terminfo - terminal capability database
/etc/terminfo/*/*
Terminfo is a database describing terminals, used by screen-oriented
programs such as
nvi(1),
lynx(1),
mutt(1), and other
curses applications, using high-level calls to libraries such as
ncurses(3NCURSES). It is also used via low-level calls by non-curses
applications which may be screen-oriented (such as
clear(1)) or
non-screen (such as
tabs(1)).
Terminfo describes terminals by giving a set of capabilities which they
have, by specifying how to perform screen operations, and by specifying
padding requirements and initialization sequences.
This manual describes
ncurses version 6.4 (patch 20221231).
Entries in
terminfo consist of a sequence of fields:
- •
- Each field ends with a comma “,” (embedded
commas may be escaped with a backslash or written as
“\054”).
- •
- White space between fields is ignored.
- •
- The first field in a terminfo entry begins in the
first column.
- •
- Newlines and leading whitespace (spaces or tabs) may be
used for formatting entries for readability. These are removed from parsed
entries.
- The infocmp -f and -W options rely on
this to format if-then-else expressions, or to enforce maximum line-width.
The resulting formatted terminal description can be read by
tic.
- •
- The first field for each terminal gives the names which are
known for the terminal, separated by “|” characters.
- The first name given is the most common abbreviation for
the terminal (its primary name), the last name given should be a long name
fully identifying the terminal (see longname(3X)), and all others
are treated as synonyms (aliases) for the primary terminal name.
- X/Open Curses advises that all names but the last should be
in lower case and contain no blanks; the last name may well contain upper
case and blanks for readability.
- This implementation is not so strict; it allows mixed case
in the primary name and aliases. If the last name has no embedded blanks,
it allows that to be both an alias and a verbose name (but will warn about
this ambiguity).
- •
- Lines beginning with a “#” in the first
column are treated as comments.
- While comment lines are legal at any point, the output of
captoinfo and infotocap (aliases for tic) will move
comments so they occur only between entries.
Terminal names (except for the last, verbose entry) should be chosen using the
following conventions. The particular piece of hardware making up the terminal
should have a root name, thus “hp2621”. This name should not
contain hyphens. Modes that the hardware can be in, or user preferences,
should be indicated by appending a hyphen and a mode suffix. Thus, a vt100 in
132-column mode would be vt100-w. The following suffixes should be used where
possible:
Suffix |
Meaning |
Example |
-nn
|
Number of lines on the screen |
aaa-60 |
-np |
Number of pages of memory |
c100-4p |
-am |
With automargins (usually the default) |
vt100-am |
-m |
Mono mode; suppress color |
ansi-m |
-mc |
Magic cookie; spaces when highlighting |
wy30-mc |
-na |
No arrow keys (leave them in local) |
c100-na |
-nam |
Without automatic margins |
vt100-nam |
-nl |
No status line |
att4415-nl |
-ns |
No status line |
hp2626-ns |
-rv |
Reverse video |
c100-rv |
-s |
Enable status line |
vt100-s |
-vb |
Use visible bell instead of beep |
wy370-vb |
-w |
Wide mode (> 80 columns, usually 132) |
vt100-w |
For more on terminal naming conventions, see the
term(7) manual page.
The terminfo entry consists of several
capabilities, i.e., features that
the terminal has, or methods for exercising the terminal's features.
After the first field (giving the name(s) of the terminal entry), there should
be one or more
capability fields. These are boolean, numeric or string
names with corresponding values:
- •
- Boolean capabilities are true when present, false when
absent. There is no explicit value for boolean capabilities.
- •
- Numeric capabilities have a “#” following the
name, then an unsigned decimal integer value.
- •
- String capabilities have a “=” following the
name, then an string of characters making up the capability value.
- String capabilities can be split into multiple lines, just
as the fields comprising a terminal entry can be split into multiple
lines. While blanks between fields are ignored, blanks embedded within a
string value are retained, except for leading blanks on a line.
Any capability can be
canceled, i.e., suppressed from the terminal entry,
by following its name with “@” rather than a capability value.
If there are two very similar terminals, one (the variant) can be defined as
being just like the other (the base) with certain exceptions. In the
definition of the variant, the string capability
use can be given with
the name of the base terminal:
- •
- The capabilities given before use override those in
the base type named by use.
- •
- If there are multiple use capabilities, they are
merged in reverse order. That is, the rightmost use reference is
processed first, then the one to its left, and so forth.
- •
- Capabilities given explicitly in the entry override those
brought in by use references.
A capability can be canceled by placing
xx@ to the left of the use
reference that imports it, where
xx is the capability. For example, the
entry
2621-nl, smkx@, rmkx@, use=2621,
defines a 2621-nl that does not have the
smkx or
rmkx
capabilities, and hence does not turn on the function key labels when in
visual mode. This is useful for different modes for a terminal, or for
different user preferences.
An entry included via
use can contain canceled capabilities, which have
the same effect as if those cancels were inline in the using terminal entry.
The following is a complete table of the capabilities included in a terminfo
description block and available to terminfo-using code. In each line of the
table,
The
variable is the name by which the programmer (at the terminfo level)
accesses the capability.
The
capname is the short name used in the text of the database, and is
used by a person updating the database. Whenever possible, capnames are chosen
to be the same as or similar to the ANSI X3.64-1979 standard (now superseded
by ECMA-48, which uses identical or very similar names). Semantics are also
intended to match those of the specification.
The termcap code is the old
termcap capability name (some capabilities
are new, and have names which termcap did not originate).
Capability names have no hard length limit, but an informal limit of 5
characters has been adopted to keep them short and to allow the tabs in the
source file
Caps to line up nicely.
Finally, the description field attempts to convey the semantics of the
capability. You may find some codes in the description field:
- (P)
- indicates that padding may be specified
- #[1-9]
- in the description field indicates that the string is
passed through tparm(3X) with parameters as given (#i).
- If no parameters are listed in the description, passing the
string through tparm(3X) may give unexpected results, e.g., if it
contains percent (%%) signs.
- (P*)
- indicates that padding may vary in proportion to the number
of lines affected
- (#i)
- indicates the ith parameter.
These are the boolean capabilities:
Variable |
Cap- |
TCap |
Description |
Booleans |
name |
Code |
|
auto_left_margin |
bw |
bw |
cub1 wraps from column 0 to last column |
auto_right_margin |
am |
am |
terminal has automatic margins |
back_color_erase |
bce |
ut |
screen erased with background color |
can_change |
ccc |
cc |
terminal can re-define existing colors |
ceol_standout_glitch |
xhp |
xs |
standout not erased by overwriting (hp) |
col_addr_glitch |
xhpa |
YA |
only positive motion for hpa/mhpa caps |
cpi_changes_res |
cpix |
YF |
changing character pitch changes resolution |
cr_cancels_micro_mode |
crxm |
YB |
using cr turns off micro mode |
dest_tabs_magic_smso |
xt |
xt |
tabs destructive, magic so char (t1061) |
eat_newline_glitch |
xenl |
xn |
newline ignored after 80 cols (concept) |
erase_overstrike |
eo |
eo |
can erase overstrikes with a blank |
generic_type |
gn |
gn |
generic line type |
hard_copy |
hc |
hc |
hardcopy terminal |
hard_cursor |
chts |
HC |
cursor is hard to see |
has_meta_key |
km |
km |
Has a meta key (i.e., sets 8th-bit) |
has_print_wheel |
daisy |
YC |
printer needs operator to change character set |
has_status_line |
hs |
hs |
has extra status line |
hue_lightness_saturation |
hls |
hl |
terminal uses only HLS color notation (Tektronix) |
insert_null_glitch |
in |
in |
insert mode distinguishes nulls |
lpi_changes_res |
lpix |
YG |
changing line pitch changes resolution |
memory_above |
da |
da |
display may be retained above the screen |
memory_below |
db |
db |
display may be retained below the screen |
move_insert_mode |
mir |
mi |
safe to move while in insert mode |
move_standout_mode |
msgr |
ms |
safe to move while in standout mode |
needs_xon_xoff |
nxon |
nx |
padding will not work, xon/xoff required |
no_esc_ctlc |
xsb |
xb |
beehive (f1=escape, f2=ctrl C) |
no_pad_char |
npc |
NP |
pad character does not exist |
non_dest_scroll_region |
ndscr |
ND |
scrolling region is non-destructive |
non_rev_rmcup |
nrrmc |
NR |
smcup does not reverse rmcup |
over_strike |
os |
os |
terminal can overstrike |
prtr_silent |
mc5i |
5i |
printer will not echo on screen |
row_addr_glitch |
xvpa |
YD |
only positive motion for vpa/mvpa caps |
semi_auto_right_margin |
sam |
YE |
printing in last column causes cr |
status_line_esc_ok |
eslok |
es |
escape can be used on the status line |
tilde_glitch |
hz |
hz |
cannot print ~'s (Hazeltine) |
transparent_underline |
ul |
ul |
underline character overstrikes |
xon_xoff |
xon |
xo |
terminal uses xon/xoff handshaking |
These are the numeric capabilities:
Variable |
Cap- |
TCap |
Description |
Numeric |
name |
Code |
|
columns |
cols |
co |
number of columns in a line |
init_tabs |
it |
it |
tabs initially every # spaces |
label_height |
lh |
lh |
rows in each label |
label_width |
lw |
lw |
columns in each label |
lines |
lines |
li |
number of lines on screen or page |
lines_of_memory |
lm |
lm |
lines of memory if > line. 0 means varies |
magic_cookie_glitch |
xmc |
sg |
number of blank characters left by smso or rmso |
max_attributes |
ma |
ma |
maximum combined attributes terminal can handle |
max_colors |
colors |
Co |
maximum number of colors on screen |
max_pairs |
pairs |
pa |
maximum number of color-pairs on the screen |
maximum_windows |
wnum |
MW |
maximum number of definable windows |
no_color_video |
ncv |
NC |
video attributes that cannot be used with colors |
num_labels |
nlab |
Nl |
number of labels on screen |
padding_baud_rate |
pb |
pb |
lowest baud rate where padding needed |
virtual_terminal |
vt |
vt |
virtual terminal number (CB/unix) |
width_status_line |
wsl |
ws |
number of columns in status line |
The following numeric capabilities are present in the SVr4.0 term structure, but
are not yet documented in the man page. They came in with SVr4's printer
support.
