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1.1 root 1: .\" Copyright (c) 1980 Regents of the University of California.
2: .\" All rights reserved. The Berkeley software License Agreement
3: .\" specifies the terms and conditions for redistribution.
4: .\"
5: .\" @(#)termcap.5 6.5 (Berkeley) 9/30/87
6: .\"
7: .ie n \{\
8: . ds lq \&"\"
9: . ds rq \&"\"
10: .\}
11: .el \{\
12: . ds rq ''
13: . ds lq ``
14: .\}
15: .tr ||
16: .tr *\(**
17: .hw trans-parently
18: .TH TERMCAP 5 "1 November 1985"
19: .UC
20: .SH NAME
21: termcap \- terminal capability data base
22: .SH SYNOPSIS
23: /etc/termcap
24: .SH DESCRIPTION
25: .I Termcap\^
26: is a data base describing terminals,
27: used,
28: .IR e.g. ,
29: by
30: .IR vi\^ (1)
31: and
32: .IR curses\^ (3X).
33: Terminals are described in
34: .I termcap\^
35: by giving a set of capabilities that they have and by describing
36: how operations are performed.
37: Padding requirements and initialization sequences
38: are included in
39: .IR termcap\^ .
40: .PP
41: Entries in
42: .I termcap\^
43: consist of a number of `:'-separated fields.
44: The first entry for each terminal gives the names that are known for the
45: terminal, separated by `|' characters.
46: The first name is always two characters
47: long and is used by older systems which store the terminal type
48: in a 16-bit word in a system-wide data base.
49: The second name given is the most common abbreviation for the terminal,
50: the last name given should be a long name fully identifying the terminal,
51: and all others are understood as synonyms for the terminal name.
52: All names but the first and last
53: should be in lower case and contain no blanks;
54: the last name may well contain
55: upper case and blanks for readability.
56: .PP
57: Terminal names (except for the last, verbose entry)
58: should be chosen using the following conventions.
59: The particular piece of hardware making up the terminal
60: should have a root name chosen, thus \*(lqhp2621\*(rq.
61: This name should not contain hyphens.
62: Modes that the hardware can be in
63: or user preferences
64: should be indicated by appending a hyphen and an indicator of the mode.
65: Therefore, a \*(lqvt100\*(rq in 132-column mode would be \*(lqvt100-w\*(rq.
66: The following suffixes should be used where possible:
67: .sp
68: .ev
69: .ta
70: .ta \w'\fBSuffix\fP\ \ \ 'u +\w'With automatic margins (usually default)\ \ 'u
71: .nf
72: .if t \{\
73: .nr Xx \n(.lu-\n(.i-\w'\fBSuffix\fP\ \ \ With automatic margins (usually default)\ \ vt100-am'u
74: .in +\n(Xxu/2u
75: .\}
76: \fBSuffix Meaning Example\fP
77: -w Wide mode (more than 80 columns) vt100-w
78: -am With automatic margins (usually default) vt100-am
79: -nam Without automatic margins vt100-nam
80: -\fIn\fP Number of lines on the screen aaa-60
81: -na No arrow keys (leave them in local) concept100-na
82: -\fIn\^\fPp Number of pages of memory concept100-4p
83: -rv Reverse video concept100-rv
84: .fi
85: .ev
86: .SH CAPABILITIES
87: .PP
88: The characters in the
89: .I Notes
90: field in the table have the following meanings
91: (more than one may apply to a capability):
92: .PP
93: .ev
94: .ta
95: .ta \w'N\ \ \ 'u
96: .nf
97: N indicates numeric parameter(s)
98: P indicates that padding may be specified
99: * indicates that padding may be based on the number of lines affected
100: o indicates capability is obsolete
101: .fi
102: .ev
103: .PP
104: \*(lqObsolete\*(rq capabilities have no
105: .I terminfo\^
106: equivalents,
107: since they were considered useless,
108: or are subsumed by other capabilities.
109: New software should not rely on them at all.
110: .PP
111: .nf
112: .ta \w'\fBName \fP'u +\w'\fBType \fP'u +\w'\fBNotes \fP'u
113: \fBName Type Notes Description\fP
114: ae str (P) End alternate character set
115: AL str (NP*) Add \fIn\^\fP new blank lines
116: al str (P*) Add new blank line
117: am bool Terminal has automatic margins
118: as str (P) Start alternate character set
119: bc str (o) Backspace if not \fB^H\fP
120: bl str (P) Audible signal (bell)
121: bs bool (o) Terminal can backspace with \fB^H\fP
122: bt str (P) Back tab
123: bw bool \fBle\fP (backspace) wraps from column 0 to last column
124: CC str Terminal settable command character in prototype
125: cd str (P*) Clear to end of display
126: ce str (P) Clear to end of line
127: ch str (NP) Set cursor column (horizontal position)
128: cl str (P*) Clear screen and home cursor
129: CM str (NP) Memory-relative cursor addressing
130: cm str (NP) Screen-relative cursor motion
131: co num Number of columns in a line (See BUGS section below)
132: cr str (P) Carriage return
133: cs str (NP) Change scrolling region (VT100)
134: ct str (P) Clear all tab stops
135: cv str (NP) Set cursor row (vertical position)
136: da bool Display may be retained above the screen
137: dB num (o) Milliseconds of \fBbs\fP delay needed (default 0)
138: db bool Display may be retained below the screen
139: DC str (NP*) Delete \fIn\^\fP characters
140: dC num (o) Milliseconds of \fBcr\fP delay needed (default 0)
141: dc str (P*) Delete character
142: dF num (o) Milliseconds of \fBff\fP delay needed (default 0)
143: DL str (NP*) Delete \fIn\^\fP lines
144: dl str (P*) Delete line
145: dm str Enter delete mode
146: dN num (o) Milliseconds of \fBnl\fP delay needed (default 0)
147: DO str (NP*) Move cursor down \fIn\^\fP lines
148: do str Down one line
149: ds str Disable status line
150: dT num (o) Milliseconds of horizontal tab delay needed (default 0)
151: dV num (o) Milliseconds of vertical tab delay needed (default 0)
152: ec str (NP) Erase \fIn\^\fP characters
153: ed str End delete mode
154: ei str End insert mode
155: eo bool Can erase overstrikes with a blank
156: EP bool (o) Even parity
157: es bool Escape can be used on the status line
158: ff str (P*) Hardcopy terminal page eject
159: fs str Return from status line
160: gn bool Generic line type (\fIe.g.\fP dialup, switch)
161: hc bool Hardcopy terminal
162: HD bool (o) Half-duplex
163: hd str Half-line down (forward 1/2 linefeed)
164: ho str (P) Home cursor
165: hs bool Has extra \*(lqstatus line\*(rq
166: hu str Half-line up (reverse 1/2 linefeed)
167: hz bool Cannot print ~s (Hazeltine)
168: i1-i3 str Terminal initialization strings (\fIterminfo\^\fP only)
