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ncurses(3)					       ncurses(3)

NAME
       ncurses - CRT screen handling and optimization package

SYNOPSIS
       #include <curses.h>

DESCRIPTION
       The  ncurses  library  routines	give the user a terminal-
       independent method of updating character screens with rea-
       sonable	 optimization.	  This	implementation	is  ``new
       curses'' (ncurses) and is  the  approved	 replacement  for
       4.4BSD classic curses, which has been discontinued.

       The ncurses routines emulate the curses(3) library of Sys-
       tem V Release 4 UNIX, and the XPG4  curses  standard  (XSI
       curses)	but the ncurses library is freely redistributable
       in source form.	Differences from the SVr4 curses are sum-
       marized	under  the EXTENSIONS and BUGS sections below and
       described in detail in the EXTENSIONS and BUGS sections of
       individual man pages.

       A  program  using  these	 routines must be linked with the
       -lncurses option, or (if it has been generated)	with  the
       debugging  library  -lncurses_g.	  (Your system integrator
       may also have installed these libraries	under  the  names
       -lcurses and -lcurses_g.)  The ncurses_g library generates
       trace logs (in a file called 'trace' in the current direc-
       tory) that describe curses actions.

       The  ncurses  package supports: overall screen, window and
       pad manipulation; output to windows and pads; reading ter-
       minal  input;  control  over terminal and curses input and
       output options; environment query routines; color  manipu-
       lation; use of soft label keys; terminfo capabilities; and
       access to low-level terminal-manipulation routines.

       To initialize the routines, the routine initscr or newterm
       must  be called before any of the other routines that deal
       with windows and screens are  used.   The  routine  endwin
       must be called before exiting.  To get character-at-a-time
       input without echoing (most interactive,	 screen	 oriented
       programs	 want  this),  the  following  sequence should be
       used:

	     initscr(); cbreak(); noecho();

       Most programs would additionally use the sequence:

	     nonl();
	     intrflush(stdscr, FALSE);
	     keypad(stdscr, TRUE);

       Before a curses program is run, the tab stops of the  ter-
       minal  should  be  set  and its initialization strings, if

								1

ncurses(3)					       ncurses(3)

       defined, must be output.	 This can be  done  by	executing
       the tput init command after the shell environment variable
       TERM has been exported.	tset(1)	 is  usually  responsible
       for doing this.	[See terminfo(5) for further details.]

       The  ncurses  library  permits manipulation of data struc-
       tures, called windows, which can be  thought  of	 as  two-
       dimensional  arrays of characters representing all or part
       of a CRT screen.	 A default window called stdscr, which is
       the  size of the terminal screen, is supplied.  Others may
       be created with newwin.

       Note that curses	 does  not  handle  overlapping	 windows,
       that's  done  by the panel(3) library. This means that you
       can either use stdscr or divide the screen into tiled win-
       dows  and  not  using  stdscr  at all. Mixing the two will
       result in unpredictable, and undesired, effects.

       Windows are referred to by variables declared as WINDOW *.
       These   data  structures	 are  manipulated  with	 routines
       described here and elsewhere in the ncurses manual  pages.
       Among  which  the  most basic routines are move and addch.
       More general versions of these routines are included  with
       names  beginning	 with  w,  allowing the user to specify a
       window.	The routines not beginning with w affect stdscr.)

       After  using  routines  to manipulate a window, refresh is
       called, telling curses to make the user's CRT screen  look
       like  stdscr.   The characters in a window are actually of
       type chtype, (character and attribute data) so that  other
       information  about  the	character may also be stored with
       each character.

       Special windows	called	pads  may  also	 be  manipulated.
       These are windows which are not constrained to the size of
       the screen and whose contents need not be completely  dis-
       played.	See curs_pad(3) for more information.

       In  addition  to	 drawing  characters on the screen, video
       attributes and colors may be supported, causing the  char-
       acters  to show up in such modes as underlined, in reverse
       video, or in color on terminals that support such  display
       enhancements.  Line drawing characters may be specified to
       be output.  On input, curses is	also  able  to	translate
       arrow  and  function  keys  that transmit escape sequences
       into single values.  The video  attributes,  line  drawing
       characters,   and  input	 values	 use  names,  defined  in
       <curses.h>, such as A_REVERSE, ACS_HLINE, and KEY_LEFT.

       If the environment variables LINES and COLUMNS are set, or
       if  the program is executing in a window environment, line
       and column information in the  environment  will	 override
       information read by terminfo.  This would effect a program
       running in an AT&T 630 layer, for example, where the  size

								2

ncurses(3)					       ncurses(3)

       of a screen is changeable (see ENVIRONMENT).

