597 lines
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597 lines
24 KiB
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$Id: announce.html.in,v 1.41 2000/10/28 21:43:25 tom Exp $
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<HTML>
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<HEAD>
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<TITLE>Announcing ncurses @VERSION@</TITLE>
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<link rev=made href="mailto:bug-ncurses@gnu.org">
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</HEAD>
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<BODY>
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<H1>Announcing ncurses @VERSION@</H1>
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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
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and multiple highlights and forms characters and function-key mapping,
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and has all the other SYSV-curses enhancements over BSD curses.<P>
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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 is encouraging the keepers of
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Unix releases such as BSD/OS, freeBSD and netBSD to switch over to
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ncurses.<P>
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The ncurses code was developed under GNU/Linux.
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It has been in use for some time with OpenBSD as the system curses library,
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and on FreeBSD and NetBSD as an external package.
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It should port easily to any ANSI/POSIX-conforming UNIX.
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It has even been ported to OS/2 Warp!<P>
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The distribution includes the library and support utilities, including a
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terminfo compiler tic(1), a decompiler infocmp(1), clear(1), tput(1), tset(1),
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and a termcap conversion tool captoinfo(1). Full manual pages are provided for
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the library and tools.<P>
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The ncurses distribution is available via anonymous FTP at
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the GNU distribution site
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<A HREF="ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/ncurses">ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/ncurses</A>.
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<br>It is also available at
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<A HREF="ftp://dickey.his.com/ncurses">ftp://dickey.his.com/ncurses</A>.
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<H1>Release Notes</H1>
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This release is designed to be upward compatible from ncurses 5.0 and 5.1;
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very few applications will require recompilation, depending on the platform.
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These are the highlights from the change-log since ncurses 5.1 release.
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<p>
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Interface changes:
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<ul>
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<li>change type of <code>ospeed</code> variable back to
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<code>short</code> to match its use in legacy applications. It was
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altered after ncurses 4.2 to <code>speed_t</code> to repair a type
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mismatch which was introduced after 1.9.4 in 1995. The principal
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users of termcap continued to use <code>short</code>, which is
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not the same size.
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<p>
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<em>NOTE</em>: A few applications will have to be recompiled
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(about 1% of the programs in a typical Linux distribution,
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10% of the programs that use ncurses). These are easy to
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identify with <code>nm</code> or <code>strings</code>.
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<li>remove a private function <code>_nc_can_clear_with()</code>, which
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was built with the configure --enable-expanded option but not used.
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<li>add several private functions (prefixed with "_nc_") for tracing
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<code>chtype</code> values in the debug library, and for better
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access and buffer limit checking.
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</ul>
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New features and improvements:
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<ul>
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<li>rewrote <code>tgoto()</code> to make it better support existing
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termcap applications which use hardcoded strings rather than obtain
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all of their information from the termcap file. If the string does
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not appear to be a terminfo string (i.e., does not refer to a "%p"
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parameter, or terminfo-style padding), and termcap support is configured, <code>tgoto()</code>
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will interpret it as termcap. Otherwise, as before, it will use
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<code>tparm()</code>.
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<li>to ensure that the <code>tgoto()</code> changes work properly,
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added checks to <code>tic</code> which report capabilities that do
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not reference the expected number of parameters.
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<li>new configure script options:
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<ul>
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<li>option <code>--disable-root-environ</code> adds runtime checks
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which tell ncurses to disregard $TERMINFO and similar environment
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variables if the current user is root, or running setuid/setgid.
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<li>option <code>--disable-assumed-color</code> allows you to use the
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pre-5.1 convention of default colors used for color-pair 0 to be
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configured (see assume_default_colors()).
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<li>implement configure script options that transform installed
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program names, e.g., <code>--program-prefix</code>, including the
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manpage names and cross references.
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<li>option <code>--with-database</code> allows you to specify a
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different terminfo source-file to install. On OS/2 EMX, the
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default is misc/emx.src, otherwise misc/terminfo.src
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<li>option <code>--with-default-terminfo-dir</code> allows you to
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specify the default terminfo database directory.
