terminfo(4)terminfo(4)NAMEterminfo - printer, terminal, and modem capability database
SYNOPSIS
/usr/lib/terminfo/?/*
DESCRIPTION
The requirements in this manpage are in effect only for implementations
that claim Enhanced Curses compliance.
List of Section Headings in DESCRIPTION
Terminfo Source Format
The terminfo database contains a description of the capabilities of a
variety of devices, such as terminals and printers. Devices are
described by specifying a set of capabilities, by quantifying certain
aspects of the device, and by specifying character sequences that
effect particular results.
This manpage specifies the format of terminfo source files.
X/Open-compliant implementations must provide a facility that accepts
source files in the format specified in this manpage as a means of
entering information into the terminfo database. The facility for
installing this information into the database is implementation-spe‐
cific. A valid terminfo entry describing a given model of terminal can
be added to terminfo on any X/Open-compliant implementation to permit
use of the same terminal model.
The section describes the syntax of terminfo source files. A grammar
and lexical conventions appear in the section below. A list of all
terminal capabilities defined by X/Open appears in the section below.
An example follows in the section below. The section describes the
specification of devices in general, such as video terminals. The sec‐
tion describes the specification of printers.
The terminfo database is often used by screen-oriented applications
such as vi and Curses programs, as well as by some utilities such as ls
and more. This usage allows them to work with a variety of devices
without changes to the programs.
Source File Syntax
Source files can use the ISO 8859-1 codeset. The behavior when the
source file is in another codeset is unspecified. Traditional practice
has been to translate information from other codesets into the source
file syntax.
terminfo source files consist of one or more device descriptions. Each
description defines a mnemonic name for the terminal model. Each
description consists of a header (beginning in column 1) and one or
more lines that list the features for that particular device. Every
line in a terminfo source file must end in a comma. Every line in a
terminfo source file except the header must be indented with one or
more white spaces (either spaces or tabs).
Entries in terminfo source files consist of a number of comma-separated
fields. White space after each comma is ignored. Embedded commas must
be escaped by using a backslash. The following example shows the for‐
mat of a terminfo source file:
alias1 | alias2 | ... | aliasn | longname,
whitespaceam, lines #24,
whitespacehome=\Eeh,
The first line, commonly referred to as the header line, must begin in
column one and must contain at least two aliases separated by vertical
bars. The last field in the header line must be the long name of the
device and it may contain any string.
Alias names must be unique in the terminfo database and they must con‐
form to file naming conventions established by implementation-specific
terminfo compilation utilities. Implementations will recognize alias
names consisting only of characters from the portable file name charac‐
ter set except that implementations need not accept a first character
of minus (-). For example, a typical restriction is that they cannot
contain white space or slashes. There may be further constraints
imposed on source file values by the implementation-specific terminfo
compilation utilities.
Each capability in terminfo is of one of the following types:
· Boolean capabilities show that a device has or does not have
a particular feature.
· Numeric capabilities quantify particular features of a
device.
· String capabilities provide sequences that can be used to
perform particular operations on devices.
Capability names adhere to an informal length limit of five characters.
Whenever possible, capability names are chosen to be the same as or
similar to those specified by the ANSI X3.64-1979 standard. Semantics
are also intended to match those of the ANSI standard.
All string capabilities may have padding specified, with the exception
of those used for input. Input capabilities, listed under the Strings
section in the following tables, have names beginning with key_. These
capabilities are defined in <term.h>.
Minimum Guaranteed Limits
All X/Open-compliant implementations support at least the following
limits for the terminfo source file:
Source File Characteristic Minimum Guaranteed
Value
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Length of a line 1023 bytes
Length of a terminal alias 14 bytes
Length of a terminal model name 128 bytes
Width of a single field 128 bytes
Length of a string value 1000 bytes
Length of a string representing a numeric value 99 digits
Magnitude of a numeric value 0 to 32767 inclusive
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
An implementation may support higher limits than those specified above.
Formal Grammar
The grammar and lexical conventions in this section together describe
the syntax for terminfo terminal descriptions within a terminfo source
file. A terminal description that satisfies the requirements of this
section will be accepted by all implementations. (The notation "(n)"
refers to a note following the description.)
descriptions : START_OF_HEADER_LINE(1) rest_of_header_line feature_lines
| descriptions START_OF_HEADER_LINE rest_of_header_line
| feature_lines
;
rest_of_header_line : PIPE LONGNAME COMMA NEWLINE
| aliases PIPE LONGNAME COMMA NEWLINE
;
feature_lines : start_feature_line rest_of_feature_line
| feature_lines start_feature_line rest_of_feature_line
;
start_feature_line : START_FEATURE_LINE_BOOLEAN(2)
| START_FEATURE_LINE_NUMERIC(3)
| START_FEATURE_LINE_STRING(4)
;
rest_of_feature_line : features COMMA NEWLINE
| COMMA NEWLINE
;
features : COMMA feature
| features COMMA feature
;
aliases : PIPE ALIAS
| aliases PIPE ALIAS
;
feature : BOOLEAN
| NUMERIC
| STRING
;
Note (1) An ALIAS that begins in column one. This is handled by the
lexical analyzer.
Note (2) A BOOLEAN feature that begins after column one but is the
first feature on the feature line. This is handled by the
lexical analyzer.
Note (3) A NUMERIC feature that begins after column one but is the
first feature on the feature line. This is handled by the
lexical analyzer.
Note (4) A STRING feature that begins after column one but is the
first feature on the feature line. This is handled by the
lexical analyzer.
The lexical conventions for terminfo descriptions are as follows:
1. White space consists of the <space> and <tab> characters.
2. An ALIAS may contain any graph characters other than
comma (,), slash (/), and bar (|). (Graph characters are
those characters for which isgraph() returns nonzero; see
ctype(3C).)
3. A LONGNAME may contain any print characters other than
comma (,) and bar (|). (Print characters are those char‐
acters for which isprint() returns nonzero; see
ctype(3C).)
4. A BOOLEAN feature may contain any print characters other
than comma (,), equals (=), and pound sign (#).
5. A NUMERIC feature consists of:
a. A name which may contain any print character other
than comma (,), equals (=), and pound sign (#).
b. The pound sign (#) character.
c. A positive integer which conforms to the C lan‐
guage convention for integer constants.
6. A STRING feature consists of:
a. A name which may contain any print character other
than comma (,), equals (=), and pound sign (#).
b. The equals (=) character.
c. A string which may contain any print characters
other than comma (,).
7. White space immediately following a comma (,) is ignored.
8. Comments consist of the beginning of a line, optional
white space, a required pound sign (#), and a terminating
end of line.
9. A header line must begin in column one.
10. A feature line must not begin in column one.
11. Blank lines are ignored.
Defined Capabilities
X/Open defines the capabilities listed in the following tables. All
X/Open-compliant implementations must accept each of these capabilities
in an entry in a terminfo source file. Implementations use this infor‐
mation to determine how properly to operate the current terminal. In
addition, implementations return any of the current terminal's capabil‐
ities when the application calls the query functions listed in tge‐
tent() (in the cases where the following tables list a Termcap code)
and tigetflag() (see tgetent(3X) and tigetflag(3X)).
The tables of capabilities have the following columns:
Variable Names for use by the Curses functions that operate on
the terminfo database. These names are reserved and the
application must not define them.
Capname The short name for a capability specified in the ter‐
minfo source file. It is used for updating the source
file and by the tput command (see tput(1)).
Termcap Codes provided for compatibility with older applica‐
tions. These codes are TO BE WITHDRAWN. Because of
this, not all Capnames have Termcap codes.
Description A short summary of the capability.
Booleans
Cap Term
Variable name cap Description
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
auto_left_margin bw bw cub1 wraps from column 0 to last column
auto_right_margin am am Terminal has automatic margins
back_color_erase bce ut Screen erased with background color
can_change ccc cc Terminal can re-define existing color
ceol_standout_glitch xhp xs Standout not erased by overwriting (hp)
col_addr_glitch xhpa YA Only positive motion for hpa/mhpa caps
cpi_changes_res cpix YF Changing character pitch changes resolu‐
tion
cr_cancels_micro_mode crxm YB Using cr turns off micro mode
dest_tabs_magic_smso xt xt Destructive tabs, magic smso char (t1061)
eat_newline_glitch xenl xn Newline ignored after 80 columns (Concept)
erase_overstrike eo eo Can erase overstrikes with a blank
generic_type gn gn Generic line type (e.g., dialup, switch)
get_mouse getm Gm Curses should get button events
hard_copy hc hc Hardcopy terminal
hard_cursor chts HC Cursor is hard to see
has_meta_key km km Has a meta key (shift, sets parity bit)
has_print_wheel daisy YC Printer needs operator to change character
set
has_status_line hs hs Has extra "status line"
hue_lightness_saturation hls hl Terminal uses only HLS color notation
(Tektronix)
insert_null_glitch in in Insert mode distinguishes nulls
lpi_changes_res lpix YG Changing line pitch changes resolution
memory_above da da Display may be retained above the screen
memory_below db db Display may be retained below the screen
move_insert_mode mir mi Safe to move while in insert mode
move_standout_mode msgr ms Safe to move in standout modes
needs_xon_xoff nxon nx Padding won't work, XON/XOFF required
no_esc_ctlc xsb xb Beehive (f1=escape, f2=ctrl C)
no_pad_char npc NP Pad character doesn't exist
non_dest_scroll_region ndscr ND Scrolling region is nondestructive
non_rev_rmcup nrrmc NR smcup does not reverse rmcup
over_strike os os Terminal overstrikes on hard-copy terminal
prtr_silent mc5i 5i Printer won't echo on screen
row_addr_glitch xvpa YD Only positive motion for vpa/mvpa caps
semi_auto_right_margin sam YE Printing in last column causes cr
status_line_esc_ok eslok es Escape can be used on the status line
tilde_glitch hz hz Hazeltine; can't print tilde (~)
transparent_underline ul ul Underline character overstrikes
xon_xoff xon xo Terminal uses XON/XOFF handshaking
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Numbers
Cap Term
Variable name cap Description
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
bit_image_entwining bitwin Yo Number of passes for each bit-map row
bit_image_type bitype Yp Type of bit image device
buffer_capacity bufsz Ya Number of bytes buffered before printing
buttons btns BT Number of buttons on the mouse
columns cols co Number of columns in a line
dot_horz_spacing spinh Yc Spacing of dots horizontally in dots per inch
dot_vert_spacing spinv Yb Spacing of pins vertically in pins per inch
init_tabs it it Tabs initially every # spaces
label_height lh lh Number of rows in each label
label_width lw lw Number of columns in each label
lines lines li Number of lines on a screen or a page
lines_of_memory lm lm Lines of memory if greater than lines; 0
means varies
max_attributes ma ma Maximum combined video attributes terminal
can display
magic_cookie_glitch xmc sg Number of blank characters left by smso or
rmso
max_colors colors Co Maximum number of colors on the screen
max_micro_address maddr Yd Maximum value in micro_..._address
max_micro_jump mjump Ye Maximum value in parm_..._micro
max_pairs pairs pa Maximum number of color-pairs on the screen
maximum_windows wnum MW Maximum number of definable windows
micro_col_size mcs Yf Character step size when in micro mode
micro_line_size mls Yg Line step size when in micro mode
no_color_video ncv NC Video attributes that can't be used with col‐
ors
num_labels nlab Nl Number of labels on screen (start at 1)
number_of_pins npins Yh Number of pins in print-head
output_res_char orc Yi Horizontal resolution in units per character
output_res_line orl Yj Vertical resolution in units per line
output_res_horz_inch orhi Yk Horizontal resolution in units per inch
output_res_vert_inch orvi Yl Vertical resolution in units per inch
padding_baud_rate pb pb Lowest baud rate where padding needed
print_rate cps Ym Print rate in characters per second
virtual_terminal vt vt Virtual terminal number
wide_char_size widcs Yn Character step size when in double-wide mode
width_status_line wsl ws Number of columns in status line
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Strings (part 1 of 3)
Cap Term
Variable name cap Description
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
acs_chars acsc ac Graphic charset pairs aAbBcC
alt_scancode_esc scesa S8 Alternate escape for scancode emulation
(default is for VT100)
back_tab cbt bt Back tab
bell bel bl Audible signal (bell)
bit_image_carriage_return bicr Yv Move to beginning of same row
bit_image_newline binel Zz Move to next row of the bit image
bit_image_repeat birep Xy Repeat bit-image cell #1 #2 times
carriage_return cr cr Carriage return
change_char_pitch cpi ZA Change number of characters per inch
change_line_pitch lpi ZB Change number of lines per inch
change_res_horz chr ZC Change horizontal resolution
change_res_vert cvr ZD Change vertical resolution
change_scroll_region csr cs Change to lines #1 through #2 (VT100)
char_padding rmp rP Like ip but when in replace mode
char_set_names csnm Zy Returns a list of character set names
clear_all_tabs tbc ct Clear all tab stops
clear_margins mgc MC Clear all margins (top, bottom, and
sides)
clear_screen clear cl Clear screen and home cursor
clr_bol el1 cb Clear to beginning of line, inclusive
clr_eol el ce Clear to end of line
clr_eos ed cd Clear to end of display
code_set_init csin ci Init sequence for multiple codesets
color_names colornm Yw Give name for color #1
column_address hpa ch Set horizontal position to absolute #1
command_character cmdch CC Terminal settable cmd character in pro‐
totype
create_window cwin CW Define win #1 to go from #2,#3 to #4,#5
cursor_address cup cm Move to row #1 col #2
cursor_down cud1 do Down one line
cursor_home home ho Home cursor (if no cup)
cursor_invisible civis vi Make cursor invisible
cursor_left cub1 le Move left one space.
