# ncurses 3x

    ncurses(3x)                                           ncurses(3x)

## NAME

           ncurses - CRT screen handling and optimization package

## SYNOPSIS

           #include <curses.h>

## DESCRIPTION

           The  ncurses  library  routines  give the user a terminal-
           independent method of updating character screens with rea-
           sonable   optimization.    This  implementation  is  ``new
           curses'' (ncurses) and is  the  approved  replacement  for
           4.4BSD classic curses, which has been discontinued.

           The  ncurses  routines  emulate  the curses(3x) library of
           System V Release 4 UNIX, and the XPG4 curses standard (XSI
           curses)  but the ncurses library is freely redistributable
           in source form.  Differences from the SVr4 curses are sum-
           marized  under  the EXTENSIONS and BUGS sections below and
           described in detail in the EXTENSIONS and BUGS sections of
           individual man pages.

           A  program  using  these  routines must be linked with the
           -lncurses option, or (if it has been generated)  with  the
           debugging  library  -lncurses_g.   (Your system integrator
           may also have installed these libraries  under  the  names
           -lcurses and -lcurses_g.)  The ncurses_g library generates
           trace logs (in a file called 'trace' in the current direc-
           tory) that describe curses actions.

           The  ncurses  package supports: overall screen, window and
           pad manipulation; output to windows and pads; reading ter-
           minal  input;  control  over terminal and curses input and
           output options; environment query routines; color  manipu-
           lation; use of soft label keys; terminfo capabilities; and
           access to low-level terminal-manipulation routines.

           To initialize the routines, the routine initscr or newterm
           must  be called before any of the other routines that deal
           with windows and screens are  used.   The  routine  endwin
           must be called before exiting.  To get character-at-a-time
           input without echoing (most interactive,  screen  oriented
           programs  want  this),  the  following  sequence should be
           used:

                 initscr(); cbreak(); noecho();

           Most programs would additionally use the sequence:

                 nonl();
                 intrflush(stdscr, FALSE);
                 keypad(stdscr, TRUE);

           Before a curses program is run, the tab stops of the  ter-
           minal  should  be  set  and its initialization strings, if
           defined, must be output.  This can be  done  by  executing
           the tput init command after the shell environment variable
           TERM has been exported.  tset(1)  is  usually  responsible
           for doing this.  [See terminfo(5) for further details.]

           The  ncurses  library  permits manipulation of data struc-
           tures, called windows, which can be  thought  of  as  two-
           dimensional  arrays of characters representing all or part
           of a CRT screen.  A default window called stdscr, which is
           the  size of the terminal screen, is supplied.  Others may
           be created with newwin.

           Note that curses  does  not  handle  overlapping  windows,
           that's  done by the panel(3x) library. This means that you
           can either use stdscr or divide the screen into tiled win-
           dows  and  not  using  stdscr  at all. Mixing the two will
           result in unpredictable, and undesired, effects.

           Windows are referred to by variables declared as WINDOW *.
           These   data  structures  are  manipulated  with  routines
           described here and elsewhere in the ncurses manual  pages.
           Among  which  the  most basic routines are move and addch.
           More general versions of these routines are included  with
           names  beginning  with  w,  allowing the user to specify a
           window.  The routines not beginning with w affect stdscr.)

           After  using  routines  to manipulate a window, refresh is
           called, telling curses to make the user's CRT screen  look
           like  stdscr.   The characters in a window are actually of
           type chtype, (character and attribute data) so that  other
           information  about  the  character may also be stored with
           each character.

           Special windows  called  pads  may  also  be  manipulated.
           These are windows which are not constrained to the size of
           the screen and whose contents need not be completely  dis-
           played.  See curs_pad(3x) for more information.

           In  addition  to  drawing  characters on the screen, video
           attributes and colors may be supported, causing the  char-
           acters  to show up in such modes as underlined, in reverse
           video, or in color on terminals that support such  display
           enhancements.  Line drawing characters may be specified to
           be output.  On input, curses is  also  able  to  translate
           arrow  and  function  keys  that transmit escape sequences
           into single values.  The video  attributes,  line  drawing
           characters,   and  input  values  use  names,  defined  in
           <curses.h>, such as A_REVERSE, ACS_HLINE, and KEY_LEFT.

           If the environment variables LINES and COLUMNS are set, or
           if  the program is executing in a window environment, line
           and column information in the  environment  will  override
           information read by terminfo.  This would effect a program
           running in an AT&T 630 layer, for example, where the  size
           of a screen is changeable (see ENVIRONMENT).

           If  the environment variable TERMINFO is defined, any pro-
           gram using curses checks for a local  terminal  definition
           before  checking  in  the standard place.  For example, if
           TERM is set to att4424, then the compiled terminal defini-
           tion is found in

                 /usr/share/terminfo/a/att4424.

