.
- If pb (padding baud rate) is given, padding is suppressed
- at baud rates below the value of pb. If the entry has no
- padding baud rate, then whether padding is emitted or not
+ If pb (padding baud rate) is given, padding is suppressed
+ at baud rates below the value of pb. If the entry has no
+ padding baud rate, then whether padding is emitted or not
is completely controlled by xon.
- If the terminal requires other than a null (zero) charac-
- ter as a pad, then this can be given as pad. Only the
+ 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.
Status Lines
- Some terminals have an extra `status line' which is not
- normally used by software (and thus not counted in the
+ Some terminals have an extra `status line' which is not
+ normally used by software (and thus not counted in the
terminal's lines capability).
- The simplest case is a status line which is cursor-
- addressable but not part of the main scrolling region on
- the screen; the Heathkit H19 has a status line of this
- kind, as would a 24-line VT100 with a 23-line scrolling
- region set up on initialization. This situation is indi-
+ The simplest case is a status line which is cursor-
+ addressable but not part of the main scrolling region on
+ the screen; the Heathkit H19 has a status line of this
+ kind, as would a 24-line VT100 with a 23-line scrolling
+ region set up on initialization. This situation is indi-
cated by the hs capability.
Some terminals with status lines need special sequences to
- access the status line. These may be expressed as a
+ access the status line. These may be expressed as a
string with single parameter tsl which takes the cursor to
- a given zero-origin column on the status line. The capa-
- bility fsl must return to the main-screen cursor positions
- before the last tsl. You may need to embed the string
- values of sc (save cursor) and rc (restore cursor) in tsl
- and fsl to accomplish this.
-
- The status line is normally assumed to be the same width
- as the width of the terminal. If this is untrue, you can
+ a given zero-origin column on the status line. The
+ capability fsl must return to the main-screen cursor posi-
+ tions before the last tsl. You may need to embed the
+ string values of sc (save cursor) and rc (restore cursor)
+ in tsl and fsl to accomplish this.
+
+ The status line is normally assumed to be the same width
+ as the width of the terminal. If this is untrue, you can
specify it with the numeric capability wsl.
- A command to erase or blank the status line may be speci-
+ A command to erase or blank the status line may be speci-
fied as dsl.
- The boolean capability eslok specifies that escape
+ The boolean capability eslok specifies that escape
sequences, tabs, etc., work ordinarily in the status line.
- The ncurses implementation does not yet use any of these
- capabilities. They are documented here in case they ever
+ The ncurses implementation does not yet use any of these
+ capabilities. They are documented here in case they ever
become important.
Line Graphics
- 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
- characters from the AT&T 4410v1 added. This alternate
+ 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
+ characters from the AT&T 4410v1 added. This alternate
character set may be specified by the acsc capability.
+
Glyph ACS Ascii VT100
Name Name Default Name
UK pound sign ACS_STERLING f }
@@ -1836,7 +1881,6 @@
bullet ACS_BULLET o ~
checker board (stipple) ACS_CKBOARD : a
degree symbol ACS_DEGREE \ f
-
diamond ACS_DIAMOND + `
greater-than-or-equal-to ACS_GEQUAL > z
greek pi ACS_PI * {
@@ -1861,60 +1905,61 @@
upper right corner ACS_URCORNER + k
vertical line ACS_VLINE | x
- The best way to define a new device's graphics set is to
- add a column to a copy of this table for your terminal,
- giving the character which (when emitted between
- smacs/rmacs switches) will be rendered as the correspond-
- ing graphic. Then read off the VT100/your terminal char-
- acter pairs right to left in sequence; these become the
+ The best way to define a new device's graphics set is to
+ add a column to a copy of this table for your terminal,
+ giving the character which (when emitted between
+ smacs/rmacs switches) will be rendered as the correspond-
+ ing graphic. Then read off the VT100/your terminal char-
+ acter pairs right to left in sequence; these become the
ACSC string.
Color Handling
- 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
+ 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
+ them into N * N color-pairs. On HP-like terminals, the
use must set each color pair up separately (foreground and
- background are not independently settable). Up to M
- color-pairs may be set up from 2*M different colors.
+ background are not independently settable). Up to M
+ color-pairs may be set up from 2*M different colors.
ANSI-compatible terminals are Tektronix-like.