Variable |
Cap- |
TCap |
Description |
Numeric |
name |
Code |
|
bit_image_entwining |
bitwin |
Yo |
number of passes for each bit-image row |
bit_image_type |
bitype |
Yp |
type of bit-image device |
buffer_capacity |
bufsz |
Ya |
numbers of bytes buffered before printing |
buttons |
btns |
BT |
number of buttons on mouse |
dot_horz_spacing |
spinh |
Yc |
spacing of dots horizontally in dots per inch |
dot_vert_spacing |
spinv |
Yb |
spacing of pins vertically in pins per inch |
max_micro_address |
maddr |
Yd |
maximum value in micro_..._address |
max_micro_jump |
mjump |
Ye |
maximum value in parm_..._micro |
micro_col_size |
mcs |
Yf |
character step size when in micro mode |
micro_line_size |
mls |
Yg |
line step size when in micro mode |
number_of_pins |
npins |
Yh |
numbers of pins in print-head |
output_res_char |
orc |
Yi |
horizontal resolution in units per line |
output_res_horz_inch |
orhi |
Yk |
horizontal resolution in units per inch |
output_res_line |
orl |
Yj |
vertical resolution in units per line |
output_res_vert_inch |
orvi |
Yl |
vertical resolution in units per inch |
print_rate |
cps |
Ym |
print rate in characters per second |
wide_char_size |
widcs |
Yn |
character step size when in double wide mode |
These are the string capabilities:
Variable |
Cap- |
TCap |
Description |
String |
name |
Code |
|
acs_chars |
acsc |
ac |
graphics charset pairs, based on vt100 |
back_tab |
cbt |
bt |
back tab (P) |
bell |
bel |
bl |
audible signal (bell) (P) |
carriage_return |
cr |
cr |
carriage return (P*) (P*) |
change_char_pitch |
cpi |
ZA |
Change number of characters per inch to #1 |
change_line_pitch |
lpi |
ZB |
Change number of lines per inch to #1 |
change_res_horz |
chr |
ZC |
Change horizontal resolution to #1 |
change_res_vert |
cvr |
ZD |
Change vertical resolution to #1 |
change_scroll_region |
csr |
cs |
change region to line #1 to line #2 (P) |
char_padding |
rmp |
rP |
like ip but when in insert mode |
clear_all_tabs |
tbc |
ct |
clear all tab stops (P) |
clear_margins |
mgc |
MC |
clear right and left soft margins |
clear_screen |
clear |
cl |
clear screen and home cursor (P*) |
clr_bol |
el1 |
cb |
Clear to beginning of line |
clr_eol |
el |
ce |
clear to end of line (P) |
clr_eos |
ed |
cd |
clear to end of screen (P*) |
column_address |
hpa |
ch |
horizontal position #1, absolute (P) |
command_character |
cmdch |
CC |
terminal settable cmd character in prototype !? |
create_window |
cwin |
CW |
define a window #1 from #2,#3 to #4,#5 |
cursor_address |
cup |
cm |
move to row #1 columns #2 |
cursor_down |
cud1 |
do |
down one line |
cursor_home |
home |
ho |
home cursor (if no cup) |
cursor_invisible |
civis |
vi |
make cursor invisible |
cursor_left |
cub1 |
le |
move left one space |
cursor_mem_address |
mrcup |
CM |
memory relative cursor addressing, move to row #1 columns #2 |
cursor_normal |
cnorm |
ve |
make cursor appear normal (undo civis/cvvis) |
cursor_right |
cuf1 |
nd |
non-destructive space (move right one space) |
cursor_to_ll |
ll |
ll |
last line, first column (if no cup) |
cursor_up |
cuu1 |
up |
up one line |
cursor_visible |
cvvis |
vs |
make cursor very visible |
define_char |
defc |
ZE |
Define a character #1, #2 dots wide, descender #3 |
delete_character |
dch1 |
dc |
delete character (P*) |
delete_line |
dl1 |
dl |
delete line (P*) |
dial_phone |
dial |
DI |
dial number #1 |
dis_status_line |
dsl |
ds |
disable status line |
display_clock |
dclk |
DK |
display clock |
down_half_line |
hd |
hd |
half a line down |
ena_acs |
enacs |
eA |
enable alternate char set |
enter_alt_charset_mode |
smacs |
as |
start alternate character set (P) |
enter_am_mode |
smam |
SA |
turn on automatic margins |
enter_blink_mode |
blink |
mb |
turn on blinking |
enter_bold_mode |
bold |
md |
turn on bold (extra bright) mode |
enter_ca_mode |
smcup |
ti |
string to start programs using cup |
enter_delete_mode |
smdc |
dm |
enter delete mode |
enter_dim_mode |
dim |
mh |
turn on half-bright mode |
enter_doublewide_mode |
swidm |
ZF |
Enter double-wide mode |
enter_draft_quality |
sdrfq |
ZG |
Enter draft-quality mode |
enter_insert_mode |
smir |
im |
enter insert mode |
enter_italics_mode |
sitm |
ZH |
Enter italic mode |
enter_leftward_mode |
slm |
ZI |
Start leftward carriage motion |
enter_micro_mode |
smicm |
ZJ |
Start micro-motion mode |
enter_near_letter_quality |
snlq |
ZK |
Enter NLQ mode |
enter_normal_quality |
snrmq |
ZL |
Enter normal-quality mode |
enter_protected_mode |
prot |
mp |
turn on protected mode |
enter_reverse_mode |
rev |
mr |
turn on reverse video mode |
enter_secure_mode |
invis |
mk |
turn on blank mode (characters invisible) |
enter_shadow_mode |
sshm |
ZM |
Enter shadow-print mode |
enter_standout_mode |
smso |
so |
begin standout mode |
enter_subscript_mode |
ssubm |
ZN |
Enter subscript mode |
enter_superscript_mode |
ssupm |
ZO |
Enter superscript mode |
enter_underline_mode |
smul |
us |
begin underline mode |
enter_upward_mode |
sum |
ZP |
Start upward carriage motion |
enter_xon_mode |
smxon |
SX |
turn on xon/xoff handshaking |
erase_chars |
ech |
ec |
erase #1 characters (P) |
exit_alt_charset_mode |
rmacs |
ae |
end alternate character set (P) |
exit_am_mode |
rmam |
RA |
turn off automatic margins |
exit_attribute_mode |
sgr0 |
me |
turn off all attributes |
exit_ca_mode |
rmcup |
te |
strings to end programs using cup |
exit_delete_mode |
rmdc |
ed |
end delete mode |
exit_doublewide_mode |
rwidm |
ZQ |
End double-wide mode |
exit_insert_mode |
rmir |
ei |
exit insert mode |
exit_italics_mode |
ritm |
ZR |
End italic mode |
exit_leftward_mode |
rlm |
ZS |
End left-motion mode |
exit_micro_mode |
rmicm |
ZT |
End micro-motion mode |
exit_shadow_mode |
rshm |
ZU |
End shadow-print mode |
exit_standout_mode |
rmso |
se |
exit standout mode |
exit_subscript_mode |
rsubm |
ZV |
End subscript mode |
exit_superscript_mode |
rsupm |
ZW |
End superscript mode |
exit_underline_mode |
rmul |
ue |
exit underline mode |
exit_upward_mode |
rum |
ZX |
End reverse character motion |
exit_xon_mode |
rmxon |
RX |
turn off xon/xoff handshaking |
fixed_pause |
pause |
PA |
pause for 2-3 seconds |
flash_hook |
hook |
fh |
flash switch hook |
flash_screen |
flash |
vb |
visible bell (may not move cursor) |
form_feed |
ff |
ff |
hardcopy terminal page eject (P*) |
from_status_line |
fsl |
fs |
return from status line |
goto_window |
wingo |
WG |
go to window #1 |
hangup |
hup |
HU |
hang-up phone |
init_1string |
is1 |
i1 |
initialization string |
init_2string |
is2 |
is |
initialization string |
init_3string |
is3 |
i3 |
initialization string |
init_file |
if |
if |
name of initialization file |
init_prog |
iprog |
iP |
path name of program for initialization |
initialize_color |
initc |
Ic |
initialize color #1 to (#2,#3,#4) |
initialize_pair |
initp |
Ip |
Initialize color pair #1 to fg=(#2,#3,#4), bg=(#5,#6,#7) |
insert_character |
ich1 |
ic |
insert character (P) |
insert_line |
il1 |
al |
insert line (P*) |
insert_padding |
ip |
ip |
insert padding after inserted character |
key_a1 |
ka1 |
K1 |
upper left of keypad |
key_a3 |
ka3 |
K3 |
upper right of keypad |
key_b2 |
kb2 |
K2 |
center of keypad |
key_backspace |
kbs |
kb |
backspace key |
key_beg |
kbeg |
@1 |
begin key |
key_btab |
kcbt |
kB |
back-tab key |
key_c1 |
kc1 |
K4 |
lower left of keypad |
key_c3 |
kc3 |
K5 |
lower right of keypad |
key_cancel |
kcan |
@2 |
cancel key |
key_catab |
ktbc |
ka |
clear-all-tabs key |
key_clear |
kclr |
kC |
clear-screen or erase key |
key_close |
kclo |
@3 |
close key |
key_command |
kcmd |
@4 |
command key |
key_copy |
kcpy |
@5 |
copy key |
key_create |
kcrt |
@6 |
create key |
key_ctab |
kctab |
kt |
clear-tab key |
key_dc |
kdch1 |
kD |
delete-character key |
key_dl |
kdl1 |
kL |
delete-line key |
key_down |
kcud1 |
kd |
down-arrow key |
key_eic |
krmir |
kM |
sent by rmir or smir in insert mode |
key_end |
kend |
@7 |
end key |
key_enter |
kent |
@8 |
enter/send key |
key_eol |
kel |
kE |
clear-to-end-of-line key |
key_eos |
ked |
kS |
clear-to-end-of-screen key |
key_exit |
kext |
@9 |
exit key |
key_f0 |
kf0 |
k0 |
F0 function key |
key_f1 |
kf1 |
k1 |
F1 function key |
key_f10 |
kf10 |
k; |
F10 function key |
key_f11 |
kf11 |
F1 |
F11 function key |
key_f12 |
kf12 |
F2 |
F12 function key |
key_f13 |
kf13 |
F3 |
F13 function key |
key_f14 |
kf14 |
F4 |
F14 function key |
key_f15 |
kf15 |
F5 |
F15 function key |
key_f16 |
kf16 |
F6 |
F16 function key |
key_f17 |
kf17 |
F7 |
F17 function key |
key_f18 |
kf18 |
F8 |
F18 function key |
key_f19 |
kf19 |
F9 |
F19 function key |
key_f2 |
kf2 |
k2 |
F2 function key |
key_f20 |
kf20 |
FA |
F20 function key |
key_f21 |
kf21 |
FB |
F21 function key |
key_f22 |
kf22 |
FC |
F22 function key |
key_f23 |
kf23 |
FD |
F23 function key |
key_f24 |
kf24 |
FE |
F24 function key |
key_f25 |
kf25 |
FF |
F25 function key |
key_f26 |
kf26 |
FG |
F26 function key |
key_f27 |
kf27 |
FH |
F27 function key |
key_f28 |
kf28 |
FI |
F28 function key |
key_f29 |
kf29 |
FJ |
F29 function key |
key_f3 |
kf3 |
k3 |
F3 function key |
key_f30 |
kf30 |
FK |
F30 function key |
key_f31 |
kf31 |
FL |
F31 function key |
key_f32 |
kf32 |
FM |
F32 function key |
key_f33 |
kf33 |
FN |
F33 function key |
key_f34 |
kf34 |
FO |
F34 function key |
key_f35 |
kf35 |
FP |
F35 function key |
key_f36 |
kf36 |
FQ |
F36 function key |
key_f37 |
kf37 |
FR |
F37 function key |
key_f38 |
kf38 |
FS |
F38 function key |
key_f39 |
kf39 |
FT |
F39 function key |
key_f4 |
kf4 |
k4 |
F4 function key |
key_f40 |
kf40 |
FU |
F40 function key |
key_f41 |
kf41 |
FV |
F41 function key |
key_f42 |
kf42 |
FW |
F42 function key |
key_f43 |
kf43 |
FX |
F43 function key |
key_f44 |
kf44 |
FY |
F44 function key |
key_f45 |
kf45 |
FZ |
F45 function key |
key_f46 |
kf46 |
Fa |
F46 function key |
key_f47 |
kf47 |
Fb |
F47 function key |
key_f48 |
kf48 |
Fc |
F48 function key |
key_f49 |
kf49 |
Fd |
F49 function key |
key_f5 |
kf5 |
k5 |
F5 function key |
key_f50 |
kf50 |
Fe |
F50 function key |
key_f51 |
kf51 |
Ff |
F51 function key |
key_f52 |
kf52 |
Fg |
F52 function key |
key_f53 |
kf53 |
Fh |
F53 function key |
key_f54 |
kf54 |
Fi |
F54 function key |
key_f55 |
kf55 |
Fj |
F55 function key |
key_f56 |
kf56 |
Fk |
F56 function key |
key_f57 |
kf57 |
Fl |
F57 function key |
key_f58 |
kf58 |
Fm |
F58 function key |
key_f59 |
kf59 |
Fn |
F59 function key |
key_f6 |
kf6 |
k6 |
F6 function key |
key_f60 |
kf60 |
Fo |
F60 function key |
key_f61 |
kf61 |
Fp |
F61 function key |
key_f62 |
kf62 |
Fq |
F62 function key |
key_f63 |
kf63 |
Fr |
F63 function key |
key_f7 |
kf7 |
k7 |
F7 function key |
key_f8 |
kf8 |
k8 |
F8 function key |
key_f9 |
kf9 |
k9 |
F9 function key |
key_find |
kfnd |
@0 |
find key |
key_help |
khlp |
%1 |
help key |
key_home |
khome |
kh |
home key |
key_ic |
kich1 |
kI |
insert-character key |
key_il |
kil1 |
kA |
insert-line key |
key_left |
kcub1 |
kl |
