FreeBSD-5.3/share/termcap/termcap.5
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.\" @(#)termcap.5 8.3 (Berkeley) 4/16/94
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.\" /***************************************************************************
.\" * COPYRIGHT NOTICE *
.\" ****************************************************************************
.\" * ncurses is copyright (C) 1992-1995 *
.\" * Zeyd M. Ben-Halim *
.\" * zmbenhal@netcom.com *
.\" * Eric S. Raymond *
.\" * esr@snark.thyrsus.com *
.\" * *
.\" * Permission is hereby granted to reproduce and distribute ncurses *
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.\" ***************************************************************************/
.\"
.\" $FreeBSD: src/share/termcap/termcap.5,v 1.24 2004/07/03 18:29:24 ru Exp $
.\"
.Dd April 16, 1994
.Dt TERMCAP 5
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Nm termcap
.Nd terminal capability data base
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm
.Sh DESCRIPTION
The
.Nm
file
is a data base describing terminals,
used,
for example,
by
.Xr \&vi 1
and
.Xr ncurses 3 .
Terminals are described in
.Nm
by giving a set of capabilities that they have and by describing
how operations are performed.
Padding requirements and initialization sequences
are included in
.Nm .
.Pp
Entries in
.Nm
consist of a number of `:'-separated fields.
The first entry for each terminal gives the names that are known for the
terminal, separated by `|' characters.
The first name given is the most common abbreviation for the terminal.
The last name given should be a long name fully identifying the terminal,
and all others are understood as synonyms for the terminal name.
All names but the last should be in lower case and contain no blanks;
the last name may well contain upper case characters and blanks for
readability.
.Pp
Terminal names (except for the last, verbose entry)
should be chosen using the following conventions.
The particular piece of hardware making up the terminal
should have a root name chosen, thus
.Dq hp2621
This name should not contain hyphens.
Modes that the hardware can be in
or user preferences
should be indicated by appending a hyphen and an indicator of the mode.
Therefore, a
.Dq vt100
in 132-column mode would be
.Dq vt100-w .
The following suffixes should be used where possible:
.Pp
.Bl -column indent "With automatic margins (usually default)xx" -offset indent
.Sy "Suffix Meaning Example"
-w Wide mode (more than 80 columns) vt100-w
-am With automatic margins (usually default) vt100-am
-nam Without automatic margins vt100-nam
.Pf \- Ar n Ta No "Number of lines on screen aaa-60"
-na No arrow keys (leave them in local) concept100-na
.Pf \- Ar \&np Ta No "Number of pages of memory concept100-4p"
-rv Reverse video concept100-rv
.El
.Sh CAPABILITIES
The description field attempts to convey the semantics of the
capability.
You may find some codes in the description field:
.Pp
.Bl -tag -width #[1-9]
.It (P)
indicates that padding may be specified.
.It #[1-9]
in the description field indicates that the string is passed through
.Xr tparm 3
or
.Xr tgoto 3
with parms as given (#\fIi\fP).
.It (P*)
indicates that padding may vary in proportion to the number of
lines affected.
.It (#\d\fIi\fP\u)
indicates the \fIi\fP\uth\d parameter.
.El
.Pp
These are the boolean capabilities:
.Bd -literal
\fBBoolean TCap Description\fR
\fBVariables Code\fR
auto_left_margin bw cursor_left wraps from column 0 to last
column
auto_right_margin am terminal has automatic margins
no_esc_ctlc xb beehive (f1=escape, f2=ctrl C)
ceol_standout_glitch xs standout not erased by overwriting (hp)
eat_newline_glitch xn newline ignored after 80 cols (concept)
erase_overstrike eo can erase overstrikes with a blank
generic_type gn generic line type
hard_copy hc hardcopy terminal
has_meta_key km Has a meta key, sets msb high
has_status_line hs has extra status line
insert_null_glitch in insert mode distinguishes nulls
memory_above da display may be retained above the screen
memory_below db display may be retained below the screen
move_insert_mode mi safe to move while in insert mode
move_standout_mode ms safe to move while in standout mode
over_strike os terminal can overstrike
status_line_esc_ok es escape can be used on the status line
dest_tabs_magic_smso xt tabs destructive, magic so char (t1061)
tilde_glitch hz can't print ~'s (hazeltine)
transparent_underline ul underline character overstrikes
xon_xoff xo terminal uses xon/xoff handshaking
needs_xon_xoff nx padding won't work, xon/xoff required
prtr_silent 5i printer won't echo on screen
hard_cursor HC cursor is hard to see
non_rev_rmcup NR enter_ca_mode does not reverse exit_ca_mode
no_pad_char NP pad character does not exist
non_dest_scroll_region ND scrolling region is non-destructive
can_change cc terminal can re-define existing colors
back_color_erase ut screen erased with background color
hue_lightness_saturation hl terminal uses only HLS color
notation (tektronix)
col_addr_glitch YA only positive motion for column address and
micro_column_address caps
cr_cancels_micro_mode YB using cr turns off micro mode
has_print_wheel YC printer needs operator to change character
set
row_addr_glitch YD only positive motion for row_address and
micro_row_address caps
semi_auto_right_margin YE printing in last column causes cr
cpi_changes_res YF changing character pitch changes resolution
lpi_changes_res YG changing line pitch changes resolution
.Ed
.Pp
These are the numeric capabilities:
.Bd -literal
\fBNumeric TCap Description\fR
\fBVariables Code\fR
columns co number of columns in aline
init_tabs it tabs initially every # spaces
lines li number of lines on screen or page
lines_of_memory lm lines of memory if > line. 0 => varies
magic_cookie_glitch sg number of blank chars left by
enter_standout_mode or exit_standout_mode
padding_baud_rate pb lowest baud rate where padding needed
virtual_terminal vt virtual terminal number (CB/unix)