Some basic color capabilities are independent of the color
method. The numeric capabilities colors and pairs specify
- the maximum numbers of colors and color-pairs that can be
- displayed simultaneously. The op (original pair) string
- resets foreground and background colors to their default
- values for the terminal. The oc string resets all colors
- or color-pairs to their default values for the terminal.
- Some terminals (including many PC terminal emulators)
- erase screen areas with the current background color
- rather than the power-up default background; these should
+ the maximum numbers of colors and color-pairs that can be
+ displayed simultaneously. The op (original pair) string
+ resets foreground and background colors to their default
+ values for the terminal. The oc string resets all colors
+ or color-pairs to their default values for the terminal.
+ Some terminals (including many PC terminal emulators)
+ erase screen areas with the current background color
+ rather than the power-up default background; these should
have the boolean capability bce.
- To change the current foreground or background color on a
- Tektronix-type terminal, use setaf (set ANSI foreground)
- and setab (set ANSI background) or setf (set foreground)
- and setb (set background). These take one parameter, the
+ To change the current foreground or background color on a
+ Tektronix-type terminal, use setaf (set ANSI foreground)
+ and setab (set ANSI background) or setf (set foreground)
+ and setb (set background). These take one parameter, the
color number. The SVr4 documentation describes only
- setaf/setab; the XPG4 draft says that "If the terminal
+ setaf/setab; the XPG4 draft says that "If the terminal
supports ANSI escape sequences to set background and fore-
- ground, they should be coded as setaf and setab, respec-
- tively. If the terminal supports other escape sequences
- to set background and foreground, they should be coded as
- setf and setb, respectively. The vidputs() function and
- the refresh functions use setaf and setab if they are
+ ground, they should be coded as setaf and setab, respec-
+ tively. If the terminal supports other escape sequences
+ to set background and foreground, they should be coded as
+ setf and setb, respectively. The vidputs() function and
+ the refresh functions use setaf and setab if they are
defined."
- The setaf/setab and setf/setb capabilities take a single
+ The setaf/setab and setf/setb capabilities take a single
numeric argument each. Argument values 0-7 of setaf/setab
- are portably defined as follows (the middle column is the
+ are portably defined as follows (the middle column is the
symbolic #define available in the header for the curses or
- ncurses libraries). The terminal hardware is free to map
- these as it likes, but the RGB values indicate normal
+ ncurses libraries). The terminal hardware is free to map
+ these as it likes, but the RGB values indicate normal
locations in color space.
+
Color #define Value RGB
black COLOR_BLACK 0 0, 0, 0
red COLOR_RED 1 max,0,0
@@ -1925,8 +1970,10 @@
cyan COLOR_CYAN 6 0,max,max
white COLOR_WHITE 7 max,max,max
- The argument values of setf/setb historically correspond
+ The argument values of setf/setb historically correspond
to a different mapping, i.e.,
+
+
Color #define Value RGB
black COLOR_BLACK 0 0, 0, 0
blue COLOR_BLUE 1 0,0,max
@@ -1937,38 +1984,38 @@
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
+ bilities; otherwise red/blue will be interchanged on the
display.
- On an HP-like terminal, use scp with a color-pair number
+ On an HP-like terminal, use scp with a color-pair number
parameter to set which color pair is current.
- On a Tektronix-like terminal, the capability ccc may be
- present to indicate that colors can be modified. If so,
+ On a Tektronix-like terminal, the capability ccc may be
+ present to indicate that colors can be modified. If so,
the initc capability will take a color number (0 to colors
- - 1)and three more parameters which describe the color.
+ - 1)and three more parameters which describe the color.
These three parameters default to being interpreted as RGB
- (Red, Green, Blue) values. If the boolean capability hls
+ (Red, Green, Blue) values. If the boolean capability hls
is present, they are instead as HLS (Hue, Lightness, Satu-
ration) indices. The ranges are terminal-dependent.
- On an HP-like terminal, initp may give a capability for
- changing a color-pair value. It will take seven parame-
- ters; a color-pair number (0 to max_pairs - 1), and two
- triples describing first background and then foreground
- colors. These parameters must be (Red, Green, Blue) or
+ On an HP-like terminal, initp may give a capability for
+ changing a color-pair value. It will take seven parame-
+ ters; a color-pair number (0 to max_pairs - 1), and two
+ triples describing first background and then foreground
+ colors. These parameters must be (Red, Green, Blue) or
(Hue, Lightness, Saturation) depending on hls.