           (The a is copied from the first letter of att4424 to avoid
           creation of huge directories.)  However,  if  TERMINFO  is
           set to $HOME/myterms, curses first checks

                 $HOME/myterms/a/att4424,

           and if that fails, it then checks

                 /usr/share/terminfo/a/att4424.

           This  is useful for developing experimental definitions or
           when write permission in /usr/share/terminfo is not avail-
           able.

           The  integer  variables  LINES  and  COLS  are  defined in
           <curses.h> and will be filled in by initscr with the  size
           of the screen.  The constants TRUE and FALSE have the val-
           ues 1 and 0, respectively.

           The curses routines also  define  the  WINDOW  *  variable
           curscr which is used for certain low-level operations like
           clearing and redrawing a screen containing  garbage.   The
           curscr can be used in only a few routines.

       Routine and Argument Names
           Many  curses routines have two or more versions.  The rou-
           tines prefixed with w require a window argument.  The rou-
           tines prefixed with p require a pad argument.  Those with-
           out a prefix generally use stdscr.

           The routines prefixed with mv require a y and x coordinate
           to  move to before performing the appropriate action.  The
           mv routines imply a call to move before the  call  to  the
           other  routine.  The coordinate y always refers to the row
           (of the window), and x always refers to the  column.   The
           upper left-hand corner is always (0,0), not (1,1).

           The routines prefixed with mvw take both a window argument
           and x and y coordinates.  The window  argument  is  always
           specified before the coordinates.

           In  each  case, win is the window affected, and pad is the
           pad affected; win and pad are always pointers to type WIN-
           DOW.

           Option setting routines require a Boolean flag bf with the
           value TRUE or FALSE; bf is always of type bool.  The vari-
           ables  ch  and attrs below are always of type chtype.  The
           types WINDOW, SCREEN, bool,  and  chtype  are  defined  in
           <curses.h>.   The  type  TERMINAL  is defined in <term.h>.
           All other arguments are integers.

       Routine Name Index
           The following table lists each curses routine and the name
           of  the  manual  page  on which it is described.  Routines
           flagged with `*' are ncurses-specific,  not  described  by
           XPG4 or present in SVr4.

                  curses Routine Name     Manual Page Name
                  --------------------------------------------
                  COLOR_PAIR              curs_color(3x)
                  PAIR_NUMBER             curs_attr(3x)
                  _nc_tracebits           curs_trace(3x)*
                  _traceattr              curs_trace(3x)*
                  _traceattr2             curs_trace(3x)*
                  _tracechar              curs_trace(3x)*
                  _tracechtype            curs_trace(3x)*
                  _tracechtype2           curs_trace(3x)*
                  _tracedump              curs_trace(3x)*
                  _tracef                 curs_trace(3x)*
                  _tracemouse             curs_trace(3x)*
                  add_wch                 curs_add_wch(3x)
                  add_wchnstr             curs_add_wchstr(3x)
                  add_wchstr              curs_add_wchstr(3x)
                  addch                   curs_addch(3x)

                  addchnstr               curs_addchstr(3x)
                  addchstr                curs_addchstr(3x)
                  addnstr                 curs_addstr(3x)
                  addnwstr                curs_addwstr(3x)
                  addstr                  curs_addstr(3x)
                  addwstr                 curs_addwstr(3x)
                  assume_default_colors   default_colors(3x)*
                  attr_get                curs_attr(3x)
                  attr_off                curs_attr(3x)
                  attr_on                 curs_attr(3x)
                  attr_set                curs_attr(3x)
                  attroff                 curs_attr(3x)
                  attron                  curs_attr(3x)
                  attrset                 curs_attr(3x)
                  baudrate                curs_termattrs(3x)
                  beep                    curs_beep(3x)
                  bkgd                    curs_bkgd(3x)
                  bkgdset                 curs_bkgd(3x)
                  bkgrnd                  curs_bkgrnd(3x)
                  bkgrndset               curs_bkgrnd(3x)
                  border                  curs_border(3x)
                  border_set              curs_border_set(3x)
                  box                     curs_border(3x)
                  box_set                 curs_border_set(3x)
                  can_change_color        curs_color(3x)
                  cbreak                  curs_inopts(3x)
                  chgat                   curs_attr(3x)
                  clear                   curs_clear(3x)
                  clearok                 curs_outopts(3x)
                  clrtobot                curs_clear(3x)
                  clrtoeol                curs_clear(3x)
                  color_content           curs_color(3x)
                  color_set               curs_attr(3x)
                  copywin                 curs_overlay(3x)
                  curs_set                curs_kernel(3x)
                  curses_version          curs_extend(3x)*
                  def_prog_mode           curs_kernel(3x)
                  def_shell_mode          curs_kernel(3x)
                  define_key              define_key(3x)*
                  del_curterm             curs_terminfo(3x)
                  delay_output            curs_util(3x)
                  delch                   curs_delch(3x)
                  deleteln                curs_deleteln(3x)
                  delscreen               curs_initscr(3x)
                  delwin                  curs_window(3x)
                  derwin                  curs_window(3x)
                  doupdate                curs_refresh(3x)
                  dupwin                  curs_window(3x)
                  echo                    curs_inopts(3x)
                  echo_wchar              curs_add_wch(3x)
                  echochar                curs_addch(3x)
                  endwin                  curs_initscr(3x)
                  erase                   curs_clear(3x)
                  erasechar               curs_termattrs(3x)
                  erasewchar              curs_termattrs(3x)
                  filter                  curs_util(3x)
                  flash                   curs_beep(3x)
                  flushinp                curs_util(3x)
                  get_wch                 curs_get_wch(3x)
                  get_wstr                curs_get_wstr(3x)
                  getbegyx                curs_getyx(3x)
                  getbkgd                 curs_bkgd(3x)
                  getbkgrnd               curs_bkgrnd(3x)
                  getcchar                curs_getcchar(3x)
                  getch                   curs_getch(3x)

