terminfo(4)

NAME

terminfo — printer, terminal, and modem capability database

SYNOPSIS

/usr/lib/terminfo/?/*

List of Section Headings in DESCRIPTION

Terminfo Source Format
Source File Syntax
Minimum Guaranteed Limits
Formal Grammar
Defined Capabilities
Sample Entry
Types of Capabilities in the Sample Entry
Device Capabilities
Insert/Delete Line
Printer Capabilities
Capabilities that Cause Movement
Alternate Character Sets
Dot-Matrix Graphics
Effect of Changing Printing Resolution
Selecting a Terminal
Application Usage

DESCRIPTION

The requirements in this manpage are in effect only for implementations that claim Enhanced Curses compliance.

Terminfo Source Format

The terminfo database contains a description of the capabilities of a variety of devices, such as terminals and printers. Devices are described by specifying a set of capabilities, by quantifying certain aspects of the device, and by specifying character sequences that effect particular results.

This manpage specifies the format of terminfo source files.

X/Open-compliant implementations must provide a facility that accepts source files in the format specified in this manpage as a means of entering information into the terminfo database. The facility for installing this information into the database is implementation-specific. A valid terminfo entry describing a given model of terminal can be added to terminfo on any X/Open-compliant implementation to permit use of the same terminal model.

The "Source File Syntax" section describes the syntax of terminfo source files. A grammar and lexical conventions appear in the "Formal Grammar" section below. A list of all terminal capabilities defined by X/Open appears in the "Defined Capabilities" section below. An example follows in the "Sample Entry" section below. The "Device Capabilities" section describes the specification of devices in general, such as video terminals. The "Printer Capabilities" section describes the specification of printers.

The terminfo database is often used by screen-oriented applications such as vi and Curses programs, as well as by some utilities such as ls and more. This usage allows them to work with a variety of devices without changes to the programs.

Source File Syntax

Source files can use the ISO 8859-1 codeset. The behavior when the source file is in another codeset is unspecified. Traditional practice has been to translate information from other codesets into the source file syntax.

terminfo source files consist of one or more device descriptions. Each description defines a mnemonic name for the terminal model. Each description consists of a header (beginning in column 1) and one or more lines that list the features for that particular device. Every line in a terminfo source file must end in a comma. Every line in a terminfo source file except the header must be indented with one or more white spaces (either spaces or tabs).

Entries in terminfo source files consist of a number of comma-separated fields. White space after each comma is ignored. Embedded commas must be escaped by using a backslash. The following example shows the format of a terminfo source file:

alias1 | alias2 | ... | aliasn | longname,
whitespaceam, lines #24,
whitespacehome=\Eeh,

The first line, commonly referred to as the header line, must begin in column one and must contain at least two aliases separated by vertical bars. The last field in the header line must be the long name of the device and it may contain any string.

Alias names must be unique in the terminfo database and they must conform to file naming conventions established by implementation-specific terminfo compilation utilities. Implementations will recognize alias names consisting only of characters from the portable file name character set except that implementations need not accept a first character of minus (-). For example, a typical restriction is that they cannot contain white space or slashes. There may be further constraints imposed on source file values by the implementation-specific terminfo compilation utilities.

Each capability in terminfo is of one of the following types:

Boolean capabilities show that a device has or does not have a particular feature.
Numeric capabilities quantify particular features of a device.
String capabilities provide sequences that can be used to perform particular operations on devices.

Capability names adhere to an informal length limit of five characters. Whenever possible, capability names are chosen to be the same as or similar to those specified by the ANSI X3.64-1979 standard. Semantics are also intended to match those of the ANSI standard.

All string capabilities may have padding specified, with the exception of those used for input. Input capabilities, listed under the Strings section in the following tables, have names beginning with key_. These capabilities are defined in <term.h>.

Minimum Guaranteed Limits

All X/Open-compliant implementations support at least the following limits for the terminfo source file:

Source File Characteristic	Minimum Guaranteed Value
Length of a line	1023 bytes
Length of a terminal alias	14 bytes
Length of a terminal model name	128 bytes
Width of a single field	128 bytes
Length of a string value	1000 bytes
Length of a string representing a numeric value	99 digits
Magnitude of a numeric value	0 up to and including 32767

An implementation may support higher limits than those specified above.