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<li>option <code>--with-libtool</code> allows you to build with
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<code>libtool</code>. <p> <em>NOTE</em>: <code>libtool</code>
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uses a different notation for numbering shared library versions
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from the existing ncurses configuration.
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<li>option <code>--with-manpage-tbl</code> causes the manpages to be
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preprocessed by tbl(1) prior to installation,
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<li>option <code>--without-curses-h</code> causes the installation
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process to install curses.h as ncurses.h and make appropriate
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changes to headers and manpages.
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</ul>
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<li>modified configure script options:
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<ul>
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<li>change symbol used by the <code>--install-prefix</code> configure
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option from <code>INSTALL_PREFIX</code> to <code>DESTDIR</code>
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(the latter has become common usage although the name is
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misleading).
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<li>modify <code>ld -rpath</code> options (e.g., Linux, and Solaris)
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to use an absolute pathname for the build tree's lib directory,
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avoiding confusion with directories relative to the current one
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with the installed programs.
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<li>modified <code>misc/run_tic.in</code> to use
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<code>tic -o</code>, to eliminate dependency on
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<code>$TERMINFO</code> variable for installs.
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</ul>
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<li>terminfo database:
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<ul>
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<li>updated xterm terminfo entries to match XFree86 xterm patch #146.
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<li>added amiga-vnc,
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Matrix Orbital, and
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QNX qansi to misc/terminfo.src.
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<li>added os2 entry to misc/emx.src.
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<li>add S0 and E0 extensions to <code>screen</code>'s terminfo entry
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since otherwise the FreeBSD port makes it pass termcap equivalents
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to <code>tgoto</code>, which would be misinterpreted by older
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versions of ncurses.
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</ul>
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<li>improvements to program usability:
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<ul>
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<li>modify programs to use <code>curses_version()</code> string to
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report the version of ncurses with which they are compiled rather
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than the NCURSES_VERSION string. The function returns the patch
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level in addition to the major and minor version numbers.
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<li>modify <code>tput</code> program so it can be renamed or invoked via a link as
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'reset' or 'init', producing the same effect as <code>tput reset</code> or <code>tput init</code>.
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<li>add error checking to infocmp's -v and -m options to ensure that
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the option value is indeed a number.
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</ul>
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<li>improved performance:
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<ul>
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<li>replace a lookup table in lib_vidattr.c used to decode
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<code>no_color_video</code> with a logic expression which is faster.
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</ul>
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</ul>
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Major bug fixes:
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<ul>
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<li>correct <code>manlinks.sed</code> script introduced in ncurses 5.1
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to avoid using ERE "\+", which is not understood by standard versions
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of <code>sed</code>. This happens to work with GNU <code>sed</code>,
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but is not portable, and was the initial motivation for this release.
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<li>remove "hpux10.*" case from CF_SHARED_OPTS configure script macro.
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This differed from the "hpux*" case by using reversed symbolic
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links, which made the 5.1 version not match the configuration of
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5.0 shared libraries.
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<li>guard against corrupt terminfo data:
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<ul>
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<li>modify <code>tparm()</code> to disallow arithmetic on strings,
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analyze the varargs list to read strings as strings and numbers as
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numbers.
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<li>modify <code>tparm()</code>'s internal function
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<code>spop()</code> to treat a null pointer as an empty string.
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<li>modify <code>parse_format()</code> in lib_tparm.c to ignore
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precision if it is longer than 10000.
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<li>rewrote limit checks in lib_mvcur.c using new functions
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<code>_nc_safe_strcat()</code>, etc. Made other related changes to
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check lengths used for <code>strcat()</code> and
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<code>strcpy()</code>.
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</ul>
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<li>corrections to screen optimization:
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<ul>
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<li>added special case in lib_vidattr.c to reset underline and
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standout for devices that have no sgr0 defined.
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<li>change handling of <code>non_dest_scroll_region</code> in
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tty_update.c to clear text after it is shifted in rather than before
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shifting out. Also correct row computation.
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<li>modify <code>rs2</code> capability in xterm-r6 and similar entries
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where cursor save/restore bracketed the sequence for resetting video
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attributes. The cursor restore would undo that.
