xref: /freebsd/contrib/ncurses/README (revision 21817992b3314c908ab50f0bb88d2ee750b9c4ac)

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-- $Id: README,v 1.31 2023/10/28 14:49:04 tom Exp $
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		README file for the ncurses package

See the file ANNOUNCE for a summary of ncurses features and ports.
See the file INSTALL for instructions on how to build and install ncurses.
See the file NEWS for a release history and bug-fix notes.
See the file TO-DO for things that still need doing, including known bugs.

Browse the file doc/html/ncurses-intro.html for narrative descriptions of how
to use ncurses and the panel, menu, and form libraries.

Browse the file doc/html/hackguide.html for a tour of the package internals.

Find plain text versions of both of these documents in doc/.

ROADMAP AND PACKAGE OVERVIEW:

You should be reading this file in a directory called:  ncurses-d.d, where d.d
is the current version number (see the dist.mk file in this directory for
that).  There should be a number of subdirectories, including `c++', `form',
`man', `menu', `misc', `ncurses', `panel', `progs', `test', and `Ada95'.

A full build/install of this package typically installs several libraries, a
handful of utilities, and a database hierarchy.  Here is an inventory of the
pieces:

The libraries are:

	libncurses.a       (normal)
	libncurses.so      (shared)
	libncurses_g.a     (debug and trace code enabled)
	libncurses_p.a     (profiling enabled)

	libpanel.a         (normal)
	libpanel.so        (shared)
	libpanel_g.a       (debug and trace code enabled)

	libmenu.a          (normal)
	libmenu.so         (shared)
	libmenu_g.a        (debug enabled)

	libform.a          (normal)
	libform.so         (shared)
	libform_g.a        (debug enabled)

If you configure using the --enable-widec option, a "w" is appended to the
library names (e.g., libncursesw.a), and the resulting libraries support
wide-characters, e.g., via a UTF-8 locale.  The corresponding header files
are compatible with the non-wide-character configuration; wide-character
features are provided by ifdef's in the header files.  The wide-character
library interfaces are not binary-compatible with the non-wide-character
version.

If you configure using the --enable-reentrant option, a "t" is appended to the
library names (e.g., libncursest.a) and the resulting libraries have a
different binary interface, making the ncurses interface more opaque.

The ncurses libraries implement the curses API.  The panel, menu and forms
libraries implement clones of the SVr4 panel, menu and forms APIs.  The source
code for these lives in the `ncurses', `panel', `menu', and `form' directories
respectively.

In the `c++' directory, you'll find code that defines an interface to the
curses, forms, menus and panels library packaged as C++ classes, and a demo
program in C++ to test it.  These class definition modules are not installed
by the 'make install.libs' rule as libncurses++.

In the `Ada95' directory, you'll find code and documentation for an
Ada95 binding of the curses API, to be used with the GNAT compiler.
This binding is built by a normal top-level `make' if configure detects
an usable version of GNAT (3.11 or above). It is not installed automatically.
See the Ada95 directory for more build and installation instructions and
for documentation of the binding.

To do its job, the ncurses code needs your terminal type to be set in the
environment variable TERM (normally set by your OS; under UNIX, getty(1)
typically does this, but you can override it in your .profile); and, it needs
a database of terminal descriptions in which to look up your terminal type's
capabilities.

In older (V7/BSD) versions of curses, the database was a flat text file,
/etc/termcap; in newer (USG/USL) versions, the database is a hierarchy of
fast-loading binary description blocks under /usr/lib/terminfo.  These binary
blocks are compiled from an improved editable text representation called
`terminfo' format (documented in man/terminfo.5).  The ncurses library can use
either /etc/termcap or the compiled binary terminfo blocks, but prefers the
second form.

In the `misc' directory, there is a text file terminfo.src, in editable
terminfo format, which can be used to generate the terminfo binaries (that's
what make install.data does).  If the package was built with the
--enable-termcap option enabled, and the ncurses library cannot find a
terminfo description for your terminal, it will fall back to the termcap file
supplied with your system (which the ncurses package installation leaves
strictly alone).

The utilities are as follows:

	tic             -- terminfo source to binary compiler
	infocmp         -- terminfo binary to source decompiler/comparator
	clear           -- emits clear-screen for current terminal
	tabs            -- set tabs on a terminal
	tput            -- shell-script access to terminal capabilities.
	toe             -- table of entries utility
	tset            -- terminal-initialization utility

The first two (tic and infocmp) are used for manipulating terminfo
descriptions; the next two (clear and tput) are for use in shell scripts.  The
last (tset) is provided for 4.4BSD compatibility.  The source code for all of
these lives in the `progs' directory.

Detailed documentation for all libraries and utilities can be found in the
`man' and `doc' directories.  An HTML introduction to ncurses, panels, and
menus programming lives in the `doc/html' directory.  Manpages in HTML format
are under `doc/html/man'.

The `test' directory contains programs that can be used to verify or
demonstrate the functions of the ncurses libraries.  See test/README for
descriptions of these programs.  Notably, the `ncurses' utility is designed to
help you systematically exercise the library functions.

AUTHORS:

Pavel Curtis:
	wrote the original ncurses

Zeyd M. Ben-Halim:
	port of original to Linux and many enhancements.

Thomas Dickey (maintainer for 1.9.9g through 4.1, resuming with FSF's 5.0):
	configuration scripts, porting, mods to adhere to XSI Curses in the
	areas of background color, terminal modes.  Also memory leak testing,
	the wresize, default colors and key definition extensions and numerous
	bug fixes -- more than half of those enumerated in NEWS beginning with
	the internal release 1.8.9, see

		https://invisible-island.net/personal/changelogs.html

Florian La Roche (official maintainer for FSF's ncurses 4.2)
	Beginning with release 4.2, ncurses is distributed under an MIT-style
	license.

Eric S. Raymond:
	the man pages, infocmp(1), tput(1), clear(1), captoinfo(1), tset(1),
	toe(1), most of tic(1), trace levels, the HTML intro, wgetnstr() and
	many other entry points, the cursor-movement optimization, the
	scroll-pack optimizer for vertical motions, the mouse interface and
	xterm mouse support, and the ncurses test program.

Juergen Pfeifer
	The menu and form libraries, C++ bindings for ncurses, menus, forms
	and panels, as well as the Ada95 binding.  Ongoing support for panel.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Alexander V. Lukyanov
	for numerous fixes and improvements to the optimization logic.

David MacKenzie
	for first-class bug-chasing and methodical testing.

Ross Ridge
	for the code that hacks termcap parameterized strings into terminfo.

Warren Tucker and Gerhard Fuernkranz,
	for writing and sending the panel library.

Hellmuth Michaelis,
	for many patches and testing the optimization code.

Eric Newton, Ulrich Drepper, and Anatoly Ivasyuk:
	the C++ code.

Jonathan Ross,
	for lessons in using sed.

Keith Bostic (maintainer of 4.4BSD curses)
	for help, criticism, comments, bug-finding, and being willing to
	deep-six BSD curses for this one when it grew up.

Richard Stallman,
	for his commitment to making ncurses free software.

Countless other people have contributed by reporting bugs, sending fixes,
suggesting improvements, and generally whining about ncurses :-)

BUGS:
	See the INSTALL file for bug and developer-list addresses.
	The Hacker's Guide in the doc directory includes some guidelines
	on how to report bugs in ways that will get them fixed most quickly.

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