Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!brl-smoke!gwyn
From: gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn )
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Re: How do you link the terminfo library on SysV.2?
Message-ID: <6278@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 12-Aug-87 13:04:02 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-smok.6278
Posted: Wed Aug 12 13:04:02 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 15-Aug-87 00:44:50 EDT
References: <2316@bnrmtv.UUCP> <449@ambush.UUCP> <1377@chinet.UUCP> <454@ambush.UUCP>
Reply-To: gwyn@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) <gwyn>)
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab (BRL), APG, MD.
Lines: 29

In article <454@ambush.UUCP> kimcm@ambush.UUCP (Kim Chr. Madsen) writes:
>Sure, that exactly the point you can replace any existing field but if I
>want to include information about using graphic symbols on my teminal i.e.
>to make frames around a window - neither the standard termcap or terminfo
>supports this, but in termcap you could make new entries (provided you could

Both termcap and terminfo support alternate line-drawing character sets,
with terminfo "acsc" (termcap "ac") defining the pairings with the normal
character set, if the VT100 defaults are not appropriate, and smacs (as)
to start alternate character set mode, rmacs (ae) to end alternate character
set mode, and enacs (eA) if something has to be done to enable the alternate
character set before using smacs (as).  These aren't described very well in
older documentation, including that supplied with 4.3BSD, but they're at
least mentioned in current versions, if I recall correctly.  (I may have left
"eA" out of the termcap manual.  I need to bring it up to SVR3 level anyway.)

>find a two-letter code not already in use) however it is impossible in
>terminfo since it only allocates addresses (in the compiled entry) for known
>fields - which is why the tic command has been altered between SYSVR2 and
>SYSVR3 since more entries were added. Fast but clupsy - I'd rather had the
>termcap entries split up into several files in /usr/lib/termcap/?/* thus
>keeping compatibility between old termcap routines (as used in other UNIX'es)
>and the improved speed in finding & readin the entry.

Terminfo has many advantages over termcap besides eliminating the linear
search through the database.  For example, its parameter mechanism is
more general.

	-- your semi-friendly 4.3BSD termcap manual entry editor