       If  the environment variable TERMINFO is defined, any pro-
       gram using curses checks for a local  terminal  definition
       before  checking	 in  the standard place.  For example, if
       TERM is set to att4424, then the compiled terminal defini-
       tion is found in

	     /usr/share/terminfo/a/att4424.

       (The a is copied from the first letter of att4424 to avoid
       creation of huge directories.)  However,	 if  TERMINFO  is
       set to $HOME/myterms, curses first checks

	     $HOME/myterms/a/att4424,

       and if that fails, it then checks

	     /usr/share/terminfo/a/att4424.

       This  is useful for developing experimental definitions or
       when write permission in /usr/share/terminfo is not avail-
       able.

       The  integer  variables	LINES  and  COLS  are  defined in
       <curses.h> and will be filled in by initscr with the  size
       of the screen.  The constants TRUE and FALSE have the val-
       ues 1 and 0, respectively.

       The curses routines also	 define	 the  WINDOW  *	 variable
       curscr which is used for certain low-level operations like
       clearing and redrawing a screen containing  garbage.   The
       curscr can be used in only a few routines.

   Routine and Argument Names
       Many  curses routines have two or more versions.	 The rou-
       tines prefixed with w require a window argument.	 The rou-
       tines prefixed with p require a pad argument.  Those with-
       out a prefix generally use stdscr.

       The routines prefixed with mv require a y and x coordinate
       to  move to before performing the appropriate action.  The
       mv routines imply a call to move before the  call  to  the
       other  routine.	The coordinate y always refers to the row
       (of the window), and x always refers to the  column.   The
       upper left-hand corner is always (0,0), not (1,1).

       The routines prefixed with mvw take both a window argument
       and x and y coordinates.	 The window  argument  is  always
       specified before the coordinates.

       In  each	 case, win is the window affected, and pad is the
       pad affected; win and pad  are  always  pointers	 to  type

								3

ncurses(3)					       ncurses(3)

       WINDOW.

       Option setting routines require a Boolean flag bf with the
       value TRUE or FALSE; bf is always of type bool.	The vari-
       ables  ch  and attrs below are always of type chtype.  The
       types WINDOW, SCREEN, bool,  and	 chtype	 are  defined  in
       <curses.h>.   The  type	TERMINAL  is defined in <term.h>.
       All other arguments are integers.

   Routine Name Index
       The following table lists each curses routine and the name
       of  the	manual	page  on which it is described.	 Routines
       flagged with `*' are ncurses-specific,  not  described  by
       XPG4 or present in SVr4.

		curses Routine Name   Manual Page Name
		----------------------------------------
		addch		      curs_addch(3)
		addchnstr	      curs_addchstr(3)
		addchstr	      curs_addchstr(3)
		addnstr		      curs_addstr(3)
		addstr		      curs_addstr(3)
		attr_get	      curs_attr(3)
		attr_off	      curs_attr(3)
		attr_on		      curs_attr(3)
		attr_set	      curs_attr(3)
		attroff		      curs_attr(3)
		attron		      curs_attr(3)
		attrset		      curs_attr(3)
		baudrate	      curs_termattrs(3)
		beep		      curs_beep(3)
		bkgd		      curs_bkgd(3)
		bkgdset		      curs_bkgd(3)
		border		      curs_border(3)
		box		      curs_border(3)
		can_change_color      curs_color(3)
		cbreak		      curs_inopts(3)
		chgat		      curs_attr(3)
		clear		      curs_clear(3)
		clearok		      curs_outopts(3)
		clrtobot	      curs_clear(3)
		clrtoeol	      curs_clear(3)
		color_content	      curs_color(3)
		color_set	      curs_attr(3)
		copywin		      curs_overlay(3)
		curs_set	      curs_kernel(3)
		def_prog_mode	      curs_kernel(3)
		def_shell_mode	      curs_kernel(3)
		define_key	      define_key(3)*
		del_curterm	      curs_terminfo(3)
		delay_output	      curs_util(3)
		delch		      curs_delch(3)