Formal Grammar

The grammar and lexical conventions in this section together describe the syntax for terminfo terminal descriptions within a terminfo source file. A terminal description that satisfies the requirements of this section will be accepted by all implementations. (The notation "(n)" refers to a note following the description.)

descriptions : START_OF_HEADER_LINE(1) rest_of_header_line feature_lines
          | descriptions START_OF_HEADER_LINE rest_of_header_line
          | feature_lines
          ;

rest_of_header_line : PIPE LONGNAME COMMA NEWLINE
          | aliases PIPE LONGNAME COMMA NEWLINE
          ;

feature_lines : start_feature_line rest_of_feature_line
          | feature_lines start_feature_line rest_of_feature_line
          ;

start_feature_line : START_FEATURE_LINE_BOOLEAN(2)
          | START_FEATURE_LINE_NUMERIC(3)
          | START_FEATURE_LINE_STRING(4)
          ;

rest_of_feature_line : features COMMA NEWLINE
          | COMMA NEWLINE
          ;

features : COMMA feature
          | features COMMA feature
          ;

aliases : PIPE ALIAS
          | aliases PIPE ALIAS
          ;

feature : BOOLEAN
          | NUMERIC
          | STRING
          ;

(1): An ALIAS that begins in column one. This is handled by the lexical analyzer.
(2): A BOOLEAN feature that begins after column one but is the first feature on the feature line. This is handled by the lexical analyzer.
(3): A NUMERIC feature that begins after column one but is the first feature on the feature line. This is handled by the lexical analyzer.
(4): A STRING feature that begins after column one but is the first feature on the feature line. This is handled by the lexical analyzer.

The lexical conventions for terminfo descriptions are as follows:

1.

White space consists of the <space> and <tab> characters.

2.

An ALIAS may contain any graph characters other than comma (,), slash (/), and bar (|). (Graph characters are those characters for which isgraph() returns nonzero; see ctype(3C).)

3.

A LONGNAME may contain any print characters other than comma (,) and bar (|). (Print characters are those characters for which isprint() returns nonzero; see ctype(3C).)

4.

A BOOLEAN feature may contain any print characters other than comma (,), equals (=), and pound sign (#).

5.

A NUMERIC feature consists of:

a.: A name which may contain any print character other than comma (,), equals (=), and pound sign (#).
b.: The pound sign (#) character.
c.: A positive integer which conforms to the C language convention for integer constants.

6.

A STRING feature consists of:

a.: A name which may contain any print character other than comma (,), equals (=), and pound sign (#).
b.: The equals (=) character.
c.: A string which may contain any print characters other than comma (,).

7.

White space immediately following a comma (,) is ignored.

8.

Comments consist of the beginning of a line, optional white space, a required pound sign (#), and a terminating end of line.

9.

A header line must begin in column one.

10.

A feature line must not begin in column one.

11.

Blank lines are ignored.

Defined Capabilities

X/Open defines the capabilities listed in the following table. All X/Open-compliant implementations must accept each of these capabilities in an entry in a terminfo source file. Implementations use this information to determine how properly to operate the current terminal. In addition, implementations return any of the current terminal's capabilities when the application calls the query functions listed in tgetent() (in the cases where the following table lists a Termcap code) and tigetflag() (see tgetent(3X) and tigetflag(3X)).

The table of capabilities has the following columns:

Variable: Names for use by the Curses functions that operate on the terminfo database. These names are reserved and the application must not define them.
Capname: The short name for a capability specified in the terminfo source file. It is used for updating the source file and by the tput command (see tput(1)).
Termcap: Codes provided for compatibility with older applications. These codes are TO BE WITHDRAWN. Because of this, not all Capnames have Termcap codes.
Description: A short summary of the capability.