cursor_mem_address mrcup CM Memory relative cursor addressing
cursor_normal cnorm ve Make cursor appear normal (undo vs/vi)
cursor_right cuf1 nd Nondestructive space (cursor or car‐
riage right)
cursor_to_ll ll ll Last line, first column (if no cup)
cursor_up cuu1 up Upline (cursor up)
cursor_visible cvvis vs Make cursor very visible
define_bit_image_region defbi Yx Define rectangular bit-image region
define_char defc ZE Define a character in a character set
delete_character dch1 dc Delete character
delete_line dl1 dl Delete line
device_type devt dv Indicate language/codeset support
dial_phone dial DI Dial phone number #1
dis_status_line dsl ds Disable status line
display_clock dclk DK Display time-of-day clock
display_pc_char dispc S1 Display PC character
down_half_line hd hd Half-line down (forward 1/2 line feed)
ena_acs enacs eA Enable alternate character set
end_bit_image_region endbi Yy End a bit-image region
enter_alt_charset_mode smacs as Start alternate character set
enter_am_mode smam SA Turn on automatic margins
enter_blink_mode blink mb Turn on blinking
enter_bold_mode bold md Turn on bold (extra bright) mode
enter_ca_mode smcup ti String to begin programs that use cup
enter_delete_mode smdc dm Delete mode (enter)
enter_dim_mode dim mh Turn on half-bright mode
enter_doublewide_mode swidm ZF Enable double wide printing
enter_draft_quality sdrfq ZG Set draft quality print
enter_horizontal_hl_mode ehhlm Turn on horizontal highlight mode
enter_insert_mode smir im Insert mode (enter)
enter_italics_mode sitm ZH Enable italics
enter_left_hl_mode elhlm Turn on left highlight mode
enter_leftward_mode slm ZI Enable leftward carriage motion
enter_low_hl_mode elohlm Turn on low highlight mode
enter_micro_mode smicm ZJ Enable micro motion capabilities
enter_near_letter_quality snlq ZK Set near-letter quality print
enter_normal_quality snrmq ZL Set normal quality print
enter_pc_charset_mode smpch S2 Enter PC character display mode
enter_protected_mode prot mp Turn on protected mode
enter_reverse_mode rev mr Turn on reverse video mode
enter_right_hl_mode erhlm Turn on right highlight mode
enter_scancode_mode smsc S4 Enter PC scancode mode
enter_secure_mode invis mk Turn on blank mode (characters invisi‐
ble)
enter_shadow_mode sshm ZM Enable shadow printing
enter_standout_mode smso so Begin standout mode
enter_subscript_mode ssubm ZN Enable subscript printing
enter_superscript_mode ssupm ZO Enable superscript printing
enter_top_hl_mode ethlm Turn on top highlight mode
enter_underline_mode smul us Start underscore mode
enter_upward_mode sum ZP Enable upward carriage motion
enter_vertical_hl_mode evhlm Turn on vertical highlight mode
enter_xon_mode smxon SX Turn on XON/XOFF handshaking
erase_chars ech ec Erase #1 characters
exit_alt_charset_mode rmacs ae End alternate character set
exit_am_mode rmam RA Turn off automatic margins
exit_attribute_mode sgr0 me Turn off all attributes
exit_ca_mode rmcup te String to end programs that use cup
exit_delete_mode rmdc ed End delete mode
exit_doublewide_mode rwidm ZQ Disable double wide printing
exit_insert_mode rmir ei End insert mode
exit_italics_mode ritm ZR Disable italics
exit_leftward_mode rlm ZS Enable rightward (normal) carriage
motion
exit_micro_mode rmicm ZT Disable micro motion capabilities
exit_pc_charset_mode rmpch S3 Disable PC character display mode
exit_scancode_mode rmsc S5 Disable PC scancode mode
exit_shadow_mode rshm ZU Disable shadow printing
exit_standout_mode rmso se End standout mode
exit_subscript_mode rsubm ZV Disable subscript printing
exit_superscript_mode rsupm ZW Disable superscript printing
exit_underline_mode rmul ue End underscore mode
exit_upward_mode rum ZX Enable downward (normal) carriage
motion
exit_xon_mode rmxon RX Turn off XON/XOFF handshaking
fixed_pause pause PA Pause for 2−3 seconds
flash_hook hook fh Flash the switch hook
flash_screen flash vb Visible bell (may move cursor)
form_feed ff ff Hardcopy terminal page eject
from_status_line fsl fs Return from status line
goto_window wingo WG Go to window #1
hangup hup HU Hang-up phone
init_1string is1 i1 Terminal or printer initialization
string
init_2string is2 is Terminal or printer initialization
string
init_3string is3 i3 Terminal or printer initialization
string
init_file if if Name of initialization file
init_prog iprog iP Path name of program for initialization
initialize_color initc IC Set color #1 to RGB #2, #3, #4
initialize_pair initp Ip Set color-pair #1 to RGB #2, #3, #4
(fg) and RGB #5, #6, #7 (bg)
insert_character ich1 ic Insert character
insert_line il1 al Add new blank line
insert_padding ip ip Insert pad after character inserted
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Strings (part 2 of 3)
The "key_" strings are sent by specific keys. The "key_" descriptions
include the macro, defined in <curses.h>, for the code returned by
getch() when the key is pressed (see getch(3X)).
Cap Term
Variable name cap Description
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
key_a1 ka1 K1 Upper left of keypad
key_a3 ka3 K3 Upper right of keypad
key_b2 kb2 K2 Center of keypad
key_backspace kbs kb Sent by backspace key
key_beg kbeg @1 Sent by beg(inning) key
key_btab kcbt kB Sent by back-tab key
key_c1 kc1 K4 Lower left of keypad
key_c3 kc3 K5 Lower right of keypad
key_cancel kcan @2 Sent by cancel key
key_catab ktbc ka Sent by clear-all-tabs key
key_clear kclr kC Sent by clear-screen or erase key
key_close kclo @3 Sent by close key
key_command kcmd @4 Sent by cmd (command) key
key_copy kcpy @5 Sent by copy key
key_create kcrt @6 Sent by create key
key_ctab kctab kt Sent by clear-tab key
key_dc kdch1 kD Sent by delete-character key
key_dl kdl1 kL Sent by delete-line key
key_down kcud1 kd Sent by terminal down-arrow key
key_eic krmir kM Sent by rmir or smir in insert mode
key_end kend @7 Sent by end key
key_enter kent @8 Sent by enter/send key
key_eol kel kE Sent by clear-to-end-of-line key
key_eos ked kS Sent by clear-to-end-of-screen key
key_exit kext @9 Sent by exit key
key_f0 kf0 k0 Sent by function key f0
key_f1 kf1 k1 Sent by function key f1
key_f2 kf2 k2 Sent by function key f2
key_f3 kf3 k3 Sent by function key f3
key_f4 kf4 k4 Sent by function key f4
key_f5 kf5 k5 Sent by function key f5
key_f6 kf6 k6 Sent by function key f6
key_f7 kf7 k7 Sent by function key f7
key_f8 kf8 k8 Sent by function key f8
key_f9 kf9 k9 Sent by function key f9
key_f10 kf10 k; Sent by function key f10
key_f11 kf11 F1 Sent by function key f11
key_f12 kf12 F2 Sent by function key f12
key_f13 kf13 F3 Sent by function key f13
key_f14 kf14 F4 Sent by function key f14
key_f15 kf15 F5 Sent by function key f15
key_f16 kf16 F6 Sent by function key f16
key_f17 kf17 F7 Sent by function key f17
key_f18 kf18 F8 Sent by function key f18
key_f19 kf19 F9 Sent by function key f19
key_f20 kf20 FA Sent by function key f20
key_f21 kf21 FB Sent by function key f21
key_f22 kf22 FC Sent by function key f22
key_f23 kf23 FD Sent by function key f23
key_f24 kf24 FE Sent by function key f24
key_f25 kf25 FF Sent by function key f25
key_f26 kf26 FG Sent by function key f26
key_f27 kf27 FH Sent by function key f27
key_f28 kf28 FI Sent by function key f28
key_f29 kf29 FJ Sent by function key f29
key_f30 kf30 FK Sent by function key f30
key_f31 kf31 FL Sent by function key f31
key_f32 kf32 FM Sent by function key f32
key_f33 kf33 FN Sent by function key f33
key_f34 kf34 FO Sent by function key f34
key_f35 kf35 FP Sent by function key f35
key_f36 kf36 FQ Sent by function key f36
key_f37 kf37 FR Sent by function key f37
key_f38 kf38 FS Sent by function key f38
key_f39 kf39 FT Sent by function key f39
key_f40 kf40 FU Sent by function key f40
key_f41 kf41 FV Sent by function key f41
key_f42 kf42 FW Sent by function key f42
key_f43 kf43 FX Sent by function key f43
key_f44 kf44 FY Sent by function key f44
key_f45 kf45 FZ Sent by function key f45
key_f46 kf46 Fa Sent by function key f46
key_f47 kf47 Fb Sent by function key f47
key_f48 kf48 Fc Sent by function key f48
key_f49 kf49 Fd Sent by function key f49
key_f50 kf50 Fe Sent by function key f50
key_f51 kf51 Ff Sent by function key f51
key_f52 kf52 Fg Sent by function key f52
key_f53 kf53 Fh Sent by function key f53
key_f54 kf54 Fi Sent by function key f54
key_f55 kf55 Fj Sent by function key f55
key_f56 kf56 Fk Sent by function key f56
key_f57 kf57 Fl Sent by function key f57
key_f58 kf58 Fm Sent by function key f58
key_f59 kf59 Fn Sent by function key f59
key_f60 kf60 Fo Sent by function key f60
key_f61 kf61 Fp Sent by function key f61
key_f62 kf62 Fq Sent by function key f62
key_f63 kf63 Fr Sent by function key f63
key_find kfnd @0 Sent by find key
key_help khlp %1 Sent by help key
key_home khome kh Sent by home key
key_ic kich1 kI Sent by ins-char/enter ins-mode key
key_il kil1 kA Sent by insert-line key
key_left kcub1 kl Sent by terminal left-arrow key
key_ll kll kH Sent by home-down key
key_mark kmrk %2 Sent by mark key
key_message kmsg %3 Sent by message key
key_mouse kmous Km 0631, mouse event has occurred
key_move kmov %4 Sent by move key
key_next knxt %5 Sent by next-object key
key_npage knp kN Sent by next-page key
key_open kopn %6 Sent by open key
key_options kopt %7 Sent by options key
key_ppage kpp kP Sent by previous-page key
key_previous kprv %8 Sent by previous-object key
key_print kprt %9 Sent by print or copy key
key_redo krdo %0 Sent by redo key
key_reference kref &1 Sent by ref(erence) key
key_refresh krfr &2 Sent by refresh key
key_replace krpl &3 Sent by replace key
key_restart krst &4 Sent by restart key
key_resume kres &5 Sent by resume key
key_right kcuf1 kr Sent by terminal right-arrow key
key_save ksav &6 Sent by save key
key_sbeg kBEG &9 Sent by shifted beginning key
key_scancel kCAN &0 Sent by shifted cancel key
key_scommand kCMD *1 Sent by shifted command key
key_scopy kCPY *2 Sent by shifted copy key
key_screate kCRT *3 Sent by shifted create key
key_sdc kDC *4 Sent by shifted delete-char key
key_sdl kDL *5 Sent by shifted delete-line key
key_select kslt *6 Sent by select key
key_send kEND *7 Sent by shifted end key
key_seol kEOL *8 Sent by shifted clear-line key
key_sexit kEXT *9 Sent by shifted exit key
key_sf kind kF Sent by scroll-forward/down key
key_sfind kFND *0 Sent by shifted find key
key_shelp kHLP #1 Sent by shifted help key
key_shome kHOM #2 Sent by shifted home key
key_sic kIC #3 Sent by shifted input key
key_sleft kLFT #4 Sent by shifted left-arrow key
key_smessage kMSG %a Sent by shifted message key
key_smove kMOV %b Sent by shifted move key
key_snext kNXT %c Sent by shifted next key
key_soptions kOPT %d Sent by shifted options key
key_sprevious kPRV %e Sent by shifted prev key
key_sprint kPRT %f Sent by shifted print key
key_sr kri kR Sent by scroll-backward/up key
key_sredo kRDO %g Sent by shifted redo key
key_sreplace kRPL %h Sent by shifted replace key
key_sright kRIT %i Sent by shifted right-arrow key
key_srsume kRES %j Sent by shifted resume key
key_ssave kSAV !1 Sent by shifted save key
key_ssuspend kSPD !2 Sent by shifted suspend key
key_stab khts kT Sent by set-tab key
key_sundo kUND !3 Sent by shifted undo key
key_suspend kspd &7 Sent by suspend key
key_undo kund &8 Sent by undo key
key_up kcuu1 ku Sent by terminal up-arrow key
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Strings (part 3 of 3)
Cap Term
Variable name cap Description
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
keypad_local rmkx ke Out of "keypad-transmit" mode
keypad_xmit smkx ks Put terminal in "keypad-transmit" mode
lab_f0 lf0 l0 Labels on function key f0 if not f0
lab_f1 lf1 l1 Labels on function key f1 if not f1
lab_f2 lf2 l2 Labels on function key f2 if not f2
lab_f3 lf3 l3 Labels on function key f3 if not f3
lab_f4 lf4 l4 Labels on function key f4 if not f4
lab_f5 lf5 l5 Labels on function key f5 if not f5
lab_f6 lf6 l6 Labels on function key f6 if not f6
lab_f7 lf7 l7 Labels on function key f7 if not f7
lab_f8 lf8 l8 Labels on function key f8 if not f8
lab_f9 lf9 l9 Labels on function key f9 if not f9
lab_f10 lf10 la Labels on function key f10 if not f10
label_format fln Lf Label format
label_off rmln LF Turn off soft labels
label_on smln LO Turn on soft labels
memory_lock meml ml Lock memory above cursor
memory_unlock memu mu Turn memory lock off
meta_off rmm mo Turn off "meta mode"
meta_on smm mm Turn on "meta mode" (8th bit)
micro_column_address mhpa ZY Like column_address for micro adjustment
micro_down mcud1 ZZ Like cursor_down for micro adjustment
micro_left mcub1 Za Like cursor_left for micro adjustment
micro_right mcuf1 Zb Like cursor_right for micro adjustment
micro_row_address mvpa Zc Like row_address for micro adjustment
micro_up mcuu1 Zd Like cursor_up for micro adjustment
mouse_info minfo Mi Mouse status information
newline nel nw Newline (behaves like cr followed by lf)
order_of_pins porder Ze Matches software bits to print-head pins
orig_colors oc oc Set all color(-pair)s to the original
ones
orig_pair op op Set default color-pair to the original
one
pad_char pad pc Pad character (rather than null)
parm_dch dch DC Delete #1 chars
parm_delete_line dl DL Delete #1 lines
parm_down_cursor cud DO Move down #1 lines.
