289 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
289 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
Announcing ncurses 5.9
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The ncurses (new curses) library is a free software emulation of
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curses in System V Release 4.0, and more. It uses terminfo format,
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supports pads and color and multiple highlights and forms characters
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and function-key mapping, and has all the other SYSV-curses
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enhancements over BSD curses.
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In mid-June 1995, the maintainer of 4.4BSD curses declared that he
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considered 4.4BSD curses obsolete, and encouraged the keepers of Unix
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releases such as BSD/OS, FreeBSD and NetBSD to switch over to ncurses.
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The ncurses code was developed under GNU/Linux. It has been in use for
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some time with OpenBSD as the system curses library, and on FreeBSD
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and NetBSD as an external package. It should port easily to any
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ANSI/POSIX-conforming UNIX. It has even been ported to OS/2 Warp!
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The distribution includes the library and support utilities, including
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a terminfo compiler tic(1), a decompiler infocmp(1), clear(1),
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tput(1), tset(1), and a termcap conversion tool captoinfo(1). Full
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manual pages are provided for the library and tools.
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The ncurses distribution is available via anonymous FTP at the GNU
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distribution site [1]ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/ncurses/ .
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It is also available at [2]ftp://invisible-island.net/ncurses/ .
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Release Notes
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This release is designed to be upward compatible from ncurses 5.0
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through 5.8; very few applications will require recompilation,
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depending on the platform. These are the highlights from the
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change-log since ncurses 5.8 release.
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This is a bug-fix release, correcting a small number of urgent
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problems in the ncurses library from the 5.8 release.
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It also improves the Ada95 binding:
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* fixes a longstanding portability problem with its use of the
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[3]set_field_type function. Because that function uses
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variable-length argument lists, its interface with gnat does not
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work with certain platforms.
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* improves configurability and portability, particularly when built
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separately from the main ncurses tree. The 5.8 release introduced
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scripts which can be used to construct separate tarballs for the
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Ada95 and ncurses examples.
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Those were a proof of concept. For the 5.9 release, those scripts
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are augmented with rpm- and dpkg-scripts used in test builds
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against a variety of gnat- and system ncurses versions as old as
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gnat 3.15 and ncurses 5.4 (see snapshots and systems tested
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[4]here.
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* additional improvements were made for portability of the ncurses
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examples, adding rpm- and dpkg-scripts for test-builds. See
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[5]this page for snapshots and other information.
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Features of Ncurses
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The ncurses package is fully compatible with SVr4 (System V Release 4)
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curses:
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* All 257 of the SVr4 calls have been implemented (and are
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documented).
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* Full support for SVr4 curses features including keyboard mapping,
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color, forms-drawing with ACS characters, and automatic
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recognition of keypad and function keys.
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* An emulation of the SVr4 panels library, supporting a stack of
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windows with backing store, is included.
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* An emulation of the SVr4 menus library, supporting a uniform but
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flexible interface for menu programming, is included.
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* An emulation of the SVr4 form library, supporting data collection
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through on-screen forms, is included.
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* Binary terminfo entries generated by the ncurses tic(1)
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implementation are bit-for-bit-compatible with the entry format
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SVr4 curses uses.
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* The utilities have options to allow you to filter terminfo entries
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for use with less capable curses/terminfo versions such as the
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HP/UX and AIX ports.
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The ncurses package also has many useful extensions over SVr4:
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* The API is 8-bit clean and base-level conformant with the X/OPEN
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curses specification, XSI curses (that is, it implements all BASE
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level features, and most EXTENDED features). It includes many
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function calls not supported under SVr4 curses (but portability of
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all calls is documented so you can use the SVr4 subset only).
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* Unlike SVr3 curses, ncurses can write to the rightmost-bottommost
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corner of the screen if your terminal has an insert-character
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capability.
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* Ada95 and C++ bindings.
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* Support for mouse event reporting with X Window xterm and FreeBSD
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and OS/2 console windows.
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* Extended mouse support via Alessandro Rubini's gpm package.
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* The function wresize allows you to resize windows, preserving
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their data.
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* The function use_default_colors allows you to use the terminal's
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default colors for the default color pair, achieving the effect of
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transparent colors.
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* The functions keyok and define_key allow you to better control the
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use of function keys, e.g., disabling the ncurses KEY_MOUSE, or by
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defining more than one control sequence to map to a given key
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code.
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* Support for 256-color terminals, such as modern xterm, when
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configured using the --enable-ext-colors option.
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* Support for 16-color terminals, such as aixterm and modern xterm.
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* Better cursor-movement optimization. The package now features a
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cursor-local-movement computation more efficient than either BSD's
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or System V's.
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* Super hardware scrolling support. The screen-update code
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incorporates a novel, simple, and cheap algorithm that enables it
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to make optimal use of hardware scrolling, line-insertion, and
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line-deletion for screen-line movements. This algorithm is more
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powerful than the 4.4BSD curses quickch routine.
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* Real support for terminals with the magic-cookie glitch. The
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screen-update code will refrain from drawing a highlight if the
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magic- cookie unattributed spaces required just before the
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beginning and after the end would step on a non-space character.
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It will automatically shift highlight boundaries when doing so
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would make it possible to draw the highlight without changing the
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visual appearance of the screen.
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* It is possible to generate the library with a list of pre-loaded
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fallback entries linked to it so that it can serve those terminal
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types even when no terminfo tree or termcap file is accessible
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(this may be useful for support of screen-oriented programs that
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must run in single-user mode).
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* The tic(1)/captoinfo utility provided with ncurses has the ability
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to translate many termcaps from the XENIX, IBM and AT&T extension
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sets.
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* A BSD-like tset(1) utility is provided.