                  getmaxyx                curs_getyx(3x)
                  getmouse                curs_mouse(3x)*
                  getn_wstr               curs_get_wstr(3x)
                  getnstr                 curs_getstr(3x)
                  getparyx                curs_getyx(3x)
                  getstr                  curs_getstr(3x)
                  getsyx                  curs_kernel(3x)
                  getwin                  curs_util(3x)
                  getyx                   curs_getyx(3x)
                  halfdelay               curs_inopts(3x)
                  has_colors              curs_color(3x)
                  has_ic                  curs_termattrs(3x)
                  has_il                  curs_termattrs(3x)
                  has_key                 curs_getch(3x)*
                  hline                   curs_border(3x)
                  hline_set               curs_border_set(3x)
                  idcok                   curs_outopts(3x)
                  idlok                   curs_outopts(3x)
                  immedok                 curs_outopts(3x)
                  in_wch                  curs_in_wch(3x)
                  in_wchnstr              curs_in_wchstr(3x)
                  in_wchstr               curs_in_wchstr(3x)
                  inch                    curs_inch(3x)
                  inchnstr                curs_inchstr(3x)
                  inchstr                 curs_inchstr(3x)
                  init_color              curs_color(3x)
                  init_pair               curs_color(3x)
                  initscr                 curs_initscr(3x)
                  innstr                  curs_instr(3x)
                  innwstr                 curs_inwstr(3x)
                  ins_nwstr               curs_ins_wstr(3x)
                  ins_wch                 curs_ins_wch(3x)
                  ins_wstr                curs_ins_wstr(3x)
                  insch                   curs_insch(3x)
                  insdelln                curs_deleteln(3x)
                  insertln                curs_deleteln(3x)
                  insnstr                 curs_insstr(3x)
                  insstr                  curs_insstr(3x)
                  instr                   curs_instr(3x)
                  intrflush               curs_inopts(3x)
                  inwstr                  curs_inwstr(3x)
                  is_linetouched          curs_touch(3x)
                  is_wintouched           curs_touch(3x)
                  isendwin                curs_initscr(3x)
                  key_defined             key_defined(3x)*
                  key_name                curs_util(3x)
                  keybound                keybound(3x)*
                  keyname                 curs_util(3x)
                  keyok                   keyok(3x)*
                  keypad                  curs_inopts(3x)
                  killchar                curs_termattrs(3x)
                  killwchar               curs_termattrs(3x)
                  leaveok                 curs_outopts(3x)
                  longname                curs_termattrs(3x)
                  mcprint                 curs_print(3x)*
                  meta                    curs_inopts(3x)
                  mouse_trafo             curs_mouse(3x)*
                  mouseinterval           curs_mouse(3x)*
                  mousemask               curs_mouse(3x)*
                  move                    curs_move(3x)
                  mvadd_wch               curs_add_wch(3x)
                  mvadd_wchnstr           curs_add_wchstr(3x)
                  mvadd_wchstr            curs_add_wchstr(3x)
                  mvaddch                 curs_addch(3x)
                  mvaddchnstr             curs_addchstr(3x)