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</ul>
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<li>UTF-8 support:
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<ul>
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<li>when checking LC_ALL, LC_CTYPE, and LANG environment variables
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for UTF-8 locale, ignore those which are set to an empty value, as
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per SUSV2.
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<li>encode 0xFFFD in UTF-8 with 3 bytes, not 2.
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<li>modify <code>_nc_utf8_outch()</code> to avoid sign-extension when
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checking for out-of-range value.
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</ul>
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<li>other library fixes:
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<ul>
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<li>added checks for an empty <code>$HOME</code> environment
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variable, to avoid retrieving terminfo descriptions from
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<code>./.terminfo</code> .
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<li>change functions <code>_nc_parse_entry()</code> and
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<code>postprocess_termcap()</code> to avoid using
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<code>strtok()</code>, because it is non-reentrant.
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<li>initialize <code>fds[]</code> array to 0's in
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<code>_nc_timed_wait()</code>; apparently <code>poll()</code> only
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sets the <code>revents</code> members of that array when there is
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activity corresponding to the related file.
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<li>add a check for null pointer in <code>Make_Enum_Type()</code>.
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<li>fix a heap problem with the c++ binding.
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<li>correct missing includes for <string.h> in several places,
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including the C++ binding. This is not noted by gcc unless we use
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the <code>-fno-builtin</code> option.
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</ul>
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<li>several fixes for tic:
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<ul>
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<li>add a check for empty buffers returned by <code>fgets()</code> in
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comp_scan.c <code>next_char()</code> function, in case
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<code>tic</code> is run on a non-text file (fixes a core dump).
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<li>modify <code>tic</code> to verify that its inputs are really files,
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in case someone tries to read a directory (or
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<code>/dev/zero</code>).
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<li>correct an uninitialized parameter to <code>open_tempfile()</code>
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in tic.c which made "tic -I" give an ambiguous error message about
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<code>tmpnam</code>.
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<li>correct logic in <code>adjust_cancels()</code>, which did not check
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both alternatives when reclassifying an extended name between
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boolean, number and string, causing an infinite loop in
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<code>tic</code>.
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</ul>
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<li>using new checks in <code>tic</code> for parameter counts in
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capability strings, found/fixed several errors both in the
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terminfo database and in the include/Caps file.
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<ul>
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<li>modified several terminfo capability strings, including the
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definitions for setaf, setab, in include/Caps to indicate that the
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entries are parameterized. This information is used to tell which
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strings are translated when converting to termcap. This fixes a
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problem where the generated termcap would contain a spurious "%p1"
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for the terminfo "%p1%d".
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<li>correct parameter counts in include/Caps for dclk as well as some
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printer-specific capabilities: csnm, defc, scs, scsd, smgtp, smglp.
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</ul>
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<li>various fixes for install scripts used to support configure
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<code>--srcdir</code> and <code>--with-install-prefix</code>.
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<li>correct several mismatches between manpage filename and ".TH"
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directives, renaming dft_fgbg.3x to default_colors.3x and
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menu_attribs.3x to menu_attributes.3x.
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</ul>
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Portability:
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<ul>
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<li>configure script:
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<ul>
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<li>newer config.guess, config.sub, including changes to support OS/2
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EMX. The configure script for OS/2 EMX still relies on a patch
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since there is no (working) support for that platform in the main
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autoconf distribution.
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<li>make configure script checks on variables <code>$GCC</code> and
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<code>$GXX</code> consistently compare against 'yes' rather than
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test if they are nonnull, since either may be set to the
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corresponding name of the C or C++ compiler.
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<li>change configure script to use AC_CANONICAL_SYSTEM rather than
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AC_CANONICAL_HOST, which means that <code>configure --target</code>
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will set a default program-prefix.
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<li>modify the check for big-core to force a couple of memory
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accesses, which may work as needed for older/less-capable machines
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(if not, there's still the explicit configure option).
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<li>modify configure test for <code>tcgetattr()</code> to allow for
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old implementations, e.g., on BeOS, which only defined it as a
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macro.
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<li>add configure check for filesystems (such as OS/2 EMX) which do
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not distinguish between upper/lowercase filenames, use this to fix
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tags rules in makefiles.