- On some color terminals, colors collide with highlights.
+ On some color terminals, colors collide with highlights.
You can register these collisions with the ncv capability.
- This is a bit-mask of attributes not to be used when col-
- ors are enabled. The correspondence with the attributes
+ This is a bit-mask of attributes not to be used when col-
+ ors are enabled. The correspondence with the attributes
understood by curses is as follows:
+
Attribute Bit Decimal
A_STANDOUT 0 1
A_UNDERLINE 1 2
-
A_REVERSE 2 4
A_BLINK 3 8
A_DIM 4 16
@@ -1977,298 +2024,299 @@
A_PROTECT 7 128
A_ALTCHARSET 8 256
- For example, on many IBM PC consoles, the underline
- attribute collides with the foreground color blue and is
- not available in color mode. These should have an ncv
+ For example, on many IBM PC consoles, the underline
+ attribute collides with the foreground color blue and is
+ not available in color mode. These should have an ncv
capability of 2.
- SVr4 curses does nothing with ncv, ncurses recognizes it
+ 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-
+ 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-
nal does not have a pad character, specify npc. Note that
- ncurses implements the termcap-compatible PC variable;
- though the application may set this value to something
- other than a null, ncurses will test npc first and use
+ ncurses implements the termcap-compatible PC variable;
+ though the application may set this value to something
+ other than a null, ncurses will test npc first and use
napms if the terminal has no pad character.
- If the terminal can move up or down half a line, this can
- be indicated with hu (half-line up) and hd (half-line
+ If the terminal can move up or down half a line, this can
+ be indicated with hu (half-line up) and hd (half-line
down). This is primarily useful for superscripts and sub-
- scripts on hard-copy terminals. If a hard-copy terminal
- can eject to the next page (form feed), give this as ff
+ scripts on hard-copy terminals. If a hard-copy terminal
+ can eject to the next page (form feed), give this as ff
(usually control L).
- If there is a command to repeat a given character a given
- number of times (to save time transmitting a large number
- of identical characters) this can be indicated with the
- 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
+ If there is a command to repeat a given character a given
+ number of times (to save time transmitting a large number
+ of identical characters) this can be indicated with the
+ 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'.
- If the terminal has a settable command character, such as
- the TEKTRONIX 4025, this can be indicated with cmdch. A
+ If the terminal has a settable command character, such as
+ the TEKTRONIX 4025, this can be indicated with cmdch. A
prototype command character is chosen which is used in all
- capabilities. This character is given in the cmdch capa-
- bility to identify it. The following convention is sup-
- ported on some UNIX systems: The environment is to be
- searched for a CC variable, and if found, all occurrences
+ capabilities. This character is given in the cmdch capa-
+ bility to identify it. The following convention is sup-
+ ported on some UNIX systems: The environment is to be
+ searched for a CC variable, and if found, all occurrences
of the prototype character are replaced with the character
in the environment variable.
- Terminal descriptions that do not represent a specific
+ Terminal descriptions that do not represent a specific
kind of known terminal, such as switch, dialup, patch, and
- network, should include the gn (generic) capability so
- that programs can complain that they do not know how to
- talk to the terminal. (This capability does not apply to
- virtual terminal descriptions for which the escape
+ network, should include the gn (generic) capability so
+ that programs can complain that they do not know how to
+ talk to the terminal. (This capability does not apply to
+ virtual terminal descriptions for which the escape
sequences are known.)
- 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
+ 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''
+ 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
- indicated with lm. A value of lm#0 indicates that the
+ If the terminal has more lines of memory than will fit on
+ the screen at once, the number of lines of memory can be
+ indicated with lm. A value of lm#0 indicates that the
number of lines is not fixed, but that there is still more
memory than fits on the screen.
If the terminal is one of those supported by the UNIX vir-
- tual terminal protocol, the terminal number can be given
+ tual terminal protocol, the terminal number can be given
as vt.
