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$Id: announce.html.in,v 1.39 2000/07/04 21:59:36 tom Exp $
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<HTML>
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<HEAD>
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<TITLE>Announcing ncurses @VERSION@</TITLE>
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<link rev=made href="mailto:bug-ncurses@gnu.org">
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<BODY>
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<H1>Announcing ncurses @VERSION@</H1>
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The ncurses (new curses) library is a free software emulation of
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curses in System V Release 4.0, and more. It uses terminfo format,
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supports pads and color
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and multiple highlights and forms characters and function-key mapping,
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and has all the other SYSV-curses enhancements over BSD curses.<P>
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In mid-June 1995, the maintainer of 4.4BSD curses declared that he
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considered 4.4BSD curses obsolete, and is encouraging the keepers of
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Unix releases such as BSD/OS, freeBSD and netBSD to switch over to
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ncurses.<P>
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The ncurses code was developed under GNU/Linux. It should port easily to
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any ANSI/POSIX-conforming UNIX. It has even been ported to OS/2 Warp!<P>
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The distribution includes the library and support utilities, including a
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terminfo compiler tic(1), a decompiler infocmp(1), clear(1), tput(1), tset(1),
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and a termcap conversion tool captoinfo(1). Full manual pages are provided for
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the library and tools.<P>
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The ncurses distribution is available via anonymous FTP at
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the GNU distribution site
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<A HREF="ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/ncurses">ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/ncurses</A>.
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<br>It is also available at
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<A HREF="ftp://dickey.his.com/ncurses">ftp://dickey.his.com/ncurses</A>.
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<H1>Release Notes</H1>
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This release is designed to be upward compatible from ncurses 5.0; very few
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applications will require recompilation, depending on the platform.
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These are the highlights from the change-log since ncurses 5.0 release.
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<p>
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Interface changes:
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<ul>
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<li>made the extended terminal capabilities
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(<code>configure --enable-tcap-names</code>)
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a standard feature (though the configure script can disable it,
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it is built by default).
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<li>removed the <code>trace()</code> function and related trace support
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from the production library. This is the only interface change that
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may cause problems with existing applications linked to shared
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libraries, since not all platforms use the minor version number.
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<li>explicitly initialized to zero several data items which were
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implicitly initialized, e.g., cur_term. If not explicitly
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initialized, their storage type is C (common), and causes problems
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linking on some platforms.
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<li>modified curses.h.in, undef'ing some symbols to avoid conflict with
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C++ STL.
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</ul>
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New features:
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<ul>
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<li>added a new extension, <code>assume_default_colors()</code> to
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provide better control over the use of default colors. This is
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the principal visible difference between ncurses 5.1 and preceding
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versions. The new extension allows an application to specify what
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colors pair 0 uses.
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<p>
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<em>NOTE</em>: Pair 0 defaults to white on black unless
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you have invoked <code>use_default_colors()</code> or set it via
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<code>assume_default_colors()</code>. An application that calls
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<code>start_colors()</code> without setting the background color
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will consistently have a black background no matter what color your
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terminal's background actually is.
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<li>made several fixes to the terminfo-to-termcap conversion, and
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have been using the generated termcaps without further hand-tuning.
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This builds on the extension <code>use_extended_names()</code> by
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adding "obsolete" termcap strings to terminfo.src
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<ul>
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<li>modified <code>tic</code> so that if extended names (i.e.,
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configure --enable-tcap-names) are active, then <code>tic -x</code>
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will also write "obsolete" capabilities that are present in the
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terminfo source.
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<li>added screen's AX capability (for ECMA SGR 39 and 49) to applicable
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terminfo entries, use presence of this as a check for a small
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improvement in setting default colors.
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<li>add -a option to tic and infocmp, which retains commented-out
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capabilities during source translation/comparison, e.g., captoinfo
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and infotocap.
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</ul>
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<li>implemented limited support for UTF-8, useful with XFree86 xterm:
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<ul>
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<li>if the <code>configure --enable-widec</code> option is
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given, append 'w' to names of the generated libraries (e.g.,
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libncursesw.so) to avoid conflict with existing ncurses libraries.
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<li>add a simple UTF-8 output driver to the experimental
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wide-character support. If any of the environment variables
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LC_ALL, LC_CTYPE or LANG contain the string "UTF-8", this driver
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will be used to translate the output to UTF-8.
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<li>modified view.c to make a rudimentary viewer of UTF-8 text.
