CURSES_SCREEN(3) BSD Library Functions Manual CURSES_SCREEN(3)NAME
curses_screen, newterm, set_term, delscreen, endwin, initscr, isendwin,
resizeterm, setterm — curses terminal and screen routines
LIBRARY
Curses Library (libcurses, -lcurses)
SYNOPSIS
#include <curses.h>
SCREEN *
newterm(char *type, FILE *outfd, FILE *infd);
SCREEN *
set_term(SCREEN *screen);
void
delscreen(SCREEN *screen);
int
endwin(void);
WINDOW *
initscr(void);
bool
isendwin(void);
int
resizeterm(int lines, int cols);
int
setterm(char *name);
extern int LINES;
extern int COLS;
DESCRIPTION
These functions initialize terminals and screens.
The newterm() function initialises the curses data structures and point‐
ers ready for use by curses. The type argument points to a termcap(5)
capability name, or it may be NULL in which case the TERM environment
variable is used. The outfd and infd are the output and input file
descriptors for the terminal. The newterm() function must only be called
once per terminal.
The set_term() function can be used to switch between the screens defined
by calling newterm(), a pointer to the previous screen structure that was
in use will be returned on success.
Calling delscreen() will destroy the given screen and free all allocated
resources.
Calling endwin() will end the curses session and restore the saved termi‐
nal settings.
The curses session must be initialised by calling initscr() which saves
the current terminal state and sets up the terminal and internal data
structures to support the curses application. This function call must
be, with few exceptions, the first Curses library call made. The excep‐
tion to this rule is the newterm() call which may be called prior to
initscr(). The size of the curses screen is determined by checking the
tty(4) size and then the termcap(5) entries for the terminal type. If
the environment variables LINES or COLS are set, then these will be used
instead.
When either newterm() or initscr() are called, the Curses library sets up
signal handlers for SIGTSTP and SIGWINCH. If a signal handler is already
installed for SIGWINCH, this will also be called when the Curses library
handler is called.
The isendwin() function can be used to determine whether or not a refresh
of the screen has occurred since the last call to endwin().
The size of the screen may be changed by calling resizeterm() with the
updated number of lines and columns. This will resize the curses inter‐
nal data structures to accommodate the changed terminal geometry. The
curscr and stdscr windows and any of their subwindows will be resized to
fit the new screen size. The application must redraw the screen after a
call to resizeterm().
The setterm() function sets the terminal type for the current screen to
the one passed, initialising all the curses internal data structures with
information related to the named terminal. The name argument must be a
valid name or alias in the termcap(5) database for this function to suc‐
ceed.
RETURN VALUES
Functions returning pointers will return NULL if an error is detected.
The functions that return an int will return one of the following values:
OK The function completed successfully.
ERR An error occurred in the function.
SEE ALSOcurses_window(3), tty(4), termcap(5), signal(7)STANDARDS
The NetBSD Curses library complies with the X/Open Curses specification,
part of the Single Unix Specification.
HISTORY
The Curses package appeared in 4.0BSD. The resizeterm() function is a
ncurses extension to the Curses library and was added in NetBSD 1.6.
BSD October 24, 2007 BSD
