terminfo(3)                                           terminfo(3)


NAME
       setupterm, setterm, set_curterm, del_curterm, restartterm,
       tparm, tputs, putp, vidputs,  vidattr,  mvcur,  tigetflag,
       tigetnum,   tigetstr   -  curses  interfaces  to  terminfo
       database



SYNOPSIS
       #include <curses.h>
       #include <term.h>

       int setupterm(const char *term, int fildes, int *errret);
       int setterm(const char *term);
       TERMINAL *set_curterm(TERMINAL *nterm);
       int del_curterm(TERMINAL *oterm);
       int  restartterm(const  char  *term,   int   fildes,   int
       *errret);
       char *tparm(const char *str, ...);
       int tputs(const char *str, int affcnt, int (*putc)(int));
       int putp(const char *str);
       int vidputs(chtype attrs, int (*putc)(char));
       int vidattr(chtype attrs);
       int mvcur(int oldrow, int oldcol, int newrow, int newcol);
       int tigetflag(const char *capname);
       int tigetnum(const char *capname);
       char *tigetstr(const char *capname);

DESCRIPTION
       These low-level routines must be called by  programs  that
       have to deal directly with the terminfo database to handle
       certain terminal capabilities, such as  programming  func-
       tion  keys.   For all other functionality, curses routines
       are more suitable and their use is recommended.

       Initially,  setupterm  should  be   called.    Note   that
       setupterm  is automatically called by initscr and newterm.
       This  defines  the  set  of  terminal-dependent  variables
       [listed in terminfo(5)].  The terminfo variables lines and
       columns  are  initialized  by  setupterm  as  follows:  If
       use_env(FALSE)  has  been  called,  values  for  lines and
       columns specified in terminfo are used.  Otherwise, if the
       environment  variables LINES and COLUMNS exist, their val-
       ues are used.  If these environment variables do not exist
       and the program is running in a window, the current window
       size is used.  Otherwise, if the environment variables  do
       not  exist,  the values for lines and columns specified in
       the terminfo database are used.

       The header files curses.h and term.h  should  be  included
       (in  this order) to get the definitions for these strings,
       numbers,  and  flags.   Parameterized  strings  should  be
       passed  through  tparm  to instantiate them.  All terminfo
       strings [including the output of tparm] should be  printed
       with  tputs or putp.  Call the reset_shell_mode to restore
       the  tty  modes  before  exiting   [see   curs_kernel(3)].



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terminfo(3)                                           terminfo(3)


       Programs   which   use  cursor  addressing  should  output
       enter_ca_mode upon startup and should output  exit_ca_mode
       before  exiting.   Programs  desiring shell escapes should
       call

       reset_shell_mode and output exit_ca_mode before the  shell
       is   called  and  should  output  enter_ca_mode  and  call
       reset_prog_mode after returning from the shell.

       The setupterm routine reads in the terminfo database, ini-
       tializing the terminfo structures, but does not set up the
       output virtualization structures used by curses.  The ter-
       minal  type is the character string term; if term is null,
       the environment variable TERM is used.  All output  is  to
       file  descriptor  fildes  which is initialized for output.
       If errret is not null, then setupterm returns  OK  or  ERR
       and  stores  a  status  value in the integer pointed to by
       errret.  A return value of OK combined with status of 1 in
       errret is normal.  If ERR is returned, examine errret:

              1    means that the terminal is hardcopy, cannot be
                   used for curses applications.

              0    means that the terminal could not be found, or
                   that  it  is a generic type, having too little
                   information for curses applications to run.

              -1   means that the terminfo database could not  be
                   found.

       If  errret is null, setupterm prints an error message upon
       finding an error and exits.  Thus, the simplest call is:

             setupterm((char *)0, 1, (int *)0);,

       which uses all the defaults and sends the output  to  std-
       out.

       The  setterm  routine is being replaced by setupterm.  The
       call:

             setupterm(term, 1, (int *)0)

       provides the same  functionality  as  setterm(term).   The
       setterm  routine  is  included here for BSD compatibility,
       and is not recommended for new programs.