width_status_line ws columns in status line
num_labels Nl number of labels on screen
label_height lh rows in each label
label_width lw columns in each label
max_attributes ma maximum combined attributes terminal can
handle
maximum_windows MW maximum number of definable windows
magic_cookie_glitch_ul ug number of blanks left by underline
#
# These came in with SVr4's color support
#
max_colors Co maximum numbers of colors on screen
max_pairs pa maximum number of color-pairs on the screen
no_color_video NC video attributes that can't be used with
colors
#
# The following numeric capabilities are present in the SVr4.0 term
# structure, but are not yet documented in the man page.
# They came in with SVr4's printer support.
#
buffer_capacity Ya numbers of bytes buffered before printing
dot_vert_spacing Yb spacing of pins vertically in pins per inch
dot_horz_spacing Yc spacing of dots horizontally in dots per
inch
max_micro_address Yd maximum value in micro_..._address
max_micro_jump Ye maximum value in parm_..._micro
micro_char_size Yf character size when in micro mode
micro_line_size Yg line size when in micro mode
number_of_pins Yh numbers of pins in print-head
output_res_char Yi horizontal resolution in units per line
output_res_line Yj vertical resolution in units per line
output_res_horz_inch Yk horizontal resolution in units per inch
output_res_vert_inch Yl vertical resolution in units per inch
print_rate Ym print rate in chars per second
wide_char_size Yn character step size when in double wide
mode
buttons BT number of buttons on mouse
bit_image_entwining Yo number of passed for each bit-image row
bit_image_type Yp type of bit-image device
.Ed
.Pp
These are the string capabilities:
.Bd -literal
\fBString TCap Description\fR
\fBVariables Code\fR
back_tab bt back tab (P)
bell bl audible signal (bell) (P)
carriage_return cr carriage return (P*)
change_scroll_region cs change region to line #1 to line #2 (P)
clear_all_tabs ct clear all tab stops (P)
clear_screen cl clear screen and home cursor (P*)
clr_eol ce clear to end of line (P)
clr_eos cd clear to end of screen (P*)
column_address ch horizontal position #1, absolute (P)
command_character CC terminal settable cmd character in
prototype
cursor_address cm move to row #1 columns #2
cursor_down do down one line
cursor_home ho home cursor
cursor_invisible vi make cursor invisible
cursor_left le move left one space
cursor_mem_address CM memory relative cursor addressing
cursor_normal ve make cursor appear normal (undo
cursor_invisible/cursor_visible)
cursor_right nd move right one space
cursor_to_ll ll last line, first column
cursor_up up up one line
cursor_visible vs make cursor very visible
delete_character dc delete character (P*)
delete_line dl delete line (P*)
dis_status_line ds disable status line
down_half_line hd half a line down
enter_alt_charset_mode as start alternate character set (P)
enter_blink_mode mb turn on blinking
enter_bold_mode md turn on bold (extra bright) mode
enter_ca_mode ti string to start programs using
cursor_address
enter_delete_mode dm enter delete mode
enter_dim_mode mh turn on half-bright mode
enter_insert_mode im enter insert mode
enter_secure_mode mk turn on blank mode (characters invisible)
enter_protected_mode mp turn on protected mode
enter_reverse_mode mr turn on reverse video mode
enter_standout_mode so begin standout mode
enter_underline_mode us begin underline mode
erase_chars ec erase #1 characters (P)
exit_alt_charset_mode ae end alternate character set (P)
exit_attribute_mode me turn off all attributes
exit_ca_mode te strings to end programs using cup
exit_delete_mode ed end delete mode
exit_insert_mode ei exit insert mode
exit_standout_mode se exit standout mode
exit_underline_mode ue exit underline mode
flash_screen vb visible bell (may not move cursor)
form_feed ff hardcopy terminal page eject (P*)
from_status_line fs return from status line
init_1string i1 initialization string
init_2string is initialization string
init_3string i3 initialization string
init_file if name of initialization file
insert_character ic insert character (P)
insert_line al insert line (P*)
insert_padding ip insert padding after inserted character
key_backspace kb backspace key
key_catab ka clear-all-tabs key
key_clear kC clear-screen or erase key
key_ctab kt clear-tab key
key_dc kD delete-character key
key_dl kL delete-line key
key_down kd down-arrow key
key_eic kM sent by rmir or smir in insert mode
key_eol kE clear-to-end-of-line key
key_eos kS clear-to-end-of-screen key
key_f0 k0 F0 function key
key_f1 k1 F1 function key
key_f10 k; F10 function key
key_f2 k2 F2 function key
key_f3 k3 F3 function key
key_f4 k4 F4 function key
key_f5 k5 F5 function key
key_f6 k6 F6 function key
key_f7 k7 F7 function key
key_f8 k8 F8 function key
key_f9 k9 F9 function key
key_home kh home key
key_ic kI insert-character key
key_il kA insert-line key
key_left kl left-arrow key
key_ll kH last-line key
key_npage kN next-page key
key_ppage kP prev-page key
key_right kr right-arrow key
key_sf kF scroll-forward key
key_sr kR scroll-backward key
key_stab kT set-tab key
key_up ku up-arrow key
keypad_local ke leave 'keyboard_transmit' mode
keypad_xmit ks enter 'keyboard_transmit' mode
lab_f0 l0 label on function key f0 if not f0
lab_f1 l1 label on function key f1 if not f1
lab_f10 la label on function key f10 if not f10
lab_f2 l2 label on function key f2 if not f2
lab_f3 l3 label on function key f3 if not f3
lab_f4 l4 label on function key f4 if not f4
lab_f5 l5 label on function key f5 if not f5
lab_f6 l6 label on function key f6 if not f6
lab_f7 l7 label on function key f7 if not f7
lab_f8 l8 label on function key f8 if not f8
lab_f9 l9 label on function key f9 if not f9
meta_off mo turn off meta mode
meta_on mm turn on meta mode (8th-bit on)
newline nw newline (behave like cr followed by lf)
pad_char pc padding char (instead of null)
parm_dch DC delete #1 chars (P*)
parm_delete_line DL delete #1 lines (P*)
parm_down_cursor DO down #1 lines (P*)
parm_ich IC insert #1 chars (P*)
parm_index SF scroll forward #1 lines (P)
parm_insert_line AL insert #1 lines (P*)
parm_left_cursor LE move #1 chars to the left (P)
parm_right_cursor RI move #1 chars to the right (P*)
parm_rindex SR scroll back #1 lines (P)
parm_up_cursor UP up #1 lines (P*)
pkey_key pk program function key #1 to type string #2
pkey_local pl program function key #1 to execute
string #2
pkey_xmit px program function key #1 to transmit
string #2
print_screen ps print contents of screen
prtr_off pf turn off printer
prtr_on po turn on printer
repeat_char rp repeat char #1 #2 times (P*)
reset_1string r1 reset string
reset_2string r2 reset string
reset_3string r3 reset string
reset_file rf name of reset file
restore_cursor rc restore cursor to last position of
save_cursor
row_address cv vertical position #1 absolute (P)
save_cursor sc save current cursor position (P)
scroll_forward sf scroll text up (P)
scroll_reverse sr scroll text down (P)
set_attributes sa define video attributes #1-#9 (PG9)