169: IC str (NP*) Insert \fIn\^\fP blank characters
170: ic str (P*) Insert character
171: if str Name of file containing initialization string
172: im str Enter insert mode
173: in bool Insert mode distinguishes nulls
174: iP str Pathname of program for initialization (\fIterminfo\^\fP only)
175: ip str (P*) Insert pad after character inserted
176: is str Terminal initialization string (\fItermcap\^\fP only)
177: it num Tabs initially every \fIn\^\fP positions
178: K1 str Sent by keypad upper left
179: K2 str Sent by keypad upper right
180: K3 str Sent by keypad center
181: K4 str Sent by keypad lower left
182: K5 str Sent by keypad lower right
183: k0-k9 str Sent by function keys 0-9
184: kA str Sent by insert-line key
185: ka str Sent by clear-all-tabs key
186: kb str Sent by backspace key
187: kC str Sent by clear-screen or erase key
188: kD str Sent by delete-character key
189: kd str Sent by down-arrow key
190: kE str Sent by clear-to-end-of-line key
191: ke str Out of \*(lqkeypad transmit\*(rq mode
192: kF str Sent by scroll-forward/down key
193: kH str Sent by home-down key
194: kh str Sent by home key
195: kI str Sent by insert-character or enter-insert-mode key
196: kL str Sent by delete-line key
197: kl str Sent by left-arrow key
198: kM str Sent by insert key while in insert mode
199: km bool Has a \*(lqmeta\*(rq key (shift, sets parity bit)
200: kN str Sent by next-page key
201: kn num (o) Number of function (\fBk0\fP\-\fBk9\fP) keys (default 0)
202: ko str (o) Termcap entries for other non-function keys
203: kP str Sent by previous-page key
204: kR str Sent by scroll-backward/up key
205: kr str Sent by right-arrow key
206: kS str Sent by clear-to-end-of-screen key
207: ks str Put terminal in \*(lqkeypad transmit\*(rq mode
208: kT str Sent by set-tab key
209: kt str Sent by clear-tab key
210: ku str Sent by up-arrow key
211: l0-l9 str Labels on function keys if not \*(lqf\fIn\^\fP\*(rq
212: LC bool (o) Lower-case only
213: LE str (NP) Move cursor left \fIn\^\fP positions
214: le str (P) Move cursor left one position
215: li num Number of lines on screen or page (See BUGS section below)
216: ll str Last line, first column
217: lm num Lines of memory if > \fBli\fP (0 means varies)
218: ma str (o) Arrow key map (used by \fIvi\^\fP version 2 only)
219: mb str Turn on blinking attribute
220: md str Turn on bold (extra bright) attribute
221: me str Turn off all attributes
222: mh str Turn on half-bright attribute
223: mi bool Safe to move while in insert mode
224: mk str Turn on blank attribute (characters invisible)
225: ml str (o) Memory lock on above cursor
226: mm str Turn on \*(lqmeta mode\*(rq (8th bit)
227: mo str Turn off \*(lqmeta mode\*(rq
228: mp str Turn on protected attribute
229: mr str Turn on reverse-video attibute
230: ms bool Safe to move in standout modes
231: mu str (o) Memory unlock (turn off memory lock)
232: nc bool (o) No correctly-working \fBcr\fP (Datamedia 2500, Hazeltine 2000)
233: nd str Non-destructive space (cursor right)
234: NL bool (o) \fB\\n\fP is newline, not line feed
235: nl str (o) Newline character if not \fB\\n\fP
236: ns bool (o) Terminal is a \s-1CRT\s0 but doesn't scroll
237: nw str (P) Newline (behaves like \fBcr\fP followed by \fBdo\fP)
238: OP bool (o) Odd parity
239: os bool Terminal overstrikes
240: pb num Lowest baud where delays are required
241: pc str Pad character (default \s-2NUL\s0)
242: pf str Turn off the printer
243: pk str Program function key \fIn\^\fP to type string \fIs\fP (\fIterminfo\^\fP only)
244: pl str Program function key \fIn\^\fP to execute string \fIs\fP (\fIterminfo\^\fP only)
245: pO str (N) Turn on the printer for \fIn\^\fP bytes
246: po str Turn on the printer
247: ps str Print contents of the screen
248: pt bool (o) Has hardware tabs (may need to be set with \fBis\fP)
249: px str Program function key \fIn\^\fP to transmit string \fIs\fP (\fIterminfo\^\fP only)
250: r1-r3 str Reset terminal completely to sane modes (\fIterminfo\^\fP only)
251: rc str (P) Restore cursor to position of last \fBsc\fP
252: rf str Name of file containing reset codes
253: RI str (NP) Move cursor right \fIn\^\fP positions
254: rp str (NP*) Repeat character \fIc n\^\fP times
255: rs str Reset terminal completely to sane modes (\fItermcap\^\fP only)
256: sa str (NP) Define the video attributes
257: sc str (P) Save cursor position
258: se str End standout mode
259: SF str (NP*) Scroll forward \fIn\^\fP lines
260: sf str (P) Scroll text up
261: sg num Number of garbage chars left by \fBso\fP or \fBse\fP (default 0)
262: so str Begin standout mode
263: SR str (NP*) Scroll backward \fIn\^\fP lines
264: sr str (P) Scroll text down
265: st str Set a tab in all rows, current column
266: ta str (P) Tab to next 8-position hardware tab stop
267: tc str Entry of similar terminal \- must be last
268: te str String to end programs that use \fItermcap\fP
269: ti str String to begin programs that use \fItermcap\fP
270: ts str (N) Go to status line, column \fIn\^\fP
271: UC bool (o) Upper-case only
272: uc str Underscore one character and move past it
273: ue str End underscore mode
274: ug num Number of garbage chars left by \fBus\fP or \fBue\fP (default 0)
275: ul bool Underline character overstrikes
276: UP str (NP*) Move cursor up \fIn\^\fP lines
277: up str Upline (cursor up)
278: us str Start underscore mode
279: vb str Visible bell (must not move cursor)
280: ve str Make cursor appear normal (undo \fBvs\fP/\fBvi\fP)
281: vi str Make cursor invisible
282: vs str Make cursor very visible
283: vt num Virtual terminal number (not supported on all systems)
284: wi str (N) Set current window
285: ws num Number of columns in status line
286: xb bool Beehive (f1=\s-2ESC\s0, f2=^C)
287: xn bool Newline ignored after 80 cols (Concept)
288: xo bool Terminal uses xoff/xon (\s-2DC3\s0/\s-2DC1\s0) handshaking
289: xr bool (o) Return acts like \fBce cr nl\fP (Delta Data)
290: xs bool Standout not erased by overwriting (Hewlett-Packard)
291: xt bool Tabs ruin, magic \fBso\fP char (Teleray 1061)
292: xx bool (o) Tektronix 4025 insert-line
293: .fi
294: .ta 8n +8n
295: .PP
296: .B A Sample Entry
297: .PP
298: The following entry, which describes the Concept\-100, is among the more
299: complex entries in the
300: .I termcap\^
301: file as of this writing.