Booleans

	Cap-	Term-
Variable	name	cap	Description
`auto_left_margin`	`bw`	`bw`	`cub1` wraps from column 0 to last column
`auto_right_margin`	`am`	`am`	Terminal has automatic margins
`back_color_erase`	`bce`	`ut`	Screen erased with background color
`can_change`	`ccc`	`cc`	Terminal can re-define existing color
`ceol_standout_glitch`	`xhp`	`xs`	Standout not erased by overwriting (hp)
`col_addr_glitch`	`xhpa`	`YA`	Only positive motion for `hpa`/`mhpa` caps
`cpi_changes_res`	`cpix`	`YF`	Changing character pitch changes resolution
`cr_cancels_micro_mode`	`crxm`	`YB`	Using `cr` turns off micro mode
`dest_tabs_magic_smso`	`xt`	`xt`	Destructive tabs, magic `smso` char (t1061)
`eat_newline_glitch`	`xenl`	`xn`	Newline ignored after 80 columns (Concept)
`erase_overstrike`	`eo`	`eo`	Can erase overstrikes with a blank
`generic_type`	`gn`	`gn`	Generic line type (e.g., dialup, switch)
`get_mouse`	`getm`	`Gm`	Curses should get button events
`hard_copy`	`hc`	`hc`	Hardcopy terminal
`hard_cursor`	`chts`	`HC`	Cursor is hard to see
`has_meta_key`	`km`	`km`	Has a meta key (shift, sets parity bit)
`has_print_wheel`	`daisy`	`YC`	Printer needs operator to change
			character set
`has_status_line`	`hs`	`hs`	Has extra "status line"
`hue_lightness_saturation`	`hls`	`hl`	Terminal uses only HLS color
			notation (Tektronix)
`insert_null_glitch`	`in`	`in`	Insert mode distinguishes nulls
`lpi_changes_res`	`lpix`	`YG`	Changing line pitch changes resolution
`memory_above`	`da`	`da`	Display may be retained above the screen
`memory_below`	`db`	`db`	Display may be retained below the screen
`move_insert_mode`	`mir`	`mi`	Safe to move while in insert mode
`move_standout_mode`	`msgr`	`ms`	Safe to move in standout modes
`needs_xon_xoff`	`nxon`	`nx`	Padding won't work, XON/XOFF required
`no_esc_ctlc`	`xsb`	`xb`	Beehive (f1=escape, f2=ctrl C)
`no_pad_char`	`npc`	`NP`	Pad character doesn't exist
`non_dest_scroll_region`	`ndscr`	`ND`	Scrolling region is nondestructive
`non_rev_rmcup`	`nrrmc`	`NR`	`smcup` does not reverse `rmcup`
`over_strike`	`os`	`os`	Terminal overstrikes on hard-copy terminal
`prtr_silent`	`mc5i`	`5i`	Printer won't echo on screen
`row_addr_glitch`	`xvpa`	`YD`	Only positive motion for `vpa`/`mvpa` caps
`semi_auto_right_margin`	`sam`	`YE`	Printing in last column causes `cr`
`status_line_esc_ok`	`eslok`	`es`	Escape can be used on the status line
`tilde_glitch`	`hz`	`hz`	Hazeltine; can't print tilde (`~`)
`transparent_underline`	`ul`	`ul`	Underline character overstrikes
`xon_xoff`	`xon`	`xo`	Terminal uses XON/XOFF handshaking

Numbers

	Cap-	Term-
Variable	name	cap	Description
`bit_image_entwining`	`bitwin`	`Yo`	Number of passes for each bit-map row
`bit_image_type`	`bitype`	`Yp`	Type of bit image device
`buffer_capacity`	`bufsz`	`Ya`	Number of bytes buffered before printing
`buttons`	`btns`	`BT`	Number of buttons on the mouse
`columns`	`cols`	`co`	Number of columns in a line
`dot_horz_spacing`	`spinh`	`Yc`	Spacing of dots horizontally in dots per inch
`dot_vert_spacing`	`spinv`	`Yb`	Spacing of pins vertically in pins per inch
`init_tabs`	`it`	`it`	Tabs initially every # spaces
`label_height`	`lh`	`lh`	Number of rows in each label
`label_width`	`lw`	`lw`	Number of columns in each label
`lines`	`lines`	`li`	Number of lines on a screen or a page
`lines_of_memory`	`lm`	`lm`	Lines of memory if greater than `lines`; 0 means varies
`max_attributes`	`ma`	`ma`	Maximum combined video attributes terminal can display
`magic_cookie_glitch`	`xmc`	`sg`	Number of blank characters left by `smso` or `rmso`
`max_colors`	`colors`	`Co`	Maximum number of colors on the screen
`max_micro_address`	`maddr`	`Yd`	Maximum value in `micro_..._address`
`max_micro_jump`	`mjump`	`Ye`	Maximum value in `parm_..._micro`
`max_pairs`	`pairs`	`pa`	Maximum number of color-pairs on the screen
`maximum_windows`	`wnum`	`MW`	Maximum number of definable windows
`micro_col_size`	`mcs`	`Yf`	Character step size when in micro mode
`micro_line_size`	`mls`	`Yg`	Line step size when in micro mode
`no_color_video`	`ncv`	`NC`	Video attributes that can't be used with colors
`num_labels`	`nlab`	`Nl`	Number of labels on screen (start at 1)
`number_of_pins`	`npins`	`Yh`	Number of pins in print-head
`output_res_char`	`orc`	`Yi`	Horizontal resolution in units per character
`output_res_line`	`orl`	`Yj`	Vertical resolution in units per line
`output_res_horz_inch`	`orhi`	`Yk`	Horizontal resolution in units per inch
`output_res_vert_inch`	`orvi`	`Yl`	Vertical resolution in units per inch
`padding_baud_rate`	`pb`	`pb`	Lowest baud rate where padding needed
`print_rate`	`cps`	`Ym`	Print rate in characters per second
`virtual_terminal`	`vt`	`vt`	Virtual terminal number
`wide_char_size`	`widcs`	`Yn`	Character step size when in double-wide mode
`width_status_line`	`wsl`	`ws`	Number of columns in status line