set_tab st set a tab in every row, current columns
set_window wi current window is lines #1-#2 cols #3-#4
tab ta tab to next 8-space hardware tab stop
to_status_line ts move to status line
underline_char uc underline char and move past it
up_half_line hu half a line up
init_prog iP path name of program for initialization
key_a1 K1 upper left of keypad
key_a3 K3 upper right of keypad
key_b2 K2 center of keypad
key_c1 K4 lower left of keypad
key_c3 K5 lower right of keypad
prtr_non pO turn on printer for #1 bytes
termcap_init2 i2 secondary initialization string
termcap_reset rs terminal reset string
#
# SVr1 capabilities stop here. IBM's version of terminfo is the same as
# SVr4 up to this point, but has a different set afterwards.
#
char_padding rP like insert_padding but when in insert mode
acs_chars ac graphics charset pairs - def=vt100
plab_norm pn program label #1 to show string #2
key_btab kB back-tab key
enter_xon_mode SX turn on xon/xoff handshaking
exit_xon_mode RX turn off xon/xoff handshaking
enter_am_mode SA turn on automatic margins
exit_am_mode RA turn off automatic margins
xon_character XN XON character
xoff_character XF XOFF character
ena_acs eA enable alternate char set
label_on LO turn on soft labels
label_off LF turn off soft labels
key_beg @1 begin key
key_cancel @2 cancel key
key_close @3 close key
key_command @4 command key
key_copy @5 copy key
key_create @6 create key
key_end @7 end key
key_enter @8 enter/send key
key_exit @9 exit key
key_find @0 find key
key_help %1 help key
key_mark %2 mark key
key_message %3 message key
key_move %4 move key
key_next %5 next key
key_open %6 open key
key_options %7 options key
key_previous %8 previous key
key_print %9 print key
key_redo %0 redo key
key_reference &1 reference key
key_refresh &2 refresh key
key_replace &3 replace key
key_restart &4 restart key
key_resume &5 resume key
key_save &6 save key
key_suspend &7 suspend key
key_undo &8 undo key
key_sbeg &9 shifted key
key_scancel &0 shifted key
key_scommand *1 shifted key
key_scopy *2 shifted key
key_screate *3 shifted key
key_sdc *4 shifted key
key_sdl *5 shifted key
key_select *6 select key
key_send *7 shifted key
key_seol *8 shifted key
key_sexit *9 shifted key
key_sfind *0 shifted key
key_shelp #1 shifted key
key_shome #2 shifted key
key_sic #3 shifted key
key_sleft #4 shifted key
key_smessage %a shifted key
key_smove %b shifted key
key_snext %c shifted key
key_soptions %d shifted key
key_sprevious %e shifted key
key_sprint %f shifted key
key_sredo %g shifted key
key_sreplace %h shifted key
key_sright %i shifted key
key_srsume %j shifted key
key_ssave !1 shifted key
key_ssuspend !2 shifted key
key_sundo !3 shifted key
req_for_input RF send next input char (for ptys)
key_f11 F1 F11 function key
key_f12 F2 F12 function key
key_f13 F3 F13 function key
key_f14 F4 F14 function key
key_f15 F5 F15 function key
key_f16 F6 F16 function key
key_f17 F7 F17 function key
key_f18 F8 F18 function key
key_f19 F9 F19 function key
key_f20 FA F20 function key
key_f21 FB F21 function key
key_f22 FC F22 function key
key_f23 FD F23 function key
key_f24 FE F24 function key
key_f25 FF F25 function key
key_f26 FG F26 function key
key_f27 FH F27 function key
key_f28 FI F28 function key
key_f29 FJ F29 function key
key_f30 FK F30 function key
key_f31 FL F31 function key
key_f32 FM F32 function key
key_f33 FN F33 function key
key_f34 FO F34 function key
key_f35 FP F35 function key
key_f36 FQ F36 function key
key_f37 FR F37 function key
key_f38 FS F38 function key
key_f39 FT F39 function key
key_f40 FU F40 function key
key_f41 FV F41 function key
key_f42 FW F42 function key
key_f43 FX F43 function key
key_f44 FY F44 function key
key_f45 FZ F45 function key
key_f46 Fa F46 function key
key_f47 Fb F47 function key
key_f48 Fc F48 function key
key_f49 Fd F49 function key
key_f50 Fe F50 function key
key_f51 Ff F51 function key
key_f52 Fg F52 function key
key_f53 Fh F53 function key
key_f54 Fi F54 function key
key_f55 Fj F55 function key
key_f56 Fk F56 function key
key_f57 Fl F57 function key
key_f58 Fm F58 function key
key_f59 Fn F59 function key
key_f60 Fo F60 function key
key_f61 Fp F61 function key
key_f62 Fq F62 function key
key_f63 Fr F63 function key
clr_bol cb Clear to beginning of line
clear_margins MC clear right and left soft margins
set_left_margin ML set left soft margin
set_right_margin MR set right soft margin
label_format Lf label format
set_clock SC set clock, #1 hrs #2 mins #3 secs
display_clock DK display clock at (#1,#2)
remove_clock RC remove clock
create_window CW define a window #1 from #2, #3 to #4, #5
goto_window WG go to window #1
hangup HU hang-up phone
dial_phone DI dial number #1
quick_dial QD dial number #1 without checking
tone TO select touch tone dialing
pulse PU select pulse dialling
flash_hook fh flash switch hook
fixed_pause PA pause for 2-3 seconds
wait_tone WA wait for dial-tone
user0 u0 User string #0
user1 u1 User string #1
user2 u2 User string #2
user3 u3 User string #3
user4 u4 User string #4
user5 u5 User string #5
user6 u6 User string #6
user7 u7 User string #7
user8 u8 User string #8
user9 u9 User string #9
#
# SVr4 added these capabilities to support color
#
orig_pair op Set default pair to its original value
orig_colors oc Set all color pairs to the original ones
initialize_color Ic initialize color #1 to (#2,#3,#4)
initialize_pair Ip Initialize color pair #1 to fg=(#2,#3,#4),
bg=(#5,#6,#7)
set_color_pair sp Set current color pair to #1
set_foreground Sf Set foreground color #1
set_background Sb Set background color #1
#
# SVr4 added these capabilities to support printers
#
change_char_pitch ZA Change number of characters per inch
change_line_pitch ZB Change number of lines per inch
change_res_horz ZC Change horizontal resolution
change_res_vert ZD Change vertical resolution
define_char ZE Define a character
enter_doublewide_mode ZF Enter double-wide mode
enter_draft_quality ZG Enter draft-quality mode
enter_italics_mode ZH Enter italic mode
enter_leftward_mode ZI Start leftward carriage motion
enter_micro_mode ZJ Start micro-motion mode
enter_near_letter_quality ZK Enter NLQ mode
enter_normal_quality ZL Enter normal-quality mode
enter_shadow_mode ZM Enter shadow-print mode
enter_subscript_mode ZN Enter subscript mode
enter_superscript_mode ZO Enter superscript mode
enter_upward_mode ZP Start upward carriage motion
exit_doublewide_mode ZQ End double-wide mode
exit_italics_mode ZR End italic mode
exit_leftward_mode ZS End left-motion mode
exit_micro_mode ZT End micro-motion mode
exit_shadow_mode ZU End shadow-print mode
exit_subscript_mode ZV End subscript mode
exit_superscript_mode ZW End superscript mode
exit_upward_mode ZX End reverse character motion
micro_column_address ZY Like column_address in micro mode
micro_down ZZ Like cursor_down in micro mode
micro_left Za Like cursor_left in micro mode
micro_right Zb Like cursor_right in micro mode
micro_row_address Zc Like row_address in micro mode
micro_up Zd Like cursor_up in micro mode
order_of_pins Ze Match software bits to print-head pins
parm_down_micro Zf Like parm_down_cursor in micro mode
parm_left_micro Zg Like parm_left_cursor in micro mode
parm_right_micro Zh Like parm_right_cursor in micro mode
parm_up_micro Zi Like parm_up_cursor in micro mode
select_char_set Zj Select character set
set_bottom_margin Zk Set bottom margin at current line
set_bottom_margin_parm Zl Set bottom margin at line #1 or #2 lines
from bottom
set_left_margin_parm Zm Set left (right) margin at column #1 (#2)
set_right_margin_parm Zn Set right margin at column #1
set_top_margin Zo Set top margin at current line
set_top_margin_parm Zp Set top (bottom) margin at row #1 (#2)
start_bit_image Zq Start printing bit image graphics
start_char_set_def Zr Start character set definition
stop_bit_image Zs Stop printing bit image graphics
stop_char_set_def Zt End definition of character aet
subscript_characters Zu List of subscriptible characters
superscript_characters Zv List of superscriptible characters
these_cause_cr Zw Printing any of these chars causes CR
zero_motion Zx No motion for subsequent character
#
# The following string capabilities are present in the SVr4.0 term
# structure, but are not documented in the man page.
#
char_set_names Zy List of character set names
key_mouse Km Mouse event has occurred
mouse_info Mi Mouse status information
req_mouse_pos RQ Request mouse position
get_mouse Gm Curses should get button events
set_a_foreground AF Set ANSI foreground color
set_a_background AB Set ANSI background color
pkey_plab xl Program function key #1 to type string #2
and show string #3
device_type dv Indicate language/codeset support
code_set_init ci Init sequence for multiple codesets
set0_des_seq s0 Shift to code set 0 (EUC set 0, ASCII)
set1_des_seq s1 Shift to code set 1
set2_des_seq s2 Shift to code set 2
set3_des_seq s3 Shift to code set 3
set_lr_margin ML Set both left and right margins to #1, #2
set_tb_margin MT Sets both top and bottom margins to #1, #2
bit_image_repeat Xy Repeat bit image cell #1 #2 times
bit_image_newline Zz Move to next row of the bit image
bit_image_carriage_return Yv Move to beginning of same row
color_names Yw Give name for color #1
define_bit_image_region Yx Define rectangular bit image region
end_bit_image_region Yy End a bit-image region
set_color_band Yz Change to ribbon color #1
set_page_length YZ Set page length to #1 lines
#
# SVr4 added these capabilities for direct PC-clone support
#
display_pc_char S1 Display PC character
enter_pc_charset_mode S2 Enter PC character display mode
exit_pc_charset_mode S3 Exit PC character display mode
enter_scancode_mode S4 Enter PC scancode mode
exit_scancode_mode S5 Exit PC scancode mode
pc_term_options S6 PC terminal options
scancode_escape S7 Escape for scancode emulation
alt_scancode_esc S8 Alternate escape for scancode emulation
#
# The XSI Curses standard added these.
#
enter_horizontal_hl_mode Xh Enter horizontal highlight mode
enter_left_hl_mode Xl Enter left highlight mode
enter_low_hl_mode Xo Enter low highlight mode
enter_right_hl_mode Xr Enter right highlight mode
enter_top_hl_mode Xt Enter top highlight mode
enter_vertical_hl_mode Xv Enter vertical highlight mode
.Ed
.Pp
Obsolete termcap capabilities.
New software should not rely on them at all.