302: .PP
303: .nf
304: ca\||\|concept100\||\|c100\||\|concept\||\|c104\||\|concept100-4p\||\|HDS Concept\-100:\e
305: :al=3*\eE^R:am:bl=^G:cd=16*\eE^C:ce=16\eE^U:cl=2*^L:cm=\eEa%+ %+ :\e
306: :co#80:.cr=9^M:db:dc=16\eE^A:dl=3*\eE^B:do=^J:ei=\eE\e200:eo:im=\eE^P:in:\e
307: :ip=16*:is=\eEU\eEf\eE7\eE5\eE8\eEl\eENH\eEK\eE\e200\eEo&\e200\eEo\e47\eE:k1=\eE5:\e
308: :k2=\eE6:k3=\eE7:kb=^h:kd=\eE<:ke=\eEx:kh=\eE?:kl=\eE>:kr=\eE=:ks=\eEX:\e
309: :ku=\eE;:le=^H:li#24:mb=\eEC:me=\eEN\e200:mh=\eEE:mi:mk=\eEH:mp=\eEI:\e
310: :mr=\eED:nd=\eE=:pb#9600:rp=0.2*\eEr%.%+ :se=\eEd\eEe:sf=^J:so=\eEE\eED:\e
311: :.ta=8\et:te=\eEv \e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\eEp\er\en:\e
312: :ti=\eEU\eEv 8p\eEp\er:ue=\eEg:ul:up=\eE;:us=\eEG:\e
313: :vb=\eEk\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\eEK:\e
314: :ve=\eEw:vs=\eEW:vt#8:xn:\e
315: :bs:cr=^M:dC#9:dT#8:nl=^J:ta=^I:pt:
316: .fi
317: .PP
318: Entries may continue onto multiple lines by giving a \e as the last
319: character of a line, and empty fields
320: may be included for readability (here between the last field on a line
321: and the first field on the next).
322: Comments may be included on lines beginning with \*(lq#\*(rq.
323: .br
324: .ne 5
325: .PP
326: .B Types of Capabilities
327: .PP
328: Capabilities in
329: .I termcap\^
330: are of three types: Boolean capabilities,
331: which indicate particular features that the terminal has;
332: numeric capabilities,
333: giving the size of the display or the size of other attributes;
334: and string capabilities,
335: which give character sequences that can be used to perform particular
336: terminal operations.
337: All capabilities have two-letter codes.
338: For instance, the fact that
339: the Concept has
340: .I automatic margins
341: .RI ( i.e. ,
342: an automatic return and linefeed
343: when the end of a line is reached) is indicated by the Boolean capability
344: .BR am .
345: Hence the description of the Concept includes
346: .BR am .
347: .PP
348: Numeric capabilities are followed by the character `#' then the value.
349: In the example above
350: .BR co ,
351: which indicates the number of columns the display has,
352: gives the value `80' for the Concept.
353: .PP
354: Finally, string-valued capabilities, such as
355: .B ce
356: (clear-to-end-of-line
357: sequence) are given by the two-letter code, an `=', then a string
358: ending at the next following `:'.
359: A delay in milliseconds may appear after
360: the `=' in such a capability,
361: which causes padding characters to be supplied by
362: .I tputs\^
363: after the remainder of the string is sent to provide this delay.
364: The delay can be either a number,
365: .I e.g.
366: `20', or a number followed by
367: an `*',
368: .IR i.e. ,
369: `3*'.
370: An `*' indicates that the padding required is proportional
371: to the number of lines affected by the operation, and the amount given is
372: the per-affected-line padding required.
373: (In the case of insert-character,
374: the factor is still the number of
375: .I lines\^
376: affected;
377: this is always 1 unless the terminal has
378: .B in
379: and the software uses it.)
380: When an `*' is specified, it is sometimes useful to give a delay of the form
381: `3.5' to specify a delay per line to tenths of milliseconds.
382: (Only one decimal place is allowed.)
383: .PP
384: A number of escape sequences are provided in the string-valued capabilities
385: for easy encoding of control characters there.
386: .B \eE
387: maps to an \s-2ESC\s0
388: character,
389: .B ^X
390: maps to a control-X for any appropriate X,
391: and the sequences
392: .B \en
393: .B \er
394: .B \et
395: .B \eb
396: .B \ef
397: map to linefeed, return, tab, backspace, and formfeed, respectively.
398: Finally, characters may be given as three octal digits after a
399: .BR \e ,
400: and the characters
401: .B ^
402: and
403: .B \e
404: may be given as
405: .B \e^
406: and
407: .BR \e\e .
408: If it is necessary to place a
409: .B :
410: in a capability it must be escaped in
411: octal as
412: .BR \e072 .
413: If it is necessary to place a \s-2NUL\s0
414: character in a string capability it
415: must be encoded as
416: .BR \e200 .
417: (The routines that deal with
418: .I termcap\^
419: use C strings and strip the high bits of the output very late, so that
420: a
421: .B \e200
422: comes out as a
423: .B \e000
424: would.)
425: .PP
426: Sometimes individual capabilities must be commented out.
427: To do this, put a period before the capability name.
428: For example, see the first
429: .B cr
430: and
431: .B ta
432: in the example above.
433: .br
434: .ne 5
435: .PP
436: .B Preparing Descriptions
437: .PP
438: We now outline how to prepare descriptions of terminals.
439: The most effective way to prepare a terminal description is by imitating
440: the description of a similar terminal in
441: .I termcap\^
442: and to build up a description gradually, using partial descriptions
443: with
444: .I vi\^
445: to check that they are correct.
446: Be aware that a very unusual terminal may expose deficiencies in
447: the ability of the
448: .I termcap\^
449: file to describe it
450: or bugs in
451: .IR vi\^ .
452: To easily test a new terminal description you are working on
453: you can put it in your home directory in a file called
454: .I .termcap\^
455: and programs will look there before looking in
456: .IR /etc/termcap\^ .
457: You can also set the environment variable
458: .B
459: .SM TERMPATH
460: to a list of absolute file pathnames (separated by spaces or colons),
461: one of which contains the description you are working on,
462: and programs will search them in the order listed, and nowhere else.
463: See
464: .IR termcap\^ (3X).
465: The
466: .B
467: .SM TERMCAP
468: environment variable is usually set to the
469: .I termcap\^
470: entry itself
471: to avoid reading files when starting up a program.
472: .PP
473: To get the padding for insert-line right
474: (if the terminal manufacturer did not document it),
475: a severe test is to use
476: .I vi\^
477: to edit
478: .I /etc/passwd\^
479: at 9600 baud, delete roughly 16 lines from the middle of the screen,
480: then hit the `u' key several times quickly.
481: If the display messes up, more padding is usually needed.
482: A similar test can be used for insert-character.
483: .br
484: .ne 5
485: .PP
486: .B Basic Capabilities
487: .PP
488: The number of columns on each line of the display is given by the
489: .B co
490: numeric capability.
491: If the display is a \s-1CRT\s0, then the
492: number of lines on the screen is given by the
493: .B li
494: capability.
495: If the display wraps around to the beginning of the next line when
496: the cursor reaches the right margin, then it should have the
497: .B am
498: capability.
499: If the terminal can clear its screen,
500: the code to do this is given by the
501: .B cl
502: string capability.
503: If the terminal overstrikes
504: (rather than clearing the position when a character is overwritten),
505: it should have the
506: .B os
507: capability.
508: If the terminal is a printing terminal,
509: with no soft copy unit,
510: give it both
511: .B hc
512: and
513: .BR os .
514: .RB ( os
515: applies to storage scope terminals,
516: such as the Tektronix 4010 series,
517: as well as to hard copy and
518: .SM APL
519: terminals.)
520: If there is a code to move the cursor to the left edge of the current row,
521: give this as
522: .BR cr .
523: (Normally this will be carriage-return,
524: .BR ^M .)
525: If there is a code to produce an audible signal (bell, beep,
526: .IR etc.\^ ),
527: give this as
528: .BR bl .
529: .PP
530: If there is a code (such as backspace)
531: to move the cursor one position to the left,
532: that capability should be given as
533: .BR le .
534: Similarly,
535: codes to move to the right, up, and down
536: should be given as
537: .BR nd ,
538: .BR up ,
539: and
540: .BR do ,
541: respectively.