                  mvaddchstr              curs_addchstr(3x)
                  mvaddnstr               curs_addstr(3x)
                  mvaddnwstr              curs_addwstr(3x)
                  mvaddstr                curs_addstr(3x)
                  mvaddwstr               curs_addwstr(3x)
                  mvchgat                 curs_attr(3x)
                  mvcur                   curs_terminfo(3x)
                  mvdelch                 curs_delch(3x)
                  mvderwin                curs_window(3x)
                  mvget_wch               curs_get_wch(3x)
                  mvget_wstr              curs_get_wstr(3x)
                  mvgetch                 curs_getch(3x)
                  mvgetn_wstr             curs_get_wstr(3x)
                  mvgetnstr               curs_getstr(3x)
                  mvgetstr                curs_getstr(3x)
                  mvhline                 curs_border(3x)
                  mvhline_set             curs_border_set(3x)
                  mvin_wch                curs_in_wch(3x)
                  mvin_wchnstr            curs_in_wchstr(3x)
                  mvin_wchstr             curs_in_wchstr(3x)
                  mvinch                  curs_inch(3x)
                  mvinchnstr              curs_inchstr(3x)
                  mvinchstr               curs_inchstr(3x)
                  mvinnstr                curs_instr(3x)
                  mvinnwstr               curs_inwstr(3x)
                  mvins_nwstr             curs_ins_wstr(3x)
                  mvins_wch               curs_ins_wch(3x)
                  mvins_wstr              curs_ins_wstr(3x)
                  mvinsch                 curs_insch(3x)
                  mvinsnstr               curs_insstr(3x)
                  mvinsstr                curs_insstr(3x)
                  mvinstr                 curs_instr(3x)
                  mvinwstr                curs_inwstr(3x)
                  mvprintw                curs_printw(3x)
                  mvscanw                 curs_scanw(3x)
                  mvvline                 curs_border(3x)
                  mvvline_set             curs_border_set(3x)
                  mvwadd_wch              curs_add_wch(3x)
                  mvwadd_wchnstr          curs_add_wchstr(3x)
                  mvwadd_wchstr           curs_add_wchstr(3x)
                  mvwaddch                curs_addch(3x)
                  mvwaddchnstr            curs_addchstr(3x)
                  mvwaddchstr             curs_addchstr(3x)
                  mvwaddnstr              curs_addstr(3x)
                  mvwaddnwstr             curs_addwstr(3x)
                  mvwaddstr               curs_addstr(3x)
                  mvwaddwstr              curs_addwstr(3x)
                  mvwchgat                curs_attr(3x)
                  mvwdelch                curs_delch(3x)
                  mvwget_wch              curs_get_wch(3x)
                  mvwget_wstr             curs_get_wstr(3x)
                  mvwgetch                curs_getch(3x)
                  mvwgetn_wstr            curs_get_wstr(3x)
                  mvwgetnstr              curs_getstr(3x)
                  mvwgetstr               curs_getstr(3x)
                  mvwhline                curs_border(3x)
                  mvwhline_set            curs_border_set(3x)
                  mvwin                   curs_window(3x)
                  mvwin_wch               curs_in_wch(3x)
                  mvwin_wchnstr           curs_in_wchstr(3x)
                  mvwin_wchstr            curs_in_wchstr(3x)
                  mvwinch                 curs_inch(3x)
                  mvwinchnstr             curs_inchstr(3x)
                  mvwinchstr              curs_inchstr(3x)
                  mvwinnstr               curs_instr(3x)

                  mvwinnwstr              curs_inwstr(3x)
                  mvwins_nwstr            curs_ins_wstr(3x)
                  mvwins_wch              curs_ins_wch(3x)
                  mvwins_wstr             curs_ins_wstr(3x)
                  mvwinsch                curs_insch(3x)
                  mvwinsnstr              curs_insstr(3x)
                  mvwinsstr               curs_insstr(3x)
                  mvwinstr                curs_instr(3x)
                  mvwinwstr               curs_inwstr(3x)
                  mvwprintw               curs_printw(3x)
                  mvwscanw                curs_scanw(3x)
                  mvwvline                curs_border(3x)
                  mvwvline_set            curs_border_set(3x)
                  napms                   curs_kernel(3x)
                  newpad                  curs_pad(3x)
                  newterm                 curs_initscr(3x)
                  newwin                  curs_window(3x)
                  nl                      curs_outopts(3x)
                  nocbreak                curs_inopts(3x)
                  nodelay                 curs_inopts(3x)
                  noecho                  curs_inopts(3x)
                  nonl                    curs_outopts(3x)
                  noqiflush               curs_inopts(3x)
                  noraw                   curs_inopts(3x)
                  notimeout               curs_inopts(3x)
                  overlay                 curs_overlay(3x)
                  overwrite               curs_overlay(3x)
                  pair_content            curs_color(3x)
                  pechochar               curs_pad(3x)
                  pnoutrefresh            curs_pad(3x)
                  prefresh                curs_pad(3x)
                  printw                  curs_printw(3x)
                  putp                    curs_terminfo(3x)
                  putwin                  curs_util(3x)
                  qiflush                 curs_inopts(3x)
                  raw                     curs_inopts(3x)
                  redrawwin               curs_refresh(3x)
                  refresh                 curs_refresh(3x)
                  reset_prog_mode         curs_kernel(3x)
                  reset_shell_mode        curs_kernel(3x)
                  resetty                 curs_kernel(3x)
                  resizeterm              resizeterm(3x)*
                  restartterm             curs_terminfo(3x)
                  ripoffline              curs_kernel(3x)
                  savetty                 curs_kernel(3x)
                  scanw                   curs_scanw(3x)
                  scr_dump                curs_scr_dump(3x)
                  scr_init                curs_scr_dump(3x)
                  scr_restore             curs_scr_dump(3x)
                  scr_set                 curs_scr_dump(3x)
                  scrl                    curs_scroll(3x)
                  scroll                  curs_scroll(3x)
                  scrollok                curs_outopts(3x)
                  set_curterm             curs_terminfo(3x)
                  set_term                curs_initscr(3x)
                  setcchar                curs_getcchar(3x)
                  setscrreg               curs_outopts(3x)
                  setsyx                  curs_kernel(3x)
                  setterm                 curs_terminfo(3x)
                  setupterm               curs_terminfo(3x)
                  slk_attr                curs_slk(3x)*
                  slk_attr_off            curs_slk(3x)
                  slk_attr_on             curs_slk(3x)
                  slk_attr_set            curs_slk(3x)
                  slk_attroff             curs_slk(3x)