.Bd -literal
\fBBoolean TCap Description\fR
\fBVariables Code\fR
linefeed_is_newline NL move down with ^J
even_parity EP terminal requires even parity
odd_parity OP terminal requires odd parity
half_duplex HD terminal is half-duplex
lower_case_only LC terminal has only lower case
upper_case_only UC terminal has only upper case
has_hardware_tabs pt has 8-char tabs invoked with ^I
return_does_clr_eol xr return clears the line
tek_4025_insert_line xx Tektronix 4025 insert-line glitch
backspaces_with_bs bs uses ^H to move left
crt_no_scrolling ns crt cannot scroll
no_correctly_working_cr nc no way to go to start of line
.Ed
.Bd -literal
\fBNumber TCap Description\fR
\fBVariables Code\fR
backspace_delay dB padding required for ^H
form_feed_delay dF padding required for ^L
horizontal_tab_delay dT padding required for ^I
vertical_tab_delay dV padding required for ^V
number_of_function_keys kn count of function keys
carriage_return_delay dC pad needed for CR
new_line_delay dN pad needed for LF
.Ed
.Bd -literal
\fBString TCap Description\fR
\fBVariables Code\fR
other_non_function_keys ko list of self-mapped keycaps
arrow_key_map ma map arrow keys
memory_lock_above ml lock visible screen memory above the
current line
memory_unlock mu unlock visible screen memory above the
current line
linefeed_if_not_lf nl use to move down
backspace_if_not_bs bc move left, if not ^H
.Ed
.Ss A Sample Entry
The following entry, which describes the Concept\-100, is among the more
complex entries in the
.Nm
file as of this writing.
.Pp
.Bd -literal
ca\||\|concept100\||\|c100\||\|concept\||\|c104\||\|concept100-4p\||\|HDS Concept\-100:\e
:al=3*\eE^R:am:bl=^G:cd=16*\eE^C:ce=16\eE^U:cl=2*^L:cm=\eEa%+ %+ :\e
: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
:ip=16*:is=\eEU\eEf\eE7\eE5\eE8\eEl\eENH\eEK\eE\e200\eEo&\e200\eEo\e47\eE:k1=\eE5:\e
:k2=\eE6:k3=\eE7:kb=^h:kd=\eE<:ke=\eEx:kh=\eE?:kl=\eE>:kr=\eE=:ks=\eEX:\e
:ku=\eE;:le=^H:li#24:mb=\eEC:me=\eEN\e200:mh=\eEE:mi:mk=\eEH:mp=\eEI:\e
:mr=\eED:nd=\eE=:pb#9600:rp=0.2*\eEr%.%+ :se=\eEd\eEe:sf=^J:so=\eEE\eED:\e
:.ta=8\et:te=\eEv \e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\eEp\er\en:\e
:ti=\eEU\eEv 8p\eEp\er:ue=\eEg:ul:up=\eE;:us=\eEG:\e
:vb=\eEk\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\e200\eEK:\e
:ve=\eEw:vs=\eEW:vt#8:xn:\e
:bs:cr=^M:dC#9:dT#8:nl=^J:ta=^I:pt:
.Ed
.Pp
Entries may continue onto multiple lines by giving a \e as the last
character of a line, and empty fields
may be included for readability (here between the last field on a line
and the first field on the next).
Comments may be included on lines beginning with
.Dq # .
.Ss Types of Capabilities
Capabilities in
.Nm
are of three types: Boolean capabilities,
which indicate particular features that the terminal has;
numeric capabilities,
giving the size of the display or the size of other attributes;
and string capabilities,
which give character sequences that can be used to perform particular
terminal operations.
All capabilities have two-letter codes.
For instance, the fact that
the Concept has
.Em automatic margins
(an automatic return and linefeed
when the end of a line is reached) is indicated by the Boolean capability
.Sy \&am .
Hence the description of the Concept includes
.Sy \&am .
.Pp
Numeric capabilities are followed by the character `#' then the value.
In the example above
.Sy \&co ,
which indicates the number of columns the display has,
gives the value `80' for the Concept.
.Pp
Finally, string-valued capabilities, such as
.Sy \&ce
(clear-to-end-of-line
sequence) are given by the two-letter code, an `=', then a string
ending at the next following `:'.
A delay in milliseconds may appear after
the `=' in such a capability,
which causes padding characters to be supplied by
.Xr tputs 3
after the remainder of the string is sent to provide this delay.
The delay can be either a number,
such as `20', or a number followed by
an `*',
such as `3*'.
An `*' indicates that the padding required is proportional
to the number of lines affected by the operation, and the amount given is
the per-affected-line padding required.
(In the case of insert-character,
the factor is still the number of
.Em lines
affected;
this is always 1 unless the terminal has
.Sy \&in
and the software uses it.)
When an `*' is specified, it is sometimes useful to give a delay of the form
`3.5' to specify a delay per line to tenths of milliseconds.
(Only one decimal place is allowed.)
.Pp
A number of escape sequences are provided in the string-valued capabilities
for easy encoding of control characters there.
.Sy \&\eE
maps to an
.Dv ESC
character,
.Sy \&^X
maps to a control-X for any appropriate X,
and the sequences
.Sy \&\en
.Sy \&\er
.Sy \&\et
.Sy \&\eb
.Sy \&\ef
map to linefeed, return, tab, backspace, and formfeed, respectively.
Finally, characters may be given as three octal digits after a
.Sy \&\e ,
and the characters
.Sy \&^
and
.Sy \&\e
may be given as
.Sy \&\e^
and
.Sy \&\e\e .
If it is necessary to place a
.Sy \&:
in a capability it must be escaped as
.Sy \e:
or be encoded as
.Sy \&\e072 .
If it is necessary to place a
.Dv NUL
character in a string capability it
must be encoded as
.Sy \&\e200 .
(The routines that deal with
.Nm
use C strings and strip the high bits of the output very late, so that
a
.Sy \&\e200
comes out as a
.Sy \&\e000
would.)
.Pp
Sometimes individual capabilities must be commented out.
To do this, put a period before the capability name.
For example, see the first
.Sy \&cr
and
.Sy \&ta
in the example above.
.Ss Preparing Descriptions
The most effective way to prepare a terminal description is by imitating
the description of a similar terminal in
.Nm
and to build up a description gradually, using partial descriptions
with
.Xr \&vi 1
to check that they are correct.
Be aware that a very unusual terminal may expose deficiencies in
the ability of the
.Nm
file to describe it
or bugs in
.Xr \&vi 1 .
To easily test a new terminal description you are working on
you can put it in your home directory in a file called
.Pa .termcap
and programs will look there before looking in
.Pa /usr/share/misc/termcap .
You can also set the environment variable
.Ev TERMPATH
to a list of absolute file pathnames (separated by spaces or colons),
one of which contains the description you are working on,
and programs will search them in the order listed, and nowhere else.
See
.Xr termcap 3 .
The
.Ev TERMCAP
environment variable is usually set to the
.Nm
entry itself
to avoid reading files when starting up a program.
.Pp
To get the padding for insert-line right
(if the terminal manufacturer did not document it),
a severe test is to use
.Xr \&vi 1
to edit
.Pa /etc/passwd
at 9600 baud, delete roughly 16 lines from the middle of the screen,
then hit the `u' key several times quickly.
If the display messes up, more padding is usually needed.
A similar test can be used for insert-character.
.Ss Basic Capabilities
The number of columns on each line of the display is given by the
.Sy \&co
numeric capability.
If the display is a
.Tn CRT ,
then the
number of lines on the screen is given by the
.Sy \&li
capability.
If the display wraps around to the beginning of the next line when
the cursor reaches the right margin, then it should have the
.Sy \&am
capability.
If the terminal can clear its screen,
the code to do this is given by the
.Sy \&cl
string capability.
If the terminal overstrikes
(rather than clearing the position when a character is overwritten),
it should have the
.Sy \&os
capability.
If the terminal is a printing terminal,
with no soft copy unit,
give it both
.Sy \&hc
and
.Sy \&os .
.Pf ( Sy \&os
applies to storage scope terminals,
such as the Tektronix 4010 series,
as well as to hard copy and
.Tn APL
terminals.)