542: These
543: .I local cursor motions\^
544: should not alter the text they pass over;
545: for example, you would not normally use
546: \*(lqnd=\ \*(rq
547: unless the terminal has the
548: .B os
549: capability,
550: because the space would erase the character moved over.
551: .PP
552: A very important point here is that the local cursor motions encoded
553: in
554: .I termcap\^
555: have undefined behavior at the left and top edges of a
556: .SM CRT
557: display.
558: Programs should never attempt to backspace around the left edge,
559: unless
560: .B bw
561: is given, and never attempt to go up off the top
562: using local cursor motions.
563: .PP
564: In order to scroll text up,
565: a program goes to the bottom left corner of the screen and sends the
566: .B sf
567: (index) string.
568: To scroll text down,
569: a program goes to the top left corner of the screen and sends the
570: .B sr
571: (reverse index) string.
572: The strings
573: .B sf
574: and
575: .B sr
576: have undefined behavior
577: when not on their respective corners of the screen.
578: Parameterized versions of the scrolling sequences are
579: .B SF
580: and
581: .BR SR ,
582: which have the same semantics as
583: .B sf
584: and
585: .B sr
586: except that they take one parameter
587: and scroll that many lines.
588: They also have undefined behavior
589: except at the appropriate corner of the screen.
590: .PP
591: The
592: .B am
593: capability tells whether the cursor sticks at the right
594: edge of the screen when text is output there,
595: but this does not necessarily apply to
596: .B nd
597: from the last column.
598: Leftward local motion is defined from the left edge only when
599: .B bw
600: is given; then an
601: .B le
602: from the left edge will move to the right edge of the previous row.
603: This is useful for drawing a box around the edge of the screen,
604: for example.
605: If the terminal has switch-selectable automatic margins,
606: the
607: .I termcap\^
608: description usually assumes that this feature is on,
609: .IR i.e. ,
610: .BR am .
611: If the terminal has a command
612: that moves to the first column of the next line,
613: that command can be given as
614: .B nw
615: (newline).
616: It is permissible for this to clear the remainder of the current line,
617: so if the terminal has no correctly-working \s-2CR\s0 and \s-2LF\s0
618: it may still be possible to craft a working
619: .B nw
620: out of one or both of them.
621: .PP
622: These capabilities suffice to describe hardcopy and \*(lqglass-tty\*(rq terminals.
623: Thus the Teletype model 33 is described as
624: .PP
625: .nf
626: T3\||\|tty33\||\|33\||\|tty\||\|Teletype model 33:\e
627: :bl=^G:co#72:cr=^M:do=^J:hc:os:
628: .fi
629: .PP
630: and the Lear Siegler \s-1ADM\s0\-3 is described as
631: .PP
632: .nf
633: l3\||\|adm3\||\|3\||\|LSI \s-1ADM\s0-3:\e
634: :am:bl=^G:cl=^Z:co#80:cr=^M:do=^J:le=^H:li#24:sf=^J:
635: .fi
636: .br
637: .ne 5
638: .PP
639: .B Parameterized Strings
640: .PP
641: Cursor addressing and other strings requiring parameters
642: are described by a
643: parameterized string capability, with
644: .IR printf\^ (3S)-like
645: escapes
646: .B %x
647: in it,
648: while other characters are passed through unchanged.
649: For example, to address the cursor the
650: .B cm
651: capability is given, using two parameters: the row and column to move to.
652: (Rows and columns are numbered from zero and refer to the physical screen
653: visible to the user, not to any unseen memory.
654: If the terminal has memory-relative cursor addressing,
655: that can be indicated by an analogous
656: .B CM
657: capability.)
658: .PP
659: The
660: .B %
661: encodings have the following meanings:
662: .PP
663: .DT
664: .nf
665: %% output `%'
666: %d output value as in \fIprintf\^\fP %d
667: %2 output value as in \fIprintf\^\fP %2d
668: %3 output value as in \fIprintf\^\fP %3d
669: %. output value as in \fIprintf\^\fP %c
670: %+\fIx\fP add \fIx\^\fP to value, then do %.
671: %>\fIxy\fP if value > \fIx\^\fP then add \fIy\^\fP, no output
672: %r reverse order of two parameters, no output
673: %i increment by one, no output
674: %n exclusive-or all parameters with 0140 (Datamedia 2500)
675: %B BCD (16*(value/10)) + (value%10), no output
676: %D Reverse coding (value \- 2*(value%16)), no output (Delta Data)
677: .fi
678: .PP
679: Consider the Hewlett-Packard 2645, which, to get to row 3 and column 12, needs
680: to be sent \*(lq\eE&a12c03Y\*(rq padded for 6 milliseconds.
681: Note that the order
682: of the row and column coordinates is reversed here
683: and that the row and column
684: are sent as two-digit integers.
685: Thus its
686: .B cm
687: capability is \*(lqcm=6\eE&%r%2c%2Y\*(rq.
688: .PP
689: The Microterm
690: .SM ACT-IV
691: needs the current row and column sent
692: simply encoded in binary
693: preceded by a
694: .BR ^T ,
695: \*(lqcm=^T%.%.\*(rq.
696: Terminals that use \*(lq%.\*(rq need to be able to
697: backspace the cursor
698: .RB ( le )
699: and to move the cursor up one line on the screen
700: .RB ( up ).
701: This is necessary because it is not always safe to transmit
702: .BR \en ,
703: .BR ^D ,
704: and
705: .BR \er ,
706: as the system may change or discard them.
707: (Programs using
708: .I termcap\^
709: must set terminal modes so that tabs are not expanded, so
710: .B \et
711: is safe to send.
712: This turns out to be essential for the Ann Arbor 4080.)
713: .PP
714: A final example is the Lear Siegler \s-1ADM\s0\-3a,
715: which offsets row and column
716: by a blank character, thus \*(lqcm=\eE=%+ %+ \*(rq.
717: .PP
718: Row or column absolute cursor addressing
719: can be given as single parameter capabilities
720: .B ch
721: (horizontal position absolute) and
722: .B cv
723: (vertical position absolute).
724: Sometimes these are shorter than the more general two-parameter sequence
725: (as with the Hewlett-Packard 2645) and can be used in preference to
726: .BR cm .
727: If there are parameterized local motions
728: .RI ( e.g. ,
729: move
730: .I n\^
731: positions to the right)
732: these can be given as
733: .BR DO ,
734: .BR LE ,
735: .BR RI ,
736: and
737: .B UP
738: with a single parameter indicating how many positions to move.
739: These are primarily useful if the terminal does not have
740: .BR cm ,
741: such as the Tektronix 4025.
742: .br
743: .ne 5
744: .PP
745: .B Cursor Motions
746: .PP
747: If the terminal has a fast way to home the cursor
748: (to the very upper left corner of the screen), this can be given as
749: .BR ho .
750: Similarly, a fast way of getting to the lower left-hand corner
751: can be given as
752: .BR ll ;
753: this may involve going up with
754: .B up
755: from the home position,
756: but a program should never do this itself (unless
757: .B ll
758: does), because it can
759: make no assumption about the effect of moving up from the home position.
760: Note that the home position is the same as
761: cursor address (0,0): to the top left corner of the screen, not of memory.
762: (Therefore, the \*(lq\eEH\*(rq sequence on Hewlett-Packard terminals
763: cannot be used for
764: .BR ho .)