parm_down_micro mcud Zf Like parm_down_cursor for micro adjust.
parm_ich ich IC Insert #1 blank chars
parm_index indn SF Scroll forward #1 lines.
parm_insert_line il AL Add #1 new blank lines
parm_left_cursor cub LE Move cursor left #1 spaces
parm_left_micro mcub Zg Like parm_left_cursor for micro adjust.
parm_right_cursor cuf RI Move right #1 spaces.
parm_right_micro mcuf Zh Like parm_right_cursor for micro adjust.
parm_rindex rin SR Scroll backward #1 lines.
parm_up_cursor cuu UP Move cursor up #1 lines.
parm_up_micro mcuu Zi Like parm_up_cursor for micro adjust.
pc_term_options pctrm S6 PC terminal options
pkey_key pfkey pk Prog funct key #1 to type string #2
pkey_local pfloc pl Prog funct key #1 to execute string #2
pkey_plab pfxl xl Prog key #1 to xmit string #2 and show
string #3
pkey_xmit pfx px Prog funct key #1 to xmit string #2
plab_norm pln pn Prog label #1 to show string #2
print_screen mc0 ps Print contents of the screen
prtr_non mc5p pO Turn on the printer for #1 bytes
prtr_off mc4 pf Turn off the printer
prtr_on mc5 po Turn on the printer
pulse pulse PU Select pulse dialing
quick_dial qdial QD Dial phone number #1, without progress
detection
remove_clock rmclk RC Remove time-of-day clock
repeat_char rep rp Repeat char #1 #2 times
req_for_input rfi RF Send next input char (for ptys)
req_mouse_pos reqmp RQ Request mouse position report
reset_1string rs1 r1 Reset terminal completely to sane modes
reset_2string rs2 r2 Reset terminal completely to sane modes
reset_3string rs3 r3 Reset terminal completely to sane modes
reset_file rf rf Name of file containing reset string
restore_cursor rc rc Restore cursor to position of last sc
row_address vpa cv Set vertical position to absolute #1
save_cursor sc sc Save cursor position
scancode_escape scesc S7 Escape for scancode emulation
scroll_forward ind sf Scroll text up
scroll_reverse ri sr Scroll text down
select_char_set scs Zj Select character set
set0_des_seq s0ds s0 Shift into codeset 0 (EUC set 0, ASCII)
set1_des_seq s1ds s1 Shift into codeset 1
set2_des_seq s2ds s2 Shift into codeset 2
set3_des_seq s3ds s3 Shift into codeset 3
set_a_attributes sgr1 Define second set of video attributes
#1−#6
set_a_background setab AB Set background color to #1 using ANSI
escape
set_a_foreground setaf AF Set foreground color to #1 using ANSI
escape
set_attributes sgr sa Define first set of video attributes
#1−#9
set_background setb Sb Set background color to #1
set_bottom_margin smgb Zk Set bottom margin at current line
set_bottom_margin_parm smgbp Zl Set bottom margin at line #1 or #2 lines
from bottom
set_clock sclk SC Set clock to hours (#1), minutes (#2),
seconds (#3)
set_color_band setcolor Yz Change to ribbon color #1
set_color_pair scp sp Set current color pair to #1
set_foreground setf Sf Set foreground color to #1
set_left_margin smgl ML Set left margin at current column
set_left_margin_parm smglp Zm Set left (right) margin at column #1 (#2)
set_lr_margin smglr ML Sets both left and right margins
set_page_length slines YZ Set page length to #1 lines
set_pglen_inch slength YI Set page length to #1 hundredth of an
inch
set_right_margin smgr MR Set right margin at current column
set_right_margin_parm smgrp Zn Set right margin at column #1
set_tab hts st Set a tab in all rows, current column
set_tb_margin smgtb MT Sets both top and bottom margins
set_top_margin smgt Zo Set top margin at current line
set_top_margin_parm smgtp Zp Set top (bottom) margin at line #1 (#2)
set_window wind wi Current window is lines #1−#2 cols #3−#4
start_bit_image sbim Zq Start printing bit image graphics
start_char_set_def scsd Zr Start definition of a character set
stop_bit_image rbim Zs End printing bit image graphics
stop_char_set_def rcsd Zt End definition of a character set
subscript_characters subcs Zu List of "subscript-able" characters
superscript_characters supcs Zv List of "superscript-able" characters
tab ht ta Tab to next 8-space hardware tab stop
these_cause_cr docr Zw Printing any of these chars causes cr
to_status_line tsl ts Go to status line, col #1
tone tone TO Select touch tone dialing
user0 u0 u0 User string 0
user1 u1 u1 User string 1
user2 u2 u2 User string 2
user3 u3 u3 User string 3
user4 u4 u4 User string 4
user5 u5 u5 User string 5
user6 u6 u6 User string 6
user7 u7 u7 User string 7
user8 u8 u8 User string 8
user9 u9 u9 User string 9
underline_char uc uc Underscore one char and move past it
up_half_line hu hu Half-line up (reverse 1/2 line feed)
wait_tone wait WA Wait for dial tone
xoff_character xoffc XF XOFF character
xon_character xonc XN XON character
zero_motion zerom Zx No motion for the subsequent character
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Sample Entry
The following entry describes the AT&T 610 terminal. (The pfxl and sgr
values have been split for printing; they would actually be entered as
single lines.)
610|610bct|ATT610|att610|AT&T610;80column;98key keyboard,
am, eslok, hs, mir, msgr, xenl, xon,
cols#80, it#8, lh#2, lines#24, lw#8, nlab#8, wsl#80,
acsc=``aaffggjjkkllmmnnooppqqrrssttuuvvwwxxyyzz{{||}}~~,
bel=^G, blink=\E[5m, bold=\E[1m, cbt=\E[Z,
civis=\E[?25l, clear=\E[H\E[J, cnorm=\E[?25h\E[?12l,
cr=\r, csr=\E[%i%p1%d;%p2%dr, cub=\E[%p1%dD, cub1=\b,
cud=\E[%p1%dB, cud1=\E[B, cuf=\E[%p1%dC, cuf1=\E[C,
cup=\E[%i%p1%d;%p2%dH, cuu=\E[%p1%dA, cuu1=\E[A,
cvvis=\E[?12;25h, dch=\E[%p1%dP, dch1=\E[P, dim=\E[2m,
dl=\E[%p1%dM, dl1=\E[M, ed=\E[J, el=\E[K, el1=\E[1K,
flash=\E[?5h$<200>\E[?5l, fsl=\E8, home=\E[H, ht=\t,
ich=\E[%p1%d@, il=\E[%p1%dL, il1=\E[L, ind=\ED, .ind=\ED$<9>,
invis=\E[8m,
is1=\E[8;0 | \E[?3;4;5;13;15l\E[13;20l\E[?7h\E[12h\E(B\E)0,
is2=\E[0m^O, is3=\E(B\E)0, kLFT=\E[\s@, kRIT=\E[\sA,
kbs=^H, kcbt=\E[Z, kclr=\E[2J, kcub1=\E[D, kcud1=\E[B,
kcuf1=\E[C, kcuu1=\E[A, kfP=\EOc, kfP0=\ENp,
kfP1=\ENq, kfP2=\ENr, kfP3=\ENs, kfP4=\ENt, kfI=\EOd,
kfB=\EOe, kf4=\EOf, kf(CW=\EOg, kf6=\EOh, kf7=\EOi,
kf8=\EOj, kf9=\ENo, khome=\E[H, kind=\E[S, kri=\E[T,
ll=\E[24H, mc4=\E[?4i, mc5=\E[?5i, nel=\EE,
pfxl=\E[%p1%d;%p2%l%02dq%?%p1%{9}%<%t\s\s\sF%p1%1d
\s\s\s\s\s\s\s\s\s\s\s%;%p2%s,
pln=\E[%p1%d;0;0;0q%p2%:-16.16s, rc=\E8, rev=\E[7m,
ri=\EM, rmacs=^O, rmir=\E[4l, rmln=\E[2p, rmso=\E[m,
rmul=\E[m, rs2=\Ec\E[?3l, sc=\E7,
sgr=\E[0%?%p6%t;1%;%?%p5%t;2%;%?%p2%t;4%;%?%p4%t;5%;%?%p3%p1%
|%t;7%;%?%p7%t;8%;m%?%p9%t^N%e^O%;,
sgr0=\E[m^O, smacs=^N, smir=\E[4h, smln=\E[p,
smso=\E[7m, smul=\E[4m, tsl=\E7\E[25;%i%p1%dx,
Types of Capabilities in the Sample Entry
The sample entry shows the formats for the three types of terminfo
capabilities: boolean, numeric, and string. All capabilities specified
in the terminfo source file must be followed by commas, including the
last capability in the source file. In terminfo source files, capabil‐
ities are referenced by their capability names (as shown in the Capname
column of the previous tables). A boolean capability is true if its
Capname is present in the entry, and false if its Capname is not
present in the entry.
The "@" character following a Capname is used to explicitly declare
that a boolean capability is false, in situations described in the sub‐
section of the section below. Numeric capabilities are followed by the
character "#" and then a positive integer value. The example assigns
the value 80 to the cols numeric capability by coding:
cols#80
Values for numeric capabilities may be specified in decimal, octal or
hexadecimal, using normal C-language conventions. String-valued capa‐
bilities such as el (clear to end of line sequence) are listed by the
an "=", and a string ended by the next occurrence of a comma.
A delay in milliseconds may appear anywhere in such a capability, pre‐
ceded by "$" and enclosed in angle brackets, as in el=\EK$<3>. The
Curses implementation achieves delays by outputting to the terminal an
appropriate number of system-defined padding characters. The tputs()
function provides delays when used to send such a capability to the
terminal.
The delay can be any of the following: a number; a number followed by
an asterisk, such as 5*; a number followed by a slash, such as 5/; or a
number followed by both, such as 5*/.