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* The ncurses library and utilities will automatically read terminfo
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entries from $HOME/.terminfo if it exists, and compile to that
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directory if it exists and the user has no write access to the
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system directory. This feature makes it easier for users to have
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personal terminfo entries without giving up access to the system
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terminfo directory.
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* You may specify a path of directories to search for compiled
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descriptions with the environment variable TERMINFO_DIRS (this
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generalizes the feature provided by TERMINFO under stock System
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V.)
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* In terminfo source files, use capabilities may refer not just to
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other entries in the same source file (as in System V) but also to
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compiled entries in either the system terminfo directory or the
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user's $HOME/.terminfo directory.
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* A script (capconvert) is provided to help BSD users transition
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from termcap to terminfo. It gathers the information in a TERMCAP
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environment variable and/or a ~/.termcap local entries file and
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converts it to an equivalent local terminfo tree under
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$HOME/.terminfo.
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* Automatic fallback to the /etc/termcap file can be compiled in
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when it is not possible to build a terminfo tree. This feature is
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neither fast nor cheap, you don't want to use it unless you have
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to, but it's there.
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* The table-of-entries utility toe makes it easy for users to see
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exactly what terminal types are available on the system.
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* The library meets the XSI requirement that every macro entry point
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have a corresponding function which may be linked (and will be
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prototype-checked) if the macro definition is disabled with
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#undef.
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* An HTML "Introduction to Programming with NCURSES" document
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provides a narrative introduction to the curses programming
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interface.
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State of the Package
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Numerous bugs present in earlier versions have been fixed; the library
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is far more reliable than it used to be. Bounds checking in many
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`dangerous' entry points has been improved. The code is now type-safe
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according to gcc -Wall. The library has been checked for malloc leaks
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and arena corruption by the Purify memory-allocation tester.
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The ncurses code has been tested with a wide variety of applications
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including (versions starting with those noted):
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cdk
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Curses Development Kit
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[6]http://invisible-island.net/cdk/
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[7]http://www.vexus.ca/products/CDK/
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ded
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directory-editor
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[8]http://invisible-island.net/ded/
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dialog
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the underlying application used in Slackware's setup, and the
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basis for similar applications on GNU/Linux.
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[9]http://invisible-island.net/dialog/
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lynx
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the character-screen WWW browser
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[10]http://lynx.isc.org/release/
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Midnight Commander
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file manager
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[11]http://www.midnight-commander.org/
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mutt
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mail utility
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[12]http://www.mutt.org/
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ncftp
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file-transfer utility
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[13]http://www.ncftp.com/
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nvi
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New vi versions 1.50 are able to use ncurses versions 1.9.7 and
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later.
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[14]https://sites.google.com/a/bostic.com/keithbostic/nvi
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pinfo
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Lynx-like info browser.
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[15]https://alioth.debian.org/projects/pinfo/
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tin
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newsreader, supporting color, MIME [16]http://www.tin.org/
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as well as some that use ncurses for the terminfo support alone:
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minicom
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terminal emulator
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[17]http://alioth.debian.org/projects/minicom/
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vile
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vi-like-emacs
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[18]http://invisible-island.net/vile/
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The ncurses distribution includes a selection of test programs
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(including a few games).
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Who's Who and What's What
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Zeyd Ben-Halim started it from a previous package pcurses, written by
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Pavel Curtis. Eric S. Raymond continued development. Juergen Pfeifer
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wrote most of the form and menu libraries. Ongoing work is being done
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by [19]Thomas Dickey. Thomas Dickey acts as the maintainer for the
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Free Software Foundation, which holds the copyright on ncurses.
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Contact the current maintainers at [20]bug-ncurses@gnu.org.
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To join the ncurses mailing list, please write email to
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bug-ncurses-request@gnu.org containing the line:
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subscribe <name>@<host.domain>
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This list is open to anyone interested in helping with the development
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and testing of this package.
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Beta versions of ncurses and patches to the current release are made
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available at [21]ftp://invisible-island.net/ncurses/ .
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Future Plans
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* Extended-level XPG4 conformance, with internationalization
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support.
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* Ports to more systems, including DOS and Windows.
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We need people to help with these projects. If you are interested in
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working on them, please join the ncurses list.
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Other Related Resources
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The distribution provides a newer version of the terminfo-format
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terminal description file once maintained by [22]Eric Raymond . Unlike
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the older version, the termcap and terminfo data are provided in the
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same file, and provides several user-definable extensions beyond the
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X/Open specification.
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You can find lots of information on terminal-related topics not
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covered in the terminfo file at [23]Richard Shuford's archive .
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References
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1. ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/ncurses/
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2. ftp://invisible-island.net/ncurses/
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3. http://invisible-island.net/ncurses/man/form_fieldtype.3x
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4. http://invisible-island.net/ncurses/ncurses-Ada95.html
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5. http://invisible-island.net/ncurses/ncurses-examples.html
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6. http://invisible-island.net/cdk/
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7. http://www.vexus.ca/products/CDK/
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8. http://invisible-island.net/ded/
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9. http://invisible-island.net/dialog/
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10. http://lynx.isc.org/release/
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11. http://www.midnight-commander.org/
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12. http://www.mutt.org/
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13. http://www.ncftp.com/
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14. https://sites.google.com/a/bostic.com/keithbostic/nvi
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15. https://alioth.debian.org/projects/pinfo/
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16. http://www.tin.org/
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17. http://alioth.debian.org/projects/minicom/
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18. http://invisible-island.net/vile/
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19. mailto:dickey@invisible-island.net
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20. mailto:bug-ncurses@gnu.org
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21. ftp://invisible-island.net/ncurses/
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22. http://www.catb.org/~esr/terminfo/
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23. http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.cs.utk.edu/~shuford/terminal
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