Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!caip!lll-crg!nike!ucbcad!ucbvax!decvax!cwruecmp!hal!ncoast!allbery
From: allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery)
Newsgroups: net.unix
Subject: Terminfo
Message-ID: <1339@ncoast.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 30-Jul-86 18:55:05 EDT
Article-I.D.: ncoast.1339
Posted: Wed Jul 30 18:55:05 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 2-Aug-86 05:47:40 EDT
References: <2604@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Reply-To: allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery)
Followup-To: net.unix
Organization: Cleveland Public Access UNIX (ncoast), Cleveland, OH
Lines: 27

Expires:

Quoted from <2604@brl-smoke.ARPA> ["Termcap, terminfo, and curses."], by SLG6M%USU.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU...
+---------------
| > Read TERM(4) and rewrite using terminfo.  You won't be sorry; terminfo is much
| > cleaner than termcap.
| 
| You *can't* "rewrite using terminfo."  Because terminfo is just a DATABASE.
| The routines in question are called curses (which, by the way, also exist
| on non-AT&T systems like BSD).
+---------------

But (take my word for it) a program written to use termcap is a royal pain in
the a** to convert to curses.  ``Terminfo'' is the name of a database, yes,
but it's also commonly used as the name for the low-level routines used to
access the terminfo database.  They are, however, accessed via -lcurses.
Still, the low-level routines never heard of windows, etc.; and while curses
can't use a terminal's status line, the low-level terminfo routines are able
to use the "tsl", "fsl", "dsl", and "eslok" attributes.  Amongst others.

++Brandon
-- 
  ---------------- /--/	Brandon S. Allbery		UUCP: decvax!cwruecmp!
 /              / /|\/	Tridelta Industries, Inc.        ncoast!tdi2!brandon
----    -------- /-++	7350 Corporate Blvd.		PHONE: +1 216 974 9210
   /   / /---,  ----	Mentor, Ohio 44060		SYSOP: UNaXcess/ncoast
  /   / /    / /  /	     -- HOME --			 (216) 781-6201 24 hrs.
 /   / /    / /  /	6615 Center St. Apt. A1-105	ARPA:  ncoast!allbery%
----  -----~ ----	Mentor, Ohio 44060-4101		 case.CSNET@csnet-relay