If there is a code to move the cursor to the left edge of the current row,
give this as
.Sy \&cr .
(Normally this will be carriage-return,
.Sy \&^M . )
If there is a code to produce an audible signal (bell, beep,
etc.),
give this as
.Sy \&bl .
.Pp
If there is a code (such as backspace)
to move the cursor one position to the left,
that capability should be given as
.Sy \&le .
Similarly,
codes to move to the right, up, and down
should be given as
.Sy \&nd ,
.Sy \&up ,
and
.Sy \&do ,
respectively.
These
.Em local cursor motions
should not alter the text they pass over;
for example, you would not normally use
.Dq nd=\ \&
unless the terminal has the
.Sy \&os
capability,
because the space would erase the character moved over.
.Pp
A very important point here is that the local cursor motions encoded
in
.Nm
have undefined behavior at the left and top edges of a
.Tn CRT
display.
Programs should never attempt to backspace around the left edge,
unless
.Sy \&bw
is given, and never attempt to go up off the top
using local cursor motions.
.Pp
In order to scroll text up,
a program goes to the bottom left corner of the screen and sends the
.Sy \&sf
(index) string.
To scroll text down,
a program goes to the top left corner of the screen and sends the
.Sy \&sr
(reverse index) string.
The strings
.Sy \&sf
and
.Sy \&sr
have undefined behavior
when not on their respective corners of the screen.
Parameterized versions of the scrolling sequences are
.Sy \&SF
and
.Sy \&SR ,
which have the same semantics as
.Sy \&sf
and
.Sy \&sr
except that they take one parameter
and scroll that many lines.
They also have undefined behavior
except at the appropriate corner of the screen.
.Pp
The
.Sy \&am
capability tells whether the cursor sticks at the right
edge of the screen when text is output there,
but this does not necessarily apply to
.Sy \&nd
from the last column.
Leftward local motion is defined from the left edge only when
.Sy \&bw
is given; then an
.Sy \&le
from the left edge will move to the right edge of the previous row.
This is useful for drawing a box around the edge of the screen,
for example.
If the terminal has switch-selectable automatic margins,
the
.Nm
description usually assumes that this feature is on,
.Em i.e . ,
.Sy \&am .
If the terminal has a command
that moves to the first column of the next line,
that command can be given as
.Sy \&nw
(newline).
It is permissible for this to clear the remainder of the current line,
so if the terminal has no correctly-working
.Tn \&CR
and
.Tn \&LF
it may still be possible to craft a working
.Sy \&nw
out of one or both of them.
.Pp
These capabilities suffice to describe hardcopy and
.Dq glass-tty
terminals.
Thus the Teletype model 33 is described as
.Bd -literal -offset indent
T3\||\|tty33\||\|33\||\|tty\||\|Teletype model 33:\e
:bl=^G:co#72:cr=^M:do=^J:hc:os:
.Ed
.Pp
and the Lear Siegler
.Tn ADM Ns \-3
is described as
.Bd -literal -offset indent
l3\||\|adm3\||\|3\||\|LSI \s-1ADM\s0-3:\e
:am:bl=^G:cl=^Z:co#80:cr=^M:do=^J:le=^H:li#24:sf=^J:
.Ed
.Ss Parameterized Strings
Cursor addressing and other strings requiring parameters
are described by a
parameterized string capability, with
.Xr printf 3 Ns \-like
escapes
.Sy \&%x
in it,
while other characters are passed through unchanged.
For example, to address the cursor the
.Sy \&cm
capability is given, using two parameters: the row and column to move to.
(Rows and columns are numbered from zero and refer to the physical screen
visible to the user, not to any unseen memory.
If the terminal has memory-relative cursor addressing,
that can be indicated by an analogous
.Sy \&CM
capability.)
.Pp
The
.Sy \&%
encodings have the following meanings:
.Bl -column xxxxx
.It "%% output `%'"
.It "%d output value as in"
.Xr printf 3
%d
.It "%2 output value as in"
.Xr printf 3
%2d
.It "%3 output value as in"
.Xr printf 3
%3d
.It "%. output value as in"
.Xr printf 3
%c
.It "%+" Ns Em x Ta No add
.Em x
to value, then do %.
.It "%>" Ns Em \&xy Ta No if
value >
.Em x
then add
.Em y ,
no output
.It "%r reverse order of two parameters, no output"
.It "%i increment by one, no output"
.It "%n exclusive-or all parameters with 0140 (Datamedia 2500)"
.It "\&%B" Ta Tn BCD No "(16*(value/10)) + (value%10), no output"
.It "%D Reverse coding (value \- 2*(value%16)), no output (Delta Data)."
.El
.Pp
Consider the Hewlett-Packard 2645, which, to get to row 3 and column 12, needs
to be sent
.Dq \eE&a12c03Y
padded for 6 milliseconds.
Note that the order
of the row and column coordinates is reversed here
and that the row and column
are sent as two-digit integers.
Thus its
.Sy \&cm
capability is
.Dq Li cm=6\eE&%r%2c%2Y .
.Pp
The Datamedia 2500 needs the current row and column sent
encoded in binary using
.Dq \&%. .
Terminals that use
.Dq %.\&
need to be able to
backspace the cursor
.Pq Sy \&le
and to move the cursor up one line on the screen
.Pq Sy \&up .
This is necessary because it is not always safe to transmit
.Sy \&\en ,
.Sy \&^D ,
and
.Sy \&\er ,
as the system may change or discard them.
(Programs using
.Nm
must set terminal modes so that tabs are not expanded, so
.Sy \&\et
is safe to send.
This turns out to be essential for the Ann Arbor 4080.)
.Pp
A final example is the Lear Siegler
.Tn ADM Ns \-3a ,
which offsets row and column
by a blank character, thus
.Dq Li cm=\eE=%+ %+\ \& .
.Pp
Row or column absolute cursor addressing
can be given as single parameter capabilities
.Sy \&ch
(horizontal position absolute) and
.Sy \&cv
(vertical position absolute).
Sometimes these are shorter than the more general two-parameter sequence
(as with the Hewlett-Packard 2645) and can be used in preference to
.Sy \&cm .
If there are parameterized local motions
.Pf ( Em e.g . ,
move
.Ar n
positions to the right)
these can be given as
.Sy \&DO ,
.Sy \&LE ,
.Sy \&RI ,
and
.Sy \&UP
with a single parameter indicating how many positions to move.
These are primarily useful if the terminal does not have
.Sy \&cm ,
such as the Tektronix 4025.
.Ss Cursor Motions
.Pp
If the terminal has a fast way to home the cursor
(to the very upper left corner of the screen), this can be given as
.Sy \&ho .
Similarly, a fast way of getting to the lower left-hand corner
can be given as
.Sy \&ll ;
this may involve going up with
.Sy \&up
from the home position,
but a program should never do this itself (unless
.Sy \&ll
does), because it can
make no assumption about the effect of moving up from the home position.
Note that the home position is the same as
cursor address (0,0): to the top left corner of the screen, not of memory.
(Therefore, the
.Dq \eEH
sequence on Hewlett-Packard terminals
cannot be used for
.Sy \&ho . )
.Ss Area Clears
If the terminal can clear from the current position to the end of the
line, leaving the cursor where it is, this should be given as
.Sy \&ce .
If the terminal can clear from the current position to the end of the
display, this should be given as
.Sy \&cd .
.Sy \&cd
must only be invoked from the first column of a line.
(Therefore,
it can be simulated by a request to delete a large number of lines,
if a true
.Sy \&cd
is not available.)
.Ss Insert/Delete Line
If the terminal can open a new blank line
before the line containing the cursor,
this should be given as
.Sy \&al ;
this must be invoked only from the first
position of a line.
The cursor must then appear at the left of the newly blank line.
If the terminal can delete the line that the cursor is on, this
should be given as
.Sy \&dl ;
this must only be used from the first position on
the line to be deleted.
Versions of
.Sy \&al
and
.Sy \&dl
which take a single parameter
and insert or delete that many lines
can be given as
.Sy \&AL
and
.Sy \&DL .
