356 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
356 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
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Announcing ncurses 5.0
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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 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.
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The ncurses code was developed under GNU/Linux. It should port easily
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to any ANSI/POSIX-conforming UNIX. It has even been ported to OS/2
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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/pub/gnu/ncurses. It is also
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available at [2]ftp://ftp.clark.net/pub/dickey/ncurses.
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Release Notes
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We decided to release ncurses as a new whole number release (5.0)
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because it incorporates several interface changes, including some that
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would invalidate existing shared libraries. These are the highlights
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from the change-log since ncurses 4.2 release.
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Interface changes:
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* The principal source of changes to the interface comes from the
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release of X/Open Curses in 1997. Earlier versions of ncurses (4.0
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and before) were based on a draft version of the specification.
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The release version adds parameters to some functions to support
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the evolving internationalization of curses. These summarize the
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impact:
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+ modified several prototypes to correspond with 1997 version
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of X/Open Curses (affects ABI since developers have used
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attr_get).
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+ corrected prototypes for slk_* functions, using chtype rather
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than attr_t.
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+ the slk_attr_{set,off,on} functions need an additional void*
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parameter according to XSI.
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+ correct macros for wattr_set, wattr_get, separate wattrset
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macro from these to preserve behavior that allows attributes
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to be combined with color pair numbers.
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+ reviewed/updated curses.h, term.h against X/Open Curses Issue
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4 Version 2. This includes making some parameters
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NCURSES_CONST rather than const, e.g., in termcap.h.
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+ reviewed/corrected macros in curses.h as per XSI document.
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+ add set_a_attributes and set_pglen_inch to terminfo
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structure, as per XSI and Solaris 2.5.
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* The newest version of the X/Open Curses is implemented on Solaris
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and other vendor's systems. It adds new features to the terminfo
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descriptions:
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+ implement tparm %l format.
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+ implement tparm printf-style width and precision for %s, %d,
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%x, %o as per XSI.
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* We made additional changes to reduce impact by future interface
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changes:
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+ rename key_names[] array to _nc_key_names since it is not
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part of the curses interface.
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+ move macro winch to a function, to hide details of struct
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ldat
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* modify configure script to embed ABI in shared libraries for HP-UX
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10.x (detailed request by Tim Mooney).
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* modify configuration of shared libraries on Digital Unix so that
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versioning is embedded in the library, rather than implied by
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links (patch by Tim Mooney).
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New features:
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* enable sigwinch handler by default.
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* turn on hashmap scrolling code by default
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* improved support for termcap applications
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+ modify tput to accept termcap names as an alternative to
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terminfo names.
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+ provide support for termcap PC variable by copying it from
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terminfo data and using it as the padding character in tputs.
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+ provide support for termcap ospeed variable by copying it
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from the internal cur_term member, and using ospeed as the
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baudrate reference for the delay_output and tputs functions.
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+ change name-comparisons in lib_termcap to compare no more
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than 2 characters.
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+ add configure option --enable-tcap-names, which essentially
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allows users to define new capabilities as in termcap.
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* add mouse support to ncurses menus.
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* add mouse and dll support for OS/2 EMX
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* modify terminfo parsing to accept octal and hexadecimal constants
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* add configure option --enable-no-padding, to allow environment
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variable $NCURSES_NO_PADDING to eliminate non-mandatory padding,
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thereby making terminal emulators (e.g., for vt100) a little more
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efficient.
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* modify lib_color.c to eliminate dependency on orig_colors and
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orig_pair, since SVr4 curses does not require these either, but
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uses them when they are available.
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* add -f option to infocmp and tic, which formats the terminfo
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if/then/else/endif so that they are readable (with newlines and
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tabs).
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* modify tic to compile into %'char' form in preference to
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%{number}, since that is a little more efficient.