* Shows that the required delay is proportional to the number
of lines affected by the operation, and the amount given is
the delay required per affected unit. (In the case of insert
characters, the factor is still the number of lines affected.
This is always 1 unless the device has in and the software
uses it.) When a "*" is specified, it is sometimes useful to
give a delay of the form 3.5 to specify a delay per unit to
tenths of milliseconds. (Only one decimal place is allowed.)
/ Indicates that the delay is mandatory and padding characters
are transmitted regardless of the setting of xon. If "/" is
not specified or if a device has xon defined, the delay
information is advisory and is only used for cost estimates
or when the device is in raw mode. However, any delay speci‐
fied for bel or flash is treated as mandatory.
The following notation is valid in terminfo source files for specifying
special characters:
Notation Represents Character
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
^x Control-x (for any appropriate x)
\a Alert
\b Backspace
\E or \e An ESCAPE character
\f Form feed
\l Linefeed
\n Newline
\r Carriage return
\s Space
\t Tab
\^ Caret (^)
\\ Backslash (\)
\, Comma (,)
\: Colon (:)
\0 Null
\nnn Any character, specified as three octal digits
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
(See the "X/Open System Interface Definitions, Issue 4, Version 2"
specification, "General Terminal Interface".) Sometimes individual
capabilities must be commented out. To do this, put a period before
the capability name. For example, see the second ind in the example in
the section above. Note that capabilities are defined in a left-to-
right order and, therefore, a prior definition will override a later
definition.
Device Capabilities
The number of columns on each line for the device is given by the cols
numeric capability. If the device has a screen, then the number of
lines on the screen is given by the lines capability. If the device
wraps around to the beginning of the next line when it reaches the
right margin, then it should have the am capability. If the terminal
can clear its screen, leaving the cursor in the home position, then
this is given by the clear string capability. If the terminal over‐
strikes (rather than clearing a position when a character is struck
over) then it should have the os capability. If the device is a print‐
ing terminal, with no soft copy unit, specify both hc and os. If there
is a way to move the cursor to the left edge of the current row, spec‐
ify this as cr. (Normally this will be carriage return, control-M.)
If there is a way to produce an audible signal (such as a bell or a
beep), specify it as bel. If, like most devices, the device uses the
XON/XOFF flow-control protocol, specify xon.
If there is a way to move the cursor one position to the left (such as
backspace), that capability should be given as cub1. Similarly,
sequences to move to the right, up, and down should be given as cuf1,
cuu1, and cud1, respectively. These local cursor motions must not
alter the text they pass over; for example, you would not normally use
"cuf1=\s" because the space would erase the character moved over.
A very important point here is that the local cursor motions encoded in
terminfo are undefined at the left and top edges of a screen terminal.
Programs should never attempt to backspace around the left edge, unless
bw is specified, and should never attempt to go up locally off the top.
To scroll text up, a program goes to the bottom left corner of the
screen and sends the ind (index) string. To scroll text down, a pro‐
gram goes to the top left corner of the screen and sends the ri
(reverse index) string. The strings ind and ri are undefined when not
on their respective corners of the screen.
Parameterized versions of the scrolling sequences are indn and rin.
These versions have the same semantics as ind and ri, except that they
take one argument and scroll the number of lines specified by that
argument. They are also undefined except at the appropriate edge of
the screen.
The am capability tells whether the cursor sticks at the right edge of
the screen when text is output, but this does not necessarily apply to
a cuf1 from the last column. Backward motion from the left edge of the
screen is possible only when bw is specified. In this case, cub1 will
move to the right edge of the previous row. If bw is not given, the
effect is undefined. This is useful for drawing a box around the edge
of the screen, for example. If the device has switch-selectable auto‐
matic margins, am should be specified in the terminfo source file. In
this case, initialization strings should turn on this option, if possi‐
ble. If the device has a command that moves to the first column of the
next line, that command can be given as nel (newline). It does not
matter if the command clears the remainder of the current line, so if
the device has no cr and lf it may still be possible to craft a working
nel out of one or both of them.
These capabilities suffice to describe hardcopy and screen terminals.
Thus the AT&T 5320 hardcopy terminal is described as follows:
5320|att5320|AT&T 5320 hardcopy terminal,
am, hc, os,
cols#132,
bel=^G, cr=\r, cub1=\b, cnd1=\n,
dch1=\E[P, dl1=\E[M,
ind=\n,
while the Lear Siegler ADM-3 is described as
adm3|lsi adm3,
am, bel=^G, clear=^Z, cols#80, cr=^M, cub1=^H,
cud1=^J, ind=^J, lines#24,
Cursor addressing and other strings requiring arguments are described
by a argumentized string capability with escapes in a form (%x) compa‐
rable to printf() (see printf(1)). For example, to address the cursor,
the cup capability is given, using two arguments: the row and column
to address to. (Rows and columns are numbered from zero and refer to
the physical screen visible to the user, not to any unseen memory.) If
the terminal has memory relative cursor addressing, that can be indi‐
cated by mrcup.
The argument mechanism uses a stack and special "%" codes to manipulate
the stack in the manner of Reverse Polish Notation (postfix). Typi‐
cally a sequence pushes one of the arguments onto the stack and then
prints it in some format. Often more complex operations are necessary.
Operations are in postfix form with the operands in the usual order.
That is, to subtract 5 from the first argument, one would use
%p1%{5}%-.
The "%" encodings have the following meanings:
%% Outputs "%".
%[[:]flags][width[.precision]][doxXs]
As in printf(); flags are [-+#] and space.
%c Print pop() gives %c.
%p[1-9] Push the ith argument.
%P[a-z] Set dynamic variable [a-z] to pop().
%g[a-z] Get dynamic variable [a-z] and push it.
%P[A-Z] Set static variable [a-z] to pop().
%g[A-Z] Get static variable [a-z] and push it.
%'c' Push char constant c.
%{nn} Push decimal constant nn.
%l Push strlen(pop()).
%+ %- %* %/ %m Arithmetic (%m is mod): push(pop integer2 op pop
integer1) where integer1 represents the top of
the stack
%& %| %^ Bit operations: push(pop integer2 op pop inte‐
ger1)
%= %> %< Logical operations: push(pop integer2 op pop
integer1)
%A %O Logical operations: and, or
%! %~ Unary operations: push(op pop())
%i (For ANSI terminals) add 1 to the first argument
(if one argument present), or first two arguments
(if more than one argument present).
%? expr %t thenpart %e elsepart %;
If-then-else; %e elsepart is optional; else-if's
are possible as in Algol 68:
%? c1 %t b1 %e c2 %t b2 %e c3 %t b3 %e c4 %t b4
%e b5 %;
ci are conditions; bi are bodies.
If the "-" flag is used with "%[doxXs]", then a colon must be placed
between the "%" and the "-" to differentiate the flag from the binary
"%-" operator. For example: "%:-16.16s".
Consider the Hewlett-Packard 2645, which, to get to row 3 and column
12, needs to be sent \E&a12c03Y padded for 6 milliseconds. Note that
the order of the rows and columns is inverted here, and that the row
and column are zero-padded as two digits. Thus, its cup capability is:
cup=\E&a%p2%2.2dc%p1%2.2dY$<6>
The Micro-Term ACT-IV needs the current row and column sent preceded by
a ^T, with the row and column simply encoded in binary:
cup=^T%p1%c%p2%c
Devices that use "%c" need to be able to backspace the cursor (cub1),
and to move the cursor up one line on the screen (cuu1). This is nec‐
essary because it is not always safe to transmit \n, ^D, and \r, as the
system may change or discard them. (The library functions dealing with
terminfo set tty modes so that tabs are never expanded, so \t is safe
to send. This turns out to be essential for the Ann Arbor 4080.)
A final example is the LSI ADM-3a, which uses row and column offset by
a blank character, thus:
cup=\E=%p1%'\s'%+%c%p2%'\s'%+%c
After sending "\E=", this pushes the first argument, pushes the ASCII
decimal value for a space (32), adds them (pushing the sum on the stack
in place of the two previous values), and outputs that value as a char‐
acter. Then the same is done for the second argument. More complex
arithmetic is possible using the stack. If the terminal has a fast way
to home the cursor (to very upper left corner of screen) then this can
be given as home; similarly a fast way of getting to the lower left-
hand corner can be given as ll; this may involve going up with cuu1
from the home position, but a program should never do this itself
(unless ll does) because it can make no assumption about the effect of
moving up from the home position. Note that the home position is the
same as addressing to (0,0): to the top left corner of the screen, not
of memory. (Thus, the \EH sequence on Hewlett-Packard terminals cannot
be used for home without losing some of the other features on the ter‐
minal.)
If the device has row or column absolute-cursor addressing, these can
be given as single argument capabilities hpa (horizontal position abso‐
lute) and vpa (vertical position absolute). Sometimes these are
shorter than the more general two-argument sequence (as with the
Hewlett-Packard 2645) and can be used in preference to cup. If there
are argumentized local motions (such as "move n spaces to the right"),
these can be given as cud, cub, cuf, and cuu with a single argument
indicating how many spaces to move. These are primarily useful if the
device does not have cup, such as the Tektronix 4025.
If the device needs to be in a special mode when running a program that
uses these capabilities, the codes to enter and exit this mode can be
given as smcup and rmcup. This arises, for example, from terminals,
such as the Concept, with more than one page of memory. If the device
has only memory relative cursor addressing and not screen relative cur‐
sor addressing, a one screen-sized window must be fixed into the device
for cursor addressing to work properly. This is also used for the Tek‐
tronix 4025, where smcup sets the command character to be the one used
by terminfo. If the rmcup sequence will not restore the screen after
an smcup sequence is output (to the state prior to outputting smcup),
specify nrrmc. If the terminal can clear from the current position to
the end of the line, leaving the cursor where it is, this should be
given as el. If the terminal can clear from the beginning of the line
to the current position inclusive, leaving the cursor where it is, this
should be given as el1. If the terminal can clear from the current
position to the end of the display, then this should be given as ed.
ed is only defined from the first column of a line. (Thus, it can be
simulated by a request to delete a large number of lines, if a true ed
is not available.)
Insert/Delete Line
If the terminal can open a new blank line before the line where the
cursor is, this should be given as il1; this is done only from the
first position of a line. The cursor must then appear on the newly
blank line. If the terminal can delete the line which the cursor is
on, then this should be given as dl1; this is done only from the first
position on the line to be deleted. Versions of il1 and dl1 which take
a single argument and insert or delete that many lines can be given as
il and dl.
If the terminal has a settable destructive scrolling region (like the
VT100) the command to set this can be described with the csr capabil‐
ity, which takes two arguments: the top and bottom lines of the
scrolling region. The cursor position is, alas, undefined after using
this command. It is possible to get the effect of insert or delete
line using this command — the sc and rc (save and restore cursor) com‐
mands are also useful. Inserting lines at the top or bottom of the
screen can also be done using ri or ind on many terminals without a
true insert/delete line, and is often faster even on terminals with
those features.
To determine whether a terminal has destructive scrolling regions or
nondestructive scrolling regions, create a scrolling region in the mid‐
dle of the screen, place data on the bottom line of the scrolling
region, move the cursor to the top line of the scrolling region, and do
a reverse index (ri) followed by a delete line (dl1) or index (ind).
If the data that was originally on the bottom line of the scrolling
region was restored into the scrolling region by the dl1 or ind, then
the terminal has nondestructive scrolling regions. Otherwise, it has
destructive scrolling regions. Do not specify csr if the terminal has
nondestructive scrolling regions, unless ind, ri, indn, rin, dl, and
dl1 all simulate destructive scrolling.
If the terminal has the ability to define a window as part of memory,
which all commands affect, it should be given as the argumentized
string wind. The four arguments are the starting and ending lines in
memory and the starting and ending columns in memory, in that order.
If the terminal can retain display memory above, then the da capability
should be given; if display memory can be retained below, then db
should be given. These indicate that deleting a line or scrolling a
full screen may bring nonblank lines up from below or that scrolling
back with ri may bring down nonblank lines. There are two basic kinds
of intelligent terminals with respect to insert/delete character opera‐
tions which can be described using terminfo. The most common
insert/delete character operations affect only the characters on the
current line and shift characters off the end of the line rigidly.