765: .br
766: .ne 5
767: .PP
768: .B Area Clears
769: .PP
770: If the terminal can clear from the current position to the end of the
771: line, leaving the cursor where it is, this should be given as
772: .BR ce .
773: If the terminal can clear from the current position to the end of the
774: display, this should be given as
775: .BR cd .
776: .B cd
777: must only be invoked from the first column of a line.
778: (Therefore,
779: it can be simulated by a request to delete a large number of lines,
780: if a true
781: .B cd
782: is not available.)
783: .br
784: .ne 5
785: .PP
786: .B Insert/Delete Line
787: .PP
788: If the terminal can open a new blank line
789: before the line containing the cursor,
790: this should be given as
791: .BR al ;
792: this must be invoked only from the first
793: position of a line.
794: The cursor must then appear at the left of the newly blank line.
795: If the terminal can delete the line that the cursor is on, this
796: should be given as
797: .BR dl ;
798: this must only be used from the first position on
799: the line to be deleted.
800: Versions of
801: .B al
802: and
803: .B dl
804: which take a single parameter
805: and insert or delete that many lines
806: can be given as
807: .B AL
808: and
809: .BR DL .
810: If the terminal has a settable scrolling region
811: (like the VT100),
812: the command to set this can be described with the
813: .B cs
814: capability,
815: which takes two parameters: the top and bottom lines of the scrolling region.
816: The cursor position is, alas, undefined after using this command.
817: It is possible to get the effect of insert or delete line
818: using this command \(em the
819: .B sc
820: and
821: .B rc
822: (save and restore cursor) commands are also useful.
823: Inserting lines at the top or bottom of the screen can also be done using
824: .B sr
825: or
826: .B sf
827: on many terminals without a true insert/delete line,
828: and is often faster even on terminals with those features.
829: .PP
830: If the terminal has the ability to define a window as part of memory
831: which all commands affect, it should be given as the parameterized string
832: .BR wi .
833: The four parameters are the starting and ending lines in memory
834: and the starting and ending columns in memory, in that order.
835: (This
836: .I terminfo\^
837: capability is described for completeness.
838: It is unlikely that any
839: .IR termcap\^ -using
840: program will support it.)
841: .PP
842: If the terminal can retain display memory above the screen, then the
843: .B da
844: capability should be given;
845: if display memory can be retained
846: below, then
847: .B db
848: should be given.
849: These indicate
850: that deleting a line or scrolling may bring non-blank lines up from below
851: or that scrolling back with
852: .B sr
853: may bring down non-blank lines.
854: .br
855: .ne 5
856: .PP
857: .B Insert/Delete Character
858: .PP
859: There are two basic kinds of intelligent terminals with respect to
860: insert/delete character that can be described using
861: .IR termcap\^ .
862: The most common insert/delete character operations affect only the characters
863: on the current line and shift characters off the end of the line rigidly.
864: Other terminals, such as the Concept\-100 and the Perkin Elmer Owl, make
865: a distinction between typed and untyped blanks on the screen, shifting
866: upon an insert or delete only to an untyped blank on the screen which is
867: either eliminated or expanded to two untyped blanks.
868: You can determine
869: the kind of terminal you have by clearing the screen then typing
870: text separated by cursor motions.
871: Type \*(lqabc\ \ \ \ def\*(rq using local
872: cursor motions (not spaces) between the \*(lqabc\*(rq and the \*(lqdef\*(rq.
873: Then position the cursor before the \*(lqabc\*(rq and put the terminal in insert
874: mode.
875: If typing characters causes the rest of the line to shift
876: rigidly and characters to fall off the end, then your terminal does
877: not distinguish between blanks and untyped positions.
878: If the \*(lqabc\*(rq
879: shifts over to the \*(lqdef\*(rq which then move together around the end of the
880: current line and onto the next as you insert, then you have the second type of
881: terminal and should give the capability \fBin\fP, which stands for
882: \*(lqinsert null\*(rq.
883: While these are two logically separate attributes
884: (one line
885: .I vs.
886: multi-line insert mode,
887: and special treatment of untyped spaces),
888: we have seen no terminals whose insert
889: mode cannot be described with the single attribute.
890: .PP
891: .I Termcap\^
892: can describe both terminals that have an insert mode and terminals
893: that send a simple sequence to open a blank position on the current line.
894: Give as
895: .B im
896: the sequence to get into insert mode.
897: Give as
898: .B ei
899: the sequence to leave insert mode.
900: Now give as
901: .B ic
902: any sequence that needs to be sent just before
903: each character to be inserted.
904: Most terminals with a true insert mode
905: will not give
906: .BR ic ;
907: terminals that use a sequence to open a screen
908: position should give it here.
909: (If your terminal has both,
910: insert mode is usually preferable to
911: .BR ic .
912: Do not give both unless the terminal actually requires both to be used
913: in combination.)
914: If post-insert padding is needed, give this as a number of milliseconds
915: in
916: .B ip
917: (a string option).
918: Any other sequence that may need to be
919: sent after insertion of a single character can also be given in
920: .BR ip .
921: If your terminal needs to be placed into an `insert mode'
922: and needs a special code preceding each inserted character,
923: then both
924: .BR im / ei
925: and
926: .B ic
927: can be given, and both will be used.
928: The
929: .B IC
930: capability, with one parameter
931: .IR n\^ ,
932: will repeat the effects of
933: .B ic
934: .I n\^
935: times.
936: .PP
937: It is occasionally necessary to move around while in insert mode
938: to delete characters on the same line
939: .RI ( e.g. ,
940: if there is a tab after
941: the insertion position).
942: If your terminal allows motion while in
943: insert mode, you can give the capability
944: .B mi
945: to speed up inserting
946: in this case.
947: Omitting
948: .B mi
949: will affect only speed.
950: Some terminals
951: (notably Datamedia's) must not have
952: .B mi
953: because of the way their
954: insert mode works.
955: .PP
956: Finally, you can specify
957: .B dc
958: to delete a single character,
959: .B DC
960: with one parameter
961: .I n\^
962: to delete
963: .I n\^
964: characters,
965: and delete mode by giving
966: .B dm
967: and
968: .B ed
969: to enter and exit delete mode
970: (which is any mode the terminal needs to be placed in for
971: .B dc
972: to work).
973: .br
974: .ne 5
975: .PP
976: .B Highlighting, Underlining, and Visible Bells
977: .PP
978: If your terminal has one or more kinds of display attributes,
979: these can be represented in a number of different ways.
980: You should choose one display form as
981: .IR "standout mode" ,
982: representing a good high-contrast, easy-on-the-eyes format
983: for highlighting error messages and other attention getters.
984: (If you have a choice, reverse video plus half-bright is good,
985: or reverse video alone.)
986: The sequences to enter and exit standout mode
987: are given as
988: .B so
989: and
990: .BR se ,
991: respectively.
992: If the code to change into or out of standout
993: mode leaves one or even two blank spaces or garbage characters on the screen,
994: as the TVI 912 and Teleray 1061 do,
995: then
996: .B sg
997: should be given to tell how many characters are left.
998: .PP
999: Codes to begin underlining and end underlining can be given as
1000: .B us
1001: and
1002: .BR ue ,
1003: respectively.
1004: Underline mode change garbage is specified by
1005: .BR ug ,
1006: similar to
1007: .BR sg .