left-arrow key |
key_ll |
kll |
kH |
lower-left key (home down) |
key_mark |
kmrk |
%2 |
mark key |
key_message |
kmsg |
%3 |
message key |
key_move |
kmov |
%4 |
move key |
key_next |
knxt |
%5 |
next key |
key_npage |
knp |
kN |
next-page key |
key_open |
kopn |
%6 |
open key |
key_options |
kopt |
%7 |
options key |
key_ppage |
kpp |
kP |
previous-page key |
key_previous |
kprv |
%8 |
previous key |
key_print |
kprt |
%9 |
print key |
key_redo |
krdo |
%0 |
redo key |
key_reference |
kref |
&1 |
reference key |
key_refresh |
krfr |
&2 |
refresh key |
key_replace |
krpl |
&3 |
replace key |
key_restart |
krst |
&4 |
restart key |
key_resume |
kres |
&5 |
resume key |
key_right |
kcuf1 |
kr |
right-arrow key |
key_save |
ksav |
&6 |
save key |
key_sbeg |
kBEG |
&9 |
shifted begin key |
key_scancel |
kCAN |
&0 |
shifted cancel key |
key_scommand |
kCMD |
*1 |
shifted command key |
key_scopy |
kCPY |
*2 |
shifted copy key |
key_screate |
kCRT |
*3 |
shifted create key |
key_sdc |
kDC |
*4 |
shifted delete-character key |
key_sdl |
kDL |
*5 |
shifted delete-line key |
key_select |
kslt |
*6 |
select key |
key_send |
kEND |
*7 |
shifted end key |
key_seol |
kEOL |
*8 |
shifted clear-to-end-of-line key |
key_sexit |
kEXT |
*9 |
shifted exit key |
key_sf |
kind |
kF |
scroll-forward key |
key_sfind |
kFND |
*0 |
shifted find key |
key_shelp |
kHLP |
#1 |
shifted help key |
key_shome |
kHOM |
#2 |
shifted home key |
key_sic |
kIC |
#3 |
shifted insert-character key |
key_sleft |
kLFT |
#4 |
shifted left-arrow key |
key_smessage |
kMSG |
%a |
shifted message key |
key_smove |
kMOV |
%b |
shifted move key |
key_snext |
kNXT |
%c |
shifted next key |
key_soptions |
kOPT |
%d |
shifted options key |
key_sprevious |
kPRV |
%e |
shifted previous key |
key_sprint |
kPRT |
%f |
shifted print key |
key_sr |
kri |
kR |
scroll-backward key |
key_sredo |
kRDO |
%g |
shifted redo key |
key_sreplace |
kRPL |
%h |
shifted replace key |
key_sright |
kRIT |
%i |
shifted right-arrow key |
key_srsume |
kRES |
%j |
shifted resume key |
key_ssave |
kSAV |
!1 |
shifted save key |
key_ssuspend |
kSPD |
!2 |
shifted suspend key |
key_stab |
khts |
kT |
set-tab key |
key_sundo |
kUND |
!3 |
shifted undo key |
key_suspend |
kspd |
&7 |
suspend key |
key_undo |
kund |
&8 |
undo key |
key_up |
kcuu1 |
ku |
up-arrow key |
keypad_local |
rmkx |
ke |
leave 'keyboard_transmit' mode |
keypad_xmit |
smkx |
ks |
enter 'keyboard_transmit' mode |
lab_f0 |
lf0 |
l0 |
label on function key f0 if not f0 |
lab_f1 |
lf1 |
l1 |
label on function key f1 if not f1 |
lab_f10 |
lf10 |
la |
label on function key f10 if not f10 |
lab_f2 |
lf2 |
l2 |
label on function key f2 if not f2 |
lab_f3 |
lf3 |
l3 |
label on function key f3 if not f3 |
lab_f4 |
lf4 |
l4 |
label on function key f4 if not f4 |
lab_f5 |
lf5 |
l5 |
label on function key f5 if not f5 |
lab_f6 |
lf6 |
l6 |
label on function key f6 if not f6 |
lab_f7 |
lf7 |
l7 |
label on function key f7 if not f7 |
lab_f8 |
lf8 |
l8 |
label on function key f8 if not f8 |
lab_f9 |
lf9 |
l9 |
label on function key f9 if not f9 |
label_format |
fln |
Lf |
label format |
label_off |
rmln |
LF |
turn off soft labels |
label_on |
smln |
LO |
turn on soft labels |
meta_off |
rmm |
mo |
turn off meta mode |
meta_on |
smm |
mm |
turn on meta mode (8th-bit on) |
micro_column_address |
mhpa |
ZY |
Like column_address in micro mode |
micro_down |
mcud1 |
ZZ |
Like cursor_down in micro mode |
micro_left |
mcub1 |
Za |
Like cursor_left in micro mode |
micro_right |
mcuf1 |
Zb |
Like cursor_right in micro mode |
micro_row_address |
mvpa |
Zc |
Like row_address #1 in micro mode |
micro_up |
mcuu1 |
Zd |
Like cursor_up in micro mode |
newline |
nel |
nw |
newline (behave like cr followed by lf) |
order_of_pins |
porder |
Ze |
Match software bits to print-head pins |
orig_colors |
oc |
oc |
Set all color pairs to the original ones |
orig_pair |
op |
op |
Set default pair to its original value |
pad_char |
pad |
pc |
padding char (instead of null) |
parm_dch |
dch |
DC |
delete #1 characters (P*) |
parm_delete_line |
dl |
DL |
delete #1 lines (P*) |
parm_down_cursor |
cud |
DO |
down #1 lines (P*) |
parm_down_micro |
mcud |
Zf |
Like parm_down_cursor in micro mode |
parm_ich |
ich |
IC |
insert #1 characters (P*) |
parm_index |
indn |
SF |
scroll forward #1 lines (P) |
parm_insert_line |
il |
AL |
insert #1 lines (P*) |
parm_left_cursor |
cub |
LE |
move #1 characters to the left (P) |
parm_left_micro |
mcub |
Zg |
Like parm_left_cursor in micro mode |
parm_right_cursor |
cuf |
RI |
move #1 characters to the right (P*) |
parm_right_micro |
mcuf |
Zh |
Like parm_right_cursor in micro mode |
parm_rindex |
rin |
SR |
scroll back #1 lines (P) |
parm_up_cursor |
cuu |
UP |
up #1 lines (P*) |
parm_up_micro |
mcuu |
Zi |
Like parm_up_cursor in micro mode |
pkey_key |
pfkey |
pk |
program function key #1 to type string #2 |
pkey_local |
pfloc |
pl |
program function key #1 to execute string #2 |
pkey_xmit |
pfx |
px |
program function key #1 to transmit string #2 |
plab_norm |
pln |
pn |
program label #1 to show string #2 |
print_screen |
mc0 |
ps |
print contents of screen |
prtr_non |
mc5p |
pO |
turn on printer for #1 bytes |
prtr_off |
mc4 |
pf |
turn off printer |
prtr_on |
mc5 |
po |
turn on printer |
pulse |
pulse |
PU |
select pulse dialing |
quick_dial |
qdial |
QD |
dial number #1 without checking |
remove_clock |
rmclk |
RC |
remove clock |
repeat_char |
rep |
rp |
repeat char #1 #2 times (P*) |
req_for_input |
rfi |
RF |
send next input char (for ptys) |
reset_1string |
rs1 |
r1 |
reset string |
reset_2string |
rs2 |
r2 |
reset string |
reset_3string |
rs3 |
r3 |
reset string |
reset_file |
rf |
rf |
name of reset file |
restore_cursor |
rc |
rc |
restore cursor to position of last save_cursor |
row_address |
vpa |
cv |
vertical position #1 absolute (P) |
save_cursor |
sc |
sc |
save current cursor position (P) |
scroll_forward |
ind |
sf |
scroll text up (P) |
scroll_reverse |
ri |
sr |
scroll text down (P) |
select_char_set |
scs |
Zj |
Select character set, #1 |
set_attributes |
sgr |
sa |
define video attributes #1-#9 (PG9) |
set_background |
setb |
Sb |
Set background color #1 |
set_bottom_margin |
smgb |
Zk |
Set bottom margin at current line |
set_bottom_margin_parm |
smgbp |
Zl |
Set bottom margin at line #1 or (if smgtp is not given) #2 lines from
bottom |
set_clock |
sclk |
SC |
set clock, #1 hrs #2 mins #3 secs |
set_color_pair |
scp |
sp |
Set current color pair to #1 |
set_foreground |
setf |
Sf |
Set foreground color #1 |
set_left_margin |
smgl |
ML |
set left soft margin at current column. (ML is not in BSD
termcap). |
set_left_margin_parm |
smglp |
Zm |
Set left (right) margin at column #1 |
set_right_margin |
smgr |
MR |
set right soft margin at current column |
set_right_margin_parm |
smgrp |
Zn |
Set right margin at column #1 |
set_tab |
hts |
st |
set a tab in every row, current columns |
set_top_margin |
smgt |
Zo |
Set top margin at current line |
set_top_margin_parm |
smgtp |
Zp |
Set top (bottom) margin at row #1 |
set_window |
wind |
wi |
current window is lines #1-#2 cols #3-#4 |
start_bit_image |
sbim |
Zq |
Start printing bit image graphics |
start_char_set_def |
scsd |
Zr |
Start character set definition #1, with #2 characters in the set |
stop_bit_image |
rbim |
Zs |
Stop printing bit image graphics |
stop_char_set_def |
rcsd |
Zt |
End definition of character set #1 |
subscript_characters |
subcs |
Zu |
List of subscriptable characters |
superscript_characters |
supcs |
Zv |
List of superscriptable characters |
tab |
ht |
ta |
tab to next 8-space hardware tab stop |
these_cause_cr |
docr |
Zw |
Printing any of these characters causes CR |
to_status_line |
tsl |
ts |
move to status line, column #1 |
tone |
tone |
TO |
select touch tone dialing |
underline_char |
uc |
uc |
underline char and move past it |
up_half_line |
hu |
hu |
half a line up |
user0 |
u0 |
u0 |
User string #0 |
user1 |
u1 |
u1 |
User string #1 |
user2 |
u2 |
u2 |
User string #2 |
user3 |
u3 |
u3 |
User string #3 |
user4 |
u4 |
u4 |
User string #4 |
user5 |
u5 |
u5 |
User string #5 |
user6 |
u6 |
u6 |
User string #6 |
user7 |
u7 |
u7 |
User string #7 |
user8 |
u8 |
u8 |
User string #8 |
user9 |
u9 |
u9 |
User string #9 |
wait_tone |
wait |
WA |
wait for dial-tone |
xoff_character |
xoffc |
XF |
XOFF character |
xon_character |
xonc |
XN |
XON character |
zero_motion |
zerom |
Zx |
No motion for subsequent character |
The following string capabilities are present in the SVr4.0 term structure, but
were originally not documented in the man page.
Variable |
Cap- |
TCap |
Description |
String |
name |
Code |
|
alt_scancode_esc |
scesa |
S8 |
Alternate escape for scancode emulation |
bit_image_carriage_return |
bicr |
Yv |
Move to beginning of same row |
bit_image_newline |
binel |
Zz |
Move to next row of the bit image |
bit_image_repeat |
birep |
Xy |
Repeat bit image cell #1 #2 times |
char_set_names |
csnm |
Zy |
Produce #1'th item from list of character set names |
code_set_init |
csin |
ci |
Init sequence for multiple codesets |
color_names |
colornm |
Yw |
Give name for color #1 |
define_bit_image_region |
defbi |
Yx |
Define rectangular bit image region |
device_type |
devt |
dv |
Indicate language/codeset support |
display_pc_char |
dispc |
S1 |
Display PC character #1 |
end_bit_image_region |
endbi |
Yy |
End a bit-image region |
enter_pc_charset_mode |
smpch |
S2 |
Enter PC character display mode |
enter_scancode_mode |
smsc |
S4 |
Enter PC scancode mode |
exit_pc_charset_mode |
rmpch |
S3 |
Exit PC character display mode |
exit_scancode_mode |
rmsc |
S5 |
Exit PC scancode mode |
get_mouse |
getm |
Gm |
Curses should get button events, parameter #1 not documented. |
key_mouse |
kmous |
Km |
Mouse event has occurred |
mouse_info |
minfo |
Mi |
Mouse status information |
pc_term_options |
pctrm |
S6 |
PC terminal options |
pkey_plab |
pfxl |
xl |
Program function key #1 to type string #2 and show string #3 |
req_mouse_pos |
reqmp |
RQ |
Request mouse position |
scancode_escape |
scesc |
S7 |
Escape for scancode emulation |
set0_des_seq |
s0ds |
s0 |
Shift to codeset 0 (EUC set 0, ASCII) |
set1_des_seq |
s1ds |
s1 |
Shift to codeset 1 |
set2_des_seq |
s2ds |
s2 |
Shift to codeset 2 |
set3_des_seq |
s3ds |
s3 |
Shift to codeset 3 |
set_a_background |
setab |
AB |
Set background color to #1, using ANSI escape |
set_a_foreground |
setaf |
AF |
Set foreground color to #1, using ANSI escape |
set_color_band |
setcolor |
Yz |
Change to ribbon color #1 |
set_lr_margin |
smglr |
ML |
Set both left and right margins to #1, #2. (ML is not in BSD
termcap). |
set_page_length |
slines |
YZ |
Set page length to #1 lines |
set_tb_margin |
smgtb |
MT |
Sets both top and bottom margins to #1, #2 |
The XSI Curses standard added these hardcopy capabilities. They were used in
some post-4.1 versions of System V curses, e.g., Solaris 2.5 and IRIX 6.x.