If the terminal has a settable scrolling region
(like the VT100),
the command to set this can be described with the
.Sy \&cs
capability,
which takes two parameters: the top and bottom lines of the scrolling region.
The cursor position is, alas, undefined after using this command.
It is possible to get the effect of insert or delete line
using this command \(em the
.Sy \&sc
and
.Sy \&rc
(save and restore cursor) commands are also useful.
Inserting lines at the top or bottom of the screen can also be done using
.Sy \&sr
or
.Sy \&sf
on many terminals without a true insert/delete line,
and is often faster even on terminals with those features.
.Pp
If the terminal has the ability to define a window as part of memory
which all commands affect, it should be given as the parameterized string
.Sy \&wi .
The four parameters are the starting and ending lines in memory
and the starting and ending columns in memory, in that order.
(This
.Xr terminfo 5
capability is described for completeness.
It is unlikely that any
.Nm Ns \-using
program will support it.)
.Pp
If the terminal can retain display memory above the screen, then the
.Sy \&da
capability should be given;
if display memory can be retained
below, then
.Sy \&db
should be given.
These indicate
that deleting a line or scrolling may bring non-blank lines up from below
or that scrolling back with
.Sy \&sr
may bring down non-blank lines.
.Ss Insert/Delete Character
There are two basic kinds of intelligent terminals with respect to
insert/delete character that can be described using
.Nm .
The most common insert/delete character operations affect only the characters
on the current line and shift characters off the end of the line rigidly.
Other terminals, such as the Concept\-100 and the Perkin Elmer Owl, make
a distinction between typed and untyped blanks on the screen, shifting
upon an insert or delete only to an untyped blank on the screen which is
either eliminated or expanded to two untyped blanks.
You can determine
the kind of terminal you have by clearing the screen then typing
text separated by cursor motions.
Type
.Dq Li abc\ \ \ \ def
using local
cursor motions (not spaces) between the
.Dq abc
and the
.Dq def .
Then position the cursor before the
.Dq abc
and put the terminal in insert
mode.
If typing characters causes the rest of the line to shift
rigidly and characters to fall off the end, then your terminal does
not distinguish between blanks and untyped positions.
If the
.Dq abc
shifts over to the
.Dq def
which then move together around the end of the
current line and onto the next as you insert, then you have the second type of
terminal and should give the capability
.Sy \&in ,
which stands for
.Dq insert null .
While these are two logically separate attributes
(one line
.Em \&vs .
multi-line insert mode,
and special treatment of untyped spaces),
we have seen no terminals whose insert
mode cannot be described with the single attribute.
.Pp
The
.Nm
entries can describe both terminals that have an insert mode and terminals
that send a simple sequence to open a blank position on the current line.
Give as
.Sy \&im
the sequence to get into insert mode.
Give as
.Sy \&ei
the sequence to leave insert mode.
Now give as
.Sy \&ic
any sequence that needs to be sent just before
each character to be inserted.
Most terminals with a true insert mode
will not give
.Sy \&ic ;
terminals that use a sequence to open a screen
position should give it here.
(If your terminal has both,
insert mode is usually preferable to
.Sy \&ic .
Do not give both unless the terminal actually requires both to be used
in combination.)
If post-insert padding is needed, give this as a number of milliseconds
in
.Sy \&ip
(a string option).
Any other sequence that may need to be
sent after insertion of a single character can also be given in
.Sy \&ip .
If your terminal needs to be placed into an `insert mode'
and needs a special code preceding each inserted character,
then both
.Sy \&im Ns / Sy \&ei
and
.Sy \&ic
can be given, and both will be used.
The
.Sy \&IC
capability, with one parameter
.Em n ,
will repeat the effects of
.Sy \&ic
.Em n
times.
.Pp
It is occasionally necessary to move around while in insert mode
to delete characters on the same line
.Pf ( Em e.g . ,
if there is a tab after
the insertion position).
If your terminal allows motion while in
insert mode, you can give the capability
.Sy \&mi
to speed up inserting
in this case.
Omitting
.Sy \&mi
will affect only speed.
Some terminals
(notably Datamedia's) must not have
.Sy \&mi
because of the way their
insert mode works.
.Pp
Finally, you can specify
.Sy \&dc
to delete a single character,
.Sy \&DC
with one parameter
.Em n
to delete
.Em n
characters,
and delete mode by giving
.Sy \&dm
and
.Sy \&ed
to enter and exit delete mode
(which is any mode the terminal needs to be placed in for
.Sy \&dc
to work).
.Ss Highlighting, Underlining, and Visible Bells
If your terminal has one or more kinds of display attributes,
these can be represented in a number of different ways.
You should choose one display form as
.Em standout mode ,
representing a good high-contrast, easy-on-the-eyes format
for highlighting error messages and other attention getters.
(If you have a choice, reverse video plus half-bright is good,
or reverse video alone.)
The sequences to enter and exit standout mode
are given as
.Sy \&so
and
.Sy \&se ,
respectively.
If the code to change into or out of standout
mode leaves one or even two blank spaces or garbage characters on the screen,
as the
.Tn TVI
912 and Teleray 1061 do,
then
.Sy \&sg
should be given to tell how many characters are left.
.Pp
Codes to begin underlining and end underlining can be given as
.Sy \&us
and
.Sy \&ue ,
respectively.
Underline mode change garbage is specified by
.Sy \&ug ,
similar to
.Sy \&sg .
If the terminal has a code to underline the current character and move
the cursor one position to the right,
such as the Microterm Mime,
this can be given as
.Sy \&uc .
.Pp
Other capabilities to enter various highlighting modes include
.Sy \&mb
(blinking),
.Sy \&md
(bold or extra bright),
.Sy \&mh
(dim or half-bright),
.Sy \&mk
(blanking or invisible text),
.Sy \&mp
(protected),
.Sy \&mr
(reverse video),
.Sy \&me
(turn off
.Em all
attribute modes),
.Sy \&as
(enter alternate character set mode), and
.Sy \&ae
(exit alternate character set mode).
Turning on any of these modes singly may or may not turn off other modes.
.Pp
If there is a sequence to set arbitrary combinations of mode,
this should be given as
.Sy \&sa
(set attributes), taking 9 parameters.
Each parameter is either 0 or 1,
as the corresponding attributes is on or off.
The 9 parameters are, in order: standout, underline, reverse, blink,
dim, bold, blank, protect, and alternate character set.
Not all modes need be supported by
.Sy \&sa ,
only those for which corresponding attribute commands exist.
(It is unlikely that a
.Nm Ns \-using
program will support this capability, which is defined for compatibility
with
.Xr terminfo 5 . )
.Pp
Terminals with the
.Dq magic cookie
glitches
.Pf ( Sy \&sg
and
.Sy \&ug ) ,
rather than maintaining extra attribute bits for each character cell,
instead deposit special
.Dq cookies ,
or
.Dq garbage characters ,
when they receive mode-setting sequences,
which affect the display algorithm.
.Pp
Some terminals,
such as the Hewlett-Packard 2621,
automatically leave standout
mode when they move to a new line or when the cursor is addressed.
Programs using standout mode
should exit standout mode on such terminals
before moving the cursor or sending a newline.
On terminals where this is not a problem,
the
.Sy \&ms
capability should be present
to say that this overhead is unnecessary.
.Pp
If the terminal has
a way of flashing the screen to indicate an error quietly
(a bell replacement),
this can be given as
.Sy \&vb ;
it must not move the cursor.
.Pp
If the cursor needs to be made more visible than normal
when it is not on the bottom line
(to change, for example, a non-blinking underline into an easier-to-find
block or blinking underline),
give this sequence as
.Sy \&vs .
If there is a way to make the cursor completely invisible, give that as
.Sy \&vi .
The capability
.Sy \&ve ,
which undoes the effects of both of these modes,
should also be given.
.Pp
If your terminal correctly displays underlined characters
(with no special codes needed)
even though it does not overstrike,
then you should give the capability
.Sy \&ul .
If overstrikes are erasable with a blank,
this should be indicated by giving
.Sy \&eo .