Other terminals, such as the Concept 100 and the Perkin-Elmer Owl, make
a distinction between typed and untyped blanks on the screen, shifting
upon an insert or delete only to an untyped blank on the screen which
is either eliminated, or expanded to two untyped blanks. You can
determine the kind of terminal you have by clearing the screen and then
typing text separated by cursor motions. Type "abc def" using local
cursor motions (not spaces) between the abc and the def. Then position
the cursor before the abc and put the terminal in insert mode. If typ‐
ing characters causes the rest of the line to shift rigidly and charac‐
ters to fall off the end, then your terminal does not distinguish
between blanks and untyped positions. If the abc shifts over to the
def which then move together around the end of the current line and
onto the next as you insert, you have the second type of terminal, and
should give the capability in, which stands for "insert null". While
these are two logically separate attributes (one line versus multiline
insert mode, and special treatment of untyped spaces) we have seen no
terminals whose insert mode cannot be described with the single
attribute.
terminfo can describe both terminals that have an insert mode and ter‐
minals which send a simple sequence to open a blank position on the
current line. Give as smir the sequence to get into insert mode. Give
as rmir the sequence to leave insert mode. Now give as ich1 any
sequence needed to be sent just before sending the character to be
inserted. Most terminals with a true insert mode will not give ich1;
terminals that send a sequence to open a screen position should give it
here. (If your terminal has both, insert mode is usually preferable to
ich1. Do not give both unless the terminal requires both to be used in
combination.) If post-insert padding is needed, give this as a number
of milliseconds padding in ip (a string option). Any other sequence
which may need to be sent after an insert of a single character may
also be given in ip. If your terminal needs both to be placed into an
"insert mode" and a special code to precede each inserted character,
then both smir/rmir and ich1 can be given, and both will be used. The
ich capability, with one argument, n, will insert n blanks.
If padding is necessary between characters typed while not in insert
mode, give this as a number of milliseconds padding in rmp.
It is occasionally necessary to move around while in insert mode to
delete characters on the same line (for example, if there is a tab
after the insertion position). If your terminal allows motion while in
insert mode you can give the capability mir to speed up inserting in
this case. Omitting mir will affect only speed. Some terminals
(notably Datamedia) must not have mir because of the way their insert
mode works.
Finally, you can specify dch1 to delete a single character, dch with
one argument, n, to delete n characters, and delete mode by giving smdc
and rmdc to enter and exit delete mode (any mode the terminal needs to
be placed in for dch1 to work).
A command to erase n characters (equivalent to outputting n blanks
without moving the cursor) can be given as ech with one argument. Your
device may have one or more kinds of display attributes that allow you
to highlight selected characters when they appear on the screen. The
following display modes (shown with the names by which they are set)
may be available:
· A blinking screen (blink)
· Bold or extra-bright characters (bold)
· Dim or half-bright characters (dim)
· Blanking or invisible text (invis)
· Protected text (prot)
· A reverse-video screen (rev)
· An alternate character set (smacs to enter this mode and
rmacs to exit it). (If a command is necessary before you can
enter alternate character set mode, give the sequence in
enacs or "enable alternate-character-set" mode.) Turning on
any of these modes singly may turn off other modes.
sgr0 should be used to turn off all video enhancement capabilities. It
should always be specified because it represents the only way to turn
off some capabilities, such as dim or blink.
Choose one display method as and use it to highlight error messages and
other text to which you want to draw attention. Choose a form of dis‐
play that provides strong contrast but that is easy on the eyes. (We
recommend reverse-video plus half-bright or reverse-video alone.) The
sequences to enter and exit standout mode are given as smso and rmso,
respectively. If the code to change into or out of standout mode
leaves one or even two blank spaces on the screen, as the TVI 912 and
Teleray 1061 do, then xmc should be given to tell how many spaces are
left.
Sequences to begin underlining and end underlining can be specified as
smul and rmul, respectively. If the device has a sequence to underline
the current character and to move the cursor one space to the right
(such as the Micro-Term MIME), this sequence can be specified as uc.
Terminals with the "magic cookie" glitch (xmc) deposit special "cook‐
ies" when they receive mode-setting sequences, which affect the display
algorithm rather than having extra bits for each character. Some ter‐
minals, such as the Hewlett-Packard 2621, automatically leave standout
mode when they move to a new line or the cursor is addressed. Programs
using standout mode should exit standout mode before moving the cursor
or sending a newline, unless the msgr capability, asserting that it is
safe to move in standout mode, is present.
If the terminal has a way of flashing the screen to indicate an error
quietly (a bell replacement), then this can be given as flash; it must
not move the cursor. A good flash can be done by changing the screen
into reverse video, pad for 200 ms, then return the screen to normal
video.
If the cursor needs to be made more visible than normal when it is not
on the bottom line (to make, for example, a nonblinking underline into
an easier to find block or blinking underline) give this sequence as
cvvis. The boolean chts should also be given. If there is a way to
make the cursor completely invisible, give that as civis. The capabil‐
ity cnorm should be given, which undoes the effects of either of these
modes.
If your terminal generates underlined characters by using the underline
character (with no special sequences needed) even though it does not
otherwise overstrike characters, then specify the capability ul. For
devices on which a character overstriking another leaves both charac‐
ters on the screen, specify the capability os. If overstrikes are
erasable with a blank, then this should be indicated by specifying eo.
If there is a sequence to set arbitrary combinations of modes, this
should be given as sgr (set attributes), taking nine arguments. Each
argument is either 0 or nonzero, as the corresponding attribute is on
or off. The nine arguments are, in order: standout, underline,
reverse, blink, dim, bold, blank, protect, alternate character set.
Not all modes need to be supported by sgr; only those for which corre‐
sponding separate attribute commands exist should be supported. For
example, let's assume that the terminal in question needs the following
escape sequences to turn on various modes.
tparm()
Argument Attribute Escape Sequence
─────────────────────────────────────────
none \E[0m
p1 standout \E[0;4;7m
p2 underline \E[0;3m
p3 reverse \E[0;4m
p4 blink \E[0;5m
p5 dim \E[0;7m
p6 bold \E[0;3;4m
p7 invis \E[0;8m
p8 protect not available
p9 altcharset ^O (off) ^N (on)
─────────────────────────────────────────
Note that each escape sequence requires a 0 to turn off other modes
before turning on its own mode. Also note that, as suggested above,
standout is set up to be the combination of reverse and dim. Also,
because this terminal has no bold mode, bold is set up as the combina‐
tion of reverse and underline. In addition, to allow combinations,
such as underline+blink, the sequence to use would be \E[0;3;5m. The
terminal doesn't have protect mode, either, but that cannot be simu‐
lated in any way, so p8 is ignored. The altcharset mode is different
in that it is either ^O or ^N, depending on whether it is off or on.
If all modes were to be turned on, the sequence would be:
\E[0;3;4;5;7;8m^N
Now look at when different sequences are output. For example, ;3 is
output when either p2 or p6 is true, that is, if either underline or
bold modes are turned on. Writing out the above sequences, along with
their dependencies, gives the following:
Sequence When to Output terminfo Translation
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\E[0 always \E[0
;3 if p2 or p6 %?%p2%p6%|%t;3%;
;4 if p1 or p3 or p6 %?%p1%p3%|%p6%|%t;4%;
;5 if p4 %?%p4%t;5%;
;7 if p1 or p5 %?%p1%p5%|%t;7%;
;8 if p7 %?%p7%t;8%;
m always m
^N or ^O if p9, ^N; else ^O %?%p9%t^N%e^O%;
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Putting this all together into the sgr sequence gives:
sgr=\E[0%?%p2%p6%|%t;3%;%?%p1%p3%|%p6%
|%t;4%;%?%p5%t;5%;%?%p1%p5%
|%t;7%;%?%p7%t;8%;m%?%p9%t^N%e^O%;,
Remember that sgr and sgr0 must always be specified. If the device has
a keypad that transmits sequences when the keys are pressed, this
information can also be specified. Note that it is not possible to
handle devices where the keypad only works in local (this applies, for
example, to the unshifted Hewlett-Packard 2621 keys). If the keypad
can be set to transmit or not transmit, specify these sequences as smkx
and rmkx. Otherwise the keypad is assumed to always transmit.
The sequences sent by the left arrow, right arrow, up arrow, down
arrow, and home keys can be given as kcub1, kcuf1, kcuu1, kcud1 and
khome, respectively. If there are function keys such as f0, f1, ...,
f63, the sequences they send can be specified as kf0, kf1, ..., kf63.
If the first 11 keys have labels other than the default f0 through f10,
the labels can be given as lf0, lf1, ..., lf10.
The codes transmitted by certain other special keys can be given: kll
(home down), kbs (backspace), ktbc (clear all tabs), kctab (clear the
tab stop in this column), kclr (clear screen or erase key), kdch1
(delete character), kdl1 (delete line), krmir (exit insert mode), kel
(clear to end of line), ked (clear to end of screen), kich1 (insert
character or enter insert mode), kil1 (insert line), knp (next page),
kpp (previous page), kind (scroll forward/down), kri (scroll back‐
ward/up), khts (set a tab stop in this column). In addition, if the
keypad has a 3 by 3 array of keys including the four arrow keys, the
other five keys can be given as ka1, ka3, kb2, kc1, and kc3. These
keys are useful when the effects of a 3 by 3 directional pad are
needed. Further keys are defined above in the capabilities list.
Strings to program function keys can be specified as pfkey, pfloc, and
pfx. A string to program screen labels should be specified as pln.
Each of these strings takes two arguments: a function key identifier
and a string to program it with. pfkey causes pressing the given key
to be the same as the user typing the given string; pfloc causes the
string to be executed by the terminal in local mode; and pfx causes the
string to be transmitted to the computer. The capabilities nlab, lw
and lh define the number of programmable screen labels and their width
and height. If there are commands to turn the labels on and off, give
them in smln and rmln. smln is normally output after one or more pln
sequences to make sure that the change becomes visible. If the device
has hardware tabs, the command to advance to the next tab stop can be
given as ht (usually control-I). A "backtab" command that moves left‐
ward to the next tab stop can be given as cbt. By convention, if tty
modes show that tabs are being expanded by the computer rather than
being sent to the device, programs should not use ht or cbt (even if
they are present) because the user might not have the tab stops prop‐
erly set. If the device has hardware tabs that are initially set every
n spaces when the device is powered up, the numeric argument it is
given, showing the number of spaces the tabs are set to. This is nor‐
mally used by tput init to determine whether to set the mode for hard‐
ware tab expansion and whether to set the tab stops. If the device has
tab stops that can be saved in nonvolatile memory, the terminfo
description can assume that they are properly set. If there are com‐
mands to set and clear tab stops, they can be given as tbc (clear all
tab stops) and hts (set a tab stop in the current column of every row).
Other capabilities include: is1, is2, and is3, initialization strings
for the device; iprog, the path name of a program to be run to initial‐
ize the device; and if, the name of a file containing long initializa‐
tion strings. These strings are expected to set the device into modes
consistent with the rest of the terminfo description. They must be
sent to the device each time the user logs in and be output in the fol‐
lowing order: run the program iprog; output is1; output is2; set the
margins using mgc, smgl and smgr; set the tabs using tbc and hts; print
the file if; and finally output is3. This is usually done using the
init option of tput.
Most initialization is done with is2. Special device modes can be set
up without duplicating strings by putting the common sequences in is2
and special cases in is1 and is3. Sequences that do a reset from a
totally unknown state can be given as rs1, rs2, rf, and rs3, analogous
to is1, is2, is3, and if. (The method using files, if and rf, is used
for a few terminals; however, the recommended method is to use the ini‐
tialization and reset strings.) These strings are output by tput
reset, which is used when the terminal gets into a wedged state. Com‐
mands are normally placed in rs1, rs2, rs3, and rf only if they produce
annoying effects on the screen and are not necessary when logging in.
For example, the command to set a terminal into 80-column mode would
normally be part of is2, but on some terminals it causes an annoying
glitch on the screen and is not normally needed because the terminal is
usually already in 80-column mode.
If a more complex sequence is needed to set the tabs than can be
described by using tbc and hts, the sequence can be placed in is2 or
if.
Any margin can be cleared with mgc. (For instructions on how to spec‐
ify commands to set and clear margins, see the subsection of the sec‐
tion below. Certain capabilities control padding in the tty driver.
These are primarily needed by hard-copy terminals, and are used by tput
init to set tty modes appropriately (see tput(1)). Delays embedded in
the capabilities cr, ind, cub1, ff, and tab can be used to set the
appropriate delay bits to be set in the tty driver. If pb (padding
baud rate) is given, these values can be ignored at baud rates below
the value of pb. If the terminal has an extra "status line" that is
not normally used by software, this fact can be indicated. If the sta‐
tus line is viewed as an extra line below the bottom line, into which
one can cursor-address normally (such as the Heathkit H19's 25th line,
or the 24th line of a VT100 which is set to a 23-line scrolling
region), the capability hs should be given. Special strings that go to
a given column of the status line and return from the status line can
be given as tsl and fsl. (fsl must leave the cursor position in the
same place it was before tsl. If necessary, the sc and rc strings can
be included in tsl and fsl to get this effect.) The capability tsl
takes one argument, which is the column number of the status line the
cursor is to be moved to.