Except for
YI, the
ncurses termcap names for them are invented.
According to the XSI Curses standard, they have no termcap names. If your
compiled terminfo entries use these, they may not be binary-compatible with
System V terminfo entries after SVr4.1; beware!
Variable |
Cap- |
TCap |
Description |
String |
name |
Code |
|
enter_horizontal_hl_mode |
ehhlm |
Xh |
Enter horizontal highlight mode |
enter_left_hl_mode |
elhlm |
Xl |
Enter left highlight mode |
enter_low_hl_mode |
elohlm |
Xo |
Enter low highlight mode |
enter_right_hl_mode |
erhlm |
Xr |
Enter right highlight mode |
enter_top_hl_mode |
ethlm |
Xt |
Enter top highlight mode |
enter_vertical_hl_mode |
evhlm |
Xv |
Enter vertical highlight mode |
set_a_attributes |
sgr1 |
sA |
Define second set of video attributes #1-#6 |
set_pglen_inch |
slength |
YI |
Set page length to #1 hundredth of an inch (some implementations use sL
for termcap). |
The preceding section listed the
predefined capabilities. They deal with
some special features for terminals no longer (or possibly never) produced.
Occasionally there are special features of newer terminals which are awkward
or impossible to represent by reusing the predefined capabilities.
ncurses addresses this limitation by allowing user-defined capabilities.
The
tic and
infocmp programs provide the
-x option for
this purpose. When
-x is set,
tic treats unknown capabilities as
user-defined. That is, if
tic encounters a capability name which it
does not recognize, it infers its type (boolean, number or string) from the
syntax and makes an extended table entry for that capability. The
use_extended_names(3X) function makes this information conditionally
available to applications. The ncurses library provides the data leaving most
of the behavior to applications:
- •
- User-defined capability strings whose name begins with
“k” are treated as function keys.
- •
- The types (boolean, number, string) determined by
tic can be inferred by successful calls on tigetflag,
etc.
- •
- If the capability name happens to be two characters, the
capability is also available through the termcap interface.
While termcap is said to be extensible because it does not use a predefined set
of capabilities, in practice it has been limited to the capabilities defined
by terminfo implementations. As a rule, user-defined capabilities intended for
use by termcap applications should be limited to booleans and numbers to avoid
running past the 1023 byte limit assumed by termcap implementations and their
applications. In particular, providing extended sets of function keys (past
the 60 numbered keys and the handful of special named keys) is best done using
the longer names available using terminfo.
The following entry, describing an ANSI-standard terminal, is representative of
what a
terminfo entry for a modern terminal typically looks like.
ansi|ansi/pc-term compatible with color,
am, mc5i, mir, msgr,
colors#8, cols#80, it#8, lines#24, ncv#3, pairs#64,
acsc=+\020\,\021-\030.^Y0\333`\004a\261f\370g\361h\260
j\331k\277l\332m\300n\305o~p\304q\304r\304s_t\303
u\264v\301w\302x\263y\363z\362{\343|\330}\234~\376,
bel=^G, blink=\E[5m, bold=\E[1m, cbt=\E[Z, clear=\E[H\E[J,
cr=^M, cub=\E[%p1%dD, cub1=\E[D, cud=\E[%p1%dB, cud1=\E[B,
cuf=\E[%p1%dC, cuf1=\E[C, cup=\E[%i%p1%d;%p2%dH,
cuu=\E[%p1%dA, cuu1=\E[A, dch=\E[%p1%dP, dch1=\E[P,
dl=\E[%p1%dM, dl1=\E[M, ech=\E[%p1%dX, ed=\E[J, el=\E[K,
el1=\E[1K, home=\E[H, hpa=\E[%i%p1%dG, ht=\E[I, hts=\EH,
ich=\E[%p1%d@, il=\E[%p1%dL, il1=\E[L, ind=^J,
indn=\E[%p1%dS, invis=\E[8m, kbs=^H, kcbt=\E[Z, kcub1=\E[D,
kcud1=\E[B, kcuf1=\E[C, kcuu1=\E[A, khome=\E[H, kich1=\E[L,
mc4=\E[4i, mc5=\E[5i, nel=\r\E[S, op=\E[39;49m,
rep=%p1%c\E[%p2%{1}%-%db, rev=\E[7m, rin=\E[%p1%dT,
rmacs=\E[10m, rmpch=\E[10m, rmso=\E[m, rmul=\E[m,
s0ds=\E(B, s1ds=\E)B, s2ds=\E*B, s3ds=\E+B,
setab=\E[4%p1%dm, setaf=\E[3%p1%dm,
sgr=\E[0;10%?%p1%t;7%;
%?%p2%t;4%;
%?%p3%t;7%;
%?%p4%t;5%;
%?%p6%t;1%;
%?%p7%t;8%;
%?%p9%t;11%;m,
sgr0=\E[0;10m, smacs=\E[11m, smpch=\E[11m, smso=\E[7m,
smul=\E[4m, tbc=\E[3g, u6=\E[%i%d;%dR, u7=\E[6n,
u8=\E[?%[;0123456789]c, u9=\E[c, vpa=\E[%i%p1%dd,
Entries may continue onto multiple lines by placing white space at the beginning
of each line except the first. Comments may be included on lines beginning
with “#”. Capabilities in
terminfo are of three types:
- •
- Boolean capabilities which indicate that the terminal has
some particular feature,
- •
- numeric capabilities giving the size of the terminal or the
size of particular delays, and
- •
- string capabilities, which give a sequence which can be
used to perform particular terminal operations.
All capabilities have names. For instance, the fact that ANSI-standard terminals
have
automatic margins (i.e., an automatic return and line-feed when
the end of a line is reached) is indicated by the capability
am. Hence
the description of ansi includes
am. Numeric capabilities are followed
by the character “#” and then a positive value. Thus
cols, which indicates the number of columns the terminal has, gives the
value “80” for ansi. Values for numeric capabilities may be
specified in decimal, octal or hexadecimal, using the C programming language
conventions (e.g., 255, 0377 and 0xff or 0xFF).
Finally, string valued capabilities, such as
el (clear to end of line
sequence) are given by the two-character code, an “=”, and then
a string ending at the next following “,”.
A number of escape sequences are provided in the string valued capabilities for
easy encoding of characters there:
- •
- Both \E and \e map to an ESCAPE
character,
- •
-
^x maps to a control-x for any appropriate x,
and
- •
- the sequences
\n,
\l,
\r,
\t,
\b,
\f, and
\s
- produce
newline,
line-feed,
return,
tab,
backspace,
form-feed, and
space,
- respectively.
X/Open Curses does not say what “appropriate
x” might be.
In practice, that is a printable ASCII graphic character. The special case
“^?” is interpreted as DEL (127). In all other cases, the
character value is AND'd with 0x1f, mapping to ASCII control codes in the
range 0 through 31.
Other escapes include
- •
-
\^ for ^,
- •
-
\\ for \,
- •
-
\, for comma,
- •
-
\: for :,
- •
- and \0 for null.
-
\0 will produce \200, which does not terminate a
string but behaves as a null character on most terminals, providing CS7 is
specified. See stty(1).
- The reason for this quirk is to maintain binary
compatibility of the compiled terminfo files with other implementations,
e.g., the SVr4 systems, which document this. Compiled terminfo files use
null-terminated strings, with no lengths. Modifying this would require a
new binary format, which would not work with other implementations.
Finally, characters may be given as three octal digits after a
\.
A delay in milliseconds may appear anywhere in a string capability, enclosed in
$<..> brackets, as in
el=\EK$<5>, and padding characters
are supplied by
tputs(3X) to provide this delay.
- •
- The delay must be a number with at most one decimal place
of precision; it may be followed by suffixes “*” or
“/” or both.
- •
- A “*” indicates that the padding required is
proportional to the number of lines affected by the operation, and the
amount given is the per-affected-unit padding required. (In the case of
insert character, the factor is still the number of lines
affected.)
- Normally, padding is advisory if the device has the
xon capability; it is used for cost computation but does not
trigger delays.
- •
- A “/” suffix indicates that the padding is
mandatory and forces a delay of the given number of milliseconds even on
devices for which xon is present to indicate flow control.
Sometimes individual capabilities must be commented out. To do this, put a
period before the capability name. For example, see the second
ind in
the example above.
The
ncurses library searches for terminal descriptions in several places.
It uses only the first description found. The library has a compiled-in list
of places to search which can be overridden by environment variables. Before
starting to search,
ncurses eliminates duplicates in its search list.
- •
- If the environment variable TERMINFO is set, it is
interpreted as the pathname of a directory containing the compiled
description you are working on. Only that directory is searched.
- •
- If TERMINFO is not set, ncurses will instead look in
the directory $HOME/.terminfo for a compiled description.
- •
- Next, if the environment variable TERMINFO_DIRS is set,
ncurses will interpret the contents of that variable as a list of
colon-separated directories (or database files) to be searched.
- An empty directory name (i.e., if the variable begins or
ends with a colon, or contains adjacent colons) is interpreted as the
system location /etc/terminfo.
- •
- Finally, ncurses searches these compiled-in
locations:
- •
- a list of directories (no default value), and
- •
- the system terminfo directory, /etc/terminfo (the
compiled-in default).
We now outline how to prepare descriptions of terminals. The most effective way
to prepare a terminal description is by imitating the description of a similar
terminal in
terminfo and to build up a description gradually, using
partial descriptions with
vi or some other screen-oriented program to
check that they are correct. Be aware that a very unusual terminal may expose
deficiencies in the ability of the
terminfo file to describe it or bugs
in the screen-handling code of the test program.
To get the padding for insert line right (if the terminal manufacturer did not
document it) a severe test is to edit a large file at 9600 baud, delete 16 or
so lines from the middle of the screen, then hit the “u” key
several times quickly. If the terminal messes up, more padding is usually
needed. A similar test can be used for insert character.
The number of columns on each line for the terminal is given by the
cols
numeric capability. If the terminal is a CRT, then the number of lines on the
screen is given by the
lines capability. If the terminal wraps around
to the beginning of the next line when it reaches the right margin, then it
should have the
am capability. If the terminal can clear its screen,
leaving the cursor in the home position, then this is given by the
clear string capability. If the terminal overstrikes (rather than
clearing a position when a character is struck over) then it should have the
os capability. If the terminal is a printing terminal, with no soft
copy unit, give it both
hc and
os. (
os applies to storage
scope terminals, such as TEKTRONIX 4010 series, as well as hard copy and APL
terminals.) If there is a code to move the cursor to the left edge of the
current row, give this as
cr. (Normally this will be carriage return,
control/M.) If there is a code to produce an audible signal (bell, beep, etc)
give this as
bel.
If there is a code to move the cursor one position to the left (such as
backspace) that capability should be given as
cub1. Similarly, codes to
move to the right, up, and down should be given as
cuf1,
cuu1,
and
cud1. These local cursor motions should not alter the text they
pass over, for example, you would not normally use “
cuf1= ” because the space would erase the character moved
over.
A very important point here is that the local cursor motions encoded in
terminfo are undefined at the left and top edges of a CRT terminal.
Programs should never attempt to backspace around the left edge, unless
bw is given, and never attempt to go up locally off the top. In order
to scroll text up, a program will go to the bottom left corner of the screen
and send the
ind (index) string.
To scroll text down, a program goes to the top left corner of the screen and
sends the
ri (reverse index) string. The strings
ind and
ri are undefined when not on their respective corners of the screen.
