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 library. A more
complete description is given in the curses(3X) manual page.
Depending on the configuration, these may be actual variables, or
macros (see curs_threads(3X)) which provide read-only access to curs‐
es's state. In either case, applications should treat them as read-on‐
ly to avoid confusing the library.
COLOR_PAIRS
After initializing curses, this variable contains the number of color
pairs which the terminal can support. Usually the number of color
pairs will be the product COLORS*COLORS, however this is not always
true:
· a few terminals use HLS colors, which do not follow this rule
· terminals supporting a large number of colors are limited by the
number of color pairs that can be represented in a signed short
value.
COLORS
After initializing curses, this variable contains the number 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 after reading an
escape character, to distinguish between an individual escape character
entered on the keyboard from escape sequences sent by cursor- and func‐
tion-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 win‐
dow (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 up‐
dates 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 imple‐
mentations of curses.
SEE ALSOcurses(3X), curs_threads(3X), term_variables(3X), terminfo(3X), termin‐
fo(5).
curs_variables(3X)