If escape sequences and other special commands, such as tab, work while
in the status line, the flag eslok can be given. A string which turns
off the status line (or otherwise erases its contents) should be given
as dsl. If the terminal has commands to save and restore the position
of the cursor, give them as sc and rc. The status line is normally
assumed to be the same width as the rest of the screen (that is, cols).
If the status line is a different width (possibly because the terminal
does not allow an entire line to be loaded) the width, in columns, can
be indicated with the numeric argument wsl.
If the device has a line drawing alternate character set, the mapping
of glyph to character would be given in acsc. The definition of this
string is based on the alternate character set used in the Digital
VT100 terminal, extended slightly with some characters from the AT&T
4410v1 terminal.
VT100+
Glyph Name Character
────────────────────────────────────
arrow pointing right +
arrow pointing left ,
arrow pointing down .
solid square block 0
lantern symbol I
arrow pointing up -
diamond `
checker board (stipple) a
degree symbol f
plus/minus g
board of squares h
lower right corner j
upper right corner k
upper left corner l
lower left corner m
plus n
scan line 1 o
horizontal line q
scan line 9 s
left tee t
right tee u
bottom tee v
top tee w
vertical line x
bullet ~
────────────────────────────────────
The best way to describe a new device's line graphics set is to add a
third column to the above table with the characters for the new device
that produce the appropriate glyph when the device is in alternate-
character-set mode. For example:
VT100+ Character Used
Glyph Name Character on New Device
────────────────────────────────────────────────
upper left corner l R
lower left corner m F
upper right corner k T
lower right corner j G
horizontal line q ,
vertical line x .
────────────────────────────────────────────────
Now write down the characters left to right; for example:
acsc=lRmFkTjGq\,x.
In addition, terminfo lets you define multiple character sets (see the
section below). Most color terminals belong to one of two classes of
terminal:
· Tektronix-style
The Tektronix method uses a set of N predefined colors (usu‐
ally 8) from which an application can select "current" fore‐
ground and background colors. Thus a terminal can support up
to N colors mixed into N*N color-pairs to be displayed on the
screen at the same time.
· Hewlett-Packard-style
In the HP method, the application cannot define the fore‐
ground independently of the background, or vice-versa.
Instead, the application must define an entire color-pair at
once. Up to M color-pairs, made from 2*M different colors,
can be defined this way.
The numeric variables colors and pairs define the number of colors and
color-pairs that can be displayed on the screen at the same time. If a
terminal can change the definition of a color (for example, the Tek‐
tronix 4100 and 4200 series terminals), this should be specified with
ccc (can change color). To change the definition of a color (Tektronix
4200 method), use initc (initialize color). It requires four argu‐
ments: color number (ranging from 0 to colors−1) and three RGB (red,
green, and blue) values or three HLS colors (Hue, Lightness, Satura‐
tion). Ranges of RGB and HLS values are terminal-dependent.
Tektronix 4100 series terminals only use HLS color notation. For such
terminals (or dual-mode terminals to be operated in HLS mode) one must
define a boolean variable hls; that would instruct the init_color()
function (see can_change_color(3X)) to convert its RGB arguments to HLS
before sending them to the terminal. The last three arguments to the
initc string would then be HLS values.
If a terminal can change the definitions of colors, but uses a color
notation different from RGB and HLS, a mapping to either RGB or HLS
must be developed.
If the terminal supports ANSI escape sequences to set background and
foreground, they should be coded as setab and setaf, respectively. If
the terminal supports other escape sequences to set background and
foreground, they should be coded as setb and setf, respectively. The
vidputs() function (see vidattr(3X)) and the refresh functions use
setab and setaf if they are defined. Each of these capabilities
requires one argument: the number of the color. By convention, the
first eight colors (0−7) map to, in order: black, red, green, yellow,
blue, magenta, cyan, white. However, color re-mapping may occur or the
underlying hardware may not support these colors. Mappings for any
additional colors supported by the device (that is, to numbers greater
than 7) are at the discretion of the terminfo entry writer.
To initialize a color-pair (HP method), use initp (initialize pair).
It requires seven arguments: the number of a color-pair (range=0 to
pairs−1), and six RGB values: three for the foreground followed by
three for the background. (Each of these groups of three should be in
the order RGB.) When initc or initp are used, RGB or HLS arguments
should be in the order "red, green, blue" or "hue, lightness, satura‐
tion"), respectively. To make a color-pair current, use scp (set
color-pair). It takes one argument, the number of a color-pair.
Some terminals (for example, most color terminal emulators for PCs)
erase areas of the screen with current background color. In such
cases, bce (background color erase) should be defined. The variable op
(original pair) contains a sequence for setting the foreground and the
background colors to what they were at the terminal start-up time.
Similarly, oc (original colors) contains a control sequence for setting
all colors (for the Tektronix method) or color-pairs (for the HP
method) to the values they had at the terminal start-up time.
Some color terminals substitute color for video attributes. Such video
attributes should not be combined with colors. Information about these
video attributes should be packed into the ncv (no color video) vari‐
able. There is a one-to-one correspondence between the nine least sig‐
nificant bits of that variable and the video attributes. The following
table depicts this correspondence.
Bit Decimal Characteristic
Attribute Position Value That Sets
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
WA_STANDOUT 0 1 sgr, parameter 1
WA_UNDERLINE 1 2 sgr, parameter 2
WA_REVERSE 2 4 sgr, parameter 3
WA_BLINK 3 8 sgr, parameter 4
WA_DIM 4 16 sgr, parameter 5
WA_BOLD 5 32 sgr, parameter 6
WA_INVIS 6 64 sgr, parameter 7
WA_PROTECT 7 128 sgr, parameter 8
WA_ALTCHARSET 8 256 sgr, parameter 9
WA_HORIZONTAL 9 512 sgr1, parameter 1
WA_LEFT 10 1024 sgr1, parameter 2
WA_LOW 11 2048 sgr1, parameter 3
WA_RIGHT 12 4096 sgr1, parameter 4
WA_TOP 13 8192 sgr1, parameter 5
WA_VERTICAL 14 16384 sgr1, parameter 6
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
When a particular video attribute should not be used with colors, set
the corresponding ncv bit to 1; otherwise set it to 0. To determine
the information to pack into the ncv variable, add the decimal values
corresponding to those attributes that cannot coexist with colors. For
example, if the terminal uses colors to simulate reverse video (bit
number 2 and decimal value 4) and bold (bit number 5 and decimal value
32), the resulting value for ncv will be 36 (4 + 32). If the terminal
requires other than a null (zero) character as a pad, then this can be
given as pad. Only the first character of the pad string is used. If
the terminal does not have a pad character, specify npc.
If the terminal can move up or down half a line, this can be indicated
with hu (half-line up) and hd (half-line down). This is primarily use‐
ful for superscripts and subscripts on hardcopy terminals. If a hard‐
copy terminal can eject to the next page (form feed), give this as ff
(usually control-L).
If there is a command to repeat a given character a given number of
times (to save time transmitting a large number of identical charac‐
ters) this can be indicated with the argumentized string rep. The
first argument is the character to be repeated and the second is the
number of times to repeat it. Thus, tparm(repeat_char, 'x', 10) is the
same as xxxxxxxxxx.
If the terminal has a settable command character, such as the Tektronix
4025, this can be indicated with cmdch. A prototype command character
is chosen which is used in all capabilities. This character is given
in the cmdch capability to identify it. The following convention is
supported on some systems: If the environment variable CC exists, all
occurrences of the prototype character are replaced with the character
in CC.
Terminal descriptions that do not represent a specific kind of known
terminal, such as switch, dialup, patch, and network, should include
the gn (generic) capability so that programs can complain that they do
not know how to talk to the terminal. (This capability does not apply
to virtual terminal descriptions for which the escape sequences are
known.) If the terminal is one of those supported by the virtual ter‐
minal protocol, the terminal number can be given as vt. A line-turn-
around sequence to be transmitted before doing reads should be speci‐
fied in rfi.
If the device uses XON/XOFF handshaking for flow control, give xon.
Padding information should still be included so that functions can make
better decisions about costs, but actual pad characters will not be
transmitted. Sequences to turn on and off XON/XOFF handshaking may be
given in smxon and rmxon. If the characters used for handshaking are
not ^S and ^Q, they may be specified with xonc and xoffc.
If the terminal has a "meta key" which acts as a shift key, setting the
8th bit of any character transmitted, this fact can be indicated with
km. Otherwise, software will assume that the 8th bit is parity and it
will usually be cleared. If strings exist to turn this "meta mode" on
and off, they can be given as smm and rmm.
If the terminal has more lines of memory than will fit on the screen at
once, the number of lines of memory can be indicated with lm. A value
of lm#0 indicates that the number of lines is not fixed, but that there
is still more memory than fits on the screen.
Media copy strings which control an auxiliary printer connected to the
terminal can be given as:
mc0 Print the contents of the screen.
mc4 Turn off the printer.
mc5 Turn on the printer.
When the printer is on, all text sent to the terminal will be sent to
the printer. A variation, mc5p, takes one argument, and leaves the
printer on for as many characters as the value of the argument, then
turns the printer off. The argument should not exceed 255. If the
text is not displayed on the terminal screen when the printer is on,
specify mc5i (silent printer). All text, including mc4, is transpar‐
ently passed to the printer while an mc5p is in effect. The working
model used by terminfo fits most terminals reasonably well. However,
some terminals do not completely match that model, requiring special
support by terminfo. These are not meant to be construed as deficien‐
cies in the terminals; they are just differences between the working
model and the actual hardware. They may be unusual devices or, for
some reason, do not have all the features of the terminfo model imple‐
mented.
Terminals that cannot display tilde (~) characters, such as certain
Hazeltine terminals, should indicate hz.
Terminals that ignore a line feed immediately after an am wrap, such as
the Concept 100, should indicate xenl. Those terminals whose cursor
remains on the right-most column until another character has been
received, rather than wrapping immediately upon receiving the right-
most character, such as the VT100, should also indicate xenl.
If el is required to get rid of standout (instead of writing normal
text on top of it), xhp should be given.
Those Teleray terminals whose tabs turn all characters moved over to
blanks, should indicate xt (destructive tabs). This capability is also
taken to mean that it is not possible to position the cursor on top of
a "magic cookie". Therefore, to erase standout mode, it is necessary,
instead, to use delete and insert line.
For Beehive Superbee terminals that do not transmit the escape or con‐
trol-C characters, specify xsb, indicating that the f1 key is to be
used for escape and the f2 key for control-C. If there are two similar
terminals, one can be defined as being just like the other with certain
exceptions. The string capability use can be given with the name of
the similar terminal. The capabilities given before use override those
in the terminal type invoked by use. A capability can be canceled by
placing capability-name@ prior to the appearance of the string capabil‐
ity use. For example, the entry:
att4424-2|Teletype 4424 in display function group ii,
rev@, sgr@, smul@, use=att4424,
defines an AT&T 04424 terminal that does not have the rev, sgr, and
smul capabilities, and hence cannot do highlighting. This is useful
for different modes for a terminal, or for different user preferences.
More than one use capability may be given.
Printer Capabilities
The terminfo database lets you define capabilities of printers as well
as terminals. Capabilities available for printers are included in the
lists in the section above. Because argumentized string capabilities
work only with integer values, terminfo designers should create strings
that expect numeric values that have been rounded. Application design‐
ers should note this and should always round values to the nearest
integer before using them with a argumentized string capability. A
printer's resolution is defined to be the smallest spacing of charac‐
ters it can achieve. In general, the horizontal and vertical resolu‐
tions are independent. Thus the vertical resolution of a printer can
be determined by measuring the smallest achievable distance between
consecutive printing baselines, while the horizontal resolution can be
determined by measuring the smallest achievable distance between the
leftmost edges of consecutive printed, identical, characters.
All printers are assumed to be capable of printing with a uniform hori‐
zontal and vertical resolution. The view of printing that terminfo
currently presents is one of printing inside a uniform matrix: All
characters are printed at fixed positions relative to each "cell" in
the matrix; furthermore, each cell has the same size given by the
smallest horizontal and vertical step sizes dictated by the resolution.
(The cell size can be changed as will be seen later.)
Many printers are capable of "proportional printing", where the hori‐
zontal spacing depends on the size of the character last printed. ter‐
minfo does not make use of this capability, although it does provide
enough capability definitions to allow an application to simulate pro‐
portional printing.
A printer must not only be able to print characters as close together
as the horizontal and vertical resolutions suggest, but also of "mov‐
ing" to a position an integral multiple of the smallest distance away
from a previous position. Thus printed characters can be spaced apart
a distance that is an integral multiple of the smallest distance, up to
the length or width of a single page.
Some printers can have different resolutions depending on different
"modes". In "normal mode", the existing terminfo capabilities are
assumed to work on columns and lines, just like a video terminal. Thus
the old lines capability would give the length of a page in lines, and
the cols capability would give the width of a page in columns. In
"micro mode," many terminfo capabilities work on increments of lines
and columns. With some printers the micro mode may be concomitant with
normal mode, so that all the capabilities work at the same time.