1008: If the terminal has a code to underline the current character and move
1009: the cursor one position to the right,
1010: such as the Microterm Mime,
1011: this can be given as
1012: .BR uc .
1013: .PP
1014: Other capabilities to enter various highlighting modes include
1015: .B mb
1016: (blinking),
1017: .B md
1018: (bold or extra bright),
1019: .B mh
1020: (dim or half-bright),
1021: .B mk
1022: (blanking or invisible text),
1023: .B mp
1024: (protected),
1025: .B mr
1026: (reverse video),
1027: .B me
1028: (turn off
1029: .I all
1030: attribute modes),
1031: .B as
1032: (enter alternate character set mode), and
1033: .B ae
1034: (exit alternate character set mode).
1035: Turning on any of these modes singly may or may not turn off other modes.
1036: .PP
1037: If there is a sequence to set arbitrary combinations of mode,
1038: this should be given as
1039: .B sa
1040: (set attributes), taking 9 parameters.
1041: Each parameter is either 0 or 1,
1042: as the corresponding attributes is on or off.
1043: The 9 parameters are, in order: standout, underline, reverse, blink,
1044: dim, bold, blank, protect, and alternate character set.
1045: Not all modes need be supported by
1046: .BR sa ,
1047: only those for which corresponding attribute commands exist.
1048: (It is unlikely that a
1049: .IR termcap\^ -using
1050: program will support this capability, which is defined for compatibility
1051: with
1052: .IR terminfo\^ .)
1053: .PP
1054: Terminals with the \*(lqmagic cookie\*(rq glitches
1055: .RB ( sg
1056: and
1057: .BR ug ),
1058: rather than maintaining extra attribute bits for each character cell,
1059: instead deposit special \*(lqcookies\*(rq,
1060: or \*(lqgarbage characters\*(rq,
1061: when they receive mode-setting sequences,
1062: which affect the display algorithm.
1063: .PP
1064: Some terminals,
1065: such as the Hewlett-Packard 2621,
1066: automatically leave standout
1067: mode when they move to a new line or when the cursor is addressed.
1068: Programs using standout mode
1069: should exit standout mode on such terminals
1070: before moving the cursor or sending a newline.
1071: On terminals where this is not a problem,
1072: the
1073: .B ms
1074: capability should be present
1075: to say that this overhead is unnecessary.
1076: .PP
1077: If the terminal has
1078: a way of flashing the screen to indicate an error quietly
1079: (a bell replacement),
1080: this can be given as
1081: .BR vb ;
1082: it must not move the cursor.
1083: .PP
1084: If the cursor needs to be made more visible than normal
1085: when it is not on the bottom line
1086: (to change, for example, a non-blinking underline into an easier-to-find
1087: block or blinking underline),
1088: give this sequence as
1089: .BR vs .
1090: If there is a way to make the cursor completely invisible, give that as
1091: .BR vi .
1092: The capability
1093: .BR ve ,
1094: which undoes the effects of both of these modes,
1095: should also be given.
1096: .PP
1097: If your terminal correctly displays underlined characters
1098: (with no special codes needed)
1099: even though it does not overstrike,
1100: then you should give the capability
1101: .BR ul .
1102: If overstrikes are erasable with a blank,
1103: this should be indicated by giving
1104: .BR eo .
1105: .br
1106: .ne 5
1107: .PP
1108: .B Keypad
1109: .PP
1110: If the terminal has a keypad that transmits codes when the keys are pressed,
1111: this information can be given.
1112: Note that it is not possible to handle
1113: terminals where the keypad only works in local mode
1114: (this applies, for example, to the unshifted Hewlett-Packard 2621 keys).
1115: If the keypad can be set to transmit or not transmit,
1116: give these codes as
1117: .B ks
1118: and
1119: .BR ke .
1120: Otherwise the keypad is assumed to always transmit.
1121: The codes sent by the left-arrow, right-arrow, up-arrow, down-arrow,
1122: and home keys can be given as
1123: .BR kl ,
1124: .BR kr ,
1125: .BR ku ,
1126: .BR kd ,
1127: and
1128: .BR kh ,
1129: respectively.
1130: If there are function keys such as f0, f1, ..., f9, the codes they send
1131: can be given as
1132: .BR k0 ,
1133: .BR k1 , "" ...,
1134: .BR k9 .
1135: If these keys have labels other than the default f0 through f9, the labels
1136: can be given as
1137: .BR l0 ,
1138: .BR l1 , "" ...,
1139: .BR l9 .
1140: The codes transmitted by certain other special keys can be given:
1141: .B kH
1142: (home down),
1143: .B kb
1144: (backspace),
1145: .B ka
1146: (clear all tabs),
1147: .B kt
1148: (clear the tab stop in this column),
1149: .B kC
1150: (clear screen or erase),
1151: .B kD
1152: (delete character),
1153: .B kL
1154: (delete line),
1155: .B kM
1156: (exit insert mode),
1157: .B kE
1158: (clear to end of line),
1159: .B kS
1160: (clear to end of screen),
1161: .B kI
1162: (insert character or enter insert mode),
1163: .B kA
1164: (insert line),
1165: .B kN
1166: (next page),
1167: .B kP
1168: (previous page),
1169: .B kF
1170: (scroll forward/down),
1171: .B kR
1172: (scroll backward/up), and
1173: .B kT
1174: (set a tab stop in this column).
1175: In addition, if the keypad has a 3 by 3 array of keys
1176: including the four arrow keys, then the other five keys can be given as
1177: .BR K1 ,
1178: .BR K2 ,
1179: .BR K3 ,
1180: .BR K4 ,
1181: and
1182: .BR K5 .
1183: These keys are useful when the effects of a 3 by 3 directional pad are needed.
1184: The obsolete
1185: .B ko
1186: capability formerly used to describe \*(lqother\*(rq function keys has been
1187: completely supplanted by the above capabilities.
1188: .PP
1189: The
1190: .B ma
1191: entry is also used to indicate arrow keys on terminals that have
1192: single-character arrow keys.
1193: It is obsolete but still in use in
1194: version 2 of
1195: .I vi\^
1196: which must be run on some minicomputers due to
1197: memory limitations.
1198: This field is redundant with
1199: .BR kl ,
1200: .BR kr ,
1201: .BR ku ,
1202: .BR kd ,
1203: and
1204: .BR kh .
1205: It consists of groups of two characters.
1206: In each group, the first character is what an arrow key sends, and the
1207: second character is the corresponding
1208: .I vi\^
1209: command.
1210: These commands are
1211: .B h
1212: for
1213: .BR kl ,
1214: .B j
1215: for
1216: .BR kd ,
1217: .B k
1218: for
1219: .BR ku ,
1220: .B l
1221: for
1222: .BR kr ,
1223: and
1224: .B H
1225: for
1226: .BR kh .
1227: For example, the Mime would have \*(lqma=^Hh^Kj^Zk^Xl\*(rq
1228: indicating arrow keys left (^H), down (^K), up (^Z), and right (^X).
1229: (There is no home key on the Mime.)
1230: .br
1231: .ne 5
1232: .PP
1233: .B Tabs and Initialization
1234: .PP
1235: If the terminal needs to be in a special mode when running
1236: a program that uses these capabilities,
1237: the codes to enter and exit this mode can be given as
1238: .B ti
1239: and
1240: .BR te .
1241: This arises, for example, from terminals like the Concept with more than
1242: one page of memory.