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<li>add MKncurses_def.sh to generate fallback definitions for
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ncurses_cfg.h, to quiet gcc -Wundef warnings, modified ifdef's in
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code to consistently use "#if" rather than "#ifdef".
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<li>change most remaining unquoted parameters of <code>test</code> in
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configure script to use quotes, for instance fixing a problem in the
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<code>--disable-database</code> option.
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<li>modify scripts so that "make install.data" works on OS/2 EMX.
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<li>modify scripts and makefiles so the Ada95 directory builds on
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OS/2 EMX.
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</ul>
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<li>library:
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<ul>
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<li>replaced case-statement in <code>_nc_tracebits()</code> for CSIZE
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with a table to simplify working around implementations that define
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random combinations of the related macros to zero.
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<li>improved OS/2 mouse support by retrying as a 2-button mouse if code
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fails to set up a 3-button mouse.
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<li>added private entrypoint <code>_nc_basename()</code>, used to
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consolidate related code in progs, as well as accommodating OS/2 EMX
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pathnames.
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<li>alter definition of NCURSES_CONST to make it non-empty.
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<li>redefine 'TEXT' in menu.h for AMIGA, since it is reported to have
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an (unspecified) symbol conflict.
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</ul>
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<li>programs:
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<ul>
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<li>modified progs/tset.c and tack/sysdep.c to build with sgttyb
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interface if neither termio or termios is available. Tested this
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with FreeBSD 2.1.5 (which does have termios - but the sgttyb does
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work).
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</ul>
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</ul>
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<H1>Features of Ncurses</H1>
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The ncurses package is fully compatible with SVr4 (System V Release 4) curses:
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<UL>
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<LI>All 257 of the SVr4 calls have been implemented (and are documented).
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<LI>Full support for SVr4 curses features including keyboard mapping, color,
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forms-drawing with ACS characters, and automatic recognition of keypad
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and function keys.
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<LI>An emulation of the SVr4 panels library, supporting
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a stack of windows with backing store, is included.
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<LI>An emulation of the SVr4 menus library, supporting
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a uniform but flexible interface for menu programming, is included.
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<LI>An emulation of the SVr4 form library, supporting
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data collection through on-screen forms, is included.
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<LI>Binary terminfo entries generated by the ncurses tic(1) implementation
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are bit-for-bit-compatible with the entry format SVr4 curses uses.
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<LI>The utilities have options to allow you to filter terminfo
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entries for use with less capable <STRONG>curses</STRONG>/<STRONG>terminfo</STRONG>
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versions such as the HP/UX and AIX ports.</UL>
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The ncurses package also has many useful extensions over SVr4:
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<UL>
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<LI>The API is 8-bit clean and base-level conformant with the X/OPEN curses
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specification, XSI curses (that is, it implements all BASE level features,
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but not all EXTENDED features). Most EXTENDED-level features not directly
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concerned with wide-character support are implemented, including many
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function calls not supported under SVr4 curses (but portability of all
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calls is documented so you can use the SVr4 subset only).
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<LI>Unlike SVr3 curses, ncurses can write to the rightmost-bottommost corner
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of the screen if your terminal has an insert-character capability.
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<LI>Ada95 and C++ bindings.
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<LI>Support for mouse event reporting with X Window xterm and OS/2 console windows.
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<LI>Extended mouse support via Alessandro Rubini's gpm package.
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<LI>The function <CODE>wresize()</CODE> allows you to resize windows, preserving
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their data.
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<LI>The function <CODE>use_default_colors()</CODE> allows you to
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use the terminal's default colors for the default color pair,
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achieving the effect of transparent colors.
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<LI>The functions <CODE>keyok()</CODE>
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and <CODE>define_key()</CODE> allow
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you to better control the use of function keys,
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e.g., disabling the ncurses KEY_MOUSE,
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or by defining more than one control sequence to map to a given key code.
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<LI>Support for 16-color terminals, such as aixterm and XFree86 xterm.
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<LI>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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<LI>Super hardware scrolling support. The screen-update code incorporates
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a novel, simple, and cheap algorithm that enables it to make optimal
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use of hardware scrolling, line-insertion, and line-deletion
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for screen-line movements. This algorithm is more powerful than
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the 4.4BSD curses quickch() routine.