Media copy strings which control an auxiliary printer con-
nected to the terminal can be given as mc0: print the con-
- tents of the screen, mc4: turn off the printer, and mc5:
- turn on the printer. When the printer is on, all text
- sent to the terminal will be sent to the printer. It is
+ tents of the screen, mc4: turn off the printer, and mc5:
+ turn on the printer. When the printer is on, all text
+ sent to the terminal will be sent to the printer. It is
undefined whether the text is also displayed on the termi-
nal screen when the printer is on. A variation mc5p takes
one parameter, and leaves the printer on for as many char-
- acters as the value of the parameter, then turns the
- printer off. The parameter should not exceed 255. All
+ acters as the value of the parameter, then turns the
+ printer off. The parameter should not exceed 255. All
text, including mc4, is transparently passed to the
printer while an mc5p is in effect.
Glitches and Braindamage
- 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
wrap, such as the Concept and vt100, should indicate xenl.
- If el is required to get rid of standout (instead of
- merely writing normal text on top of it), xhp should be
+ If el is required to get rid of standout (instead of
+ merely writing normal text on top of it), xhp should be
given.
- 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-
+ 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-
eray_glitch. This glitch is also taken to mean that it is
- not possible to position the cursor on top of a ``magic
+ 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.
- The Beehive Superbee, which is unable to correctly trans-
- mit the escape or control C characters, has xsb, indicat-
- 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
+ The Beehive Superbee, which is unable to correctly trans-
+ mit the escape or control C characters, has xsb, indicat-
+ 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'.
- Other specific terminal problems may be corrected by
+ Other specific terminal problems may be corrected by
adding more capabilities of the form xx.
Similar Terminals
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-
- ant, the string capability use can be given with the name
- of the base terminal. The capabilities given before use
- override those in the base type named by use. If there
- are multiple use capabilities, they are merged in reverse
- order. That is, the rightmost use reference is processed
- first, then the one to its left, and so forth. Capabili-
- ties given explicitly in the entry override those brought
+ can be defined as being just like the other (the base)
+ with certain exceptions. In the definition of the vari-
+ ant, the string capability use can be given with the name
+ of the base terminal. The capabilities given before use
+ override those in the base type named by use. If there
+ are multiple use capabilities, they are merged in reverse
+ order. That is, the rightmost use reference is processed
+ first, then the one to its left, and so forth. Capabili-
+ ties given explicitly in the entry override those brought
in by use references.
A capability can be canceled by placing xx@ to the left of
- the use reference that imports it, where xx is the capa-
+ the use reference that imports it, where xx is the capa-
bility. For example, the entry
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
+ 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.
Pitfalls of Long Entries
- Long terminfo entries are unlikely to be a problem; to
- date, no entry has even approached terminfo's 4K string-
- table maximum. Unfortunately, the termcap translations
- are much more strictly limited (to 1K), thus termcap
- translations of long terminfo entries can cause problems.
-
- The man pages for 4.3BSD and older versions of tgetent()
- instruct the user to allocate a 1K buffer for the termcap
- entry. The entry gets null-terminated by the termcap
- library, so that makes the maximum safe length for a term-
- cap entry 1k-1 (1023) bytes. Depending on what the appli-
- cation and the termcap library being used does, and where
- in the termcap file the terminal type that tgetent() is
- searching for is, several bad things can happen.
-
- Some termcap libraries print a warning message or exit if
- they find an entry that's longer than 1023 bytes; others
- don't; others truncate the entries to 1023 bytes. Some
+ 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-
+ tions are much more strictly limited (to 1023 bytes), thus
+ termcap translations of long terminfo entries can cause
+ problems.
+
+ The man pages for 4.3BSD and older versions of tgetent()
+ instruct the user to allocate a 1024-byte buffer for the
+ termcap entry. The entry gets null-terminated by the
+ termcap library, so that makes the maximum safe length for
+ a termcap entry 1k-1 (1023) bytes. Depending on what the
+ application and the termcap library being used does, and
+ where in the termcap file the terminal type that tgetent()
+ is searching for is, several bad things can happen.
+
+ Some termcap libraries print a warning message or exit if
+ they find an entry that's longer than 1023 bytes; others
+ do not; others truncate the entries to 1023 bytes. Some
application programs allocate more than the recommended 1K
- for the termcap entry; others don't.
+ for the termcap entry; others do not.
Each termcap entry has two important sizes associated with
it: before "tc" expansion, and after "tc" expansion. "tc"
- is the capability that tacks on another termcap entry to
- the end of the current one, to add on its capabilities.