1243: If the terminal has only memory-relative cursor addressing and not
1244: screen-relative cursor addressing,
1245: a screen-sized window must be fixed into
1246: the display for cursor addressing to work properly.
1247: This is also used for the Tektronix 4025, where
1248: .B ti
1249: sets the command character to be the one used by
1250: .IR termcap\^ .
1251: .PP
1252: Other capabilities
1253: include
1254: .BR is ,
1255: an initialization string for the terminal,
1256: and
1257: .BR if ,
1258: the name of a file containing long initialization strings.
1259: These strings are expected to set the terminal into modes
1260: consistent with the rest of the
1261: .I termcap\^
1262: description.
1263: They are normally sent to the terminal by the
1264: .I tset\^
1265: program each time the user logs in.
1266: They will be printed in the following order:
1267: .BR is ;
1268: setting tabs using
1269: .B ct
1270: and
1271: .BR st ;
1272: and finally
1273: .BR if .
1274: .RI ( Terminfo\^
1275: uses
1276: .B i1-i2
1277: instead of
1278: .B is
1279: and runs the program
1280: .B iP
1281: and prints
1282: .B i3
1283: after the other initializations.)
1284: A pair of sequences that does a harder reset from a totally unknown state
1285: can be analogously given as
1286: .B rs
1287: and
1288: .BR if .
1289: These strings are output by the
1290: .I reset\^
1291: program, which is used when the terminal gets into a wedged state.
1292: .RI ( Terminfo\^
1293: uses
1294: .B r1-r3
1295: instead of
1296: .BR rs .)
1297: Commands are normally placed in
1298: .B rs
1299: and
1300: .B rf
1301: only if they produce annoying effects on the screen and are not necessary
1302: when logging in.
1303: For example, the command to set the VT100 into 80-column mode
1304: would normally be part of
1305: .BR is ,
1306: but it causes an annoying glitch of the screen and is not normally needed
1307: since the terminal is usually already in 80-column mode.
1308: .PP
1309: If the terminal has hardware tabs,
1310: the command to advance to the next tab stop can be given as
1311: .B ta
1312: (usually
1313: .BR ^I ).
1314: A \*(lqbacktab\*(rq command which moves leftward to the previous tab stop
1315: can be given as
1316: .BR bt .
1317: By convention,
1318: if the terminal driver modes indicate that tab stops are being expanded
1319: by the computer rather than being sent to the terminal,
1320: programs should not use
1321: .B ta
1322: or
1323: .B bt
1324: even if they are present,
1325: since the user may not have the tab stops properly set.
1326: If the terminal has hardware tabs that are initially set every
1327: .I n\^
1328: positions when the terminal is powered up, then the numeric parameter
1329: .B it
1330: is given, showing the number of positions between tab stops.
1331: This is normally used by the
1332: .I tset\^
1333: command to determine whether to set the driver mode for hardware tab
1334: expansion, and whether to set the tab stops.
1335: If the terminal has tab stops that can be saved in nonvolatile memory, the
1336: .I termcap\^
1337: description can assume that they are properly set.
1338: .PP
1339: If there are commands to set and clear tab stops, they can be given as
1340: .B ct
1341: (clear all tab stops) and
1342: .B st
1343: (set a tab stop in the current column of every row).
1344: If a more complex sequence is needed to set the tabs than can be
1345: described by this, the sequence can be placed in
1346: .B is
1347: or
1348: .BR if .
1349: .br
1350: .ne 5
1351: .PP
1352: .B Delays
1353: .PP
1354: Certain capabilities control padding in the terminal driver.
1355: These are primarily needed by hardcopy terminals and are used by the
1356: .I tset\^
1357: program to set terminal driver modes appropriately.
1358: Delays embedded in the capabilities
1359: .BR cr ,
1360: .BR sf ,
1361: .BR le ,
1362: .BR ff ,
1363: and
1364: .B ta
1365: will cause the appropriate delay bits to be set in the terminal driver.
1366: If
1367: .B pb
1368: (padding baud rate) is given, these values can be ignored at baud rates
1369: below the value of
1370: .BR pb .
1371: For 4.2BSD
1372: .IR tset\^ ,
1373: the delays are given as numeric capabilities
1374: .BR dC ,
1375: .BR dN ,
1376: .BR dB ,
1377: .BR dF ,
1378: and
1379: .BR dT
1380: instead.
1381: .br
1382: .ne 5
1383: .PP
1384: .B Miscellaneous
1385: .PP
1386: If the terminal requires other than a \s-2NUL\s0 (zero) character as a pad,
1387: this can be given as
1388: .BR pc .
1389: Only the first character of the
1390: .B pc
1391: string is used.
1392: .PP
1393: If the terminal has commands to save and restore the position of the
1394: cursor, give them as
1395: .B sc
1396: and
1397: .BR rc .
1398: .PP
1399: If the terminal has an extra \*(lqstatus line\*(rq that is not normally used by
1400: software, this fact can be indicated.
1401: If the status line is viewed as an extra line below the bottom line,
1402: then the capability
1403: .B hs
1404: should be given.
1405: Special strings to go to a position in the status line and to return
1406: from the status line can be given as
1407: .B ts
1408: and
1409: .BR fs .
1410: .RB ( fs
1411: must leave the cursor position in the same place that it was before
1412: .BR ts .
1413: If necessary, the
1414: .B sc
1415: and
1416: .B rc
1417: strings can be included in
1418: .B ts
1419: and
1420: .B fs
1421: to get this effect.)
1422: The capability
1423: .B ts
1424: takes one parameter, which is the column number of the status line
1425: to which the cursor is to be moved.
1426: If escape sequences and other special commands such as tab work while in
1427: the status line, the flag
1428: .B es
1429: can be given.
1430: A string that turns off the status line (or otherwise erases its contents)
1431: should be given as
1432: .BR ds .
1433: The status line is normally assumed to be the same width as the
1434: rest of the screen,
1435: .IR i.e. ,
1436: .BR co .
1437: If the status line is a different width (possibly because the terminal
1438: does not allow an entire line to be loaded), then its width in columns
1439: can be indicated with the numeric parameter
1440: .BR ws .
1441: .PP
1442: If the terminal can move up or down half a line, this can be
1443: indicated with
1444: .B hu
1445: (half-line up) and
1446: .B hd
1447: (half-line down).
1448: This is primarily useful for superscripts and subscripts on hardcopy
1449: terminals.
1450: If a hardcopy terminal can eject to the next page (form feed),
1451: give this as
1452: .B ff
1453: (usually
1454: .BR ^L ).
1455: .PP
1456: If there is a command to repeat a given character a given number of times
1457: (to save time transmitting a large number of identical characters),
1458: this can be indicated with the parameterized string
1459: .BR rp .
1460: The first parameter is the character to be repeated and the second is
1461: the number of times to repeat it.
1462: (This is a
1463: .I terminfo\^
1464: feature that is unlikely to be supported by a program that uses
1465: .IR termcap\^ .)
1466: .PP
1467: If the terminal has a settable command character, such as the
1468: Tektronix 4025, this can be indicated with
1469: .BR CC .
1470: A prototype command character is chosen which is used in all capabilities.
1471: This character is given in the
1472: .B CC
1473: capability to identify it.
1474: The following convention is supported on some UNIX systems:
1475: The environment is to be searched for a
1476: .B
1477: .SM CC
1478: variable,
1479: and if found,
1480: all occurrences of the prototype character are replaced by the character
1481: in the environment variable.