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Major bug fixes:
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* modify lib_tstp.c to block SIGTTOU when handling SIGTSTP, fixes a
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problem where ncurses applications which were run via a shell
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script would hang when given a ^Z. Also, check if the terminal's
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process group is consistent, i.e., a shell has not taken ownership
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of it, before deciding to save the current terminal settings in
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the SIGTSTP handler.
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* suppress sc/rc capabilities from terminal description if they
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appear in smcup/rmcup. This affects only scrolling optimization,
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to fix a problem reported by several people with xterm's alternate
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screen, though the problem is more general.
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* modify relative_move and tputs to avoid an interaction with the
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BSD-style padding. The relative_move function could produce a
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string to replace on the screen which began with a numeric
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character, which was then interpreted by tputs as padding.
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* modify setupterm so that cancelled strings are treated the same as
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absent strings, cancelled and absent booleans false (does not
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affect tic, infocmp).
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* modify lib_vidattr.c to allow for terminal types (e.g.,
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xterm-color) which may reset all attributes in the 'op'
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capability, so that colors are set before turning on bold and
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other attributes, but still after turning attributes off.
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* use 'access()' to check if ncurses library should be permitted to
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open or modify files with fopen/open/link/unlink/remove calls, in
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case the calling application is running in setuid mode.
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* correction to doupdate, for case where terminal does not support
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insert/delete character. The logic did not check that there was a
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difference in alignment of changes to old/new screens before
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repainting the whole non-blank portion of the line. Modified to
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fall through into logic that reduces by the portion which does not
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differ.
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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, but not all EXTENDED features). Most
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EXTENDED-level features not directly concerned with wide-character
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support are implemented, including many function calls not
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supported under SVr4 curses (but portability of all calls is
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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 OS/2
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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
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the use of function keys, e.g., disabling the ncurses KEY_MOUSE,
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or by defining more than one control sequence to map to a given
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key code.
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* Support for 16-color terminals, such as aixterm and XFree86 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 [3]Curses Development Kit
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[4]ftp://ftp.clark.net/pub/dickey/cdk.
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ded
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directory-editor [5]ftp://ftp.clark.net/pub/dickey/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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lynx
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the character-screen WWW browser
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Midnight Commander 4.1
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file manager
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mutt
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mail utility
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ncftp
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file-transfer utility
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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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tin
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newsreader, supporting color, MIME
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[6]ftp://ftp.akk.uni-karlsruhe.de/pub/news/clients/tin-unoff.
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taper
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tape archive utility
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vh-1.6
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Volks-Hypertext browser for the Jargon File
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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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vile
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vi-like-emacs [7]ftp://ftp.clark.net/pub/dickey/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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The original developers of ncurses are [8]Zeyd Ben-Halim and [9]Eric
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S. Raymond. Ongoing work is being done by [10]Thomas Dickey and
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[11]J<>rgen Pfeifer. [12]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 [13]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 [14]ftp://ftp.clark.net/pub/dickey/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 includes and uses a version of the terminfo-format
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terminal description file maintained by Eric Raymond.
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[15]http://earthspace.net/~esr/terminfo.
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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 [16]Richard Shuford's archive.
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References
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1. ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/ncurses
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2. ftp://ftp.clark.net/pub/dickey/ncurses
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3. http://www.vexus.ca/CDK.html
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4. ftp://ftp.clark.net/pub/dickey/cdk
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5. ftp://ftp.clark.net/pub/dickey/ded
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6. ftp://ftp.akk.uni-karlsruhe.de/pub/news/clients/tin-unoff
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7. ftp://ftp.clark.net/pub/dickey/vile
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8. mailto:zmbenhal@netcom.com
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9. http://www.ccil.org/~esr/home.html
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10. mailto:dickey@clark.net
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11. mailto:juergen.pfeifer@gmx.net
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12. mailto:dickey@clark.net
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13. mailto:bug-ncurses@gnu.org
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14. ftp://ftp.clark.net/pub/dickey/ncurses
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15. http://earthspace.net/~esr/terminfo
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16. http://www.cs.utk.edu/~shuford/terminal_index.html
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