The printing resolution of a printer is given in several ways. Each
specifies the resolution as the number of smallest steps per distance:
Characteristic Number of Smallest Steps
────────────────────────────────────────
orhi Steps per inch horizontally
orvi Steps per inch vertically
orc Steps per column
orl Steps per line
────────────────────────────────────────
When printing in normal mode, each character printed causes movement to
the next column, except in special cases described later; the distance
moved is the same as the per-column resolution. Some printers cause an
automatic movement to the next line when a character is printed in the
rightmost position; the distance moved vertically is the same as the
per-line resolution. When printing in micro mode, these distances can
be different, and may be zero for some printers.
Automatic Motion after Printing
────────────────────────────────
Normal Mode:
orc Steps moved horizontally
orl Steps moved vertically
────────────────────────────────
Micro Mode:
mcs Steps moved horizontally
mls Steps moved vertically
────────────────────────────────
Some printers are capable of printing wide characters. The distance
moved when a wide character is printed in normal mode may be different
from when a regular width character is printed. The distance moved
when a wide character is printed in micro mode may also be different
from when a regular character is printed in micro mode, but the differ‐
ences are assumed to be related: If the distance moved for a regular
character is the same whether in normal mode or micro mode (mcs=orc),
then the distance moved for a wide character is also the same whether
in normal mode or micro mode. This doesn't mean the normal character
distance is necessarily the same as the wide character distance, just
that the distances don't change with a change in normal to micro mode.
However, if the distance moved for a regular character is different in
micro mode from the distance moved in normal mode (mcs<orc), the micro
mode distance is assumed to be the same for a wide character printed in
micro mode, as the table below shows.
Automatic Motion after Printing Wide Character
───────────────────────────────────────────────
Normal Mode or Micro Mode (mcs = orc):
widcs Steps moved horizontally
───────────────────────────────────────────────
Micro Mode (mcs < orc):
mcs Steps moved horizontally
───────────────────────────────────────────────
There may be control sequences to change the number of columns per inch
(the character pitch) and to change the number of lines per inch (the
line pitch). If these are used, the resolution of the printer changes,
but the type of change depends on the printer:
Changing the Character/Line Pitches
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
cpi Change character pitch
cpix If set, cpi changes orhi; otherwise, changes orc
lpi Change line pitch
lpix If set, lpi changes orvi; otherwise, changes orl
chr Change steps per column
cvr Change steps per line
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
The cpi and lpi string capabilities are each used with a single argu‐
ment, the pitch in columns (or characters) and lines per inch, respec‐
tively. The chr and cvr string capabilities are each used with a sin‐
gle argument, the number of steps per column and line, respectively.
Using any of the control sequences in these strings will imply a change
in some of the values of orc, orhi, orl, and orvi. Also, the distance
moved when a wide character is printed, widcs, changes in relation to
orc. The distance moved when a character is printed in micro mode, mcs,
changes similarly, with one exception: if the distance is 0 or 1, then
no change is assumed.
Programs that use cpi, lpi, chr, or cvr should recalculate the printer
resolution (and should recalculate other values. See the section
below.
Effects of Changing the Character/Line Pitches
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Before After
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Using cpi with cpix clear:
orhi' orhi
orc' orc = orhi / Vcpi
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Using cpi with cpix set:
orhi' orhi = orc * Vcpi
orc' orc
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Using lpi with lpix clear:
orvi' orvi
orl' orl = orvi / Vlpi
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Using lpi with lpix set:
orvi' orvi = orl * Vlp
orl' orl
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Using chr:
orhi' orhi
orc' Vchr
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Using cvr:
orvi' orvi
orl' Vcvr
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Using cpi or chr:
widcs' widcs = widcs' * orc / orc'
mcs' mcs = mcs' * orc / orc'
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Vchr, Vcpi, Vcvr, and Vlpi are the arguments used with chr, cpi, cvr,
and lpi, respectively. The prime marks (') indicate the old values.
Capabilities That Cause Movement
In the following descriptions, "movement" refers to the motion of the
"current position". With video terminals this would be the cursor;
with some printers, this is the carriage position. Other printers have
different equivalents. In general, the current position is where a
character would be displayed if printed.
terminfo has string capabilities for control sequences that cause move‐
ment a number of full columns or lines. It also has equivalent string
capabilities for control sequences that cause movement a number of
smallest steps.
String Capabilities for Motion
───────────────────────────────────
mcub1 Move 1 step left
mcuf1 Move 1 step right
mcuu1 Move 1 step up
mcud1 Move 1 step down
mcub Move N steps left
mcuf Move N steps right
mcuu Move N steps up
mcud Move N steps down
mhpa Move N steps from the left
mvpa Move N steps from the top
───────────────────────────────────
The latter six strings are each used with a single argument, N.
Sometimes the motion is limited to less than the width or length of a
page. Also, some printers don't accept absolute motion to the left of
the current position. terminfo has capabilities for specifying these
limits.
Limits to Motion
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
mjump Limit on use of mcub1, mcuf1, mcuu1, mcud1
maddr Limit on use of mhpa, mvpa
xhpa If set, hpa and mhpa can't move left
xvpa If set, vpa and mvpa can't move up
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
If a printer needs to be in a "micro mode" for the motion capabilities
described above to work, there are string capabilities defined to con‐
tain the control sequence to enter and exit this mode. A boolean is
available for those printers where using a carriage return causes an
automatic return to normal mode.
Entering/Exiting Micro Mode
──────────────────────────────────
smicm Enter micro mode
rmicm Exit micro mode
crxm Using cr exits micro mode
──────────────────────────────────
The movement made when a character is printed in the rightmost position
varies among printers. Some make no movement, some move to the begin‐
ning of the next line, others move to the beginning of the same line.
terminfo has boolean capabilities for describing all three cases.
What Happens After Character Printed in Rightmost Position
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
sam Automatic move to beginning of same line
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Some printers can be put in a mode where the normal direction of motion
is reversed. This mode can be especially useful when there are no
capabilities for leftward or upward motion, because those capabilities
can be built from the motion reversal capability and the rightward or
downward motion capabilities. It is best to leave it up to an applica‐
tion to build the leftward or upward capabilities, though, and not
enter them in the terminfo database. This allows several reverse
motions to be strung together without intervening wasted steps that
leave and reenter reverse mode.
Entering/Exiting Reverse Modes
──────────────────────────────────────────────
slm Reverse sense of horizontal motions
rlm Restore sense of horizontal motions
sum Reverse sense of vertical motions
rum Restore sense of vertical motions
While sense of horizontal motion is reversed:
mcub1 Move 1 step right
mcuf1 Move 1 step left
mcub Move N steps right
mcuf Move N steps left
cub1 Move 1 column right
cuf1 Move 1 column left
cub Move N columns right
cuf Move N columns left
While sense of vertical motion is reversed:
mcuu1 Move 1 step down
mcud1 Move 1 step up
mcuu Move N steps down
mcud Move N steps up
cuu1 Move 1 line down
cud1 Move 1 line up
cuu Move N lines down
cud Move N lines up
──────────────────────────────────────────────
The reverse motion modes should not affect the mvpa and mhpa absolute
motion capabilities. The reverse vertical motion mode should, however,
also reverse the action of the line "wrapping" that occurs when a char‐
acter is printed in the right-most position. Thus printers that have
the standard terminfo capability am defined should experience motion to
the beginning of the previous line when a character is printed in the
rightmost position in reverse vertical motion mode.
The action when any other motion capabilities are used in reverse
motion modes is not defined; thus, programs must exit reverse motion
modes before using other motion capabilities.
Two miscellaneous capabilities complete the list of motion capabili‐
ties. One of these is needed for printers that move the current posi‐
tion to the beginning of a line when certain control characters, such
as line feed or form feed, are used. The other is used for the capa‐
bility of suspending the motion that normally occurs after printing a
character.
Miscellaneous Motion Strings
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
docr List of control characters causing cr
zerom Prevent auto motion after printing next single character
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
terminfo provides two strings for setting margins on terminals: one
for the left and one for the right margin. Printers, however, have two
additional margins, for the top and bottom margins of each page. Fur‐
thermore, some printers require not using motion strings to move the
current position to a margin and then fixing the margin there, but
require the specification of where a margin should be regardless of the
current position. Therefore terminfo offers six additional strings for
defining margins with printers.
Setting Margins
───────────────────────────────────────────
smgl Set left margin at current column
smgr Set right margin at current column
smgb Set bottom margin at current line
smgt Set top margin at current line
smgbp Set bottom margin at line N
smglp Set left margin at column N
smgrp Set right margin at column N
smgtp Set top margin at line N
───────────────────────────────────────────
The last four strings are used with one or more arguments that give the
position of the margin or margins to set. If both of smglp and smgrp
are set, each is used with a single argument, N, that gives the column
number of the left and right margin, respectively. If both of smgtp
and smgbp are set, each is used to set the top and bottom margin,
respectively: smgtp is used with a single argument, N, the line number
of the top margin; however, smgbp is used with two arguments, N and M,
that give the line number of the bottom margin, the first counting from
the top of the page and the second counting from the bottom. This
accommodates the two styles of specifying the bottom margin in differ‐
ent manufacturers' printers. When coding a terminfo entry for a
printer that has a settable bottom margin, only the first or second
argument should be used, depending on the printer. When writing an
application that uses smgbp to set the bottom margin, both arguments
must be given.
If only one of smglp and smgrp is set, then it is used with two argu‐
ments, the column number of the left and right margins, in that order.
Likewise, if only one of smgtp and smgbp is set, then it is used with
two arguments that give the top and bottom margins, in that order,
counting from the top of the page. Thus when coding a terminfo entry
for a printer that requires setting both left and right or top and bot‐
tom margins simultaneously, only one of smglp and smgrp or smgtp and
smgbp should be defined; the other should be left blank. When writing
an application that uses these string capabilities, the pairs should be
first checked to see if each in the pair is set or only one is set, and
should then be used accordingly.
In counting lines or columns, line zero is the top line and column zero
is the left-most column. A zero value for the second argument with
smgbp means the bottom line of the page.
All margins can be cleared with mgc. Five sets of strings describe the
capabilities printers have of enhancing printed text.
Enhanced Printing
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
sshm Enter shadow-printing mode
rshm Exit shadow-printing mode
sitm Enter italicizing mode
ritm Exit italicizing mode
swidm Enter wide character mode
rwidm Exit wide character mode
ssupm Enter superscript mode
rsupm Exit superscript mode
supcs List of characters available as superscripts
ssubm Enter subscript mode
rsubm Exit subscript mode
subcs List of characters available as subscripts
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
If a printer requires the sshm control sequence before every character
to be shadow-printed, the rshm string is left blank. Thus programs
that find a control sequence in sshm but none in rshm should use the
sshm control sequence before every character to be shadow-printed; oth‐
erwise, the sshm control sequence should be used once before the set of
characters to be shadow-printed, followed by rshm. The same is also
true of each of the sitm-ritm, swidm-rwidm, ssupm-rsupm, and
ssubm-rsubm pairs.
terminfo also has a capability for printing emboldened text (bold).
While shadow printing and emboldened printing are similar in that they
"darken" the text, many printers produce these two types of print in
slightly different ways. Generally, emboldened printing is done by
overstriking the same character one or more times. Shadow printing
likewise usually involves overstriking, but with a slight movement up
and/or to the side so that the character is "fatter".
It is assumed that enhanced printing modes are independent modes, so
that it would be possible, for instance, to shadow print italicized
subscripts.
As mentioned earlier, the amount of motion automatically made after
printing a wide character should be given in widcs.
If only a subset of the printable ASCII characters can be printed as
superscripts or subscripts, they should be listed in supcs or subcs
strings, respectively. If the ssupm or ssubm strings contain control
sequences, but the corresponding supcs or subcs strings are empty, it
is assumed that all printable ASCII characters are available as super‐
scripts or subscripts.
Automatic motion made after printing a superscript or subscript is
assumed to be the same as for regular characters. Thus, for example,
printing any of the following three examples results in equivalent
motion:
Bi Bi Bi
Note that the existing msgr boolean capability describes whether motion
control sequences can be used while in "standout mode". This capabil‐
ity is extended to cover the enhanced printing modes added here. msgr
should be set for those printers that accept any motion control
sequences without affecting shadow, italicized, widened, superscript,
or subscript printing. Conversely, if msgr is not set, a program
should end these modes before attempting any motion.