                  slk_attron              curs_slk(3x)
                  slk_attrset             curs_slk(3x)
                  slk_clear               curs_slk(3x)
                  slk_color               curs_slk(3x)
                  slk_init                curs_slk(3x)
                  slk_label               curs_slk(3x)
                  slk_noutrefresh         curs_slk(3x)
                  slk_refresh             curs_slk(3x)
                  slk_restore             curs_slk(3x)
                  slk_set                 curs_slk(3x)
                  slk_touch               curs_slk(3x)
                  standend                curs_attr(3x)
                  standout                curs_attr(3x)
                  start_color             curs_color(3x)
                  subpad                  curs_pad(3x)
                  subwin                  curs_window(3x)
                  syncok                  curs_window(3x)
                  term_attrs              curs_termattrs(3x)
                  termattrs               curs_termattrs(3x)
                  termname                curs_termattrs(3x)
                  tgetent                 curs_termcap(3x)
                  tgetflag                curs_termcap(3x)
                  tgetnum                 curs_termcap(3x)
                  tgetstr                 curs_termcap(3x)
                  tgoto                   curs_termcap(3x)
                  tigetflag               curs_terminfo(3x)
                  tigetnum                curs_terminfo(3x)
                  tigetstr                curs_terminfo(3x)
                  timeout                 curs_inopts(3x)
                  touchline               curs_touch(3x)
                  touchwin                curs_touch(3x)
                  tparm                   curs_terminfo(3x)
                  tputs                   curs_termcap(3x)
                  tputs                   curs_terminfo(3x)
                  trace                   curs_trace(3x)*
                  typeahead               curs_inopts(3x)
                  unctrl                  curs_util(3x)
                  unget_wch               curs_get_wch(3x)
                  ungetch                 curs_getch(3x)
                  ungetmouse              curs_mouse(3x)*
                  untouchwin              curs_touch(3x)
                  use_default_colors      default_colors(3x)*
                  use_env                 curs_util(3x)
                  use_extended_names      curs_extend(3x)*
                  vid_attr                curs_terminfo(3x)
                  vid_puts                curs_terminfo(3x)
                  vidattr                 curs_terminfo(3x)
                  vidputs                 curs_terminfo(3x)
                  vline                   curs_border(3x)
                  vline_set               curs_border_set(3x)
                  vw_printw               curs_printw(3x)
                  vw_scanw                curs_scanw(3x)
                  vwprintw                curs_printw(3x)
                  vwscanw                 curs_scanw(3x)
                  wadd_wch                curs_add_wch(3x)
                  wadd_wchnstr            curs_add_wchstr(3x)
                  wadd_wchstr             curs_add_wchstr(3x)
                  waddch                  curs_addch(3x)
                  waddchnstr              curs_addchstr(3x)
                  waddchstr               curs_addchstr(3x)
                  waddnstr                curs_addstr(3x)
                  waddnwstr               curs_addwstr(3x)
                  waddstr                 curs_addstr(3x)
                  waddwstr                curs_addwstr(3x)
                  wattr_get               curs_attr(3x)