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</ul>
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<li>modify <code>raw()</code> and <code>noraw()</code> to clear/restore
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IEXTEN flag which affects <code>stty lnext</code> on systems such as FreeBSD
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<li>reordered tests during mouse initialization to allow for gpm to run
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in xterm, or for xterm to be used under OS/2 EMX. Also dropped test
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for <code>$DISPLAY</code> in favor of the terminfo capability
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<code>kmous=\E[M</code> or
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if <code>$TERM</code> environment variable contains "xterm".
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<li>added configure option <code>--with-manpage-symlinks</code>, which
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provides for fully indexing manpage entries by making symbolic links
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for the aliases.
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<li>changed <code>unctrl()</code> to render C1 characters (128-159) as
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<code>~@</code>, <code>~A</code>, etc.
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<li>add experimental configure option --enable-colorfgbg to check for
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$COLORTERM variable as set by rxvt/aterm/Eterm.
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<li>made the <code>infocmp -F</code> option less verbose.
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<li>dropped support for gnat 3.10 (gnat 3.12 is current).
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</ul>
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Major bug fixes:
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<ul>
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<li>modified infocmp -e, -E options to ensure that generated fallback.c
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type for Booleans agrees with term.h
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<li>documented a special case of incompatiblity between ncurses 4.2 and
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5.0, added a section for this in INSTALL.
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<li>corrected tests for file-descriptors in OS/2 EMX mouse support. A
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negative value could be used by FD_SET, causing the select() call to
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wait indefinitely.
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<li>made 'tput flash' work properly for xterm by flushing output in
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delay_output() when using napms(), and modifying xterm's terminfo to
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specify no padding character. Otherwise, xterm's reported baud rate
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could mislead ncurses into producing too few padding characters.
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<li>modified lib_addch.c to allow repeated update to the lower-right
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corner, rather than displaying only the first character written until
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the cursor is moved. Recent versions of SVr4 curses can update the
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lower-right corner, and behave this way.
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<li>modified echo() behavior of getch() to match Solaris curses for
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carriage return and backspace (reported by Neil Zanella).
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<li>corrected offsets used for subwindows in <code>wresize()</code>
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<li>modified configure script so AC_MSG_ERROR is temporarily defined to
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a warning in AC_PROG_CXX to make it recover from a missing C++
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compiler without requiring user to add --without-cxx option
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<li>corrected logic in lib_twait.c as used by lib_mouse.c for GPM mouse
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support when poll() is used rather than select().
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<li>made several fixes for buffer overflows, unchecked recursion,
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improvements in performance, etc. See the NEWS file for details.
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</ul>
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<H1>Features of Ncurses</H1>
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The ncurses package is fully compatible with SVr4 (System V Release 4) curses:
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<UL>
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<LI>All 257 of the SVr4 calls have been implemented (and are documented).
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<LI>Full support for SVr4 curses features including keyboard mapping, color,
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forms-drawing with ACS characters, and automatic recognition of keypad
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and function keys.
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<LI>An emulation of the SVr4 panels library, supporting
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a stack of windows with backing store, is included.
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<LI>An emulation of the SVr4 menus library, supporting
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a uniform but flexible interface for menu programming, is included.
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<LI>An emulation of the SVr4 form library, supporting
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data collection through on-screen forms, is included.
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<LI>Binary terminfo entries generated by the ncurses tic(1) implementation
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are bit-for-bit-compatible with the entry format SVr4 curses uses.
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<LI>The utilities have options to allow you to filter terminfo
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entries for use with less capable <STRONG>curses</STRONG>/<STRONG>terminfo</STRONG>
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versions such as the HP/UX and AIX ports.</UL>
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The ncurses package also has many useful extensions over SVr4:
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<UL>
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<LI>The API is 8-bit clean and base-level conformant with the X/OPEN curses
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specification, XSI curses (that is, it implements all BASE level features,
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but not all EXTENDED features). Most EXTENDED-level features not directly
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concerned with wide-character support are implemented, including many
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function calls not supported under SVr4 curses (but portability of all
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calls is documented so you can use the SVr4 subset only).
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<LI>Unlike SVr3 curses, ncurses can write to the rightmost-bottommost corner
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of the screen if your terminal has an insert-character capability.
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<LI>Ada95 and C++ bindings.
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<LI>Support for mouse event reporting with X Window xterm and OS/2 console windows.