								4

ncurses(3)					       ncurses(3)

		deleteln	      curs_deleteln(3)
		delscreen	      curs_initscr(3)
		delwin		      curs_window(3)
		derwin		      curs_window(3)
		doupdate	      curs_refresh(3)
		dupwin		      curs_window(3)
		echo		      curs_inopts(3)
		echochar	      curs_addch(3)
		endwin		      curs_initscr(3)
		erase		      curs_clear(3)
		erasechar	      curs_termattrs(3)
		filter		      curs_util(3)
		flash		      curs_beep(3)
		flushinp	      curs_util(3)
		getbegyx	      curs_getyx(3)
		getbkgd		      curs_bkgd(3)
		getch		      curs_getch(3)
		getmaxyx	      curs_getyx(3)
		getmouse	      curs_mouse(3)*
		getnstr		      curs_getstr(3)
		getparyx	      curs_getyx(3)
		getstr		      curs_getstr(3)
		getsyx		      curs_kernel(3)
		getwin		      curs_util(3)
		getyx		      curs_getyx(3)
		halfdelay	      curs_inopts(3)
		has_colors	      curs_color(3)
		has_ic		      curs_termattrs(3)
		has_il		      curs_termattrs(3)
		has_key		      curs_getch(3)*
		hline		      curs_border(3)
		idcok		      curs_outopts(3)
		idlok		      curs_outopts(3)
		immedok		      curs_outopts(3)
		inch		      curs_inch(3)
		inchnstr	      curs_inchstr(3)
		inchstr		      curs_inchstr(3)
		init_color	      curs_color(3)
		init_pair	      curs_color(3)
		initscr		      curs_initscr(3)
		innstr		      curs_instr(3)
		insch		      curs_insch(3)
		insdelln	      curs_deleteln(3)
		insertln	      curs_deleteln(3)
		insnstr		      curs_insstr(3)
		insstr		      curs_insstr(3)
		instr		      curs_instr(3)
		intrflush	      curs_inopts(3)
		is_linetouched	      curs_touch(3)
		is_wintouched	      curs_touch(3)
		isendwin	      curs_initscr(3)
		keyname		      curs_util(3)
		keyok		      keyok(3)*

								5

ncurses(3)					       ncurses(3)

		keypad		      curs_inopts(3)
		killchar	      curs_termattrs(3)
		leaveok		      curs_outopts(3)
		longname	      curs_termattrs(3)
		mcprint		      curs_print(3)*
		meta		      curs_inopts(3)
		mouseinterval	      curs_mouse(3)*
		mousemask	      curs_mouse(3)*
		move		      curs_move(3)
		mvaddch		      curs_addch(3)
		mvaddchnstr	      curs_addchstr(3)
		mvaddchstr	      curs_addchstr(3)
		mvaddnstr	      curs_addstr(3)
		mvaddstr	      curs_addstr(3)
		mvchgat		      curs_attr(3)
		mvcur		      curs_terminfo(3)
		mvdelch		      curs_delch(3)
		mvderwin	      curs_window(3)
		mvgetch		      curs_getch(3)
		mvgetnstr	      curs_getstr(3)
		mvgetstr	      curs_getstr(3)
		mvhline		      curs_border(3)
		mvinch		      curs_inch(3)
		mvinchnstr	      curs_inchstr(3)
		mvinchstr	      curs_inchstr(3)
		mvinnstr	      curs_instr(3)
		mvinsch		      curs_insch(3)
		mvinsnstr	      curs_insstr(3)
		mvinsstr	      curs_insstr(3)
		mvinstr		      curs_instr(3)
		mvprintw	      curs_printw(3)
		mvscanw		      curs_scanw(3)
		mvwaddch	      curs_addch(3)
		mvwaddchnstr	      curs_addchstr(3)
		mvwaddchstr	      curs_addchstr(3)
		mvwaddnstr	      curs_addstr(3)
		mvwaddstr	      curs_addstr(3)
		mvwchgat	      curs_attr(3)
		mvwdelch	      curs_delch(3)
		mvwgetch	      curs_getch(3)
		mvwgetnstr	      curs_getstr(3)
		mvwgetstr	      curs_getstr(3)
		mvwhline	      curs_border(3)
		mvwin		      curs_window(3)
		mvwinch		      curs_inch(3)
		mvwinchnstr	      curs_inchstr(3)
		mvwinchstr	      curs_inchstr(3)
		mvwinnstr	      curs_instr(3)
		mvwinsch	      curs_insch(3)
		mvwinsnstr	      curs_insstr(3)
		mvwinsstr	      curs_insstr(3)
		mvwinstr	      curs_instr(3)
		mvwprintw	      curs_printw(3)