       The set_curterm routine  sets  the  variable  cur_term  to
       nterm, and makes all of the terminfo boolean, numeric, and
       string variables use the values from  nterm.   It  returns
       the old value of cur_term.

       The  del_curterm  routine  frees  the  space pointed to by
       oterm and makes it available for further use.  If oterm is



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terminfo(3)                                           terminfo(3)


       the  same  as  cur_term, references to any of the terminfo
       boolean, numeric,  and  string  variables  thereafter  may
       refer  to invalid memory locations until another setupterm
       has been called.

       The  restartterm  routine  is  similar  to  setupterm  and
       initscr,  except  that it is called after restoring memory
       to a previous state (for example, when  reloading  a  game
       saved  as a core image dump).  It assumes that the windows
       and the input and output options are the same as when mem-
       ory  was saved, but the terminal type and baud rate may be
       different.  Accordingly, it saves various tty state  bits,
       does a setupterm, and then restores the bits.

       The tparm routine instantiates the string str with parame-
       ters pi.  A pointer is returned to the result of str  with
       the parameters applied.

       The  tputs  routine  applies  padding  information  to the
       string str and outputs it.  The str  must  be  a  terminfo
       string  variable  or the return value from tparm, tgetstr,
       or tgoto.  affcnt is the number of lines affected, or 1 if
       not  applicable.   putc is a putchar-like routine to which
       the characters are passed, one at a time.

       The putp routine calls tputs(str, 1, putchar).  Note  that
       the  output  of  putp  always  goes  to stdout, not to the
       fildes specified in setupterm.

       The vidputs routine displays the string on the terminal in
       the  video  attribute mode attrs, which is any combination
       of the attributes listed in curses(3).  The characters are
       passed to the putchar-like routine putc.

       The  vidattr  routine  is like the vidputs routine, except
       that it outputs through putchar.

       The mvcur routine provides low-level  cursor  motion.   It
       takes   effect   immediately  (rather  than  at  the  next
       refresh).

       The tigetflag, tigetnum and tigetstr routines  return  the
       value of the capability corresponding to the terminfo cap-
       name passed to them, such as xenl.

       The tigetflag routine returns the value -1 if  capname  is
       not a boolean capability, or 0 if it is canceled or absent
       from the terminal description.

       The tigetnum routine returns the value -2  if  capname  is
       not  a  numeric  capability,  or  -1  if it is canceled or
       absent from the terminal description.

       The tigetstr routine  returns  the  value  (char  *)-1  if



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terminfo(3)                                           terminfo(3)


       capname is not a string capability, or 0 if it is canceled
       or absent from the terminal description.

       The capname for each capability is given in the table col-
       umn  entitled  capname code in the capabilities section of
       terminfo(5).

       char *boolnames, *boolcodes, *boolfnames

       char *numnames, *numcodes, *numfnames

       char *strnames, *strcodes, *strfnames

       These null-terminated arrays  contain  the  capnames,  the
       termcap  codes, and the full C names, for each of the ter-
       minfo variables.

RETURN VALUE
       Routines that return an integer return  ERR  upon  failure
       and  OK  (SVr4 only specifies "an integer value other than
       ERR") upon successful completion, unless  otherwise  noted
       in the preceding routine descriptions.

       Routines that return pointers always return NULL on error.

NOTES
       The setupterm routine should be used in place of  setterm.
       It  may be useful when you want to test for terminal capa-
       bilities without committing to the allocation  of  storage
       involved in initscr.

       Note that vidattr and vidputs may be macros.

PORTABILITY
       The  function  setterm  is not described in the XSI Curses
       standard and must be considered non-portable.   All  other
       functions are as described in the XSI curses standard.

       In  System V Release 4, set_curterm has an int return type
       and returns OK or ERR.  We have chosen  to  implement  the
       XSI Curses semantics.

       In System V Release 4, the third argument of tputs has the
       type int (*putc)(char).

       The XSI Curses standard prototypes tparm with a fixed num-
       ber of parameters, rather than a variable argument list.

SEE ALSO
       curses(3),  curs_initscr(3),  curs_kernel(3),  termcap(3),
       putc(3), terminfo(5)






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