Strings

	Cap-	Term-
Variable	name	cap	Description
`acs_chars`	`acsc`	`ac`	Graphic charset pairs aAbBcC
`alt_scancode_esc`	`scesa`	`S8`	Alternate escape for scancode emulation
			(default is for VT100)
`back_tab`	`cbt`	`bt`	Back tab
`bell`	`bel`	`bl`	Audible signal (bell)
`bit_image_carriage_return`	`bicr`	`Yv`	Move to beginning of same row
`bit_image_newline`	`binel`	`Zz`	Move to next row of the bit image
`bit_image_repeat`	`birep`	`Xy`	Repeat bit-image cell #1 #2 times
`carriage_return`	`cr`	`cr`	Carriage return
`change_char_pitch`	`cpi`	`ZA`	Change number of characters per inch
`change_line_pitch`	`lpi`	`ZB`	Change number of lines per inch
`change_res_horz`	`chr`	`ZC`	Change horizontal resolution
`change_res_vert`	`cvr`	`ZD`	Change vertical resolution
`change_scroll_region`	`csr`	`cs`	Change to lines #1 through #2 (VT100)
`char_padding`	`rmp`	`rP`	Like `ip` but when in replace mode
`char_set_names`	`csnm`	`Zy`	Returns a list of character set names
`clear_all_tabs`	`tbc`	`ct`	Clear all tab stops
`clear_margins`	`mgc`	`MC`	Clear all margins (top, bottom,
			and sides)
`clear_screen`	`clear`	`cl`	Clear screen and home cursor
`clr_bol`	`el1`	`cb`	Clear to beginning of line, inclusive
`clr_eol`	`el`	`ce`	Clear to end of line
`clr_eos`	`ed`	`cd`	Clear to end of display
`code_set_init`	`csin`	`ci`	Init sequence for multiple codesets
`color_names`	`colornm`	`Yw`	Give name for color #1
`column_address`	`hpa`	`ch`	Set horizontal position to absolute #1
`command_character`	`cmdch`	`CC`	Terminal settable cmd character
			in prototype
`create_window`	`cwin`	`CW`	Define win #1 to go from #2,#3 to #4,#5
`cursor_address`	`cup`	`cm`	Move to row #1 col #2
`cursor_down`	`cud1`	`do`	Down one line
`cursor_home`	`home`	`ho`	Home cursor (if no `cup`)
`cursor_invisible`	`civis`	`vi`	Make cursor invisible
`cursor_left`	`cub1`	`le`	Move left one space.
`cursor_mem_address`	`mrcup`	`CM`	Memory relative cursor addressing
`cursor_normal`	`cnorm`	`ve`	Make cursor appear normal
			(undo `vs/vi`)
`cursor_right`	`cuf1`	`nd`	Non-destructive space (cursor or
			carriage right)
`cursor_to_ll`	`ll`	`ll`	Last line, first column (if no `cup`)
`cursor_up`	`cuu1`	`up`	Upline (cursor up)
`cursor_visible`	`cvvis`	`vs`	Make cursor very visible
`define_bit_image_region`	`defbi`	`Yx`	Define rectangular bit-image region
`define_char`	`defc`	`ZE`	Define a character in a character set
`delete_character`	`dch1`	`dc`	Delete character
`delete_line`	`dl1`	`dl`	Delete line
`device_type`	`devt`	`dv`	Indicate language/codeset support
`dial_phone`	`dial`	`DI`	Dial phone number #1
`dis_status_line`	`dsl`	`ds`	Disable status line
`display_clock`	`dclk`	`DK`	Display time-of-day clock
`display_pc_char`	`dispc`	`S1`	Display PC character