								6

ncurses(3)					       ncurses(3)

		mvwscanw	      curs_scanw(3)
		mvwvline	      curs_border(3)
		napms		      curs_kernel(3)
		newpad		      curs_pad(3)
		newterm		      curs_initscr(3)
		newwin		      curs_window(3)
		nl		      curs_outopts(3)
		nocbreak	      curs_inopts(3)
		nodelay		      curs_inopts(3)
		noecho		      curs_inopts(3)
		nonl		      curs_outopts(3)
		noqiflush	      curs_inopts(3)
		noraw		      curs_inopts(3)
		notimeout	      curs_inopts(3)
		overlay		      curs_overlay(3)
		overwrite	      curs_overlay(3)
		pair_content	      curs_color(3)
		pechochar	      curs_pad(3)
		pnoutrefresh	      curs_pad(3)
		prefresh	      curs_pad(3)
		printw		      curs_printw(3)
		putp		      curs_terminfo(3)
		putwin		      curs_util(3)
		qiflush		      curs_inopts(3)
		raw		      curs_inopts(3)
		redrawwin	      curs_refresh(3)
		refresh		      curs_refresh(3)
		reset_prog_mode	      curs_kernel(3)
		reset_shell_mode      curs_kernel(3)
		resetty		      curs_kernel(3)
		resizeterm	      resizeterm(3)*
		restartterm	      curs_terminfo(3)
		ripoffline	      curs_kernel(3)
		savetty		      curs_kernel(3)
		scanw		      curs_scanw(3)
		scr_dump	      curs_scr_dump(3)
		scr_init	      curs_scr_dump(3)
		scr_restore	      curs_scr_dump(3)
		scr_set		      curs_scr_dump(3)
		scrl		      curs_scroll(3)
		scroll		      curs_scroll(3)
		scrollok	      curs_outopts(3)
		set_curterm	      curs_terminfo(3)
		set_term	      curs_initscr(3)
		setscrreg	      curs_outopts(3)
		setsyx		      curs_kernel(3)
		setterm		      curs_terminfo(3)
		setupterm	      curs_terminfo(3)
		slk_attr	      curs_slk(3)*
		slk_attr_off	      curs_slk(3)
		slk_attr_on	      curs_slk(3)
		slk_attr_set	      curs_slk(3)
		slk_attroff	      curs_slk(3)

								7

ncurses(3)					       ncurses(3)

		slk_attron	      curs_slk(3)
		slk_attrset	      curs_slk(3)
		slk_clear	      curs_slk(3)
		slk_color	      curs_slk(3)
		slk_init	      curs_slk(3)
		slk_label	      curs_slk(3)
		slk_noutrefresh	      curs_slk(3)
		slk_refresh	      curs_slk(3)
		slk_restore	      curs_slk(3)
		slk_set		      curs_slk(3)
		slk_touch	      curs_slk(3)
		standend	      curs_attr(3)
		standout	      curs_attr(3)
		start_color	      curs_color(3)
		subpad		      curs_pad(3)
		subwin		      curs_window(3)
		syncok		      curs_window(3)
		termattrs	      curs_termattrs(3)
		termname	      curs_termattrs(3)
		tgetent		      curs_termcap(3)
		tgetflag	      curs_termcap(3)
		tgetnum		      curs_termcap(3)
		tgetstr		      curs_termcap(3)
		tgoto		      curs_termcap(3)
		tigetflag	      curs_terminfo(3)
		tigetnum	      curs_terminfo(3)
		tigetstr	      curs_terminfo(3)
		timeout		      curs_inopts(3)
		touchline	      curs_touch(3)
		touchwin	      curs_touch(3)
		tparm		      curs_terminfo(3)
		tputs		      curs_termcap(3)
		tputs		      curs_terminfo(3)
		typeahead	      curs_inopts(3)
		unctrl		      curs_util(3)
		ungetch		      curs_getch(3)
		ungetmouse	      curs_mouse(3)*
		untouchwin	      curs_touch(3)
		use_default_colors    dft_fgbg(3)*
		use_env		      curs_util(3)
		vidattr		      curs_terminfo(3)
		vidputs		      curs_terminfo(3)
		vline		      curs_border(3)
		vw_printw	      curs_printw(3)
		vw_scanw	      curs_scanw(3)
		vwprintw	      curs_printw(3)
		vwscanw		      curs_scanw(3)
		waddch		      curs_addch(3)
		waddchnstr	      curs_addchstr(3)
		waddchstr	      curs_addchstr(3)
		waddnstr	      curs_addstr(3)
		waddstr		      curs_addstr(3)
		wattr_get	      curs_attr(3)