Parameterized versions of the scrolling sequences are
indn and
rin
which have the same semantics as
ind and
ri except that they
take one parameter, and scroll that many lines. They are also undefined except
at the appropriate edge of the screen.
The
am capability tells whether the cursor sticks at the right edge of
the screen when text is output, but this does not necessarily apply to a
cuf1 from the last column. The only local motion which is defined from
the left edge is if
bw is given, then a
cub1 from the left edge
will move to the right edge of the previous row. If
bw is not given,
the effect is undefined. This is useful for drawing a box around the edge of
the screen, for example. If the terminal has switch selectable automatic
margins, the
terminfo file usually assumes that this is on; i.e.,
am. If the terminal has a command which moves to the first column of
the next line, that command can be given as
nel (newline). It does not
matter if the command clears the remainder of the current line, so if the
terminal has no
cr and
lf it may still be possible to craft a
working
nel out of one or both of them.
These capabilities suffice to describe hard-copy and “glass-tty”
terminals. Thus the model 33 teletype is described as
33|tty33|tty|model 33 teletype,
bel=^G, cols#72, cr=^M, cud1=^J, hc, ind=^J, os,
while the Lear Siegler ADM-3 is described as
adm3|3|lsi adm3,
am, bel=^G, clear=^Z, cols#80, cr=^M, cub1=^H, cud1=^J,
ind=^J, lines#24,
Cursor addressing and other strings requiring parameters in the terminal are
described by a parameterized string capability, with
printf-like
escapes such as
%x in it. For example, to address the cursor, the
cup capability is given, using two parameters: the row and column to
address to. (Rows and columns are numbered from zero and refer to the physical
screen visible to the user, not to any unseen memory.) If the terminal has
memory relative cursor addressing, that can be indicated by
mrcup.
The parameter mechanism uses a stack and special
% codes to manipulate
it. Typically a sequence will push one of the parameters onto the stack and
then print it in some format. Print (e.g., “%d”) is a special
case. Other operations, including “%t” pop their operand from
the stack. It is noted that more complex operations are often necessary, e.g.,
in the
sgr string.
The
% encodings have the following meanings:
- %%
- outputs “%”
-
%[[:]flags][width[.precision]][doxXs]
- as in printf(3), flags are [-+#] and
space. Use a “:” to allow the next character to be a
“-” flag, avoiding interpreting “%-” as an
operator.
- %c
- print pop() like %c in printf
- %s
- print pop() like %s in printf
-
%p[1-9]
- push i'th parameter
-
%P[a-z]
- set dynamic variable [a-z] to pop()
-
%g[a-z]
- get dynamic variable [a-z] and push it
-
%P[A-Z]
- set static variable [a-z] to pop()
-
%g[A-Z]
- get static variable [a-z] and push it
- The terms “static” and
“dynamic” are misleading. Historically, these are simply two
different sets of variables, whose values are not reset between calls to
tparm(3X). However, that fact is not documented in other
implementations. Relying on it will adversely impact portability to other
implementations:
- •
- SVr2 curses supported dynamic variables. Those are
set only by a %P operator. A %g for a given variable without
first setting it with %P will give unpredictable results, because
dynamic variables are an uninitialized local array on the stack in the
tparm function.
- •
- SVr3.2 curses supported static variables. Those are
an array in the TERMINAL structure (declared in term.h), and
are zeroed automatically when the setupterm function allocates the
data.
- •
- SVr4 curses made no further improvements to the
dynamic/static variable feature.
- •
- Solaris XPG4 curses does not distinguish between
dynamic and static variables. They are the same. Like SVr4
curses, XPG4 curses does not initialize these explicitly.
- •
- Before version 6.3, ncurses stores both dynamic and
static variables in persistent storage, initialized to zeros.
- •
- Beginning with version 6.3, ncurses stores static
and dynamic variables in the same manner as SVr4.
- •
- Unlike other implementations, ncurses zeros dynamic
variables before the first %g or %P operator.
- •
- Like SVr2, the scope of dynamic variables in ncurses is
within the current call to tparm. Use static variables if
persistent storage is needed.
-
%'c'
- char constant c
-
%{nn}
- integer constant nn
- %l
- push strlen(pop)
-
%+, %-, %*, %/, %m
- arithmetic (%m is mod): push(pop() op
pop())
-
%&, %|, %^
- bit operations (AND, OR and exclusive-OR): push(pop() op
pop())
-
%=, %>, %<
- logical operations: push(pop() op pop())
-
%A, %O
- logical AND and OR operations (for conditionals)
-
%!, %~
- unary operations (logical and bit complement): push(op
pop())
- %i
- add 1 to first two parameters (for ANSI terminals)
-
%? expr %t thenpart %e
elsepart %;
- This forms an if-then-else. The %e elsepart
is optional. Usually the %? expr part pushes a value onto
the stack, and %t pops it from the stack, testing if it is nonzero
(true). If it is zero (false), control passes to the %e (else)
part.
- It is possible to form else-if's a la Algol 68:
%? c1 %t b1 %e c2
%t b2 %e c3 %t b3 %e c4 %t b4 %e
%;
- where ci are conditions, bi are bodies.
- Use the -f option of tic or infocmp to
see the structure of if-then-else's. Some strings, e.g., sgr can be
very complicated when written on one line. The -f option splits the
string into lines with the parts indented.
Binary operations are in postfix form with the operands in the usual order. That
is, to get x-5 one would use “%gx%{5}%-”.
%P and
%g variables are persistent across escape-string evaluations.
Consider the HP2645, which, to get to row 3 and column 12, needs to be sent
\E&a12c03Y padded for 6 milliseconds. Note that the order of the rows and
columns is inverted here, and that the row and column are printed as two
digits. Thus its
cup capability is
“cup=6\E&%p2%2dc%p1%2dY”.
The Microterm ACT-IV needs the current row and column sent preceded by a
^T, with the row and column simply encoded in binary,
“cup=^T%p1%c%p2%c”. Terminals which use “%c” need
to be able to backspace the cursor (
cub1), and to move the cursor up
one line on the screen (
cuu1). This is necessary because it is not
always safe to transmit
\n ^D and
\r, as the system may
change or discard them. (The library routines dealing with terminfo set tty
modes so that tabs are never expanded, so \t is safe to send. This turns out
to be essential for the Ann Arbor 4080.)
A final example is the LSI ADM-3a, which uses row and column offset by a blank
character, thus “cup=\E=%p1%' '%+%c%p2%' '%+%c”. After sending
“\E=”, this pushes the first parameter, pushes the ASCII value
for a space (32), adds them (pushing the sum on the stack in place of the two
previous values) and outputs that value as a character. Then the same is done
for the second parameter. More complex arithmetic is possible using the stack.
If the terminal has a fast way to home the cursor (to very upper left corner of
screen) then this can be given as
home; similarly a fast way of getting
to the lower left-hand corner can be given as
ll; this may involve
going up with
cuu1 from the home position, but a program should never
do this itself (unless
ll does) because it can make no assumption about
the effect of moving up from the home position. Note that the home position is
the same as addressing to (0,0): to the top left corner of the screen, not of
memory. (Thus, the \EH sequence on HP terminals cannot be used for
home.)
If the terminal has row or column absolute cursor addressing, these can be given
as single parameter capabilities
hpa (horizontal position absolute) and
vpa (vertical position absolute). Sometimes these are shorter than the
more general two parameter sequence (as with the hp2645) and can be used in
preference to
cup. If there are parameterized local motions (e.g., move
n spaces to the right) these can be given as
cud,
cub,
cuf, and
cuu with a single parameter indicating how many spaces
to move. These are primarily useful if the terminal does not have
cup,
such as the TEKTRONIX 4025.
If the terminal needs to be in a special mode when running a program that uses
these capabilities, the codes to enter and exit this mode can be given as
smcup and
rmcup. This arises, for example, from terminals like
the Concept with more than one page of memory. If the terminal has only memory
relative cursor addressing and not screen relative cursor addressing, a one
screen-sized window must be fixed into the terminal for cursor addressing to
work properly. This is also used for the TEKTRONIX 4025, where
smcup
sets the command character to be the one used by terminfo. If the
smcup
sequence will not restore the screen after an
rmcup sequence is output
(to the state prior to outputting
rmcup), specify
nrrmc.
SVr4 (and X/Open Curses) list several string capabilities for setting margins.
Two were intended for use with terminals, and another six were intended for
use with printers.
- •
- The two terminal capabilities assume that the terminal may
have the capability of setting the left and/or right margin at the current
cursor column position.
- •
- The printer capabilities assume that the printer may have
two types of capability:
- •
- the ability to set a top and/or bottom margin using the
current line position, and
- •
- parameterized capabilities for setting the top, bottom,
left, right margins given the number of rows or columns.
In practice, the categorization into “terminal” and
“printer” is not suitable:
- •
- The AT&T SVr4 terminal database uses smgl four
times, for AT&T hardware.
- Three of the four are printers. They lack the ability to
set left/right margins by specifying the column.
- •
- Other (non-AT&T) terminals may support margins but
using different assumptions from AT&T.
- For instance, the DEC VT420 supports left/right margins,
but only using a column parameter. As an added complication, the VT420
uses two settings to fully enable left/right margins (left/right margin
mode, and origin mode). The former enables the margins, which causes
printed text to wrap within margins, but the latter is needed to prevent
cursor-addressing outside those margins.
- •
- Both DEC VT420 left/right margins are set with a single
control sequence. If either is omitted, the corresponding margin is set to
the left or right edge of the display (rather than leaving the margin
unmodified).
These are the margin-related capabilities:
Name |
Description |
|
|
smgl |
Set left margin at current column |
smgr |
Set right margin at current column |
smgb |
Set bottom margin at current line |
smgt |
Set top margin at current line |
smgbp |
Set bottom margin at line N
|
smglp |
Set left margin at column N
|
smgrp |
Set right margin at column N
|
smgtp |
Set top margin at line N
|
smglr |
Set both left and right margins to L and R
|
smgtb |
Set both top and bottom margins to T and B
|
When writing an application that uses these string capabilities, the pairs
should be first checked to see if each capability in the pair is set or only
one is set:
- •
- If both smglp and smgrp are set, each is used
with a single argument, N, that gives the column number of the left
and right margin, respectively.
- •
- If both smgtp and smgbp are set, each is used
to set the top and bottom margin, respectively:
- •
-
smgtp is used with a single argument, N, the
line number of the top margin.
- •
-
smgbp is used with two arguments, N and
M, that give the line number of the bottom margin, the first
counting from the top of the page and the second counting from the bottom.
This accommodates the two styles of specifying the bottom margin in
different manufacturers' printers.
- When designing a terminfo entry for a printer that has a
settable bottom margin, only the first or second argument should be used,
depending on the printer. When developing an application that uses
smgbp to set the bottom margin, both arguments must be given.
Conversely, when only one capability in the pair is set:
- •
- If only one of smglp and smgrp is set, then
it is used with two arguments, the column number of the left and right
margins, in that order.
- •
- Likewise, if only one of smgtp and smgbp is
set, then it is used with two arguments that give the top and bottom
margins, in that order, counting from the top of the page.
- When designing a terminfo entry for a printer that requires
setting both left and right or top and bottom margins simultaneously, only
one capability in the pairs smglp and smgrp or smgtp
and smgbp should be defined, leaving the other unset.
Except for very old terminal descriptions, e.g., those developed for SVr4, the
scheme just described should be considered obsolete. An improved set of
capabilities was added late in the SVr4 releases (
smglr and
smgtb), which explicitly use two parameters for setting the left/right
or top/bottom margins.
When setting margins, the line- and column-values are zero-based.
The
mgc string capability should be defined. Applications such as
tabs(1) rely upon this to reset all margins.
If the terminal can clear from the current position to the end of the line,
leaving the cursor where it is, this should be given as
el. If the
terminal can clear from the beginning of the line to the current position
inclusive, leaving the cursor where it is, this should be given as
el1.
If the terminal can clear from the current position to the end of the display,
then this should be given as
ed.
Ed is only defined from the
first column of a line. (Thus, it can be simulated by a request to delete a
large number of lines, if a true
ed is not available.)
If the terminal can open a new blank line before the line where the cursor is,
this should be given as
il1; this is done only from the first position
of a line. The cursor must then appear on the newly blank line. If the
terminal can delete the line which the cursor is on, then this should be given
as
dl1; this is done only from the first position on the line to be
deleted. Versions of
il1 and
dl1 which take a single parameter
and insert or delete that many lines can be given as
il and
dl.