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<LI>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 magic-
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cookie unattributed spaces required just before the beginning and
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after the end would step on a non-space character. It will
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automatically shift highlight boundaries when doing so would make it
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possible to draw the highlight without changing the visual appearance
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of the screen.
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<LI>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 types even
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when no terminfo tree or termcap file is accessible (this may be useful
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for support of screen-oriented programs that must run in single-user mode).
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<LI>The tic(1)/captoinfo utility provided with ncurses has the
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ability to translate many termcaps from the XENIX, IBM and
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AT&T extension sets.
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<LI>A BSD-like tset(1) utility is provided.
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<LI>The ncurses library and utilities will automatically read terminfo
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entries from $HOME/.terminfo if it exists, and compile to that directory
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if it exists and the user has no write access to the system directory.
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This feature makes it easier for users to have personal terminfo entries
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without giving up access to the system terminfo directory.
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<LI>You may specify a path of directories to search for compiled
|
|
descriptions with the environment variable TERMINFO_DIRS (this
|
|
generalizes the feature provided by TERMINFO under stock System V.)
|
|
<LI>In terminfo source files, use capabilities may refer not just to
|
|
other entries in the same source file (as in System V) but also to
|
|
compiled entries in either the system terminfo directory or the user's
|
|
$HOME/.terminfo directory.
|
|
<LI>A script (<STRONG>capconvert</STRONG>) is provided to help BSD users
|
|
transition from termcap to terminfo. It gathers the information in a
|
|
TERMCAP environment variable and/or a ~/.termcap local entries file
|
|
and converts it to an equivalent local terminfo tree under $HOME/.terminfo.
|
|
<LI>Automatic fallback to the /etc/termcap file can be compiled in
|
|
when it is not possible to build a terminfo tree. This feature is neither
|
|
fast nor cheap, you don't want to use it unless you have to,
|
|
but it's there.
|
|
<LI>The table-of-entries utility <STRONG>toe</STRONG> makes it easy for users to
|
|
see exactly what terminal types are available on the system.
|
|
<LI>The library meets the XSI requirement that every macro entry
|
|
point have a corresponding function which may be linked (and will be
|
|
prototype-checked) if the macro definition is disabled with
|
|
<CODE>#undef</CODE>.
|
|
<LI>An HTML "Introduction to Programming with NCURSES" document provides
|
|
a narrative introduction to the curses programming interface.
|
|
</UL>
|
|
|
|
<H1>State of the Package</H1>
|
|
|
|
Numerous bugs present in earlier versions have been fixed; the
|
|
library is far more reliable than it used to be. Bounds checking in many
|
|
`dangerous' entry points has been improved. The code is now type-safe
|
|
according to gcc -Wall. The library has been checked for malloc leaks and
|
|
arena corruption by the Purify memory-allocation tester.<P>
|
|
|
|
The ncurses code has been tested with a wide variety of applications
|
|
including (versions starting with those noted):
|
|
<DL>
|
|
<DT> cdk
|
|
<DD> Curses Development Kit
|
|
<br>
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.vexus.ca/CDK.html">http://www.vexus.ca/CDK.html</a>
|
|
<br>
|
|
<A HREF="http://dickey.his.com/cdk/cdk.html">http://dickey.his.com/cdk</A>.
|
|
<DT> ded
|
|
<DD> directory-editor
|
|
<br>
|
|
<A HREF="http://dickey.his.com/ded/ded.html">http://dickey.his.com/ded</A>.
|
|
<DT> dialog
|
|
<DD> the underlying application used in Slackware's setup, and the basis
|
|
for similar applications on GNU/Linux.
|
|
<br>
|
|
<A HREF="http://dickey.his.com/dialog/dialog.html">http://dickey.his.com/dialog</A>.
|
|
<DT> lynx
|
|
<DD> the character-screen WWW browser
|
|
<br>
|
|
<A HREF="http://lynx.isc.org/release/">http://lynx.isc.org/release</A>.
|
|
<DT> Midnight Commander 4.1
|
|
<DD> file manager
|
|
<br>
|
|
<A HREF="www.gnome.org/mc/">www.gnome.org/mc/</A>.