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<LI>Extended mouse support via Alessandro Rubini's gpm package.
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<LI>The function <CODE>wresize()</CODE> allows you to resize windows, preserving
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their data.
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<LI>The function <CODE>use_default_colors()</CODE> allows you to
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use the terminal's default colors for the default color pair,
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achieving the effect of transparent colors.
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<LI>The functions <CODE>keyok()</CODE>
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and <CODE>define_key()</CODE> allow
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you to better control the use of function keys,
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e.g., disabling the ncurses KEY_MOUSE,
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or by defining more than one control sequence to map to a given key code.
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<LI>Support for 16-color terminals, such as aixterm and XFree86 xterm.
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<LI>Better cursor-movement optimization. The package now features a
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cursor-local-movement computation more efficient than either BSD's
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or System V's.
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<LI>Super hardware scrolling support. The screen-update code incorporates
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a novel, simple, and cheap algorithm that enables it to make optimal
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use of hardware scrolling, line-insertion, and line-deletion
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for screen-line movements. This algorithm is more powerful than
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the 4.4BSD curses quickch() routine.
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<LI>Real support for terminals with the magic-cookie glitch. The
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screen-update code will refrain from drawing a highlight if the magic-
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cookie unattributed spaces required just before the beginning and
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after the end would step on a non-space character. It will
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automatically shift highlight boundaries when doing so would make it
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possible to draw the highlight without changing the visual appearance
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of the screen.
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<LI>It is possible to generate the library with a list of pre-loaded
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fallback entries linked to it so that it can serve those terminal types even
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when no terminfo tree or termcap file is accessible (this may be useful
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for support of screen-oriented programs that must run in single-user mode).
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<LI>The tic(1)/captoinfo utility provided with ncurses has the
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ability to translate many termcaps from the XENIX, IBM and
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AT&T extension sets.
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<LI>A BSD-like tset(1) utility is provided.
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<LI>The ncurses library and utilities will automatically read terminfo
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entries from $HOME/.terminfo if it exists, and compile to that directory
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if it exists and the user has no write access to the system directory.
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This feature makes it easier for users to have personal terminfo entries
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without giving up access to the system terminfo directory.
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<LI>You may specify a path of directories to search for compiled
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descriptions with the environment variable TERMINFO_DIRS (this
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generalizes the feature provided by TERMINFO under stock System V.)
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<LI>In terminfo source files, use capabilities may refer not just to
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other entries in the same source file (as in System V) but also to
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compiled entries in either the system terminfo directory or the user's
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$HOME/.terminfo directory.
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<LI>A script (<STRONG>capconvert</STRONG>) is provided to help BSD users
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transition from termcap to terminfo. It gathers the information in a
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TERMCAP environment variable and/or a ~/.termcap local entries file
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and converts it to an equivalent local terminfo tree under $HOME/.terminfo.
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<LI>Automatic fallback to the /etc/termcap file can be compiled in
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when it is not possible to build a terminfo tree. This feature is neither
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fast nor cheap, you don't want to use it unless you have to,
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but it's there.
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<LI>The table-of-entries utility <STRONG>toe</STRONG> makes it easy for users to
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see exactly what terminal types are available on the system.
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<LI>The library meets the XSI requirement that every macro entry
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point have a corresponding function which may be linked (and will be
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prototype-checked) if the macro definition is disabled with
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<CODE>#undef</CODE>.
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<LI>An HTML "Introduction to Programming with NCURSES" document provides
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a narrative introduction to the curses programming interface.
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</UL>
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<H1>State of the Package</H1>
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Numerous bugs present in earlier versions have been fixed; the
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library is far more reliable than it used to be. Bounds checking in many
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`dangerous' entry points has been improved. The code is now type-safe
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according to gcc -Wall. The library has been checked for malloc leaks and
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arena corruption by the Purify memory-allocation tester.<P>
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The ncurses code has been tested with a wide variety of applications
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including (versions starting with those noted):
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<DL>
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<DT> cdk
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<DD> Curses Development Kit
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<br>
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<A HREF="http://www.vexus.ca/CDK.html">http://www.vexus.ca/CDK.html</a>
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<br>
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<A HREF="http://dickey.his.com/cdk/cdk.html">http://dickey.his.com/cdk</A>.
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<DT> ded
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<DD> directory-editor
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<br>
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<A HREF="http://dickey.his.com/ded/ded.html">http://dickey.his.com/ded</A>.
