# curs_termcap 3x

    curs_termcap(3x)                                 curs_termcap(3x)

## NAME

           tgetent, tgetflag, tgetnum, tgetstr, tgoto, tputs - direct
           curses interface to the terminfo capability database

## SYNOPSIS

           #include <curses.h>
           #include <term.h>
           extern char PC; extern char * UP; extern char * BC; extern
           short ospeed;
           int tgetent(char *bp, const char *name);
           int tgetflag(char *id);
           int tgetnum(char *id);
           char *tgetstr(char *id, char **area);
           char *tgoto(const char *cap, int col, int row);
           int tputs(const char *str, int affcnt, int (*putc)(int));

## DESCRIPTION

           These  routines  are included as a conversion aid for pro-
           grams that use the termcap library.  Their parameters  are
           the  same and the routines are emulated using the terminfo
           database.  Thus, they can only be used to query the  capa-
           bilities  of  entries  for which a terminfo entry has been
           compiled.

           The tgetent routine loads the entry for name.  It  returns
           1  on  success, 0 if there is no such entry, and -1 if the
           terminfo database  could  not  be  found.   The  emulation
           ignores the buffer pointer bp.

           The  tgetflag  routine  gets  the boolean entry for id, or
           zero if it is not available.

           The tgetnum routine gets the numeric entry for id,  or  -1
           if it is not available.

           The  tgetstr  routine  returns the string entry for id, or
           zero if it is not available.   Use  tputs  to  output  the
           returned  string.  The return value will also be copied to
           the buffer pointed to by area, and the area value will  be
           updated to point past the null ending this value.

           Only the first two characters of the id parameter of tget-
           flag, tgetnum and tgetstr are compared in lookups.

           The tgoto routine instantiates  the  parameters  into  the
           given  capability.   The output from this routine is to be
           passed to tputs.

           The tputs routine is described  on  the  curs_terminfo(3x)
           manual page.  It can retrieve capabilities by either term-
           cap or terminfo name.

           The variables PC, UP and BC are set by tgetent to the ter-
           minfo   entry's   data   for   pad_char,   cursor_up   and
           backspace_if_not_bs, respectively.   UP  is  not  used  by
           ncurses.  PC is used in the tdelay_output function.  BC is
           used in the tgoto emulation.  The variable ospeed  is  set
           by ncurses in a system-specific coding to reflect the ter-
           minal speed.

## RETURN VALUE

           Except where explicitly noted,  routines  that  return  an
           integer  return  ERR upon failure and OK (SVr4 only speci-
           fies "an integer value other than  ERR")  upon  successful
           completion.

           Routines that return pointers return NULL on error.

## BUGS

           If you call tgetstr to fetch ca or any other parameterized
           string, be aware that it  will  be  returned  in  terminfo
           notation,  not  the older and not-quite-compatible termcap
           notation.  This won't cause problems if all you do with it
           is  call  tgoto or tparm, which both expand terminfo-style
           strings as terminfo.  (The tgoto function,  if  configured
           to  support  termcap,  will  check if the string is indeed
           terminfo-style by looking for "%p" parameters  or  "$<..>"
           delays,  and  invoke  a termcap-style parser if the string
           does not appear to be terminfo).

           Because terminfo conventions for representing  padding  in
           string  capabilities  differ  from termcap's, tputs("50");
           will put out a literal "50" rather than  busy-waiting  for
           50 milliseconds.  Cope with it.

           Note  that termcap has nothing analogous to terminfo's sgr
           string.  One consequence of this is that termcap  applica-
           tions  assume me (terminfo sgr0) does not reset the alter-
           nate character set.  This implementation checks  for,  and
           modifies the data shown to the termcap interface to accom-
           modate termcap's limitation in this respect.

## PORTABILITY

           The XSI Curses standard, Issue  4  describes  these  func-
           tions.   However,  they are marked TO BE WITHDRAWN and may
           be removed in future versions.

           Neither the XSI Curses standard nor  the  SVr4  man  pages
           documented  the return values of tgetent correctly, though
           all three were in fact returned ever since SVr1.  In  par-
           ticular,  an  omission in the XSI Curses documentation has
           been misinterpreted to mean that  tgetent  returns  OK  or
           ERR.  Because the purpose of these functions is to provide
           compatibility with the termcap library, that is  a  defect
           in XCurses, Issue 4, Version 2 rather than in ncurses.

           External  variables  are  provided  for support of certain
           termcap applications.  However, termcap applications'  use
           of those variables is poorly documented, e.g., not distin-
           guishing between input and output.   In  particular,  some
           applications are reported to declare and/or modify ospeed.

## SEE ALSO

           curses(3x), terminfo(5), putc(3S).

                                                     curs_termcap(3x)