|
|
<DT> mutt
|
|
<DD> mail utility
|
|
<br>
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.mutt.org">http://www.mutt.org</A>.
|
|
<DT> ncftp
|
|
<DD> file-transfer utility
|
|
<br>
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.ncftp.com">http://www.ncftp.com</A>.
|
|
<DT> nvi
|
|
<DD> New vi versions 1.50 are able to use ncurses versions 1.9.7 and later.
|
|
<br>
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.bostic.com/vi/">http://www.bostic.com/vi/</A>.
|
|
<DT> tin
|
|
<DD> newsreader, supporting color, MIME
|
|
<br>
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.tin.org">http://www.tin.org</A>.
|
|
<DT> taper
|
|
<DD> tape archive utility
|
|
<br>
|
|
<A HREF="http://members.iinet.net.au/~yusuf/taper/">http://members.iinet.net.au/~yusuf/taper/</A>.
|
|
<DT> vh-1.6
|
|
<DD> Volks-Hypertext browser for the Jargon File
|
|
<br>
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.bg.debian.org/Packages/unstable/text/vh.html">http://www.bg.debian.org/Packages/unstable/text/vh.html</A>.
|
|
</DL>
|
|
as well as some that use ncurses for the terminfo support alone:
|
|
<DL>
|
|
<DT> minicom
|
|
<DD> terminal emulator
|
|
<br>
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.pp.clinet.fi/~walker/minicom.html">http://www.pp.clinet.fi/~walker/minicom.html</A>.
|
|
<DT> vile
|
|
<DD> vi-like-emacs
|
|
<br>
|
|
<A HREF="http://dickey.his.com/vile/vile.html">http://dickey.his.com/vile</A>.
|
|
</DL>
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The ncurses distribution includes a selection of test programs (including
|
|
a few games).
|
|
|
|
<H2>Who's Who and What's What</H2>
|
|
|
|
The original developers of ncurses are <A
|
|
HREF="mailto:zmbenhal@netcom.com">Zeyd Ben-Halim</A> and
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.ccil.org/~esr/home.html">Eric S. Raymond</A>.
|
|
Ongoing work is being done by
|
|
<A HREF="mailto:dickey@herndon4.his.com">Thomas Dickey</A>
|
|
and
|
|
<A HREF="mailto:juergen.pfeifer@gmx.net">Jürgen Pfeifer</A>.
|
|
<A HREF="mailto:dickey@herndon4.his.com">Thomas Dickey</A>
|
|
acts as the maintainer for the Free Software Foundation, which holds the
|
|
copyright on ncurses.
|
|
Contact the current maintainers at
|
|
<A HREF="mailto:bug-ncurses@gnu.org">bug-ncurses@gnu.org</A>.
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
To join the ncurses mailing list, please write email to
|
|
<CODE>bug-ncurses-request@gnu.org</CODE> containing the line:
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
subscribe <name>@<host.domain>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
This list is open to anyone interested in helping with the development and
|
|
testing of this package.<P>
|
|
|
|
Beta versions of ncurses and patches to the current release are made available at
|
|
<A HREF="ftp://dickey.his.com/ncurses">ftp://dickey.his.com/ncurses</A>.
|
|
|
|
<H2>Future Plans</H2>
|
|
<UL>
|
|
<LI>Extended-level XPG4 conformance, with internationalization support.
|
|
<LI>Ports to more systems, including DOS and Windows.
|
|
</UL>
|
|
We need people to help with these projects. If you are interested in working
|
|
on them, please join the ncurses list.
|
|
|
|
<H2>Other Related Resources</H2>
|
|
|
|
The distribution includes and uses a version of the terminfo-format
|
|
terminal description file maintained by Eric Raymond.
|
|
<A HREF="http://earthspace.net/~esr/terminfo">http://earthspace.net/~esr/terminfo</A>.<P>
|
|
|
|
You can find lots of information on terminal-related topics
|
|
not covered in the terminfo file at
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.cs.utk.edu/~shuford/terminal_index.html">Richard Shuford's
|
|
archive</A>.
|
|
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|
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