								8

ncurses(3)					       ncurses(3)

		wattr_off	      curs_attr(3)
		wattr_on	      curs_attr(3)
		wattr_set	      curs_attr(3)
		wattroff	      curs_attr(3)
		wattron		      curs_attr(3)
		wattrset	      curs_attr(3)
		wbkgd		      curs_bkgd(3)
		wbkgdset	      curs_bkgd(3)
		wborder		      curs_border(3)
		wchgat		      curs_attr(3)
		wclear		      curs_clear(3)
		wclrtobot	      curs_clear(3)
		wclrtoeol	      curs_clear(3)
		wcolor_set	      curs_attr(3)
		wcursyncup	      curs_window(3)
		wdelch		      curs_delch(3)
		wdeleteln	      curs_deleteln(3)
		wechochar	      curs_addch(3)
		wenclose	      curs_mouse(3)*
		werase		      curs_clear(3)
		wgetch		      curs_getch(3)
		wgetnstr	      curs_getstr(3)
		wgetstr		      curs_getstr(3)
		whline		      curs_border(3)
		winch		      curs_inch(3)
		winchnstr	      curs_inchstr(3)
		winchstr	      curs_inchstr(3)
		winnstr		      curs_instr(3)
		winsch		      curs_insch(3)
		winsdelln	      curs_deleteln(3)
		winsertln	      curs_deleteln(3)
		winsnstr	      curs_insstr(3)
		winsstr		      curs_insstr(3)
		winstr		      curs_instr(3)
		wmouse_trafo	      curs_mouse(3)
		wmove		      curs_move(3)
		wnoutrefresh	      curs_refresh(3)
		wprintw		      curs_printw(3)
		wredrawln	      curs_refresh(3)
		wrefresh	      curs_refresh(3)
		wresize		      wresize(3)*
		wscanw		      curs_scanw(3)
		wscrl		      curs_scroll(3)
		wsetscrreg	      curs_outopts(3)
		wstandend	      curs_attr(3)
		wstandout	      curs_attr(3)
		wsyncdown	      curs_window(3)
		wsyncup		      curs_window(3)
		wtimeout	      curs_inopts(3)
		wtouchln	      curs_touch(3)
		wvline		      curs_border(3)

RETURN VALUE
       Routines	 that  return  an integer return ERR upon failure

								9

ncurses(3)					       ncurses(3)

       and an integer value other than ERR upon	 successful  com-
       pletion,	 unless	 otherwise  noted in the routine descrip-
       tions.

       All macros return the  value  of	 the  w	 version,  except
       setscrreg,  wsetscrreg,	getyx,	getbegyx,  getmaxyx.  The
       return values of setscrreg, wsetscrreg,	getyx,	getbegyx,
       and getmaxyx are undefined (i.e., these should not be used
       as the right-hand side of assignment statements).

       Routines that return pointers return NULL on error.

ENVIRONMENT
       The following environment symbols are useful for customiz-
       ing the runtime behavior of the ncurses library.	 The most
       important ones have been already discussed in detail.

       BAUDRATE
	    The debugging library checks this environment  symbol
	    when the application has redirected output to a file.
	    The symbol's numeric value is used for the	baudrate.
	    If	no value is found ncurses uses 9600.  This allows
	    testers to construct repeatable test-cases that  take
	    into account costs that depend on baudrate.

       CC   When set, change occurrences of the command_character
	    (i.e., the cmdch capability) of the	 loaded	 terminfo
	    entries  to	 the value of this symbol.  Very few ter-
	    minfo entries provide this feature.

       COLUMNS
	    Specify  the  width	 of  the  screen  in  characters.
	    Applications  running in a windowing environment usu-
	    ally are able to obtain the width of  the  window  in
	    which  they	 are  executing.  If neither the $COLUMNS
	    value nor the terminal's screen  size  is  available,
	    ncurses  uses  the size which may be specified in the
	    terminfo database (i.e., the cols capability).

	    It is important that your application use  a  correct
	    size  for  the  screen.   However, this is not always
	    possible because your application may be running on a
	    host  which	 does  not honor NAWS (Negotiations About
	    Window Size), or because you are temporarily  running
	    as another user.

	    Either  COLUMNS  or	 LINES	symbols	 may be specified
	    independently.  This is mainly useful  to  circumvent
	    legacy  misfeatures	 of  terminal descriptions, e.g.,
	    xterm which commonly specifies a 65 line screen.  For
	    best  results, lines and cols should not be specified
	    in a terminal description for terminals which are run
	    as emulations.