                  wattr_off               curs_attr(3x)
                  wattr_on                curs_attr(3x)
                  wattr_set               curs_attr(3x)
                  wattroff                curs_attr(3x)
                  wattron                 curs_attr(3x)
                  wattrset                curs_attr(3x)
                  wbkgd                   curs_bkgd(3x)
                  wbkgdset                curs_bkgd(3x)
                  wbkgrnd                 curs_bkgrnd(3x)
                  wbkgrndset              curs_bkgrnd(3x)
                  wborder                 curs_border(3x)
                  wborder_set             curs_border_set(3x)
                  wchgat                  curs_attr(3x)
                  wclear                  curs_clear(3x)
                  wclrtobot               curs_clear(3x)
                  wclrtoeol               curs_clear(3x)
                  wcolor_set              curs_attr(3x)
                  wcursyncup              curs_window(3x)
                  wdelch                  curs_delch(3x)
                  wdeleteln               curs_deleteln(3x)
                  wecho_wchar             curs_add_wch(3x)
                  wechochar               curs_addch(3x)
                  wenclose                curs_mouse(3x)*
                  werase                  curs_clear(3x)
                  wget_wch                curs_get_wch(3x)
                  wget_wstr               curs_get_wstr(3x)
                  wgetbkgrnd              curs_bkgrnd(3x)
                  wgetch                  curs_getch(3x)
                  wgetn_wstr              curs_get_wstr(3x)
                  wgetnstr                curs_getstr(3x)
                  wgetstr                 curs_getstr(3x)
                  whline                  curs_border(3x)
                  whline_set              curs_border_set(3x)
                  win_wch                 curs_in_wch(3x)
                  win_wchnstr             curs_in_wchstr(3x)
                  win_wchstr              curs_in_wchstr(3x)
                  winch                   curs_inch(3x)
                  winchnstr               curs_inchstr(3x)
                  winchstr                curs_inchstr(3x)
                  winnstr                 curs_instr(3x)
                  winnwstr                curs_inwstr(3x)
                  wins_nwstr              curs_ins_wstr(3x)
                  wins_wch                curs_ins_wch(3x)
                  wins_wstr               curs_ins_wstr(3x)
                  winsch                  curs_insch(3x)
                  winsdelln               curs_deleteln(3x)
                  winsertln               curs_deleteln(3x)
                  winsnstr                curs_insstr(3x)
                  winsstr                 curs_insstr(3x)
                  winstr                  curs_instr(3x)
                  winwstr                 curs_inwstr(3x)
                  wmouse_trafo            curs_mouse(3x)*
                  wmove                   curs_move(3x)
                  wnoutrefresh            curs_refresh(3x)
                  wprintw                 curs_printw(3x)
                  wredrawln               curs_refresh(3x)
                  wrefresh                curs_refresh(3x)
                  wresize                 wresize(3x)*
                  wscanw                  curs_scanw(3x)
                  wscrl                   curs_scroll(3x)
                  wsetscrreg              curs_outopts(3x)
                  wstandend               curs_attr(3x)
                  wstandout               curs_attr(3x)
                  wsyncdown               curs_window(3x)
                  wsyncup                 curs_window(3x)

                  wtimeout                curs_inopts(3x)
                  wtouchln                curs_touch(3x)
                  wunctrl                 curs_util(3x)
                  wvline                  curs_border(3x)
                  wvline_set              curs_border_set(3x)

## RETURN VALUE

           Routines  that  return  an integer return ERR upon failure
           and an integer value other than ERR upon  successful  com-
           pletion,  unless  otherwise  noted in the routine descrip-
           tions.

           All macros return the  value  of  the  w  version,  except
           setscrreg, wsetscrreg, getyx, getbegyx, and getmaxyx.  The
           return values of setscrreg, wsetscrreg,  getyx,  getbegyx,
           and getmaxyx are undefined (i.e., these should not be used
           as the right-hand side of assignment statements).

           Routines that return pointers return NULL on error.

## ENVIRONMENT

           The following environment symbols are useful for customiz-
           ing the runtime behavior of the ncurses library.  The most
           important ones have been already discussed in detail.

           BAUDRATE
                The debugging library checks this environment  symbol
                when the application has redirected output to a file.
                The symbol's numeric value is used for the  baudrate.
                If no value is found, ncurses uses 9600.  This allows
                testers to construct repeatable test-cases that  take
                into account costs that depend on baudrate.

           CC   When set, change occurrences of the command_character
                (i.e., the cmdch capability) of the  loaded  terminfo
                entries  to  the value of this symbol.  Very few ter-
                minfo entries provide this feature.

           COLUMNS
                Specify  the  width  of  the  screen  in  characters.
                Applications  running in a windowing environment usu-
                ally are able to obtain the width of  the  window  in
                which  they  are  executing.  If neither the $COLUMNS
                value nor the terminal's screen  size  is  available,
                ncurses  uses  the size which may be specified in the
                terminfo database (i.e., the cols capability).

                It is important that your application use  a  correct
                size  for  the  screen.   However, this is not always
                possible because your application may be running on a
                host  which  does  not honor NAWS (Negotiations About
                Window Size), or because you are temporarily  running
                as another user.

                Either  COLUMNS  or  LINES  symbols  may be specified
                independently.  This is mainly useful  to  circumvent
                legacy  misfeatures  of  terminal descriptions, e.g.,
                xterm which commonly specifies a 65 line screen.  For
                best  results, lines and cols should not be specified
                in a terminal description for terminals which are run
                as emulations.

                Use the use_env function to disable this feature.

           ESCDELAY
                Specifies  the total time, in milliseconds, for which
                ncurses will await  a  character  sequence,  e.g.,  a
                function  key.  The default value, 1000 milliseconds,
                is enough for most uses.  However, it is made a vari-
                able to accommodate unusual applications.