- If a termcap entry doesn't use the "tc" capability, then
+ is the capability that tacks on another termcap entry to
+ the end of the current one, to add on its capabilities.
+ If a termcap entry does not use the "tc" capability, then
of course the two lengths are the same.
- The "before tc expansion" length is the most important
- one, because it affects more than just users of that par-
- ticular terminal. This is the length of the entry as it
+ The "before tc expansion" length is the most important
+ one, because it affects more than just users of that par-
+ ticular terminal. This is the length of the entry as it
exists in /etc/termcap, minus the backslash-newline pairs,
- which tgetent() strips out while reading it. Some termcap
- libraries strip off the final newline, too (GNU termcap
+ which tgetent() strips out while reading it. Some termcap
+ libraries strip off the final newline, too (GNU termcap
does not). Now suppose:
- * a termcap entry before expansion is more than 1023
+ * a termcap entry before expansion is more than 1023
bytes long,
* 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's the entry it
+ * 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's the entry it
wants,
- * and tgetent() is searching for a terminal type that
+ * and tgetent() is searching for a terminal type that
either is the long entry, appears in the termcap file
- after the long entry, or doesn't appear in the file
- at all (so that tgetent() has to search the whole
+ 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
- are particularly vulnerable; modern telnets pass along
- values like the terminal type automatically. The results
- are almost as undesirable with a termcap library, like
- SunOS 4.1.3 and Ultrix 4.4, that prints warning messages
- when it reads an overly long termcap entry. If a termcap
- library truncates long entries, like OSF/1 3.0, it is
- immune to dying here but will return incorrect data for
+ Then tgetent() will overwrite memory, perhaps its stack,
+ and probably core dump the program. Programs like telnet
+ are particularly vulnerable; modern telnets pass along
+ values like the terminal type automatically. The results
+ are almost as undesirable with a termcap library, like
+ SunOS 4.1.3 and Ultrix 4.4, that prints warning messages
+ when it reads an overly long termcap entry. If a termcap
+ library truncates long entries, like OSF/1 3.0, it is
+ immune to dying here but will return incorrect data for
the terminal.
The "after tc expansion" length will have a similar effect
to the above, but only for people who actually set TERM to
- that terminal type, since tgetent() only does "tc" expan-
+ that terminal type, since tgetent() only does "tc" expan-
sion once it's found the terminal type it was looking for,
not while searching.
In summary, a termcap entry that is longer than 1023 bytes
- can cause, on various combinations of termcap libraries
- and applications, a core dump, warnings, or incorrect
- operation. If it's too long even before "tc" expansion,
+ can cause, on various combinations of termcap libraries
+ and applications, a core dump, warnings, or incorrect
+ operation. If it's too long even before "tc" expansion,
it will have this effect even for users of some other ter-
- minal types and users whose TERM variable does not have a
+ minal types and users whose TERM variable does not have a
termcap entry.
When in -C (translate to termcap) mode, the ncurses imple-
- mentation of tic(1) issues warning messages when the pre-
- tc length of a termcap translation is too long. The -c
- (check) option also checks resolved (after tc expansion)
+ mentation of tic(1) issues warning messages when the pre-
+ tc length of a termcap translation is too long. The -c
+ (check) option also checks resolved (after tc expansion)
lengths.
Binary Compatibility
- 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
+ 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
HP-UX and AIX) which diverged from System V terminfo after
- SVr1, and have added extension capabilities to the string
- table that (in the binary format) collide with System V
+ SVr1, and have added extension capabilities to the string
+ table that (in the binary format) collide with System V
and XSI Curses extensions.
EXTENSIONS
- Some SVr4 curses implementations, and all previous to
- SVr4, don't interpret the %A and %O operators in parameter
- 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 don't
- 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
+ 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
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/Delete Character
+ ter update efficiency. See the Insert/Delete Character
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
+ 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.
+ OSF -- Supports both the SVr4 set and the AIX extensions.
@@ -2279,17 +2327,17 @@
SEE ALSO
- tic(1m), curses(3x), printf(3S), term(5).
+ tic(1m), infocmp(1m), curses(3x), printf(3S), term(5).
AUTHORS
- Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey.
+ Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey.
Based on pcurses by Pavel Curtis.
- TERMINFO(5)
+ TERMINFO(5)