.Ss Keypad
If the terminal has a keypad that transmits codes when the keys are pressed,
this information can be given.
Note that it is not possible to handle
terminals where the keypad only works in local mode
(this applies, for example, to the unshifted Hewlett-Packard 2621 keys).
If the keypad can be set to transmit or not transmit,
give these codes as
.Sy \&ks
and
.Sy \&ke .
Otherwise the keypad is assumed to always transmit.
The codes sent by the left-arrow, right-arrow, up-arrow, down-arrow,
and home keys can be given as
.Sy \&kl ,
.Sy \&kr ,
.Sy \&ku ,
.Sy \&kd ,
and
.Sy \&kh ,
respectively.
If there are function keys such as f0, f1, ..., f9, the codes they send
can be given as
.Sy \&k0 ,
.Sy \&k1 ,
\&...,
.Sy \&k9 .
If these keys have labels other than the default f0 through f9, the labels
can be given as
.Sy \&l0 ,
.Sy \&l1 ,
\&...,
.Sy \&l9 .
The codes transmitted by certain other special keys can be given:
.Sy \&kH
(home down),
.Sy \&kb
(backspace),
.Sy \&ka
(clear all tabs),
.Sy \&kt
(clear the tab stop in this column),
.Sy \&kC
(clear screen or erase),
.Sy \&kD
(delete character),
.Sy \&kL
(delete line),
.Sy \&kM
(exit insert mode),
.Sy \&kE
(clear to end of line),
.Sy \&kS
(clear to end of screen),
.Sy \&kI
(insert character or enter insert mode),
.Sy \&kA
(insert line),
.Sy \&kN
(next page),
.Sy \&kP
(previous page),
.Sy \&kF
(scroll forward/down),
.Sy \&kR
(scroll backward/up), and
.Sy \&kT
(set a tab stop in this column).
In addition, if the keypad has a 3 by 3 array of keys
including the four arrow keys, then the other five keys can be given as
.Sy \&K1 ,
.Sy \&K2 ,
.Sy \&K3 ,
.Sy \&K4 ,
and
.Sy \&K5 .
These keys are useful when the effects of a 3 by 3 directional pad are needed.
The obsolete
.Sy \&ko
capability formerly used to describe
.Dq other
function keys has been
completely supplanted by the above capabilities.
.Pp
The
.Sy \&ma
entry is also used to indicate arrow keys on terminals that have
single-character arrow keys.
It is obsolete but still in use in
version 2 of
.Sy \&vi
which must be run on some minicomputers due to
memory limitations.
This field is redundant with
.Sy \&kl ,
.Sy \&kr ,
.Sy \&ku ,
.Sy \&kd ,
and
.Sy \&kh .
It consists of groups of two characters.
In each group, the first character is what an arrow key sends, and the
second character is the corresponding
.Sy \&vi
command.
These commands are
.Ar h
for
.Sy \&kl ,
.Ar j
for
.Sy \&kd ,
.Ar k
for
.Sy \&ku ,
.Ar l
for
.Sy \&kr ,
and
.Ar H
for
.Sy \&kh .
For example, the Mime would have
.Dq Li ma=^Hh^Kj^Zk^Xl
indicating arrow keys left (^H), down (^K), up (^Z), and right (^X).
(There is no home key on the Mime.)
.Ss Tabs and Initialization
If the terminal needs to be in a special mode when running
a program that uses these capabilities,
the codes to enter and exit this mode can be given as
.Sy \&ti
and
.Sy \&te .
This arises, for example, from terminals like the Concept with more than
one page of memory.
If the terminal has only memory-relative cursor addressing and not
screen-relative cursor addressing,
a screen-sized window must be fixed into
the display for cursor addressing to work properly.
This is also used for the Tektronix 4025, where
.Sy \&ti
sets the command character to be the one used by
.Nm .
.Pp
Other capabilities
include
.Sy \&is ,
an initialization string for the terminal,
and
.Sy \&if ,
the name of a file containing long initialization strings.
These strings are expected to set the terminal into modes
consistent with the rest of the
.Nm
description.
They are normally sent to the terminal by the
.Xr tset 1
program each time the user logs in.
They will be printed in the following order:
.Sy \&is ;
setting tabs using
.Sy \&ct
and
.Sy \&st ;
and finally
.Sy \&if .
.Pf ( Xr Terminfo
uses
.Sy \&i\&1-i2
instead of
.Sy \&is
and runs the program
.Sy \&iP
and prints
.Sy "\&i\&3"
after the other initializations.)
A pair of sequences that does a harder reset from a totally unknown state
can be analogously given as
.Sy \&rs
and
.Sy \&if .
These strings are output by the
.Xr reset 1
program, which is used when the terminal gets into a wedged state.
.Pf ( Xr Terminfo
uses
.Sy "\&r1-r3"
instead of
.Sy \&rs . )
Commands are normally placed in
.Sy \&rs
and
.Sy \&rf
only if they produce annoying effects on the screen and are not necessary
when logging in.
For example, the command to set the VT100 into 80-column mode
would normally be part of
.Sy \&is ,
but it causes an annoying glitch of the screen and is not normally needed
since the terminal is usually already in 80-column mode.
.Pp
If the terminal has hardware tabs,
the command to advance to the next tab stop can be given as
.Sy \&ta
(usually
.Sy \&^I ) .
A
.Dq backtab
command which moves leftward to the previous tab stop
can be given as
.Sy \&bt .
By convention,
if the terminal driver modes indicate that tab stops are being expanded
by the computer rather than being sent to the terminal,
programs should not use
.Sy \&ta
or
.Sy \&bt
even if they are present,
since the user may not have the tab stops properly set.
If the terminal has hardware tabs that are initially set every
.Ar n
positions when the terminal is powered up, then the numeric parameter
.Sy \&it
is given, showing the number of positions between tab stops.
This is normally used by the
.Xr tset 1
command to determine whether to set the driver mode for hardware tab
expansion, and whether to set the tab stops.
If the terminal has tab stops that can be saved in nonvolatile memory, the
.Nm
description can assume that they are properly set.
.Pp
If there are commands to set and clear tab stops, they can be given as
.Sy \&ct
(clear all tab stops) and
.Sy \&st
(set a tab stop in the current column of every row).
If a more complex sequence is needed to set the tabs than can be
described by this, the sequence can be placed in
.Sy \&is
or
.Sy \&if .
.Ss Delays
Certain capabilities control padding in the terminal driver.
These are primarily needed by hardcopy terminals and are used by the
.Xr tset 1
program to set terminal driver modes appropriately.
Delays embedded in the capabilities
.Sy \&cr ,
.Sy \&sf ,
.Sy \&le ,
.Sy \&ff ,
and
.Sy \&ta
will cause the appropriate delay bits to be set in the terminal driver.
If
.Sy \&pb
(padding baud rate) is given, these values can be ignored at baud rates
below the value of
.Sy \&pb .
For
.Bx 4.2
.Xr tset 1 ,
the delays are given as numeric capabilities
.Sy \&dC ,
.Sy \&dN ,
.Sy \&dB ,
.Sy \&dF ,
and
.Sy \&dT
instead.
.Ss Miscellaneous
If the terminal requires other than a
.Dv NUL
(zero) character as a pad,
this can be given as
.Sy \&pc .
Only the first character of the
.Sy \&pc
string is used.
.Pp
If the terminal has commands to save and restore the position of the
cursor, give them as
.Sy \&sc
and
.Sy \&rc .
.Pp
If the terminal has an extra
.Dq status line
that is not normally used by
software, this fact can be indicated.
If the status line is viewed as an extra line below the bottom line,
then the capability
.Sy \&hs
should be given.
Special strings to go to a position in the status line and to return
from the status line can be given as
.Sy \&ts
and
.Sy \&fs .
.Pf ( Xr \&fs
must leave the cursor position in the same place that it was before
.Sy \&ts .
If necessary, the
.Sy \&sc
and
.Sy \&rc
strings can be included in
.Sy \&ts
and
.Sy \&fs
to get this effect.)