                The most common instance where you may wish to change
                this value is to work with slow hosts, e.g.,  running
                on  a  network.   If  the host cannot read characters
                rapidly enough, it will have the same  effect  as  if
                the  terminal did not send characters rapidly enough.
                The library will still see a timeout.

                Note that xterm mouse events are built up from  char-
                acter  sequences  received  from  the xterm.  If your
                application makes heavy use of multiple-clicking, you
                may  wish  to lengthen this default value because the
                timeout applies to the composed multi-click event  as
                well as the individual clicks.

           HOME Tells  ncurses where your home directory is.  That is
                where  it  may  read  and  write  auxiliary  terminal
                descriptions:

                $HOME/.termcap
                $HOME/.terminfo

           LINES
                Like  COLUMNS,  specify  the  height of the screen in
                characters.  See COLUMNS for a detailed  description.

           MOUSE_BUTTONS_123
                This applies only to the OS/2 EMX port.  It specifies
                the order of buttons on the mouse.   OS/2  numbers  a
                3-button mouse inconsistently from other platforms:

                1 = left
                2 = right
                3 = middle.

                This symbol lets you customize the mouse.  The symbol
                must be three numeric digits 1-3 in any order,  e.g.,
                123  or  321.   If  it is not specified, ncurses uses
                132.

           NCURSES_ASSUMED_COLORS
                Override the compiled-in assumption that  the  termi-
                nal's   default   colors   are   white-on-black  (see
                assume_default_colors(3x)).  You may  set  the  fore-
                ground and background color values with this environ-
                ment variable by  proving  a  2-element  list:  fore-
                ground,background.   For  example, to tell ncurses to
                not assume anything about the  colors,  set  this  to
                "-1,-1".  To make it green-on-black, set it to "2,0".
                Any positive value from zero to the terminfo max_col-
                ors value is allowed.

           NCURSES_NO_PADDING
                Most  of  the  terminal  descriptions in the terminfo
                database are written for real  "hardware"  terminals.
                Many  people  use  terminal  emulators which run in a
                windowing environment and use  curses-based  applica-
                tions.   Terminal  emulators can duplicate all of the
                important aspects of a hardware terminal, but they do
                not  have the same limitations.  The chief limitation
                of a hardware terminal from the  standpoint  of  your
                application  is  the  management  of  dataflow, i.e.,
                timing.  Unless a  hardware  terminal  is  interfaced
                into  a  terminal  concentrator (which does flow con-
                trol), it (or your application) must manage dataflow,
                preventing overruns.  The cheapest solution (no hard-
                ware cost) is for your program to do this by  pausing
                after  operations that the terminal does slowly, such
                as clearing the display.

                As a result, many  terminal  descriptions  (including
                the  vt100)  have delay times embedded.  You may wish
                to use these descriptions, but not want  to  pay  the
                performance penalty.

                Set  the NCURSES_NO_PADDING symbol to disable all but
                mandatory padding.  Mandatory padding is  used  as  a
                part of special control sequences such as flash.

           NCURSES_NO_SETBUF
                Normally  ncurses enables buffered output during ter-
                minal initialization.   This  is  done  (as  in  SVr4
                curses)  for  performance  reasons.  For testing pur-
                poses, both of ncurses and certain applications, this
                feature    is    made    optional.     Setting    the
                NCURSES_NO_SETBUF variable disables output buffering,
                leaving  the  output  in  the  original (usually line
                buffered) mode.

           NCURSES_TRACE
                During initialization, the ncurses debugging  library
                checks  the  NCURSES_TRACE symbol.  If it is defined,
                to a numeric value, ncurses calls the trace function,
                using that value as the argument.

                The  argument  values, which are defined in curses.h,
                provide several types of information.   When  running
                with  traces enabled, your application will write the
                file trace to the current directory.

           TERM Denotes your terminal type.  Each  terminal  type  is
                distinct, though many are similar.

           TERMCAP
                If the ncurses library has been configured with term-
                cap support, ncurses  will  check  for  a  terminal's
                description in termcap form if it is not available in
                the terminfo database.

                The  TERMCAP  symbol  contains  either   a   terminal
                description  (with  newlines stripped out), or a file
                name telling where the  information  denoted  by  the
                TERM  symbol  exists.   In  either  case,  setting it
                directs ncurses to ignore the usual  place  for  this
                information, e.g., /etc/termcap.

           TERMINFO
                Overrides the directory in which ncurses searches for
                your terminal description.  This is the simplest, but
                not  the  only way to change the list of directories.
                The complete list of directories in order follows:

                -  the last directory to which ncurses wrote, if any,
                   is searched first

                -  the directory specified by the TERMINFO symbol

                -  $HOME/.terminfo

                -  directories listed in the TERMINFO_DIRS symbol

                -  one or more directories whose names are configured
                   and  compiled  into  the  ncurses  library,  e.g.,
                   /usr/share/terminfo

           TERMINFO_DIRS
                Specifies  a list of directories to search for termi-
                nal descriptions.  The list is  separated  by  colons
                (i.e.,  ":") on Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX.  All of
                the terminal descriptions are in terminfo form, which
                makes  a  subdirectory  named for the first letter of
                the terminal names therein.