							       10

ncurses(3)					       ncurses(3)

	    Use the use_env function to disable this feature.

       DISPLAY
	    Provides a hint to ncurses that your terminal is an X
	    terminal emulator such as xterm.  If the kmous  capa-
	    bility  is	set  to	 the beginning of the xterm mouse
	    response, e.g., "kmous=then	 ncurses  will	send  the
	    terminal  xterm's  mouse  initialization  strings and
	    allow appropriate  replies.	  See  the  curs_mouse(3)
	    manual page for programming information.

       ESCDELAY
	    Specifies  the total time, in milliseconds, for which
	    ncurses will await	a  character  sequence,	 e.g.,	a
	    function  key.  The default value, 1000 milliseconds,
	    is enough for most uses.  However, it is made a vari-
	    able to accommodate unusual applications.

	    The most common instance where you may wish to change
	    this value is to work with slow hosts, e.g.,  running
	    on	a  network.   If  the host cannot read characters
	    rapidly enough, it will have the same  effect  as  if
	    the	 terminal did not send characters rapidly enough.
	    The library will still see a timeout.

	    Note that xterm mouse events are built up from  char-
	    acter  sequences  received	from  the xterm.  If your
	    application makes heavy use of multiple-clicking, you
	    may	 wish  to lengthen this default value because the
	    timeout applies to the composed multi-click event  as
	    well as the individual clicks.

       HOME Tells  ncurses where your home directory is.  That is
	    where  it  may  read  and  write  auxiliary	 terminal
	    descriptions:

	    $HOME/.termcap
	    $HOME/.terminfo

       LINES
	    Like  COLUMNS,  specify  the  height of the screen in
	    characters.	 See COLUMNS for a detailed  description.

       MOUSE_BUTTONS_123
	    This applies only to the OS/2 EMX port.  It specifies
	    the order of buttons on the mouse.	 OS/2  numbers	a
	    3-button mouse inconsistently from other platforms:

	    1 = left
	    2 = right
	    3 = middle.

	    This symbol lets you customize the mouse.  The symbol
	    must be three numeric digits 1-3 in any order,  e.g.,

							       11

ncurses(3)					       ncurses(3)

	    123	 or  321.   If	it is not specified, ncurses uses
	    132.

       NCURSES_NO_PADDING
	    Most of the terminal  descriptions	in  the	 terminfo
	    database  are  written for real "hardware" terminals.
	    Many people use terminal emulators	which  run  in	a
	    windowing  environment  and use curses-based applica-
	    tions.  Terminal emulators can duplicate all  of  the
	    important aspects of a hardware terminal, but they do
	    not have the same limitations.  The chief  limitation
	    of	a  hardware  terminal from the standpoint of your
	    application is the management of dataflow, i.e., tim-
	    ing.  Unless a hardware terminal is interfaced into a
	    terminal concentrator (which does flow  control),  it
	    (or	 your application) must manage dataflow, prevent-
	    ing overruns.  The	cheapest  solution  (no	 hardware
	    cost) is for your program to do this by pausing after
	    operations that the terminal  does	slowly,	 such  as
	    clearing the display.

	    As	a  result,  many terminal descriptions (including
	    the vt100) have delay times embedded.  You	may  wish
	    to	use  these  descriptions, but not want to pay the
	    performance penalty.

	    Set the NCURSES_NO_PADDING symbol to disable all  but
	    mandatory  padding.	  Mandatory  padding is used as a
	    part of special control sequences such as flash.

       NCURSES_NO_SETBUF
	    Normally ncurses enables buffered output during  ter-
	    minal  initialization.   This  is  done  (as  in SVr4
	    curses) for performance reasons.   For  testing  pur-
	    poses, both of ncurses and certain applications, this
	    feature    is    made    optional.	   Setting    the
	    NCURSES_NO_SETBUF variable disables output buffering,
	    leaving the output	in  the	 original  (usually  line
	    buffered) mode.

       NCURSES_TRACE
	    During  initialization, the ncurses debugging library
	    checks the NCURSES_TRACE symbol.  If it  is	 defined,
	    to a numeric value, ncurses calls the trace function,
	    using that value as the argument.

	    The argument values, which are defined  in	curses.h,
	    provide  several  types of information.  When running
	    with traces enabled, your application will write  the
	    file trace to the current directory.

       TERM Denotes  your  terminal  type.  Each terminal type is
	    distinct, though many are similar.