If the terminal has a settable scrolling region (like the vt100) the command to
set this can be described with the
csr capability, which takes two
parameters: the top and bottom lines of the scrolling region. The cursor
position is, alas, undefined after using this command.
It is possible to get the effect of insert or delete line using
csr on a
properly chosen region; the
sc and
rc (save and restore cursor)
commands may be useful for ensuring that your synthesized insert/delete string
does not move the cursor. (Note that the
ncurses(3NCURSES) library does
this synthesis automatically, so you need not compose insert/delete strings
for an entry with
csr).
Yet another way to construct insert and delete might be to use a combination of
index with the memory-lock feature found on some terminals (like the HP-700/90
series, which however also has insert/delete).
Inserting lines at the top or bottom of the screen can also be done using
ri or
ind on many terminals without a true insert/delete line,
and is often faster even on terminals with those features.
The boolean
non_dest_scroll_region should be set if each scrolling window
is effectively a view port on a screen-sized canvas. To test for this
capability, create a scrolling region in the middle of the screen, write
something to the bottom line, move the cursor to the top of the region, and do
ri followed by
dl1 or
ind. If the data scrolled off the
bottom of the region by the
ri re-appears, then scrolling is
non-destructive. System V and XSI Curses expect that
ind,
ri,
indn, and
rin will simulate destructive scrolling; their
documentation cautions you not to define
csr unless this is true. This
curses implementation is more liberal and will do explicit erases after
scrolling if
ndsrc is defined.
If the terminal has the ability to define a window as part of memory, which all
commands affect, it should be given as the parameterized string
wind.
The four parameters are the starting and ending lines in memory and the
starting and ending columns in memory, in that order.
If the terminal can retain display memory above, then the
da capability
should be given; if display memory can be retained below, then
db
should be given. These indicate that deleting a line or scrolling may bring
non-blank lines up from below or that scrolling back with
ri may bring
down non-blank lines.
There are two basic kinds of intelligent terminals with respect to insert/delete
character which can be described using
terminfo. The most common
insert/delete character operations affect only the characters on the current
line and shift characters off the end of the line rigidly. Other terminals,
such as the Concept 100 and the Perkin Elmer Owl, make a distinction between
typed and untyped blanks on the screen, shifting upon an insert or delete only
to an untyped blank on the screen which is either eliminated, or expanded to
two untyped blanks.
You can determine the kind of terminal you have by clearing the screen and then
typing text separated by cursor motions. Type
“abc def” using local cursor
motions (not spaces) between the “abc” and the
“def”. Then position the cursor before the “abc”
and put the terminal in insert mode. If typing characters causes the rest of
the line to shift rigidly and characters to fall off the end, then your
terminal does not distinguish between blanks and untyped positions. If the
“abc” shifts over to the “def” which then move
together around the end of the current line and onto the next as you insert,
you have the second type of terminal, and should give the capability
in, which stands for “insert null”.
While these are two logically separate attributes (one line versus multi-line
insert mode, and special treatment of untyped spaces) we have seen no
terminals whose insert mode cannot be described with the single attribute.
Terminfo can describe both terminals which have an insert mode, and terminals
which send a simple sequence to open a blank position on the current line.
Give as
smir the sequence to get into insert mode. Give as
rmir
the sequence to leave insert mode. Now give as
ich1 any sequence needed
to be sent just before sending the character to be inserted. Most terminals
with a true insert mode will not give
ich1; terminals which send a
sequence to open a screen position should give it here.
If your terminal has both, insert mode is usually preferable to
ich1.
Technically, you should not give both unless the terminal actually requires
both to be used in combination. Accordingly, some non-curses applications get
confused if both are present; the symptom is doubled characters in an update
using insert. This requirement is now rare; most
ich sequences do not
require previous smir, and most smir insert modes do not require
ich1
before each character. Therefore, the new
curses actually assumes this
is the case and uses either
rmir/
smir or
ich/
ich1
as appropriate (but not both). If you have to write an entry to be used under
new curses for a terminal old enough to need both, include the
rmir/
smir sequences in
ich1.
If post insert padding is needed, give this as a number of milliseconds in
ip (a string option). Any other sequence which may need to be sent
after an insert of a single character may also be given in
ip. If your
terminal needs both to be placed into an “insert mode” and a
special code to precede each inserted character, then both
smir/
rmir and
ich1 can be given, and both will be used.
The
ich capability, with one parameter,
n, will repeat the
effects of
ich1 n times.
If padding is necessary between characters typed while not in insert mode, give
this as a number of milliseconds padding in
rmp.
It is occasionally necessary to move around while in insert mode to delete
characters on the same line (e.g., if there is a tab after the insertion
position). If your terminal allows motion while in insert mode you can give
the capability
mir to speed up inserting in this case. Omitting
mir will affect only speed. Some terminals (notably Datamedia's) must
not have
mir because of the way their insert mode works.
Finally, you can specify
dch1 to delete a single character,
dch
with one parameter,
n, to delete
n characters, and delete mode
by giving
smdc and
rmdc to enter and exit delete mode (any mode
the terminal needs to be placed in for
dch1 to work).
A command to erase
n characters (equivalent to outputting
n blanks
without moving the cursor) can be given as
ech with one parameter.
If your terminal has one or more kinds of display attributes, these can be
represented in a number of different ways. You should choose one display form
as
standout mode, representing a good, high contrast, easy-on-the-eyes,
format for highlighting error messages and other attention getters. (If you
have a choice, reverse video plus half-bright is good, or reverse video
alone.) The sequences to enter and exit standout mode are given as
smso
and
rmso, respectively. If the code to change into or out of standout
mode leaves one or even two blank spaces on the screen, as the TVI 912 and
Teleray 1061 do, then
xmc should be given to tell how many spaces are
left.
Codes to begin underlining and end underlining can be given as
smul and
rmul respectively. If the terminal has a code to underline the current
character and move the cursor one space to the right, such as the Microterm
Mime, this can be given as
uc.
Other capabilities to enter various highlighting modes include
blink
(blinking)
bold (bold or extra bright)
dim (dim or half-bright)
invis (blanking or invisible text)
prot (protected)
rev
(reverse video)
sgr0 (turn off
all attribute modes)
smacs
(enter alternate character set mode) and
rmacs (exit alternate
character set mode). Turning on any of these modes singly may or may not turn
off other modes.
If there is a sequence to set arbitrary combinations of modes, this should be
given as
sgr (set attributes), taking 9 parameters. Each parameter is
either 0 or nonzero, as the corresponding attribute is on or off. The 9
parameters are, in order: standout, underline, reverse, blink, dim, bold,
blank, protect, alternate character set. Not all modes need be supported by
sgr, only those for which corresponding separate attribute commands
exist.
For example, the DEC vt220 supports most of the modes:
tparm parameter |
attribute |
escape sequence |
|
|
|
none |
none |
\E[0m |
p1 |
standout |
\E[0;1;7m |
p2 |
underline |
\E[0;4m |
p3 |
reverse |
\E[0;7m |
p4 |
blink |
\E[0;5m |
p5 |
dim |
not available |
p6 |
bold |
\E[0;1m |
p7 |
invis |
\E[0;8m |
p8 |
protect |
not used |
p9 |
altcharset |
^O (off) ^N (on) |
We begin each escape sequence by turning off any existing modes, since there is
no quick way to determine whether they are active. Standout is set up to be
the combination of reverse and bold. The vt220 terminal has a protect mode,
though it is not commonly used in sgr because it protects characters on the
screen from the host's erasures. The altcharset mode also is different in that
it is either ^O or ^N, depending on whether it is off or on. If all modes are
turned on, the resulting sequence is \E[0;1;4;5;7;8m^N.
Some sequences are common to different modes. For example, ;7 is output when
either p1 or p3 is true, that is, if either standout or reverse modes are
turned on.
Writing out the above sequences, along with their dependencies yields
sequence |
when to output |
terminfo translation |
|
|
|
\E[0 |
always |
\E[0 |
;1 |
if p1 or p6 |
%?%p1%p6%|%t;1%; |
;4 |
if p2 |
%?%p2%|%t;4%; |
;5 |
if p4 |
%?%p4%|%t;5%; |
;7 |
if p1 or p3 |
%?%p1%p3%|%t;7%; |
;8 |
if p7 |
%?%p7%|%t;8%; |
m |
always |
m |
^N or ^O |
if p9 ^N, else ^O |
%?%p9%t^N%e^O%; |
Putting this all together into the sgr sequence gives:
sgr=\E[0%?%p1%p6%|%t;1%;%?%p2%t;4%;%?%p4%t;5%;
%?%p1%p3%|%t;7%;%?%p7%t;8%;m%?%p9%t\016%e\017%;,
Remember that if you specify sgr, you must also specify sgr0. Also, some
implementations rely on sgr being given if sgr0 is, Not all terminfo entries
necessarily have an sgr string, however. Many terminfo entries are derived
from termcap entries which have no sgr string. The only drawback to adding an
sgr string is that termcap also assumes that sgr0 does not exit alternate
character set mode.
Terminals with the “magic cookie” glitch (
xmc) deposit
special “cookies” when they receive mode-setting sequences,
which affect the display algorithm rather than having extra bits for each
character. Some terminals, such as the HP 2621, automatically leave standout
mode when they move to a new line or the cursor is addressed. Programs using
standout mode should exit standout mode before moving the cursor or sending a
newline, unless the
msgr capability, asserting that it is safe to move
in standout mode, is present.
If the terminal has a way of flashing the screen to indicate an error quietly (a
bell replacement) then this can be given as
flash; it must not move the
cursor.
If the cursor needs to be made more visible than normal when it is not on the
bottom line (to make, for example, a non-blinking underline into an easier to
find block or blinking underline) give this sequence as
cvvis. If there
is a way to make the cursor completely invisible, give that as
civis.
The capability
cnorm should be given which undoes the effects of both
of these modes.
If your terminal correctly generates underlined characters (with no special
codes needed) even though it does not overstrike, then you should give the
capability
ul. If a character overstriking another leaves both
characters on the screen, specify the capability
os. If overstrikes are
erasable with a blank, then this should be indicated by giving
eo.
If the terminal has a keypad that transmits codes when the keys are pressed,
this information can be given. Note that it is not possible to handle
terminals where the keypad only works in local (this applies, for example, to
the unshifted HP 2621 keys). If the keypad can be set to transmit or not
transmit, give these codes as
smkx and
rmkx. Otherwise the
keypad is assumed to always transmit.
The codes sent by the left arrow, right arrow, up arrow, down arrow, and home
keys can be given as
kcub1, kcuf1, kcuu1, kcud1, and
khome
respectively. If there are function keys such as f0, f1, ..., f10, the codes
they send can be given as
kf0, kf1, ..., kf10. If these keys have
labels other than the default f0 through f10, the labels can be given as
lf0, lf1, ..., lf10.
The codes transmitted by certain other special keys can be given:
- •
-
kll (home down),
- •
-
kbs (backspace),
- •
-
ktbc (clear all tabs),
- •
-
kctab (clear the tab stop in this column),
- •
-
kclr (clear screen or erase key),
- •
-
kdch1 (delete character),
- •
-
kdl1 (delete line),
- •
-
krmir (exit insert mode),
- •
-
kel (clear to end of line),
- •
-
ked (clear to end of screen),
- •
-
kich1 (insert character or enter insert mode),
- •
-
kil1 (insert line),
- •
-
knp (next page),
- •
-
kpp (previous page),
- •
-
kind (scroll forward/down),
- •
-
kri (scroll backward/up),
- •
-
khts (set a tab stop in this column).
In addition, if the keypad has a 3 by 3 array of keys including the four arrow
keys, the other five keys can be given as
ka1,
ka3,
kb2,
kc1, and
kc3. These keys are useful when the effects of a 3 by 3
directional pad are needed.
Strings to program function keys can be given as
pfkey,
pfloc, and
pfx. A string to program screen labels should be specified as
pln. Each of these strings takes two parameters: the function key
number to program (from 0 to 10) and the string to program it with. Function
key numbers out of this range may program undefined keys in a terminal
dependent manner. The difference between the capabilities is that
pfkey
causes pressing the given key to be the same as the user typing the given
string;
pfloc causes the string to be executed by the terminal in
local; and
pfx causes the string to be transmitted to the computer.
