curs_variables 3x
curs_variables(3x) curs_variables(3x)
NAME
COLORS, COLOR_PAIRS, COLS, ESCDELAY, LINES, TABSIZE,
curscr, newscr, stdscr - curses global variables
SYNOPSIS
#include <curses.h>
int COLOR_PAIRS;
int COLORS;
int COLS;
int ESCDELAY;
int LINES;
int TABSIZE;
WINDOW * curscr;
WINDOW * newscr;
WINDOW * stdscr;
DESCRIPTION
This page summarizes variables provided by the curses li-
brary. A more complete description is given in the curs-
es(3x) manual page.
Depending on the configuration, these may be actual vari-
ables, or macros (see curs_threads(3x)) which provide
read-only access to curses's state. In either case, ap-
plications should treat them as read-only to avoid confus-
ing the library.
COLOR_PAIRS
After initializing curses, this variable contains the num-
ber of color pairs which the terminal can support. Usual-
ly the number of color pairs will be the product COL-
ORS*COLORS, however this is not always true:
o a few terminals use HLS colors, which do not follow
this rule
o terminals supporting a large number of colors are lim-
ited by the number of color pairs that can be repre-
sented in a signed short value.
COLORS
After initializing curses, this variable contains the num-
ber of colors which the terminal can support.
COLS
After initializing curses, this variable contains the
width of the screen, i.e., the number of columns.
ESCDELAY
This variable holds the number of milliseconds to wait af-
ter reading an escape character, to distinguish between an
individual escape character entered on the keyboard from
escape sequences sent by cursor- and function-keys (see
curses(3x).
LINES
After initializing curses, this variable contains the
height of the screen, i.e., the number of lines.
TABSIZE
This variable holds the number of columns used by the
curses library when converting a tab character to spaces
as it adds the tab to a window (see curs_addch(3x).
The Current Screen
This implementation of curses uses a special window curscr
to record its updates to the terminal screen.
The New Screen
This implementation of curses uses a special window newscr
to hold updates to the terminal screen before applying
them to curscr.
The Standard Screen
Upon initializing curses, a default window called stdscr,
which is the size of the terminal screen, is created.
Many curses functions use this window.
NOTES
The curses library is initialized using either
initscr(3x), or newterm(3x).
If curses is configured to use separate curses/terminfo
libraries, most of these variables reside in the curses
library.
PORTABILITY
ESCDELAY and TABSIZE are extensions, not provided in most
other implementations of curses.
SEE ALSO
curses(3x), curs_threads(3x), term_variables(3x), termin-
fo(3x), terminfo(5).
curs_variables(3x)
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