							       12

ncurses(3)					       ncurses(3)

       TERMCAP
	    If the ncurses library has been configured with term-
	    cap	 support,  ncurses  will  check	 for a terminal's
	    description in termcap form if it is not available in
	    the terminfo database.

	    The	  TERMCAP   symbol  contains  either  a	 terminal
	    description (with newlines stripped out), or  a  file
	    name  telling  where  the  information denoted by the
	    TERM symbol	 exists.   In  either  case,  setting  it
	    directs  ncurses  to  ignore the usual place for this
	    information, e.g., /etc/termcap.

       TERMINFO
	    Overrides the directory in which ncurses searches for
	    your terminal description.	This is the simplest, but
	    not the only way to change the list	 of  directories.
	    The complete list of directories in order follows:

	    -  the last directory to which ncurses wrote, if any,
	       is searched first.

	    -  the directory specified by the TERMINFO symbol

	    -  $HOME/.terminfo

	    -  directories listed in the TERMINFO_DIRS symbol

	    -  one or more directories whose names are configured
	       and  compiled  into  the	 ncurses  library,  e.g.,
	       /usr/share/terminfo

       TERMINFO_DIRS
	    Specifies a list of directories to search for  termi-
	    nal	 descriptions.	 The  list is separated by colons
	    (i.e., ":").  All of the terminal descriptions are in
	    terminfo  form,  which makes a subdirectory named for
	    the first letter of the terminal names therein.

       TERMPATH
	    If TERMCAP does not hold a	file  name  then  ncurses
	    checks  the TERMPATH symbol.  This is a list of file-
	    names  separated  by  colons  (i.e.,  ":").	  If  the
	    TERMPATH  symbol  is  not  set,  ncurses looks in the
	    files   /etc/termcap,   /usr/share/misc/termcap   and
	    $HOME/.termcap, in that order.

FILES
       /usr/share/tabset
	    directory  containing  initialization  files  for the
	    terminal capability database /usr/share/terminfo ter-
	    minal capability database

							       13

ncurses(3)					       ncurses(3)

SEE ALSO
       terminfo(5)  and	 3  pages  whose  names begin "curs_" for
       detailed routine descriptions.

EXTENSIONS
       The  ncurses  library  can  be  compiled	 with  an  option
       (-DUSE_GETCAP) that falls back to the old-style /etc/term-
       cap file if the terminal setup code cannot find a terminfo
       entry  corresponding  to TERM.  Use of this feature is not
       recommended, as it essentially includes an entire  termcap
       compiler	 in the ncurses startup code, at significant cost
       in core and startup cycles.

       The ncurses  library  includes  facilities  for	capturing
       mouse  events  on certain terminals (including xterm). See
       the curs_mouse(3) manual page for details.

       The ncurses library includes facilities for responding  to
       window  resizing	 events,  e.g., when running in an xterm.
       See the resizeterm(3)  and  wresize(3)  manual  pages  for
       details.	  In addition, the library may be configured with
       a SIGWINCH handler.

       The ncurses library extends the fixed set of function  key
       capabilities  of	 terminals  by	allowing  the application
       designer to define additional key  sequences  at	 runtime.
       See  the	 define_key(3)	and  keyok(3)  manual  pages  for
       details.

       The ncurses library can exploit the capabilities of termi-
       nals  which  implement the ISO-6429 SGR 39 and SGR 49 con-
       trols, which allow an application to reset the terminal to
       its  original  foreground and background colors.	 From the
       users' perspective, the application is able to  draw  col-
       ored  text  on  a  background  whose color is set indepen-
       dently, providing better	 control  over	color  contrasts.
       See the use_default_colors(3) manual page for details.

       The  ncurses  library  includes	a  function for directing
       application output to a printer attached to  the	 terminal
       device.	See the curs_print(3) manual page for details.

PORTABILITY
       The  ncurses  library is intended to be BASE-level confor-
       mant with the XSI Curses standard.   Certain  portions  of
       the  EXTENDED  XSI  Curses  functionality (including color
       support) are supported.	The following EXTENDED XSI Curses
       calls  in  support  of wide (multibyte) characters are not
       yet implemented: add_wch, add_wchnstr, add_wchstr,  addnw-
       str,  addwstr,  bkgrnd,	bkgrndset,  border_set,	 box_set,
       echo_wchar,  erasewchar,	 get_wch,  get_wstr,   getbkgrnd,
       getcchar,   getn_wstr,	getwchtype,   hline_set,  in_wch,
       in_wchnstr,  in_wchstr,	 innwstr,   ins_nwstr,	 ins_wch,
       ins_wstr,    inwchnstr,	  inwchstr,   inwstr,	key_name,