The capability
.Sy \&ts
takes one parameter, which is the column number of the status line
to which the cursor is to be moved.
If escape sequences and other special commands such as tab work while in
the status line, the flag
.Sy \&es
can be given.
A string that turns off the status line (or otherwise erases its contents)
should be given as
.Sy \&ds .
The status line is normally assumed to be the same width as the
rest of the screen,
.Em i.e . ,
.Sy \&co .
If the status line is a different width (possibly because the terminal
does not allow an entire line to be loaded), then its width in columns
can be indicated with the numeric parameter
.Sy \&ws .
.Pp
If the terminal can move up or down half a line, this can be
indicated with
.Sy \&hu
(half-line up) and
.Sy \&hd
(half-line down).
This is primarily useful for superscripts and subscripts on hardcopy
terminals.
If a hardcopy terminal can eject to the next page (form feed),
give this as
.Sy \&ff
(usually
.Sy \&^L ) .
.Pp
If there is a command to repeat a given character a given number of times
(to save time transmitting a large number of identical characters),
this can be indicated with the parameterized string
.Sy \&rp .
The first parameter is the character to be repeated and the second is
the number of times to repeat it.
(This is a
.Xr terminfo 5
feature that is unlikely to be supported by a program that uses
.Nm . )
.Pp
If the terminal has a settable command character, such as the
Tektronix 4025, this can be indicated with
.Sy \&CC .
A prototype command character is chosen which is used in all capabilities.
This character is given in the
.Sy \&CC
capability to identify it.
The following convention is supported on some
.Ux
systems:
The environment is to be searched for a
.Ev \&CC
variable,
and if found,
all occurrences of the prototype character are replaced by the character
in the environment variable.
This use of the
.Ev \&CC
environment variable
is a very bad idea, as it conflicts with
.Xr make 1 .
.Pp
Terminal descriptions that do not represent a specific kind of known
terminal, such as
.Em switch ,
.Em dialup ,
.Em patch ,
and
.Em network ,
should include the
.Sy \&gn
(generic) capability so that programs can complain that they do not know
how to talk to the terminal.
(This capability does not apply to
.Em virtual
terminal descriptions for which the escape sequences are known.)
.Pp
If the terminal uses xoff/xon
.Pq Tn DC3 Ns / Ns Tn DC1
handshaking for flow control, give
.Sy \&xo .
Padding information should still be included so that routines can make
better decisions about costs, but actual pad characters will not be
transmitted.
.Pp
If the terminal has a
.Dq meta key
which acts as a shift key, setting the
8th bit of any character transmitted, then this fact can be indicated with
.Sy \&km .
Otherwise, software will assume that the 8th bit is parity and it will
usually be cleared.
If strings exist to turn this
.Dq meta mode
on and off, they can be given as
.Sy \&mm
and
.Sy \&mo .
.Pp
If the terminal has more lines of memory than will fit on the screen at once,
the number of lines of memory can be indicated with
.Sy \&lm .
An explicit value of 0 indicates that the number of lines is not fixed,
but that there is still more memory than fits on the screen.
.Pp
If the terminal is one of those supported by the
.Ux
system virtual
terminal protocol, the terminal number can be given as
.Sy \&vt .
.Pp
Media copy strings which control an auxiliary printer
connected to the terminal can be given as
.Sy \&ps :
print the contents of the screen;
.Sy \&pf :
turn off the printer; and
.Sy \&po :
turn on the printer.
When the printer is on, all text sent to the terminal will be sent to the
printer.
It is undefined whether the text is also displayed on the terminal screen
when the printer is on.
A variation
.Sy \&pO
takes one parameter and leaves the printer on for as many characters as the
value of the parameter, then turns the printer off.
The parameter should not exceed 255.
All text, including
.Sy \&pf ,
is transparently passed to the printer while
.Sy \&pO
is in effect.
.Pp
Strings to program function keys can be given as
.Sy \&pk ,
.Sy \&pl ,
and
.Sy \&px .
Each of these strings takes two parameters: the function key number
to program (from 0 to 9) and the string to program it with.
Function key numbers out of this range may program undefined keys
in a terminal-dependent manner.
The differences among the capabilities are that
.Sy \&pk
causes pressing the given key to be the same as the user typing the given
string;
.Sy \&pl
causes the string to be executed by the terminal in local mode;
and
.Sy \&px
causes the string to be transmitted to the computer.
Unfortunately, due to lack of a definition for string parameters in
.Nm ,
only
.Xr terminfo 5
supports these capabilities.
.Ss Glitches and Braindamage
Hazeltine terminals, which do not allow `~' characters to be displayed,
should indicate
.Sy \&hz .
.Pp
The
.Sy \&nc
capability, now obsolete, formerly indicated Datamedia terminals,
which echo
.Sy \&\er \en
for
carriage return then ignore a following linefeed.
.Pp
Terminals that ignore a linefeed immediately after an
.Sy \&am
wrap, such as the Concept, should indicate
.Sy \&xn .
.Pp
If
.Sy \&ce
is required to get rid of standout
(instead of merely writing normal text on top of it),
.Sy \&xs
should be given.
.Pp
Teleray terminals, where tabs turn all characters moved over to blanks,
should indicate
.Sy \&xt
(destructive tabs).
This glitch is also taken to mean that it is not possible
to position the cursor on top of a
.Dq magic cookie ,
and that
to erase standout mode it is necessary to use delete and insert line.
.Pp
The Beehive Superbee, which is unable to correctly transmit the
.Dv ESC
or
.Sy \&^C
characters, has
.Sy \&xb ,
indicating that the
.Dq \&f\&1
key is used for
.Dv ESC
and
.Dq \&f\&2
for ^C.
(Only certain Superbees have this problem, depending on the
.Tn ROM . )
.Pp
Other specific terminal problems may be corrected by adding more
capabilities of the form
.Sy x Em x .
.Ss Similar Terminals
If there are two very similar terminals,
one can be defined as being just like the other with certain exceptions.
The string capability
.Sy \&tc
can be given
with the name of the similar terminal.
This capability must be
.Em last ,
and the combined length of the entries
must not exceed 1024.
The capabilities given before
.Sy \&tc
override those in the terminal type invoked by
.Sy \&tc .
A capability can be canceled by placing
.Sy \&xx@
to the left of the
.Sy \&tc
invocation, where
.Sy \&xx
is the capability.
For example, the entry
.Bd -literal -offset indent
hn\||\|2621\-nl:ks@:ke@:tc=2621:
.Ed
.Pp
defines a
.Dq 2621\-nl
that does not have the
.Sy \&ks
or
.Sy \&ke
capabilities,
hence does not turn on the function key labels when in visual mode.
This is useful for different modes for a terminal, or for different
user preferences.
.Sh FILES
.Bl -tag -width /usr/share/misc/termcap.db -compact
.It Pa /usr/share/misc/termcap
File containing terminal descriptions.
.It Pa /usr/share/misc/termcap.db
Hash database file containing terminal descriptions (see
.Xr cap_mkdb 1 ) .
.El
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr cap_mkdb 1 ,
.Xr ex 1 ,
.Xr more 1 ,
.Xr tset 1 ,
.Xr ul 1 ,
.Xr vi 1 ,
.Xr ncurses 3 ,
.Xr printf 3 ,
.Xr termcap 3 ,
.Xr term 5
.Sh CAVEATS AND BUGS
The
.Em Note :
.Nm
functions
were replaced by
.Xr terminfo 5
in
.At V
Release 2.0.
The transition will be relatively painless if capabilities flagged as
.Dq obsolete
are avoided.
.Pp
Lines and columns are now stored by the kernel as well as in the termcap
entry.
Most programs now use the kernel information primarily; the information
in this file is used only if the kernel does not have any information.
.Pp
The
.Xr \&vi 1
program allows only 256 characters for string capabilities, and the routines
in
.Xr termlib 3
do not check for overflow of this buffer.
The total length of a single entry (excluding only escaped newlines)
may not exceed 1024.
.Pp
Not all programs support all entries.
.Sh HISTORY
The
.Nm
file format appeared in
.Bx 3 .