1482: This use of the
1483: .B
1484: .SM CC
1485: environment variable
1486: is a very bad idea, as it conflicts with
1487: .IR make\^ (1).
1488: .PP
1489: Terminal descriptions that do not represent a specific kind of known
1490: terminal, such as
1491: .IR switch\^ ,
1492: .IR dialup\^ ,
1493: .IR patch\^ ,
1494: and
1495: .IR network\^ ,
1496: should include the
1497: .B gn
1498: (generic) capability so that programs can complain that they do not know
1499: how to talk to the terminal.
1500: (This capability does not apply to
1501: .I virtual\^
1502: terminal descriptions for which the escape sequences are known.)
1503: .PP
1504: If the terminal uses xoff/xon (\s-2DC3\s0/\s-2DC1\s0)
1505: handshaking for flow control, give
1506: .BR xo .
1507: Padding information should still be included so that routines can make
1508: better decisions about costs, but actual pad characters will not be
1509: transmitted.
1510: .PP
1511: If the terminal has a \*(lqmeta key\*(rq which acts as a shift key, setting the
1512: 8th bit of any character transmitted, then this fact can be indicated with
1513: .BR km .
1514: Otherwise, software will assume that the 8th bit is parity and it will
1515: usually be cleared.
1516: If strings exist to turn this \*(lqmeta mode\*(rq on and off, they can be given as
1517: .B mm
1518: and
1519: .BR mo .
1520: .PP
1521: If the terminal has more lines of memory than will fit on the screen at once,
1522: the number of lines of memory can be indicated with
1523: .BR lm .
1524: An explicit value of 0 indicates that the number of lines is not fixed,
1525: but that there is still more memory than fits on the screen.
1526: .PP
1527: If the terminal is one of those supported by the UNIX system virtual
1528: terminal protocol, the terminal number can be given as
1529: .BR vt .
1530: .PP
1531: Media copy strings which control an auxiliary printer
1532: connected to the terminal can be given as
1533: .BR ps :
1534: print the contents of the screen;
1535: .BR pf :
1536: turn off the printer; and
1537: .BR po :
1538: turn on the printer.
1539: When the printer is on, all text sent to the terminal will be sent to the
1540: printer.
1541: It is undefined whether the text is also displayed on the terminal screen
1542: when the printer is on.
1543: A variation
1544: .B pO
1545: takes one parameter and leaves the printer on for as many characters as the
1546: value of the parameter, then turns the printer off.
1547: The parameter should not exceed 255.
1548: All text, including
1549: .BR pf ,
1550: is transparently passed to the printer while
1551: .B pO
1552: is in effect.
1553: .PP
1554: Strings to program function keys can be given as
1555: .BR pk ,
1556: .BR pl ,
1557: and
1558: .BR px .
1559: Each of these strings takes two parameters: the function key number
1560: to program (from 0 to 9) and the string to program it with.
1561: Function key numbers out of this range may program undefined keys
1562: in a terminal-dependent manner.
1563: The differences among the capabilities are that
1564: .B pk
1565: causes pressing the given key to be the same as the user typing the given
1566: string;
1567: .B pl
1568: causes the string to be executed by the terminal in local mode;
1569: and
1570: .B px
1571: causes the string to be transmitted to the computer.
1572: Unfortunately, due to lack of a definition for string parameters in
1573: .IR termcap\^ ,
1574: only
1575: .I terminfo\^
1576: supports these capabilities.
1577: .br
1578: .ne 5
1579: .PP
1580: .B Glitches and Braindamage
1581: .PP
1582: Hazeltine terminals, which do not allow `~' characters to be displayed,
1583: should indicate
1584: .BR hz .
1585: .PP
1586: The
1587: .B nc
1588: capability, now obsolete, formerly indicated Datamedia terminals,
1589: which echo
1590: .B \er \en
1591: for
1592: carriage return then ignore a following linefeed.
1593: .PP
1594: Terminals that ignore a linefeed immediately after an
1595: .B am
1596: wrap, such as the Concept, should indicate
1597: .BR xn .
1598: .PP
1599: If
1600: .B ce
1601: is required to get rid of standout
1602: (instead of merely writing normal text on top of it),
1603: .B xs
1604: should be given.
1605: .PP
1606: Teleray terminals, where tabs turn all characters moved over to blanks,
1607: should indicate
1608: .B xt
1609: (destructive tabs).
1610: This glitch is also taken to mean that it is not possible
1611: to position the cursor on top of a \*(lqmagic cookie\*(rq, and that
1612: to erase standout mode it is necessary to use delete and insert line.
1613: .PP
1614: The Beehive Superbee, which is unable to correctly transmit the
1615: \s-2ESC\s0 or ^C characters, has
1616: .BR xb ,
1617: indicating that the \*(lqf1\*(rq key is used for \s-2ESC\s0 and \*(lqf2\*(rq for ^C.
1618: (Only certain Superbees have this problem, depending on the ROM.)
1619: .PP
1620: Other specific terminal problems may be corrected by adding more
1621: capabilities of the form \fBx\fIx\^\fP.
1622: .br
1623: .ne 5
1624: .PP
1625: .B Similar Terminals
1626: .PP
1627: If there are two very similar terminals,
1628: one can be defined as being just like the other with certain exceptions.
1629: The string capability
1630: .B tc
1631: can be given
1632: with the name of the similar terminal.
1633: This capability must be
1634: .IR last\^ ,
1635: and the combined length of the entries
1636: must not exceed 1024.
1637: The capabilities given before
1638: .B tc
1639: override those in the terminal type invoked by
1640: .BR tc .
1641: A capability can be canceled by placing
1642: .B xx@
1643: to the left of the
1644: .B tc
1645: invocation, where
1646: .I xx\^
1647: is the capability.
1648: For example, the entry
1649: .PP
1650: hn\||\|2621\-nl:ks@:ke@:tc=2621:
1651: .PP
1652: defines a \*(lq2621\-nl\*(rq that does not have the
1653: .B ks
1654: or
1655: .B ke
1656: capabilities,
1657: hence does not turn on the function key labels when in visual mode.
1658: This is useful for different modes for a terminal, or for different
1659: user preferences.
1660: .SH AUTHOR
1661: William Joy
1662: .br
1663: Mark Horton added underlining and keypad support
1664: .SH FILES
1665: .DT
1666: /etc/termcap file containing terminal descriptions
1667: .SH SEE ALSO
1668: ex(1), more(1), tset(1), ul(1), vi(1), curses(3X), printf(3S),
1669: termcap(3X), term(7)
1670: .SH "CAVEATS AND BUGS"
1671: .B Note:
1672: .I termcap\^
1673: was replaced by
1674: .I terminfo\^
1675: in UNIX System V Release 2.0.
1676: The transition will be relatively painless if capabilities flagged as
1677: \*(lqobsolete\*(rq are avoided.
1678: .PP
1679: Lines and columns are now stored by the kernel as well as in the termcap
1680: entry.
1681: Most programs now use the kernel information primarily; the information
1682: in this file is used only if the kernel does not have any information.
1683: .PP
1684: .I Vi\^
1685: allows only 256 characters for string capabilities, and the routines
1686: in
1687: .IR termlib\^ (3)
1688: do not check for overflow of this buffer.
1689: The total length of a single entry (excluding only escaped newlines)
1690: may not exceed 1024.
1691: .PP
1692: Not all programs support all entries.
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