							       14

ncurses(3)					       ncurses(3)

       killwchar,   mvadd_wch,	  mvadd_wchnstr,    mvadd_wchstr,
       mvaddnwstr, mvaddwstr, mvget_wch, mvget_wstr, mvgetn_wstr,
       mvhline_set, mvin_wch, mvinnwstr, mvins_nwstr,  mvins_wch,
       mvins_wstr, mvinwchnstr, mvinwchstr, mvinwchstr, mvinwstr,
       mvvline_set,  mvwadd_wch,  mvwadd_wchnstr,  mvwadd_wchstr,
       mvwaddnwstr,	mvwaddwstr,	mvwget_ch,    mvwget_wch,
       mvwget_wstr,   mvwgetn_wstr,   mvwhline_set,    mvwin_wch,
       mvwin_wchnstr,	mvwin_wchstr,  mvwinnwstr,  mvwins_nwstr,
       mvwins_wch, mvwins_wstr, mvwinwchnstr.	mvwinwstr,  mvwv-
       line_set,  pecho_wchar,	setcchar,  slk_wset,  term_attrs,
       unget_wch,  vhline_set,	vid_attr,  vid_puts,   vline_set,
       wadd_wch,  wadd_wchnstr, wadd_wchstr, waddnwstr, waddwstr,
       waddwstr, wbkgrnd,  wbkgrndset,	wbkgrndset,  wborder_set,
       wecho_wchar, wecho_wchar, wget_wch, wget_wstr, wgetbkgrnd,
       wgetn_wstr, whline_set, win_wch, win_wchnstr,  win_wchstr,
       winnwstr,  wins_nwstr,  wins_wch,  wins_wstr,  winwchnstr,
       winwchstr, winwstr, wunctrl, wvline_set,

       A small number of local differences (that  is,  individual
       differences  between the XSI Curses and ncurses calls) are
       described in  PORTABILITY  sections  of	the  library  man
       pages.

       The routine has_key is not part of XPG4, nor is it present
       in SVr4.	 See the curs_getch(3) manual page for details.

       The routine slk_attr is not part of XPG4, nor is	 it  pre-
       sent  in	 SVr4.	 See  the  curs_slk(3)	manual	page  for
       details.

       The routines getmouse, mousemask, ungetmouse,  mouseinter-
       val,  and  wenclose  relating to mouse interfacing are not
       part of XPG4, nor are  they  present  in	 SVr4.	 See  the
       curs_mouse(3) manual page for details.

       The routine mcprint was not present in any previous curses
       implementation.	See the	 curs_print(3)	manual	page  for
       details.

       The routine wresize is not part of XPG4, nor is it present
       in SVr4.	 See the wresize(3) manual page for details.

       In historic curses versions, delays embedded in the  capa-
       bilities cr, ind, cub1, ff and tab activated corresponding
       delay bits in the UNIX tty driver.   In	this  implementa-
       tion,  all  padding  is done by NUL sends.  This method is
       slightly more expensive, but narrows the interface to  the
       UNIX  kernel  significantly  and	 increases  the package's
       portability correspondingly.

       In the XSI standard and	SVr4  manual  pages,  many  entry
       points have prototype arguments of the for char *const (or
       cchar_t	*const,	 or  wchar_t  *const,  or  void	 *const).
       Depending  on  one's interpretation of the ANSI C standard

							       15

ncurses(3)					       ncurses(3)

       (see section 3.5.4.1), these declarations are  either  (a)
       meaningless, or (b) meaningless and illegal.  The declara-
       tion const char *x is a modifiable pointer to unmodifiable
       data,  but  char	 *const	 x' is an unmodifiable pointer to
       modifiable data.	 Given that C passes arguments by  value,
       <type>  *const  as a formal type is at best dubious.  Some
       compilers choke on the  prototypes.   Therefore,	 in  this
       implementation,	they  have been changed to const <type> *
       globally.

NOTES
       The header  file	 <curses.h>  automatically  includes  the
       header files <stdio.h> and <unctrl.h>.

       If  standard  output from a ncurses program is re-directed
       to something which is not a tty, screen	updates	 will  be
       directed to standard error.  This was an undocumented fea-
       ture of AT&T System V Release 3 curses.

AUTHORS
       Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric	S.  Raymond,  Thomas  E.  Dickey.
       Based on pcurses by Pavel Curtis.

							       16

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