The capabilities
nlab,
lw and
lh define the number of
programmable screen labels and their width and height. If there are commands
to turn the labels on and off, give them in
smln and
rmln.
smln is normally output after one or more pln sequences to make sure
that the change becomes visible.
A few capabilities are used only for tabs:
- •
- If the terminal has hardware tabs, the command to advance
to the next tab stop can be given as ht (usually control/I).
- •
- A “back-tab” command which moves leftward to
the preceding tab stop can be given as cbt.
- By convention, if the teletype modes indicate that tabs are
being expanded by the computer rather than being sent to the terminal,
programs should not use ht or cbt even if they are present,
since the user may not have the tab stops properly set.
- •
- If the terminal has hardware tabs which are initially set
every n spaces when the terminal is powered up, the numeric
parameter it is given, showing the number of spaces the tabs are
set to.
- The it capability is normally used by the
tset command to determine whether to set the mode for hardware tab
expansion, and whether to set the tab stops. If the terminal has tab stops
that can be saved in non-volatile memory, the terminfo description can
assume that they are properly set.
Other capabilities include
- •
-
is1, is2, and is3, initialization
strings for the terminal,
- •
-
iprog, the path name of a program to be run to
initialize the terminal,
- •
- and if, the name of a file containing long
initialization strings.
These strings are expected to set the terminal into modes consistent with the
rest of the terminfo description. They are normally sent to the terminal, by
the
init option of the
tput program, each time the user logs in.
They will be printed in the following order:
- run the program
- iprog
- output
-
is1 and
is2
- set the margins using
-
mgc or
smglp and smgrp or
smgl and smgr
- set tabs using
-
tbc and hts
- print the file
- if
- and finally output
-
is3.
Most initialization is done with
is2. Special terminal modes can be set
up without duplicating strings by putting the common sequences in
is2
and special cases in
is1 and
is3.
A set of sequences that does a harder reset from a totally unknown state can be
given as
rs1,
rs2,
rf and
rs3, analogous to
is1
, is2 , if and
is3 respectively. These strings are
output by
reset option of
tput, or by the
reset program
(an alias of
tset), which is used when the terminal gets into a wedged
state. Commands are normally placed in
rs1,
rs2 rs3 and
rf only if they produce annoying effects on the screen and are not
necessary when logging in. For example, the command to set the vt100 into
80-column mode would normally be part of
is2, but it causes an annoying
glitch of the screen and is not normally needed since the terminal is usually
already in 80-column mode.
The
reset program writes strings including
iprog, etc., in the
same order as the
init program, using
rs1, etc., instead of
is1, etc. If any of
rs1,
rs2,
rs3, or
rf
reset capability strings are missing, the
reset program falls back upon
the corresponding initialization capability string.
If there are commands to set and clear tab stops, they can be given as
tbc (clear all tab stops) and
hts (set a tab stop in the current
column of every row). If a more complex sequence is needed to set the tabs
than can be described by this, the sequence can be placed in
is2 or
if.
The
tput reset command uses the same capability strings as the
reset command, although the two programs (
tput and
reset) provide different command-line options.
In practice, these terminfo capabilities are not often used in initialization of
tabs (though they are required for the
tabs program):
- •
- Almost all hardware terminals (at least those which
supported tabs) initialized those to every eight columns:
- The only exception was the AT&T 2300 series, which set
tabs to every five columns.
- •
- In particular, developers of the hardware terminals which
are commonly used as models for modern terminal emulators provided
documentation demonstrating that eight columns were the
standard.
- •
- Because of this, the terminal initialization programs
tput and tset use the tbc (clear_all_tabs) and
hts (set_tab) capabilities directly only when the it
( init_tabs) capability is set to a value other than
eight.
Many older and slower terminals do not support either XON/XOFF or DTR
handshaking, including hard copy terminals and some very archaic CRTs
(including, for example, DEC VT100s). These may require padding characters
after certain cursor motions and screen changes.
If the terminal uses xon/xoff handshaking for flow control (that is, it
automatically emits ^S back to the host when its input buffers are close to
full), set
xon. This capability suppresses the emission of padding. You
can also set it for memory-mapped console devices effectively that do not have
a speed limit. Padding information should still be included so that routines
can make better decisions about relative costs, but actual pad characters will
not be transmitted.
If
pb (padding baud rate) is given, padding is suppressed at baud rates
below the value of
pb. If the entry has no padding baud rate, then
whether padding is emitted or not is completely controlled by
xon.
If the terminal requires other than a null (zero) character as a pad, then this
can be given as
pad. Only the first character of the
pad string
is used.
Some terminals have an extra “status line” which is not normally
used by software (and thus not counted in the terminal's
lines
capability).
The simplest case is a status line which is cursor-addressable but not part of
the main scrolling region on the screen; the Heathkit H19 has a status line of
this kind, as would a 24-line VT100 with a 23-line scrolling region set up on
initialization. This situation is indicated by the
hs capability.
Some terminals with status lines need special sequences to access the status
line. These may be expressed as a string with single parameter
tsl
which takes the cursor to a given zero-origin column on the status line. The
capability
fsl must return to the main-screen cursor positions before
the last
tsl. You may need to embed the string values of
sc
(save cursor) and
rc (restore cursor) in
tsl and
fsl to
accomplish this.
The status line is normally assumed to be the same width as the width of the
terminal. If this is untrue, you can specify it with the numeric capability
wsl.
A command to erase or blank the status line may be specified as
dsl.
The boolean capability
eslok specifies that escape sequences, tabs, etc.,
work ordinarily in the status line.
The
ncurses implementation does not yet use any of these capabilities.
They are documented here in case they ever become important.
Many terminals have alternate character sets useful for forms-drawing. Terminfo
and
curses have built-in support for most of the drawing characters
supported by the VT100, with some characters from the AT&T 4410v1 added.
This alternate character set may be specified by the
acsc capability.
. |
|
|
|
|
Glyph |
ACS |
Ascii |
acsc |
acsc |
|
|
|
|
|
Name |
Name |
Default |
Char |
Value |
arrow pointing right |
ACS_RARROW |
> |
+ |
0x2b |
arrow pointing left |
ACS_LARROW |
< |
, |
0x2c |
arrow pointing up |
ACS_UARROW |
^ |
- |
0x2d |
arrow pointing down |
ACS_DARROW |
v |
. |
0x2e |
solid square block |
ACS_BLOCK |
# |
0 |
0x30 |
diamond |
ACS_DIAMOND |
+ |
` |
0x60 |
checker board (stipple) |
ACS_CKBOARD |
: |
a |
0x61 |
degree symbol |
ACS_DEGREE |
\ |
f |
0x66 |
plus/minus |
ACS_PLMINUS |
# |
g |
0x67 |
board of squares |
ACS_BOARD |
# |
h |
0x68 |
lantern symbol |
ACS_LANTERN |
# |
i |
0x69 |
lower right corner |
ACS_LRCORNER |
+ |
j |
0x6a |
upper right corner |
ACS_URCORNER |
+ |
k |
0x6b |
upper left corner |
ACS_ULCORNER |
+ |
l |
0x6c |
lower left corner |
ACS_LLCORNER |
+ |
m |
0x6d |
large plus or crossover |
ACS_PLUS |
+ |
n |
0x6e |
scan line 1 |
ACS_S1 |
~ |
o |
0x6f |
scan line 3 |
ACS_S3 |
- |
p |
0x70 |
horizontal line |
ACS_HLINE |
- |
q |
0x71 |
scan line 7 |
ACS_S7 |
- |
r |
0x72 |
scan line 9 |
ACS_S9 |
_ |
s |
0x73 |
tee pointing right |
ACS_LTEE |
+ |
t |
0x74 |
tee pointing left |
ACS_RTEE |
+ |
u |
0x75 |
tee pointing up |
ACS_BTEE |
+ |
v |
0x76 |
tee pointing down |
ACS_TTEE |
+ |
w |
0x77 |
vertical line |
ACS_VLINE |
| |
x |
0x78 |
less-than-or-equal-to |
ACS_LEQUAL |
< |
y |
0x79 |
greater-than-or-equal-to |
ACS_GEQUAL |
> |
z |
0x7a |
greek pi |
ACS_PI |
* |
{ |
0x7b |
not-equal |
ACS_NEQUAL |
! |
| |
0x7c |
UK pound sign |
ACS_STERLING |
f |
} |
0x7d |
bullet |
ACS_BULLET |
o |
~ |
0x7e |
A few notes apply to the table itself:
- •
- X/Open Curses incorrectly states that the mapping for
lantern is uppercase “I” although Unix
implementations use the lowercase “i” mapping.
- •
- The DEC VT100 implemented graphics using the alternate
character set feature, temporarily switching modes and sending
characters in the range 0x60 (96) to 0x7e (126) (the acsc Value
column in the table).
- •
- The AT&T terminal added graphics characters outside
that range.
- Some of the characters within the range do not match the
VT100; presumably they were used in the AT&T terminal: board of
squares replaces the VT100 newline symbol, while lantern
symbol replaces the VT100 vertical tab symbol. The other VT100
symbols for control characters ( horizontal tab, carriage
return and line-feed) are not (re)used in curses.
The best way to define a new device's graphics set is to add a column to a copy
of this table for your terminal, giving the character which (when emitted
between
smacs/
rmacs switches) will be rendered as the
corresponding graphic. Then read off the VT100/your terminal character pairs
right to left in sequence; these become the ACSC string.
The curses library functions
init_pair and
init_color manipulate
the
color pairs and
color values discussed in this section (see
color(3NCURSES) for details on these and related functions).
Most color terminals are either “Tektronix-like” or
“HP-like”:
- •
- Tektronix-like terminals have a predefined set of N
colors (where N is usually 8), and can set character-cell
foreground and background characters independently, mixing them into
N * N color-pairs.
- •
- On HP-like terminals, the user must set each color pair up
separately (foreground and background are not independently settable). Up
to M color-pairs may be set up from 2*M different colors.
ANSI-compatible terminals are Tektronix-like.
Some basic color capabilities are independent of the color method. The numeric
capabilities
colors and
pairs specify the maximum numbers of
colors and color-pairs that can be displayed simultaneously. The
op
(original pair) string resets foreground and background colors to their
default values for the terminal. The
oc string resets all colors or
color-pairs to their default values for the terminal. Some terminals
(including many PC terminal emulators) erase screen areas with the current
background color rather than the power-up default background; these should
have the boolean capability
bce.
While the curses library works with
color pairs (reflecting the inability
of some devices to set foreground and background colors independently), there
are separate capabilities for setting these features:
- •
- To change the current foreground or background color on a
Tektronix-type terminal, use setaf (set ANSI foreground) and
setab (set ANSI background) or setf (set foreground) and
setb (set background). These take one parameter, the color number.
The SVr4 documentation describes only setaf/setab; the XPG4
draft says that "If the terminal supports ANSI escape sequences to
set background and foreground, they should be coded as setaf and
setab, respectively.
- •
- If the terminal supports other escape sequences to set
background and foreground, they should be coded as setf and
setb, respectively. The vidputs and the refresh(3X)
functions use the setaf and setab capabilities if they are
defined.
The
setaf/
setab and
setf/
setb capabilities take a
single numeric argument each. Argument values 0-7 of
setaf/
setab
are portably defined as follows (the middle column is the symbolic #define
available in the header for the
curses or
ncurses libraries).
The terminal hardware is free to map these as it likes, but the RGB values
indicate normal locations in color space.
Color |
#define |
Value |
RGB |
black |
COLOR_BLACK |
0 |
0, 0, 0 |
red |
COLOR_RED |
1 |
max,0,0 |
green |
COLOR_GREEN |
2 |
0,max,0 |
yellow |
COLOR_YELLOW |
3 |
max,max,0 |
blue |
COLOR_BLUE |
4 |
0,0,max |
magenta |
COLOR_MAGENTA |
5 |
max,0,max |
cyan |
COLOR_CYAN |
6 |
0,max,max |
white |
COLOR_WHITE |
7 |
max,max,max |
The argument values of
setf/
setb historically correspond to a
different mapping, i.e.,
Color |
#define |
Value |
RGB |
black |
COLOR_BLACK |
0 |
0, 0, 0 |
blue |
COLOR_BLUE |
1 |
0,0,max |
green |
COLOR_GREEN |
2 |
0,max,0 |
cyan |
COLOR_CYAN |
3 |
0,max,max |
red |
COLOR_RED |
4 |
max,0,0 |
magenta |
COLOR_MAGENTA |
5 |
max,0,max |
yellow |
COLOR_YELLOW |
6 |
max,max,0 |
white |
COLOR_WHITE |
7 |
max,max,max |
It is important to not confuse the two sets of color capabilities; otherwise
red/blue will be interchanged on the display.