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<DT> dialog
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<DD> the underlying application used in Slackware's setup, and the basis
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for similar applications on GNU/Linux.
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<br>
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<A HREF="http://dickey.his.com/dialog/dialog.html">http://dickey.his.com/dialog</A>.
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<DT> lynx
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<DD> the character-screen WWW browser
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<br>
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<A HREF="http://lynx.isc.org/release/">http://lynx.isc.org/release</A>.
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<DT> Midnight Commander 4.1
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<DD> file manager
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<br>
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<A HREF="www.gnome.org/mc/">www.gnome.org/mc/</A>.
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<DT> mutt
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<DD> mail utility
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<br>
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<A HREF="http://www.mutt.org">http://www.mutt.org</A>.
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<DT> ncftp
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<DD> file-transfer utility
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<br>
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<A HREF="http://www.ncftp.com">http://www.ncftp.com</A>.
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<DT> nvi
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<DD> New vi versions 1.50 are able to use ncurses versions 1.9.7 and later.
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<br>
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<A HREF="http://www.bostic.com/vi/">http://www.bostic.com/vi/</A>.
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<DT> tin
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<DD> newsreader, supporting color, MIME
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<br>
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<A HREF="http://www.tin.org">http://www.tin.org</A>.
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<DT> taper
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<DD> tape archive utility
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<br>
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<A HREF="http://members.iinet.net.au/~yusuf/taper/">http://members.iinet.net.au/~yusuf/taper/</A>.
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<DT> vh-1.6
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<DD> Volks-Hypertext browser for the Jargon File
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<br>
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<A HREF="http://www.bg.debian.org/Packages/unstable/text/vh.html">http://www.bg.debian.org/Packages/unstable/text/vh.html</A>.
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</DL>
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as well as some that use ncurses for the terminfo support alone:
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<DL>
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<DT> minicom
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<DD> terminal emulator
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<br>
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<A HREF="http://www.pp.clinet.fi/~walker/minicom.html">http://www.pp.clinet.fi/~walker/minicom.html</A>.
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<DT> vile
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<DD> vi-like-emacs
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<br>
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<A HREF="http://dickey.his.com/vile/vile.html">http://dickey.his.com/vile</A>.
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</DL>
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<P>
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The ncurses distribution includes a selection of test programs (including
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a few games).
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<H2>Who's Who and What's What</H2>
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The original developers of ncurses are <A
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HREF="mailto:zmbenhal@netcom.com">Zeyd Ben-Halim</A> and
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<A HREF="http://www.ccil.org/~esr/home.html">Eric S. Raymond</A>.
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Ongoing work is being done by
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<A HREF="mailto:dickey@herndon4.his.com">Thomas Dickey</A>
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and
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<A HREF="mailto:juergen.pfeifer@gmx.net">Jürgen Pfeifer</A>.
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<A HREF="mailto:dickey@herndon4.his.com">Thomas Dickey</A>
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acts as the maintainer for the Free Software Foundation, which holds the
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copyright on ncurses.
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Contact the current maintainers at
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<A HREF="mailto:bug-ncurses@gnu.org">bug-ncurses@gnu.org</A>.
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<P>
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To join the ncurses mailing list, please write email to
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<CODE>bug-ncurses-request@gnu.org</CODE> containing the line:
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<PRE>
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subscribe <name>@<host.domain>
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</PRE>
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This list is open to anyone interested in helping with the development and
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testing of this package.<P>
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Beta versions of ncurses and patches to the current release are made available at
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<A HREF="ftp://dickey.his.com/ncurses">ftp://dickey.his.com/ncurses</A>.
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<H2>Future Plans</H2>
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<UL>
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<LI>Extended-level XPG4 conformance, with internationalization support.
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<LI>Ports to more systems, including DOS and Windows.
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</UL>
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We need people to help with these projects. If you are interested in working
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on them, please join the ncurses list.
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<H2>Other Related Resources</H2>
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The distribution includes and uses a version of the terminfo-format
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terminal description file maintained by Eric Raymond.
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<A HREF="http://earthspace.net/~esr/terminfo">http://earthspace.net/~esr/terminfo</A>.<P>
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You can find lots of information on terminal-related topics
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not covered in the terminfo file at
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<A HREF="http://www.cs.utk.edu/~shuford/terminal_index.html">Richard Shuford's
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archive</A>.
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