# ncurses 3x

    ncurses(3x)                                                 ncurses(3x)

## NAME

           ncurses - CRT screen handling and optimization package

## SYNOPSIS

           #include <curses.h>

## DESCRIPTION

           The  ncurses  library  routines  give the user a terminal-
           independent method of updating character screens with rea-
           sonable   optimization.    This  implementation  is  ``new
           curses'' (ncurses) and is  the  approved  replacement  for
           4.4BSD  classic curses, which has been discontinued.  This
           describes ncurses version 5.5 (patch 20061209).

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

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

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

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

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

           Most programs would additionally use the sequence:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                 /usr/share/terminfo/a/att4424.

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

                 $HOME/myterms/a/att4424,

           and if that fails, it then checks

                 /usr/share/terminfo/a/att4424.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                  curses Routine Name     Manual Page Name
                  --------------------------------------------
                  COLOR_PAIR              curs_color(3x)
                  PAIR_NUMBER             curs_attr(3x)
                  _nc_tracebits           curs_trace(3x)*
                  _traceattr              curs_trace(3x)*
                  _traceattr2             curs_trace(3x)*
                  _tracechar              curs_trace(3x)*
                  _tracechtype            curs_trace(3x)*
                  _tracechtype2           curs_trace(3x)*
                  _tracedump              curs_trace(3x)*
                  _tracef                 curs_trace(3x)*
                  _tracemouse             curs_trace(3x)*

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

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

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

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

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

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

                  wstandend               curs_attr(3x)
                  wstandout               curs_attr(3x)
                  wsyncdown               curs_window(3x)
                  wsyncup                 curs_window(3x)
                  wtimeout                curs_inopts(3x)
                  wtouchln                curs_touch(3x)
                  wunctrl                 curs_util(3x)
                  wvline                  curs_border(3x)
                  wvline_set              curs_border_set(3x)

## RETURN VALUE

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

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

           Routines that return pointers return NULL on error.

## ENVIRONMENT

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

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

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

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

                It  is  important that your application use a correct
                size for the screen.  This  is  not  always  possible
                because  your  application  may  be running on a host
                which does not honor NAWS (Negotiations About  Window
                Size),  or  because  you  are  temporarily running as
                another user.  However, setting COLUMNS and/or  LINES
                overrides  the  library's  use  of  the  screen  size
                obtained from the operating system.

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

                Use the use_env function to disable all use of exter-
                nal environment (including system calls) to determine
                the screen size.

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

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

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

                In addition to the environment variable, this  imple-
                mentation  provides  a  global variable with the same
                name.  Portable applications should not rely upon the
                presence  of ESCDELAY in either form, but setting the
                environment variable rather than the global  variable
                does  not  create problems when compiling an applica-
                tion.

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

                $HOME/.termcap
                $HOME/.terminfo

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

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

                1 = left
                2 = right
                3 = middle.

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

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

           NCURSES_NO_HARD_TABS
                Ncurses may use tabs as part of the  cursor  movement
                optimization.   In  some  cases, your terminal driver
                may not handle these properly.  Set this  environment
                variable to disable the feature.  You can also adjust
                your stty settings to avoid the problem.

           NCURSES_NO_MAGIC_COOKIES
                Some  terminals  use  a  magic-cookie  feature  which
                requires  special  handling  to make highlighting and
                other video attributes  display  properly.   You  can
                suppress  the  highlighting entirely for these termi-
                nals by setting this environment variable.

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

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

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

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

           NCURSES_NO_UTF8_ACS
                During initialization, the ncurses library checks for
                special cases where VT100 line-drawing (and the  cor-
                responding   alternate  character  set  capabilities)
                described in the terminfo are known  to  be  missing.
                Specifically,  when  running  in  a UTF-8 locale, the
                Linux console emulator and  the  GNU  screen  program
                ignore  these.   Ncurses  checks the TERM environment
                variable for these.  For  other  special  cases,  you
                should  set  this  environment  variable.  Doing this
                tells ncurses to use Unicode values which  correspond
                to the VT100 line-drawing glyphs.  That works for the
                special cases cited, and is likely to work for termi-
                nal emulators.

                When  setting  this  variable, you should set it to a
                nonzero value.  Setting it to zero (or to  a  nonnum-
                ber) disables the special check for Linux and screen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                -  the directory specified by the TERMINFO symbol

                -  $HOME/.terminfo

                -  directories listed in the TERMINFO_DIRS symbol

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

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

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

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

## ALTERNATE CONFIGURATIONS

           Several  different  configurations are possible, depending
           on  the  configure  script  options  used  when   building
           ncurses.   There  are a few main options whose effects are
           visible to the applications developer using ncurses:

           --disable-overwrite
                The standard include for ncurses is as noted in  SYN-
                OPSIS:

                #include <curses.h>

                This  option is used to avoid filename conflicts when
                ncurses is not the main implementation of  curses  of
                the  computer.   If  ncurses  is  installed disabling
                overwrite, it puts its  headers  in  a  subdirectory,
                e.g.,

                #include <ncurses/curses.h>

                It  also  omits a symbolic link which would allow you
                to use -lcurses to build executables.

           --enable-widec
                The configure script renames the library and (if  the
                --disable-overwrite  option  is used) puts the header
                files  in  a  different  subdirectory.   All  of  the
                library  names  have  a  "w"  appended to them, i.e.,
                instead of

                -lncurses

                you link with

                -lncursesw

                You must also define _XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED when com-
                piling  for  the  wide-character  library  to use the
                extended (wide-character)  functions.   The  curses.h
                file   which  is  installed  for  the  wide-character
                library is designed to be compatible with the  normal
                library's header.  Only the size of the WINDOW struc-
                ture differs, and very few applications require  more
                than  a  pointer  to  WINDOWs.   If  the  headers are
                installed  allowing  overwrite,  the   wide-character
                library's  headers should be installed last, to allow
                applications to be built using  either  library  from
                the same set of headers.

           --with-shared

           --with-normal

           --with-debug

           --with-profile
                The  shared  and normal (static) library names differ
                by   their   suffixes,   e.g.,   libncurses.so    and
                libncurses.a.   The debug and profiling libraries add
                a "_g" and a "_p" to  the  root  names  respectively,
                e.g., libncurses_g.a and libncurses_p.a.

           --with-trace
                The  trace  function  normally  resides  in the debug
                library, but it is sometimes useful to configure this
                in  the  shared  library.   Configure  scripts should
                check for the function's existence rather than assum-
                ing it is always in the debug library.

## FILES

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

## SEE ALSO

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

## EXTENSIONS

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

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

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

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

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

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

## PORTABILITY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

## NOTES

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

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

## AUTHORS

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

                                                                ncurses(3x)