`down_half_line`	`hd`	`hd`	Half-line down (forward 1/2 linefeed)
`ena_acs`	`enacs`	`eA`	Enable alternate character set
`end_bit_image_region`	`endbi`	`Yy`	End a bit-image region
`enter_alt_charset_mode`	`smacs`	`as`	Start alternate character set
`enter_am_mode`	`smam`	`SA`	Turn on automatic margins
`enter_blink_mode`	`blink`	`mb`	Turn on blinking
`enter_bold_mode`	`bold`	`md`	Turn on bold (extra bright) mode
`enter_ca_mode`	`smcup`	`ti`	String to begin programs that use `cup`
`enter_delete_mode`	`smdc`	`dm`	Delete mode (enter)
`enter_dim_mode`	`dim`	`mh`	Turn on half-bright mode
`enter_doublewide_mode`	`swidm`	`ZF`	Enable double wide printing
`enter_draft_quality`	`sdrfq`	`ZG`	Set draft quality print
`enter_horizontal_hl_mode`	`ehhlm`		Turn on horizontal highlight mode
`enter_insert_mode`	`smir`	`im`	Insert mode (enter)
`enter_italics_mode`	`sitm`	`ZH`	Enable italics
`enter_left_hl_mode`	`elhlm`		Turn on left highlight mode
`enter_leftward_mode`	`slm`	`ZI`	Enable leftward carriage motion
`enter_low_hl_mode`	`elohlm`		Turn on low highlight mode
`enter_micro_mode`	`smicm`	`ZJ`	Enable micro motion capabilities
`enter_near_letter_quality`	`snlq`	`ZK`	Set near-letter quality print
`enter_normal_quality`	`snrmq`	`ZL`	Set normal quality print
`enter_pc_charset_mode`	`smpch`	`S2`	Enter PC character display mode
`enter_protected_mode`	`prot`	`mp`	Turn on protected mode
`enter_reverse_mode`	`rev`	`mr`	Turn on reverse video mode
`enter_right_hl_mode`	`erhlm`		Turn on right highlight mode
`enter_scancode_mode`	`smsc`	`S4`	Enter PC scancode mode
`enter_secure_mode`	`invis`	`mk`	Turn on blank mode (characters invisible)
`enter_shadow_mode`	`sshm`	`ZM`	Enable shadow printing
`enter_standout_mode`	`smso`	`so`	Begin standout mode
`enter_subscript_mode`	`ssubm`	`ZN`	Enable subscript printing
`enter_superscript_mode`	`ssupm`	`ZO`	Enable superscript printing
`enter_top_hl_mode`	`ethlm`		Turn on top highlight mode
`enter_underline_mode`	`smul`	`us`	Start underscore mode
`enter_upward_mode`	`sum`	`ZP`	Enable upward carriage motion
`enter_vertical_hl_mode`	`evhlm`		Turn on vertical highlight mode
`enter_xon_mode`	`smxon`	`SX`	Turn on XON/XOFF handshaking
`erase_chars`	`ech`	`ec`	Erase #1 characters
`exit_alt_charset_mode`	`rmacs`	`ae`	End alternate character set
`exit_am_mode`	`rmam`	`RA`	Turn off automatic margins
`exit_attribute_mode`	`sgr0`	`me`	Turn off all attributes
`exit_ca_mode`	`rmcup`	`te`	String to end programs that use `cup`
`exit_delete_mode`	`rmdc`	`ed`	End delete mode
`exit_doublewide_mode`	`rwidm`	`ZQ`	Disable double wide printing
`exit_insert_mode`	`rmir`	`ei`	End insert mode
`exit_italics_mode`	`ritm`	`ZR`	Disable italics
`exit_leftward_mode`