Alternate Character Sets
In addition to allowing you to define line graphics (described in the
subsection of the section above), terminfo lets you define alternate
character sets. The following capabilities cover printers and termi‐
nals with multiple selectable or definable character sets:
Alternate Character Sets
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
scs Select character set N
scsd Start definition of character set N, M characters
defc Define character A, B dots wide, descender D
rcsd End definition of character set N
csnm List of character set names
daisy Printer has manually changed print-wheels
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
The scs, rcsd, and csnm strings are used with a single argument, N, a
number from 0 to 63 that identifies the character set. The scsd string
is also used with the argument N and another, M, that gives the number
of characters in the set. The defc string is used with three argu‐
ments: A gives the ASCII code representation for the character, B
gives the width of the character in dots, and D is zero or one depend‐
ing on whether the character is a "descender" or not. The defc string
is also followed by a string of "image-data" bytes that describe how
the character looks (see below).
Character set 0 is the default character set present after the printer
has been initialized. Not every printer has 64 character sets, of
course; using scs with an argument that doesn't select an available
character set should cause a null pointer to be returned by tparm()
(see tigetflag(3X)).
If a character set has to be defined before it can be used, the scsd
control sequence is to be used before defining the character set, and
the rcsd is to be used after. They should also cause a NULL pointer to
be returned by tparm() when used with an argument N that doesn't apply.
If a character set still has to be selected after being defined, the
scs control sequence should follow the rcsd control sequence. By exam‐
ining the results of using each of the scs, scsd, and rcsd strings with
a character set number in a call to tparm(), a program can determine
which of the three are needed.
Between use of the scsd and rcsd strings, the defc string should be
used to define each character. To print any character on printers cov‐
ered by terminfo, the ASCII code is sent to the printer. This is true
for characters in an alternate set as well as "normal" characters.
Thus the definition of a character includes the ASCII code that repre‐
sents it. In addition, the width of the character in dots is given,
along with an indication of whether the character should descend below
the print line (such as the lower case letter "g" in most character
sets). The width of the character in dots also indicates the number of
image-data bytes that will follow the defc string. These image-data
bytes indicate where in a dot-matrix pattern ink should be applied to
"draw" the character; the number of these bytes and their form are
defined in the section below.
It's easiest for the creator of terminfo entries to refer to each char‐
acter set by number; however, these numbers will be meaningless to the
application developer. The csnm string alleviates this problem by pro‐
viding names for each number.
When used with a character set number in a call to tparm(), the csnm
string will produce the equivalent name. These names should be used as
a reference only. No naming convention is implied, although anyone who
creates a terminfo entry for a printer should use names consistent with
the names found in user documents for the printer. Application devel‐
opers should allow a user to specify a character set by number (leaving
it up to the user to examine the csnm string to determine the correct
number), or by name, where the application examines the csnm string to
determine the corresponding character set number.
These capabilities are likely to be used only with dot-matrix printers.
If they are not available, the strings should not be defined. For
printers that have manually changed print-wheels or font cartridges,
the boolean daisy is set.
Dot-Matrix Graphics
Dot-matrix printers typically have the capability of reproducing raster
graphics images. Three numeric capabilities and three string capabili‐
ties help a program draw raster-graphics images independent of the type
of dot-matrix printer or the number of pins or dots the printer can
handle at one time.
Dot-Matrix Graphics
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
npins Number of pins, N, in print-head
spinv Spacing of pins vertically in pins per inch
spinh Spacing of dots horizontally in dots per inch
porder Matches software bits to print-head pins
sbim Start printing bit image graphics, B bits wide
rbim End printing bit image graphics
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
The sbim string is used with a single argument, B, the width of the
image in dots.
The model of dot-matrix or raster-graphics that terminfo presents is
similar to the technique used for most dot-matrix printers: each pass
of the printer's print-head is assumed to produce a dot-matrix that is
N dots high and B dots wide. This is typically a wide, squat, rectan‐
gle of dots. The height of this rectangle in dots will vary from one
printer to the next; this is given in the npins numeric capability.
The size of the rectangle in fractions of an inch will also vary; it
can be deduced from the spinv and spinh numeric capabilities. With
these three values an application can divide a complete raster-graphics
image into several horizontal strips, perhaps interpolating to account
for different dot spacing vertically and horizontally.
The sbim and rbim strings start and end a dot-matrix image, respec‐
tively. The sbim string is used with a single argument that gives the
width of the dot-matrix in dots. A sequence of "image-data bytes" are
sent to the printer after the sbim string and before the rbim string.
The number of bytes is a integral multiple of the width of the dot-
matrix; the multiple and the form of each byte is determined by the
porder string as described below.
The porder string is a comma separated list of pin numbers optionally
followed by an numerical offset. The offset, if given, is separated
from the list with a semicolon. The position of each pin number in the
list corresponds to a bit in an 8-bit data byte. The pins are numbered
consecutively from 1 to npins, with 1 being the top pin. Note that the
term "pin" is used loosely here; "ink-jet" dot-matrix printers don't
have pins, but can be considered to have an equivalent method of apply‐
ing a single dot of ink to paper. The bit positions in porder are in
groups of 8, with the first position in each group the most significant
bit and the last position the least significant bit. An application
produces 8-bit bytes in the order of the groups in porder.
An application computes the "image-data bytes" from the internal image,
mapping vertical dot positions in each print-head pass into 8-bit
bytes, using a 1 bit where ink should be applied and 0 where no ink
should be applied. This can be reversed (0 bit for ink, 1 bit for no
ink) by giving a negative pin number. If a position is skipped in
porder, a 0 bit is used. If a position has a lower case "x" instead of
a pin number, a 1 bit is used in the skipped position. For consis‐
tency, a lower case "o" can be used to represent a 0 filled, skipped
bit. There must be a multiple of 8 bit positions used or skipped in
porder; if not, low-order bits of the last byte are set to 0. The off‐
set, if given, is added to each data byte; the offset can be negative.
Some examples may help clarify the use of the porder string. The AT&T
470, AT&T 475 and C.Itoh 8510 printers provide eight pins for graphics.
The pins are identified top to bottom by the 8 bits in a byte, from
least significant to most. The porder strings for these printers would
be 8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1. The AT&T 478 and AT&T 479 printers also provide
eight pins for graphics. However, the pins are identified in the
reverse order. The porder strings for these printers would be
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. The AT&T 5310, AT&T 5320, Digital LA100, and Digital
LN03 printers provide six pins for graphics. The pins are identified
top to bottom by the decimal values 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32. These cor‐
respond to the low six bits in an 8-bit byte, although the decimal val‐
ues are further offset by the value 63. The porder string for these
printers would be ,,6,5,4,3,2,1;63, equivalent to o,o,6,5,4,3,2,1;63.
Effect of Changing Printing Resolution
If the control sequences to change the character pitch or the line
pitch are used, the pin or dot spacing may change:
Changing the Character/Line Pitches
────────────────────────────────────
cpi Change character pitch
cpix If set, cpi changes spinh
lpi Change line pitch
lpix If set, lpi changes spinv
────────────────────────────────────
Programs that use cpi or lpi should recalculate the dot spacing:
Effects of Changing the Character/Line Pitches
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Before After
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Using cpi with cpix clear:
spinh' spinh
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Using cpi with cpix set:
spinh' spinh = spinh' * orhi / orhi'
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Using lpi with lpix clear:
spinv' spinv
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Using lpi with lpix set:
spinv' spinv = spinv' * orhi / orhi'
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Using chr:
spinh' spinh
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Using cvr:
spinv' spinv
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
orhi' and orhi are the values of the horizontal resolution in steps per
inch, before using cpi and after using cpi, respectively. Likewise,
orvi' and orvi are the values of the vertical resolution in steps per
inch, before using lpi and after using lpi, respectively. Thus, the
changes in the dots per inch for dot-matrix graphics follow the changes
in steps per inch for printer resolution. Many dot-matrix printers can
alter the dot spacing of printed text to produce printing or printing.
It is important to be able to choose one or the other because the rate
of printing generally decreases as the quality improves. Three strings
describe these capabilities:
Print Quality
──────────────────────────────────────
snlq Set near-letter quality print
snrmq Set normal quality print
sdrfq Set draft quality print
──────────────────────────────────────
The capabilities are listed in decreasing levels of quality. If a
printer doesn't have all three levels, the respective strings should be
left blank. Because there is no standard protocol that can be used to
keep a program synchronized with a printer, and because modern printers
can buffer data before printing it, a program generally cannot deter‐
mine at any time what has been printed. Two numeric capabilities can
help a program estimate what has been printed.
Print Rate/Buffer Size
────────────────────────────────────────────────────
cps Nominal print rate in characters per second
bufsz Buffer capacity in characters
────────────────────────────────────────────────────
cps is the nominal or average rate at which the printer prints charac‐
ters; if this value is not given, the rate should be estimated at one-
tenth the prevailing baud rate. bufsz is the maximum number of subse‐
quent characters buffered before the guaranteed printing of an earlier
character, assuming proper flow control has been used. If this value
is not given it is assumed that the printer does not buffer characters,
but prints them as they are received.
As an example, if a printer has a 1000-character buffer, then sending
the letter "a" followed by 1000 additional characters is guaranteed to
cause the letter "a" to print. If the same printer prints at the rate
of 100 characters per second, then it should take 10 seconds to print
all the characters in the buffer, less if the buffer is not full. By
keeping track of the characters sent to a printer, and knowing the
print rate and buffer size, a program can synchronize itself with the
printer.
Note that most printer manufacturers advertise the maximum print rate,
not the nominal print rate. A good way to get a value to put in for
cps is to generate a few pages of text, count the number of printable
characters, and then see how long it takes to print the text.
Applications that use these values should recognize the variability in
the print rate. Straight text, in short lines, with no embedded con‐
trol sequences will probably print at close to the advertised print
rate and probably faster than the rate in cps. Graphics data with a
lot of control sequences, or very long lines of text, will print at
well below the advertised rate and below the rate in cps. If the
application is using cps to decide how long it should take a printer to
print a block of text, the application should pad the estimate. If the
application is using cps to decide how much text has already been
printed, it should shrink the estimate. The application will thus err
in favor of the user, who wants, above all, to see all the output in
its correct place.
Selecting a Terminal
If the environment variable TERMINFO is defined, any program using
Curses checks for a local terminal definition before checking in the
standard place. For example, if TERM is set to att4424, then the com‐
piled terminal definition is found by default in the path
a/att4424
within an implementation-specific directory.
(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
If that fails, it then checks the default path name.
This is useful for developing experimental definitions or when write
permission in the implementation-defined default database is not avail‐
able.
If the LINES and COLUMNS environment variables are set, or if the pro‐
gram is executing in a window environment, line and column information
in the environment will override information read by terminfo.
Application Usage
The most effective way to prepare a terminal description is by imitat‐
ing the description of a similar terminal in terminfo and to build up a
description gradually, using partial descriptions with a screen-ori‐
ented editor, to check that they are correct. To easily test a new
terminal description, the environment variable TERMINFO can be set to
the path name of a directory containing the compiled description, and
programs will look there rather than in the terminfo database. Every
device must be assigned a name, such as vt100. Device names (except
the long name) should be chosen using the following conventions. The
name should not contain hyphens because hyphens are reserved for use
when adding suffixes that indicate special modes.
These special modes may be modes that the hardware can be in, or user
preferences. To assign a special mode to a particular device, append a
suffix consisting of a hyphen and an indicator of the mode to the
device name. For example, the -w suffix means when specified, it
allows for a width of 132 columns instead of the standard 80 columns.
Therefore, if you want to use a VT100 device set to wide mode, name the
device vt100-w. Use the following suffixes where possible:
Suffix Meaning Example
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-w Wide mode (more than 80 columns) 5410-w
-am With automatic margins (usually default) vt100-am
-nam Without automatic margins vt100-nam
-n Number of lines on the screen 2300-40
-na No arrow keys (leave them in local) c100-na
-np Number of pages of memory c100-4p
-rv Reverse video 4415-rv
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
It is implementation-defined how the entries in terminfo may be cre‐
ated.
There is more than one way to write a terminfo entry. A minimal entry
may permit applications to use Curses to operate the terminal. If the
entry is enhanced to describe more of the terminal's capabilities,
applications can use Curses to invoke those features, and can take
advantages of optimizations within Curses and thus operate more effi‐
ciently. For most terminals, an optimal terminfo entry has already
been written.
EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
Environment Variables
CC Specifies a substitute character for a prototype command
character. See cmdch in the subsection of the section.
COLUMNS Specifies column information that can override the column
information in terminfo. See the section.
LINES Specifies lines information that can override the lines
information in terminfo. See the section.
TERM Specifies the name of the current terminal. See the section.
TERMINFO Specifies an alternate location for a local terminal defini‐
tion. If the value in TERM is not found in $TERMINFO/?/* or
if TERMINFO is not set, the value is sought in the default
location, /usr/lib/terminfo/?/*. See the section.
SEE ALSOtic(1), untic(1), tgetent(3X), tigetflag(3X), term(4), term(5).
ANSI Standard X3.64-1979.
X/Open System Interface Definitions, Issue 4, Version 2.
ENHANCED CURSES terminfo(4)