           TERMPATH
                If TERMCAP does not hold a  file  name  then  ncurses
                checks  the TERMPATH symbol.  This is a list of file-
                names separated by spaces or colons  (i.e.,  ":")  on
                Unix, semicolons on OS/2 EMX.  If the TERMPATH symbol
                is not set, ncurses looks in the files  /etc/termcap,
                /usr/share/misc/termcap  and  $HOME/.termcap, in that
                order.

           The library may be configured to disregard  the  following
           variables  when  the current user is the superuser (root),
           or if the application uses setuid or  setgid  permissions:
           $TERMINFO, $TERMINFO_DIRS, $TERMPATH, as well as $HOME.

## FILES

           /usr/share/tabset
                directory  containing  initialization  files  for the
                terminal capability database /usr/share/terminfo ter-
                minal capability database

## SEE ALSO

           terminfo(5)  and  related  pages whose names begin "curs_"
           for detailed routine descriptions.

## EXTENSIONS

           The  ncurses  library  can  be  compiled  with  an  option
           (-DUSE_GETCAP) that falls back to the old-style /etc/term-
           cap file if the terminal setup code cannot find a terminfo
           entry  corresponding  to TERM.  Use of this feature is not
           recommended, as it essentially includes an entire  termcap
           compiler  in the ncurses startup code, at significant cost
           in core and startup cycles.

           The ncurses  library  includes  facilities  for  capturing
           mouse  events  on certain terminals (including xterm). See
           the curs_mouse(3x) manual page for details.

           The ncurses library includes facilities for responding  to
           window  resizing  events,  e.g., when running in an xterm.
           See the resizeterm(3x) and wresize(3x)  manual  pages  for
           details.   In addition, the library may be configured with
           a SIGWINCH handler.

           The ncurses library extends the fixed set of function  key
           capabilities  of  terminals  by  allowing  the application
           designer to define additional key  sequences  at  runtime.
           See the define_key(3x) key_defined(3x), and keyok(3x) man-
           ual pages for details.

           The ncurses library can exploit the capabilities of termi-
           nals  which  implement  the  ISO-6429  SGR  39  and SGR 49
           controls, which allow an application to reset the terminal
           to  its  original  foreground and background colors.  From
           the users' perspective, the application is  able  to  draw
           colored  text  on a background whose color is set indepen-
           dently, providing better  control  over  color  contrasts.
           See the default_colors(3x) manual page for details.

           The  ncurses  library  includes  a  function for directing
           application output to a printer attached to  the  terminal
           device.  See the curs_print(3x) manual page for details.

## PORTABILITY

           The  ncurses  library is intended to be BASE-level confor-
           mant with the  XSI  Curses  standard.   The  EXTENDED  XSI
           Curses  functionality  (including  color  support) is sup-
           ported.

           A small number of local differences (that  is,  individual
           differences  between the XSI Curses and ncurses calls) are
           described in  PORTABILITY  sections  of  the  library  man
           pages.

           The routine has_key is not part of XPG4, nor is it present
           in SVr4.  See the curs_getch(3x) manual page for  details.

           The  routine  slk_attr is not part of XPG4, nor is it pre-
           sent in  SVr4.   See  the  curs_slk(3x)  manual  page  for
           details.

           The  routines getmouse, mousemask, ungetmouse, mouseinter-
           val, and wenclose relating to mouse  interfacing  are  not
           part  of  XPG4,  nor  are  they  present in SVr4.  See the
           curs_mouse(3x) manual page for details.

           The routine mcprint was not present in any previous curses
           implementation.   See  the  curs_print(3x) manual page for
           details.

           The routine wresize is not part of XPG4, nor is it present
           in SVr4.  See the wresize(3x) manual page for details.

           In  historic curses versions, delays embedded in the capa-
           bilities cr, ind, cub1, ff and tab activated corresponding
           delay  bits  in  the UNIX tty driver.  In this implementa-
           tion, all padding is done by NUL sends.   This  method  is
           slightly  more expensive, but narrows the interface to the
           UNIX kernel  significantly  and  increases  the  package's
           portability correspondingly.

## NOTES

           The  header  file  <curses.h>  automatically  includes the
           header files <stdio.h> and <unctrl.h>.

           If standard output from a ncurses program  is  re-directed
           to  something  which  is not a tty, screen updates will be
           directed to standard error.  This was an undocumented fea-
           ture of AT&T System V Release 3 curses.

## AUTHORS

           Zeyd  M.  Ben-Halim,  Eric  S.  Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey.
           Based on pcurses by Pavel Curtis.

                                                          ncurses(3x)