On an HP-like terminal, use
scp with a color-pair number parameter to set
which color pair is current.
Some terminals allow the
color values to be modified:
- •
- On a Tektronix-like terminal, the capability ccc may
be present to indicate that colors can be modified. If so, the
initc capability will take a color number (0 to colors -
1)and three more parameters which describe the color. These three
parameters default to being interpreted as RGB (Red, Green, Blue) values.
If the boolean capability hls is present, they are instead as HLS
(Hue, Lightness, Saturation) indices. The ranges are
terminal-dependent.
- •
- On an HP-like terminal, initp may give a capability
for changing a color-pair value. It will take seven parameters; a
color-pair number (0 to max_pairs - 1), and two triples describing
first background and then foreground colors. These parameters must be
(Red, Green, Blue) or (Hue, Lightness, Saturation) depending on
hls.
On some color terminals, colors collide with highlights. You can register these
collisions with the
ncv capability. This is a bit-mask of attributes
not to be used when colors are enabled. The correspondence with the attributes
understood by
curses is as follows:
Attribute |
Bit |
Decimal |
Set by |
A_STANDOUT |
0 |
1 |
sgr |
A_UNDERLINE |
1 |
2 |
sgr |
A_REVERSE |
2 |
4 |
sgr |
A_BLINK |
3 |
8 |
sgr |
A_DIM |
4 |
16 |
sgr |
A_BOLD |
5 |
32 |
sgr |
A_INVIS |
6 |
64 |
sgr |
A_PROTECT |
7 |
128 |
sgr |
A_ALTCHARSET |
8 |
256 |
sgr |
A_HORIZONTAL |
9 |
512 |
sgr1 |
A_LEFT |
10 |
1024 |
sgr1 |
A_LOW |
11 |
2048 |
sgr1 |
A_RIGHT |
12 |
4096 |
sgr1 |
A_TOP |
13 |
8192 |
sgr1 |
A_VERTICAL |
14 |
16384 |
sgr1 |
A_ITALIC |
15 |
32768 |
sitm |
For example, on many IBM PC consoles, the underline attribute collides with the
foreground color blue and is not available in color mode. These should have an
ncv capability of 2.
SVr4 curses does nothing with
ncv, ncurses recognizes it and optimizes
the output in favor of colors.
If the terminal requires other than a null (zero) character as a pad, then this
can be given as pad. Only the first character of the pad string is used. If
the terminal does not have a pad character, specify npc. Note that ncurses
implements the termcap-compatible
PC variable; though the application
may set this value to something other than a null, ncurses will test
npc first and use napms if the terminal has no pad character.
If the terminal can move up or down half a line, this can be indicated with
hu (half-line up) and
hd (half-line down). This is primarily
useful for superscripts and subscripts on hard-copy terminals. If a hard-copy
terminal can eject to the next page (form feed), give this as
ff
(usually control/L).
If there is a command to repeat a given character a given number of times (to
save time transmitting a large number of identical characters) this can be
indicated with the parameterized string
rep. The first parameter is the
character to be repeated and the second is the number of times to repeat it.
Thus, tparm(repeat_char, 'x', 10) is the same as “xxxxxxxxxx”.
If the terminal has a settable command character, such as the TEKTRONIX 4025,
this can be indicated with
cmdch. A prototype command character is
chosen which is used in all capabilities. This character is given in the
cmdch capability to identify it. The following convention is supported
on some UNIX systems: The environment is to be searched for a
CC
variable, and if found, all occurrences of the prototype character are
replaced with the character in the environment variable.
Terminal descriptions that do not represent a specific kind of known terminal,
such as
switch,
dialup,
patch, and
network, should
include the
gn (generic) capability so that programs can complain that
they do not know how to talk to the terminal. (This capability does not apply
to
virtual terminal descriptions for which the escape sequences are
known.)
If the terminal has a “meta key” which acts as a shift key,
setting the 8th bit of any character transmitted, this fact can be indicated
with
km. Otherwise, software will assume that the 8th bit is parity and
it will usually be cleared. If strings exist to turn this “meta
mode” on and off, they can be given as
smm and
rmm.
If the terminal has more lines of memory than will fit on the screen at once,
the number of lines of memory can be indicated with
lm. A value of
lm#0 indicates that the number of lines is not fixed, but that there is
still more memory than fits on the screen.
If the terminal is one of those supported by the UNIX virtual terminal protocol,
the terminal number can be given as
vt.
Media copy strings which control an auxiliary printer connected to the terminal
can be given as
mc0: print the contents of the screen,
mc4: turn
off the printer, and
mc5: turn on the printer. When the printer is on,
all text sent to the terminal will be sent to the printer. It is undefined
whether the text is also displayed on the terminal screen when the printer is
on. A variation
mc5p takes one parameter, and leaves the printer on for
as many characters as the value of the parameter, then turns the printer off.
The parameter should not exceed 255. All text, including
mc4, is
transparently passed to the printer while an
mc5p is in effect.
Hazeltine terminals, which do not allow “~” characters to be
displayed should indicate
hz.
Terminals which ignore a line-feed immediately after an
am wrap, such as
the Concept and vt100, should indicate
xenl.
If
el is required to get rid of standout (instead of merely writing
normal text on top of it),
xhp should be given.
Teleray terminals, where tabs turn all characters moved over to blanks, should
indicate
xt (destructive tabs). Note: the variable indicating this is
now “dest_tabs_magic_smso”; in older versions, it was
teleray_glitch. This glitch is also taken to mean that it is not possible to
position the cursor on top of a “magic cookie”, that to erase
standout mode it is instead necessary to use delete and insert line. The
ncurses implementation ignores this glitch.
The Beehive Superbee, which is unable to correctly transmit the escape or
control/C characters, has
xsb, indicating that the f1 key is used for
escape and f2 for control/C. (Only certain Superbees have this problem,
depending on the ROM.) Note that in older terminfo versions, this capability
was called “beehive_glitch”; it is now
“no_esc_ctl_c”.
Other specific terminal problems may be corrected by adding more capabilities of
the form
xx.
Long terminfo entries are unlikely to be a problem; to date, no entry has even
approached terminfo's 4096-byte string-table maximum. Unfortunately, the
termcap translations are much more strictly limited (to 1023 bytes), thus
termcap translations of long terminfo entries can cause problems.
The man pages for 4.3BSD and older versions of
tgetent instruct the user
to allocate a 1024-byte buffer for the termcap entry. The entry gets
null-terminated by the termcap library, so that makes the maximum safe length
for a termcap entry 1k-1 (1023) bytes. Depending on what the application and
the termcap library being used does, and where in the termcap file the
terminal type that
tgetent is searching for is, several bad things can
happen.
Some termcap libraries print a warning message or exit if they find an entry
that's longer than 1023 bytes; others do not; others truncate the entries to
1023 bytes. Some application programs allocate more than the recommended 1K
for the termcap entry; others do not.
Each termcap entry has two important sizes associated with it: before
“tc” expansion, and after “tc” expansion.
“tc” is the capability that tacks on another termcap entry to
the end of the current one, to add on its capabilities. If a termcap entry
does not use the “tc” capability, then of course the two lengths
are the same.
The “before tc expansion” length is the most important one,
because it affects more than just users of that particular terminal. This is
the length of the entry as it exists in /etc/termcap, minus the
backslash-newline pairs, which
tgetent strips out while reading it.
Some termcap libraries strip off the final newline, too (GNU termcap does
not). Now suppose:
- •
- a termcap entry before expansion is more than 1023 bytes
long,
- •
- and the application has only allocated a 1k buffer,
- •
- and the termcap library (like the one in BSD/OS 1.1 and
GNU) reads the whole entry into the buffer, no matter what its length, to
see if it is the entry it wants,
- •
- and tgetent is searching for a terminal type that
either is the long entry, appears in the termcap file after the long
entry, or does not appear in the file at all (so that tgetent has
to search the whole termcap file).
Then
tgetent will overwrite memory, perhaps its stack, and probably core
dump the program. Programs like telnet are particularly vulnerable; modern
telnets pass along values like the terminal type automatically. The results
are almost as undesirable with a termcap library, like SunOS 4.1.3 and Ultrix
4.4, that prints warning messages when it reads an overly long termcap entry.
If a termcap library truncates long entries, like OSF/1 3.0, it is immune to
dying here but will return incorrect data for the terminal.
The “after tc expansion” length will have a similar effect to the
above, but only for people who actually set TERM to that terminal type, since
tgetent only does “tc” expansion once it is found the
terminal type it was looking for, not while searching.
In summary, a termcap entry that is longer than 1023 bytes can cause, on various
combinations of termcap libraries and applications, a core dump, warnings, or
incorrect operation. If it is too long even before “tc”
expansion, it will have this effect even for users of some other terminal
types and users whose TERM variable does not have a termcap entry.
When in -C (translate to termcap) mode, the
ncurses implementation of
tic(1) issues warning messages when the pre-tc length of a termcap
translation is too long. The -c (check) option also checks resolved (after tc
expansion) lengths.
It is not wise to count on portability of binary terminfo entries between
commercial UNIX versions. The problem is that there are at least two versions
of terminfo (under HP-UX and AIX) which diverged from System V terminfo after
SVr1, and have added extension capabilities to the string table that (in the
binary format) collide with System V and XSI Curses extensions.
Searching for terminal descriptions in
$HOME/.terminfo and TERMINFO_DIRS
is not supported by older implementations.
Some SVr4
curses implementations, and all previous to SVr4, do not
interpret the %A and %O operators in parameter strings.
SVr4/XPG4 do not specify whether
msgr licenses movement while in an
alternate-character-set mode (such modes may, among other things, map CR and
NL to characters that do not trigger local motions). The
ncurses
implementation ignores
msgr in
ALTCHARSET mode. This raises the
possibility that an XPG4 implementation making the opposite interpretation may
need terminfo entries made for
ncurses to have
msgr turned off.
The
ncurses library handles insert-character and insert-character modes
in a slightly non-standard way to get better update efficiency. See the
Insert/Delete Character subsection above.
The parameter substitutions for
set_clock and
display_clock are
not documented in SVr4 or the XSI Curses standard. They are deduced from the
documentation for the AT&T 505 terminal.
Be careful assigning the
kmous capability. The
ncurses library
wants to interpret it as
KEY_MOUSE, for use by terminals and emulators
like xterm that can return mouse-tracking information in the keyboard-input
stream.
X/Open Curses does not mention italics. Portable applications must assume that
numeric capabilities are signed 16-bit values. This includes the
no_color_video (ncv) capability. The 32768 mask value used for italics
with ncv can be confused with an absent or cancelled ncv. If italics should
work with colors, then the ncv value must be specified, even if it is zero.
Different commercial ports of terminfo and curses support different subsets of
the XSI Curses standard and (in some cases) different extension sets. Here is
a summary, accurate as of October 1995:
- •
-
SVR4, Solaris, ncurses -- These support all SVr4
capabilities.
- •
-
SGI -- Supports the SVr4 set, adds one undocumented
extended string capability ( set_pglen).
- •
-
SVr1, Ultrix -- These support a restricted subset of
terminfo capabilities. The booleans end with xon_xoff; the numerics
with width_status_line; and the strings with prtr_non.
- •
-
HP/UX -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus the SVr[234]
numerics num_labels, label_height, label_width, plus
function keys 11 through 63, plus plab_norm, label_on, and
label_off, plus some incompatible extensions in the string
table.
- •
-
AIX -- Supports the SVr1 subset, plus function keys
11 through 63, plus a number of incompatible string table extensions.
- •
-
OSF -- Supports both the SVr4 set and the AIX
extensions.
- /etc/terminfo/?/*
- files containing terminal descriptions
infocmp(1),
tabs(1),
tic(1),
ncurses(3NCURSES),
color(3NCURSES),
curses_variables(3NCURSES),
printf(3),
terminfo_variables(3NCURSES).
term(5).
user_caps(5).
Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey. Based on
pcurses by
Pavel Curtis.